At the end of October I came to the sad realisation that I'd not been out for an excusion into nature with my camera since my return from the Isles of Scilly on 3rd October. The reasons for this were several, including processing hundreds of photos from the Scillies visit, maintenance jobs in the home and garden, and a seemingly endless chain of health related visits for both myself and Lindsay. The wet and windy weather did not help either, although the rain was much-needed after the dry summer.
Nevertheless, my camera was not totally idle during this time as I managed to get a few shots of visitors to the garden. We have started to some some of our much-loved winter visitors returning, and I am looking forward to more of them appearing with, hopefully, som better photo opportunities.
This post, therefore, will illustrate some of the highlights and some of the regular visitors to the garden in the month of October. The month started fairly slowly but bird sightings started to get more interesting as the month progressed.
Sunday, 9th October
Only twelve species of bird put a foot down in the garden this day (I don't record fly-overs) and there was nothing out of the ordinary so all I have to offer is a Blue Tit shot, taken whilst sitting at the desk in my study.
 |
Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) - garden on 9th October, 2022
|
Monday, 10th OctoberThe week got off to a grand start with our first sighting of Brambling for the autumn period. We see Bramblings occasionally in the garden most winters, usually between December and March, and this was the earliest date we have seen one on. I don't like showing photos of birds on feeders, but there will be a few exceptions to this ideal in this post as in some cases those are the only shots I got and I feel that they should appear 'for the record' - this was one of those occasions.
 |
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) (male) - garden on 10th October, 2022
|
Sunday, 16th OctoberNuthatch rarely visits our garden, so I was delighted to see one this day. It took me a while to make my mind up as to whether to include the second shot below because of the soft focus and blurred movement, but decided to do so on the basis that, for me, it captures the zooming nature of this bird when it's not bumbling up and down a tree trunk.
 |
Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) - garden on 16th October, 2022
|
Tuesday, 18th OctoberUp until the middle of October, we had gone a quite long while without being visited by a Sparrowhawk, but we were now starting to think that one was making a nuisance of itself in the garden. On this day, a male Sparrowhawk arrived and landed on one of the feeder trays (sorry - another shot of a bird on a feeder!).
 |
| Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - garden on 18th October, 2022 |
Wednesday, 19th October
For us, this was an utterly remarkable day in that we had a pair of Nuthatch visit. I don't recall this ever happening before in our garden. This did give me some photo opportunities. The third image is in there because photos of Nuthatch seem to rarely capture that wonderful spotting on their backsides. I may have gone a bit overboard with the Nuthatch images, but I feel that I want to show just how versatile they are with their ability to travel in any direction on a tree trunk.
 |
| Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) - garden on 1th October, 2022 |
We have not seen a Nuthatch since this day.
Saturday, 22nd October
A male Blackcap visited this day - our first for the autumn, and another bird that does not usually show up until December or January, with the earliest previous garden sighting being 22nd November in 2020. Sadly, I did not manage any photos of it.
In recent years, we have had one particular fungus grow in our lawn which I find to be rather attractive. This year it has been more abundant than in past years. I am relatively confident that this is Oily Waxcap.
 |
Oily Waxcap (Hygrocybe quieta) - garden on 22nd October, 2022
|
Monday, 24th October
Earlier in the year, we had been seeing Bullfinch on a daily basis but, in the past few months, we'd not seen one, so the appearance of a female Bullfinch on this day was most welcome. The same can be said for Stock Dove which, again, appeared for the first time in a long while on this day. I only got very poor shots of the Bullfinch, and none of the Stock Dove
The moth trap went out this night, for the first time in over two months. It was a slim catch of 13 moths of 9 species, with nothing particularly exciting in the catch, although Red-green Carpet was a first for the garden.
 |
| Juniper Carpet (Thera juniperata) - from garden moth trap on 24th October, 2022 |
 |
| Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata) - from garden moth trap on 24th October, 2022 |
Wednesday, 26th October
On this day, it was a female Sparrowhawk that caused a stir in the garden.
 |
| Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (female) - garden on 26th October, 2022 |
Thursday, 27th October
The male Blackcap returned, and this time I did get some photos, although not great.
 |
Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (male) - garden on 27th October, 2022
|
Friday, 28th October
The female Bullfinch was still visiting us on a daily basis, although she was still reluctant to present herself in a photographable position.
 |
| Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (female) - garden on 28th October, 2022 |
Saturday, 29th October
At this time of year, we tend to get sizeable groups of Starling visiting the garden. Initially it's fun to behold, but they do wear a bit thin after a while as they are very noisy, put off the other birds, and cost us a small fortune in bird food. We are, therefore, usually somewhat relieved when they go off to form into huge murmurating groups elsewhere. We are currently getting groups of around 30-40 birds. Here are a few of them pillaging the suet pellets.
 |
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - garden on 29th October, 2022
|
The butterfly season is at a close, so we were surprised to see this Red Admiral on the Pieris this day.
 |
Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) - garden on 29th October, 2022
|
I mentioned in a note to friend David in Canada that I was expecting this to be my last sighting of Red Admiral for the year, unless I happened upon a hibernating one (they like to overwinter in outbuildings). However, we had one visit the flowers high up on our Viburnum on 3rd November - sadly, too high up to photograph on that occasion.
This brings me to the end of my account of my October garden observations. I am pleased to report that I did get out with my camera on 4th November - the first time in a month - so I guess that my next blog post will feature that visit and, hopefully, a subsequent one or two?
Thank you for your visit. Please take good care of yourselves and Nature - - - Richard
The first few birds you have here, we also have in the garden, but then I have never seen a Brambling, Black Cap or a Bullfinch. I have in fact seen a Black Cap out walking but not in the garden. We never used to get Starlings, but I did see more this year despite not having much fruit on our trees!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful moths and a surprise Red Admiral.
Keep warm and take care. Very best wishes to you both. Diane
We usually get a good few visits by Bullfinch through the year, Diane, but Blackcap and Brambling usually only visit during the winter half of the year and are only occasional visitors, but all three are thrilling to see.
DeleteWe're being a lot more cautious with our energy consumption, and wearing extra layers of clothing in the house to keep warm. So far we're doing just fine, but we haven't had any really cold weather yet. I hope that you are doing OK too.
Best wishes to you and Nigel - - - Richard
I forgot to mention that I was intrigued by Oily Waxcap a new one on me. D
DeleteIt's not mentioned in my fungus book, Diane, but I was pointed towards waxcap by a friend, and an on-line facility gave me an ID that I am comfortable with.
DeleteHello Richard :=)
ReplyDeleteLovely Nuthatch captures, I wish they would visit my balcony, but I do see the Blackcaps and very often a Sparrowhawk perches on the railing. The Brambling is a lovely bird, and you captured its beauty in the sunlight. I enjoyed seeing the moths and unseasonable Red Admiral which I haven't seen for a while now.
Thank you for yet another beautiful garden post.
Keep well and my best wishes from Portugal.
Thank you for visiting and your kind comments, Sonjia. We are currently getting too many appearances of a female Sparrowhawk and fewer birds are visitng the garden as, I guess, they think it too dangerous.
DeleteI hope that all is good there - we're doing OK here. Stay safe - - - Richard
Hi Richard! Great observations.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne.
DeleteHello Richard, fantastic all those vissitors in your garden. The Sparrowhawk is spectacular! But what made me smile was seeing the photo with all those Starlings fighting over seeds and other goodies.
ReplyDeleteAmazing birds.
Regards from over the Channel
Roos
The Starlings were entertaining, Roos, but in the end we decided to reduce the amount of food we put out for them (they were favouring berry-filled suet pellets - which the other birds were largely ignoring) as they were making things unpleasant for the other birds.
DeleteBest wishes from England, where autumn has truly arrived. Stay safe - - - Richard
Hi Richard: If you can't get out and about then the garden seems like a pretty good alternative! Lots of great pictures here and a wide variety of subjects. The Starlings are very attractive but as you point out can be a little overhwelming for other species, especially smaller one. Ironically, they seldom come to our yard even though it is a very comon bird around here. I won't complain! You no doubt have mixed feelings about the Sparrowhawks, but I think there is always a sense of high drama that accompanies a raptor. Take good care. Best wishes to Lindsay - David
ReplyDeleteI didn't want to totally disenfranchise the Starlings, David, but numbers seemed to be building up steadily and there was one particular foodstuff that seemed particularly attractive to them and largely ignored by the other birds, so I withdrew that food. However, I may have overdone it as we have not seen a Starling for a couple of days now - and I'm missing them.
DeleteUnlike Lindsay, I'm quite happy to have a Sparrowhawk visit, unless it takes a 'star' bird (I suspect our female Bullfinch that was visiting several times a day went in that direction). A little like the Starling situation, it does get to be a bit unwelcome when one starts visiting several times a day.
Best wishes to you both - - - Richard
Really sorry to hear about the endless reason for your absence of nature excursions Richard, but good to have another enjoyable tour around the garden. Brambling, Nuthatch, Bullfinch, are all definite no's in our garden, and I feel a greenish colour coming on.
ReplyDeleteKind Regards from up'tnorth.
Things aren't too bad, Pete, and I managed to get out again yesterday for a short while, although I saw virtually nothing - would probably have seen more if I'd stayed in our conservatory!
DeleteBest wishes from middle England - - - Richard
Fantastic Richard, the Brambling , the Nuthatch in its upside down, and the Sparrowhawk, I love all of birds.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bob. I am very thankful for our garden. Best wishes - stay safe - - - Richard
DeletePerspective is a funny old thing.
ReplyDeleteMany of your readers often state that a day out in nature for them would be to visit your garden. Your opening photograph is introduced as "... all I have to offer is a Blue Tit shot". Some of us would be thrilled at spotting such a handsome bird! For me, there is no such thing as going "overboard with Nuthatch images"! They are such unique birds.
Thank you for giving equal time to what many consider "unwelcome guests" in the garden, starlings and hawks. All beautiful in their own way.
Rounding out the post with fungi, moths and that outstanding Red Admiral and you may now include me among the legion of nature lovers prepared to book a space in the Pegler Garden!
Gini and I empathize completely with you and Lindsay regarding those seemingly endless medical appointments! Other than that, all here is good! Have a wonderful weekend.
Thank you for brightening a dull-weather day with your comments, Wally - I now have a grin on my face.
DeleteI am, increasingly, finding myself thinking that I stand more chance of seeing and photographing something interesting by sitting in my study or conservatory at home, than if I go out into the local countryside. There are places that are more productive that I could visit, but these are further from my home and require more than two or three consecutive hours of available time - something that I'm hard-pressed to find lately!
Best wishes to you and Gini - - - Richard