I've still been visiting the Meadow most evenings though there has been precious little to report. The recent heavy rained has created at least a damp puddle along the North Channel and a few black-headed gulls were congregating in that area this afternoon. The common terns and their youngsters are still around as is the lone OYSTERCATCHER and a LITTLE EGRET was reported today as well. A couple of days ago there was a single LITTLE RINGED PLOVER though the ground is now so churned up that it's very difficult to pick them out.
This afternoon whilst going en famille to Binsey Fete, we came across a recently fledged blackcap hopping about on Walton Well Road just past the railway bridge on the steep section down to the car park. It was very cute and even hopped onto my wife's shoe for a moment. This was clearly no place for a baby bird as cars come down there quite quickly so I moved it to the scrub area next to the road by the Meadow trusting that it's parents would be able to find it again from it's insistent calling. Sure enough when we came back a few hours later it had managed to find its way into a nearby bush and was being fed regularly by an attentive parent. I'm sure I don't need to tell readers of this blog that if you find a young bird it's almost certainly not abandoned and that the parents will locate it by its "feed me" calls so just move it our of any immediate danger and let the parents get on with the job of feeding it.
The baby blackcap on the road this afternoon (click to enlarge)
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