The First Seven Days of February, 2024

This blog post is a relatively short one, covering just one visit out, and some garden observations.

Thursday, 1st February          Bluebell Arboretum, Smisby

The month got off to a bright start when I decided to make a visit to Bluebell Arboretum, Smisby, which is the first village you come to if you head directly north out of our home town of Ashby de la Zouch.

Bluebell Arboretum holds a sentimental attachment for me as it was the last place I visited with my mother before she died in 2004. Shortly after her death, I made a donation to the arboretum in her memory and, in return, I was offered a lifetime permit for Lindsay and I to visit the arboretum.

It had been a few years since I had last visited and, although the trees in the arboretum would be far from at their best, I thought that maybe I would find some interesting birds. I also felt the need for some quiet contemplation and was confident that the arboretum would be relatively devoid of people. This proved to be the case, but it was virtually devoid of birds too!

I resorted to photographing a bunch of Snowdrops.

Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) - Bluebell Arboretum

When I had last visited, my passion for dragonflies and damselflies had not yet developed. On this visit, I was pleased to note that there were small ponds which appeared to have very good potential for the Odonata. 

At one point a Robin came to introduce itself.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - Bluebell Wood

I did get a brief glimpse of a Moorhen disappearing into the undergrowth behind one of the ponds, but didn't manage any photos.

Having made a circuit of the arboretum, I found myself in need of the ablutions, so headed to the exit. Having done what needed to be done, I remembered that beyond the west end of the car park there was a lake and, in the past, it had been inhabited by a collection of ducks - clearly imported and pinioned. Out of curiosity, I started heading towards this when a voice called out "are you a tree man, or a birder" - it was the proprietor, Robert, and I stopped for a chat. He told me that, since his wife had died, he'd found that keeping the collection 'topped up' with birds had become difficult, and he'd allowed 'natural wastage' to occur. The only pinioned birds remaining were a pair of Pintail and a pair of Teal. 

I went to have a look, and found several ducks in the lake, including what were presumably the pinioned Pintail and Teal, but also included a few Shoveler and a pair of  Mandarin. Photography was difficult as there was a high chain-link fence in front of me, and other fencing intervening too in some areas.

Teal (Anas crecca) (male) - Bluebell Arboretum

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) (male) - Bluebell Arboretum

I know that I have said this before, but I sometimes find myself surprised by how thin the heads of some species of duck are when viewed from the front - or, in this case, from the back!

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) (female + male) - Bluebell Arboretum

Whereas the plumage of the male Mandarin is spectacular, I feel that the female Mandarin has a serene beauty.

To my mind, the drake Shoveler looked somewhat sinister as it swam away.

Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) (male) - Bluebell Arboretum

The drake Pintail is one of the most handsome of ducks.

Pintail (Anas acuta) (male) - Bluebell Arboretum

Pintail (Anas acuta) (female) - Bluebell Arboretum

I stopped to have another chat with Robert on my way back to the car and mentioned the Mandarins. Robert told me that he considered them a nuisance as he sometimes gets up to around fifty of them and they snaffle up any food that's put out before the other ducks can get to it. 

Bluebell Arboretum is now on my list of places to look for Odonata when the season comes around.

Friday, 2nd February          Garden

The visits by the female Blackcap are becoming less frequent, but we see her most days. She has a penchant for the blitzed peanut and lard mix that I make. Here she is, just about to pop into the jar (out of frame) containing that treat.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (female) - our garden

We are starting to get a few more sightings of Long-tailed Tits, but they are not easy to photograph as they are never still.

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) - our garden

Saturday, 3rd February          Garden

Greenfinches are continuing to pay frequent visits to the garden and, currently, their numbers are second only to that of Goldfinches, with up to six being seen at a time. I think that it was fellow blogger Sonjia (blog 'BREATHTAKING') who commented that the Greenfinches where she is in Portugal can be quite posessive and aggressive at the feeders, and I responded that this was not the case in our garden in my experience. I now find that I am having to reverse that statement as they are now exhibiting that sort of behaviour to their congeners as well as to other species. Here's one  that's on its own.

Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) (male) - our garden

Sunday, 4th February          Garden

We had been seeing a female Siskin on a daily basis for some time, and I had remarked to Lindsay that I wish she'd find a mate. On this day, she brought a male with her. I was unsure at first sighting as the crown was not as dark as males of the species that I'm used to seeing.

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (male) - our garden

Here are the two together on one of our feeders.

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (male + female) - our garden

Tuesday, 6th February          Garden

This was one of our better days for birds visiting the garden with 17 species being observed. However, only the male Siskin was photographed. I'm not too happy about showing photos of birds on feeders, but this is a somewhat clearer shot of the male of the species than others I have managed so far this winter.

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (male) - our garden

Wednesday, 7th February          Garden

I was away for most of the afternoon on a medical visit, but still managed to record 16 bird species putting a foot down in our garden, and took a few photos too.

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii) (male) - our garden

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) (female) - our garden

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (female) - our garden

 

This brings me to the end of this post. Busy times are ahead, so I may be away from Blogger for a while. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard