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Chairman's Letter May 2011

Petersfield Heath Nature Notes
Spring/Summer - 2010

APRIL
After what seemed a long cold winter, this month had a good many dry and sunny days although still cool at times with a nagging NE wind. This proved to be no deterrent to the migrating birds as good numbers arrived in the first few days with a flock of 20 Swallows the highlight. Other migrants noted at this time were Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Sand and House Martin. The list was added to mid month by the arrival of Common Sandpiper and Whitethroat with Reed Warbler on the final day. Wildfowl were represented by the Mute Swan pair with a nest in the Sussex Road reed bed, a small flock of Tufted Duck and a pair of Great crested Grebe. A pair of Little Grebes were present throughout the month so I considered the possibility of them breeding here however unlikely that seemed. In my 30+ years of birdwatching the Little Grebe had been seen very very rarely on the pond until the algae killed the majority of the fish in 2008. One other sighting of note this month was a pair of Bullfinches, the male bird with his bright red chest almost rivals the Kingfisher to be our most colourful resident and sadly a sighting of either is rare these days.

MAY
In early May I saw my first Swifts of the year with a large flock feeding over the trees in Sussex Road. I am always amazed by the fact that these birds spend all their life on the wing except for nesting and raising their young, they are without doubt the most consummate flyer. What I thought would be my last migrant species in spring appeared two weeks later, a single Common Tern, but in the last week I heard the Cuckoo calling over the Heath but unfortunately did not see it. This was my first record of this bird here for several years. A few days after the Mute Swans hatched 6 cygnets I discovered by chance the Little Grebe sitting on a nest in the Sussex Road reed bed and was quite hopeful of a positive outcome. Despite the nest being near the waters edge the brooding bird sat tight. On the last day of the month the Mute Swans had lost one cygnet, probably the weakest one of the brood.

JUNE
A single Cormorant noted on the pond in early June is unusual but a Snow Goose over the next week was a rarer occurrence. It may well have been the same bird that appeared at this time last year. If so , it had forgotten about the aggressive Mute Swan cob here. It wasn’t long before the goose was being chased all round the pond and I was surprised it stayed as long as it did. By this time the Little Grebe had been incubating long enough to produce young but there was no sign of any. At least the Great crested Grebes were still present and with only one normally to be seen the other could well be nesting. The Mute Swans lost another cygnet but worse was to come with the cob suffering an attack, probably from a dog, and coming off second best. Sadly it had to be put down. Henceforth the pen and the remaining cygnets spent all their time on the water rarely if ever venturing onto the banks.

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