I walked around the Red course this morning. It was good to hear lots of birdsong. The warblers were particularly vocal. At the side of the 5th hole I heard Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warblers and Blackcap. Sadly the Lesser Whitethroat was elusive, but it was good to see a pair of Garden Warblers. I usually see these to the right of the 13th hole but this pair seem to be nesting on the 5th.
Garden Warblers [5th Red]
Blackcap [5th Red]
Plenty of plants in the light rough at the moment. Sheep's Sorrel gives the rusty colour on much of the Red and Green courses.
Sheep's Sorrell Rumex acetosella [12th Red]
Field Mouse-Ear also grows on the Red and Green courses and is very common at Frilford, but quite rare elsewhere.
I went up to the driving range at Tubney and the Doghouse range to look at butterflies this afternoon. There were plenty about - I came across Brown Argus, Common Blue, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Small Copper, Small White and Brimstone. A few settled and allowed me to photograph.
Brown Argus Aricia agestis [Doghouse practice ground]
Small Copper Lycaena phlaeas [Doghouse practice ground]
Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria [13th Blue]
Common Blue Polyommatus icarus [Tubney driving range]
Greater and Lesser Stitchwort are both in flower on the Red course at the moment and are quite similar to Field Mouse Ear which is also in flower on the Red and Blue courses.
Greater Stitchwort Stellaria holostea [4th Red]
Lesser Stitchwort Stellaria graminea [6th Red]
Field Mouse-ear Cerastium arvense [Doghouse practice ground]
Lots of spring sunshine this morning and lots of birdsong around the course. I heard Willow Warblers and Blackcaps for the first time this year. Spring flowers are also much more in evidence. The woods on the left of the first Blue are full of Lesser Celandines.
Lesser Celandine Ficaria verna [1st Blue]
I had a quick walk around Boundary Fen to the left of the 13th on the Red, where a few flowers are starting to come up.
Field Forget-me-not Mysotis arvensis [Boundary Fen]
Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara [13th Red]
There are also a few interesting fungi growing on the rotting wood in the fen. These black things about the size of a golf ball grow on dead ash trees and are known as King Alfred's Cakes due to their resemblance to burnt buns.
King Alfred's Cakes Daldinia concentrica [13th Red]
Nearby this Turkeytail fungus was also growing on a dead log.
Turkeytail Trametes versicolor [Boundary Fen]
All over the Doghouse range and the Red course Field Mouse Ear is flowering. This is one of the most abundant and characteristic plants of the short rough at Frilford.
Field Mouse-ear Cerastium arvense [15th Red]
On the reservoir there were a couple of Gadwall.
Gadwall [Reservoir]
Coal Tits, Blue tits and Great tits are quite vocal all over the estate.
Had a walk around the Red and Blue courses this morning. A few more plants to tick off for the year, although I'm learning that identification of a lot of species is far from straightforward. Bluebells are one flower that is fairly easy and a few are appearing on the left of the 13th on the Red.
Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta [13th Red]
This small shrub grows in some quantity on the the left of the 13th on the Red and I think that they are some sort of currant. I will go for Red Currant for the moment and will hopefully get further clues when they fruit.
Red Currant Ribes rubrum [13th Red]
I think that this is a Dove's Foot Cranesbill on the left of the 15th on the Blue:
Doves-foot Cranesbill Geranium molle [15th Blue]
I think that this is a Wood Forget-me-not on the left of the 13th Red.
Wood Forget-me-not Myosotis sylvatica [13th Red]
I think that this is Slender Speedwell on the 3rd on the Red.
Slender Speedwell Veronica filiformis [3rd Red]
This is definitely Field Mouse-ear - with the 15th on the Red in the background.
Field Mouse-ear Cerastium arvense [15th Red]
Not too much around bird-wise. A few more Swallows, four Tufted Duck on the pond by the 4th tee on the Blue and lots of Linnets in the gorse on the 5th and 15th Red, where I think that they nest.
Last weekend of lockdown, so had a long walk around all of the courses. A couple more flowers to add to the list. Field Mouse-ear is starting to flower on the edge of the 15th fairway on the Red.
Field Mouse-ear [15th Red]
Thale cress is a rather inconspicuous weed, but it is notable for being the first plant species to have its genome sequenced.
Thale Cress [5th Red]
I notice that the area to the right of the 10th tee on the Green is taped off. I would imagine that this is to protect the Maiden Pink which grows there and which is one of the rarest plants on the course. Look out for it from mid-June.
There were 4 species of birds of prey on a thermal above the 17th Blue - Red Kite, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Peregrine. The Peregrine was a long way up, but is just about identifiable from this heavily cropped image:
Peregrine [17th Blue]
Lots of Crossbills about still. I think that they must be nesting somewhere nearby as they are usually very early breeders. This male was by the greenkeeper's hut on the Blue.
Crossbill [16th Blue]
When feeding on pine cones they use their unusually shaped beak to prize apart to the cone and extract the seeds with their tongue.
4 Greylag Geese flew over the 4th on the Blue, including a white one at the back.
Otherwise I had distant views of the Kingfisher on the 1st/2nd/3rd of the Blue and the normal selection of common birds.
