Calke Unbottled Again - 22nd March, 2024

Before I dive into the meat of this blog post, I'd just like to give an update on matters in the Pegler household. My regular readers will know that Lindsay has been going through a rough time this past eighteen months. This was due to a knee replacement that didn't go according to plan, leading to a drastic failure of her other knee which was compensating for the first one. We had to have her second knee replaced privately in February as it was looking like a two year waiting list for it to be done under our National Health Service. Couple this with a painfully arthritic hip which is also booked for a replacement, she has been through a lot. However, things are very much on the up, and her mobility and comfort are increasing day by day.

You may also have noticed that there has been the occasional reference by some of my followers to my own condition. I will explain.

Early in October, I sought medical advice on some problems I was having, which turned out to be sciatica. However, during that consultation, some of my symptoms, including weight loss, raised the possibility of me having cancer. This was obviously a great worry, particularly as I was concerned about the continuity of me being able to look after Lindsay in her state of disability. It took a month for me to be given an appointment for an x-ray to investigate the situation and the results were inconclusive. It was then decided that I needed an ultrasound scan. This resulted in nearly another month of delay for an appointment that I attended, only to be told that they couldn't do the scan because someone had forgotten to tell me that I had to fast for six hours beforehand. It was another six weeks before they could give me another appointment. When the scan came through, they showed a thickening of the liver and gallbladder and I was told that cancer could still not be ruled out.  I was then advised that I needed a CT scan. The appointment came through for 12th February. After the scan I was told that it would take two to three weeks for the results to come through. By this time I was getting considerably uncomfortable - both physically and mentally. When they did come through, I was relieved to be told that I probably did not have cancer, but that I had calcification of the gallbladder and gall stones too. I was given an appointment with a surgeon on 11th March who said that there was no sign of cancer, but that I needed to have my gallbladder removed. This was, of course, great news. The operation is now scheduled for late April and, if all goes to plan, should be via keyhole surgery, with me being discharged the same day. I am now quite relaxed mentally but, because the pain had greatly increased in the past four weeks and was interfering with my sleep and making me feel quite ill, am now on painkillers and anti-inflammatories.

Because of all of the above, my excursions out have all been quite short and to places requiring the minimum of physical exertion.

This blog post concerns one of those excursions where I did a reasonable amount of walking, but all on the flat. 

Friday, 22nd March          Staunton Harold  :  Calke Park

A fine weather afternoon was forecast, and I felt the need for some bird photography, with one or both of the hides at Calk Park being my chosen destination.

Due to a long-term road closure a long diversion was in place, but I managed to short-cut this by passing through the grounds of Staunton Harold. It occurred to me that, while I did so, I could call in to see if the Cattle Egret was still here. When I got to the location, I found that the sheep had all gone and there was no sign of the Cattle Egret, which had favoured the sheep pasture.

My route then took me to a corner from which it is possible to walk into Calke Park. A few hundred metres up the lane from the gate was where I once had a Little Owl site. My last sighting of an owl here was in July 2015 when I took Canadian friends Miriam and David there, and Miriam was the first to spot an owl. Sadly, on this day, I found that the tree that had been occupied by the owls had totally decayed to nothing. The nearby wet area which sometimes hosts Mandarin Duck was also devoid of any birds.

I returned to my car and drove round to the main entrance to Calke Park, parked in the Calke Explore car park, and trotted off to the nearby hide. As I approached the hide, I found my first hoverfly of the year, on the boardwalk - a Tapered Dronefly.

Tapered Dronefly (Eristalis pertinax) (male) - Calke Park

There were just two people (a couple) in the hide when I arrived and they turned out to be amiable companions. There were plenty of birds visible from the hide - mainly of common species. I was soon exercising my shutter finger.

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) (male) - Calke Park

I had not been in the hide long, when one of my companions drew my attention to a Water Rail that was approaching down the watercourse that passes near to the hide. I will now be giving you a bit of an overload of Water Rail images, as this is a species that I do not often get the opportunity to photograph, and this was probably my best ever views of a Water Rail.

Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) - Calke Park

There is something magical and enchanting about the movement of a Water Rail, and so I was pleased to get some video from this session too.

Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) - Calke Park

Eventually the Water Rail departed whence it came, and I settled in to photographing the other birds.

Robin put in a few appearances.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - Calke Park

I have a soft spot for Dunnocks. The markings on the face are beautiful, although they do not show so well in these images.

Dunnock (Prunella modularis) - Calke Park

Reed Bunting (male and female) made frequent visits. My personal preference in the beauty stakes is for the female.

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) (male) - Calke Park

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) (female) - Calke Park

Five species of tit were seen, but I failed to get shots of Coal Tit and Long-tailed Tit. 

Great Tit (Parus major) - Calke Park

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) - Calke Park

I was most excited, however, to see that Marsh Tits were doing well here. This Red-listed species is considered, locally, to be an "uncommon resident breeder".

Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris) - Calke Park

It was approaching 4 p.m. and the low sun behind the hide caused a shadow to be cast in front of the hide that covered much of the area where photographs might be taken. It was now time to leave, but I did photograph one of the squirrels that was, from time to time, arriving and scattering the birds from the area.

Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) - Calke Park

It had been a most enjoyable and rewarding afternoon out, and I came back feeling invigorated.

I believe that my next blog post will be a mop-up of some of my other March observations. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard