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

The Last Ten Days of January, 2024

Much of my time so far this year, as in the latter part of 2023, has been spent on domestic duties, having to take on much of Lindsay's share, due to her relative incapacity. Towards the end of the month, I started to feel that I needed to get out more, if only for short spells, in order to regain some of my sanity. This resulted in me visting four local locations on three separate days. At no time was I away from home for more than two hours.

The first part of this period resulted in sightings of very common species. However, things warmed up a little in the last few days of January.

Monday, 22nd January          Garden

Although we had the pleasure of Siskin and Blackcap females visiting this day, the only photos I took were of a Blackbird. Although a common species, we have seen a worrying decline over the past couple of years in the numbers of this bird visiting our garden. This female is on the edge of our birdbath, before taking a drink.

Blackbird (Turdus merula) (female) - our garden

Friday, 26th January          Garden  :  Saltersford Valley Country Park  :  Oakthorpe

The Siskin and Blackcap were still with us but, again, no photos. I did, however, manage to grab a few shots of a Wren from my study window. As you can see, it had been a while since I last tidied up the garden!

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - our garden

That afternoon, I took some time out, heading to Saltersford Valley Country Park. On my previous visit, I had found the boardwalk section of the area closed off, due to flooding. I was disappointed to find this area was still closed off - with no reason visible. I did take a walk round the remainder of the area that was open and saw very little of interest, only photographing a confiding Robin, and a distant Coot.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - Saltersford Valley CP

Coot (Fulica atra) - Saltersford Valley CP

Being a little dischuffed with my visit to Saltersford Valley, and having only been out for a short while, I set off to visit the nearby location, by Oakthorp, where I'd recently seen the Yellow-browed Warbler and more recently photographed Fieldfare, in the hope of getting better Fieldfare images. I only saw one Fieldfare in the distance, which fled when a couple with a dog passed by it. I did, however, spot a Goldcrest, and spent about half an hour trying to photograph it, but failing miserably. The best that I could do was get a couple of record shots of it in flight.

 

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) - near Oakthorpe

It was then time to head back to Lindsay, only 10 minutes away.

 

Saturday 27th January          Donisthorpe Woodland

The following day I paid a short visit to Donisthorpe Woodland, just down the road from home. Part of this area is alongside a now isolated section of the old Ashby Canal. I passed alongside the canal for a while, only spotting a Mallard on the far side of the canal and a Great Tit in the edge of the woodland, opposite the canal.

Great Tit (Parus major) - Donisthorpe Woodland

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) (male)

I then took a circuitous route which took me along the edge of the Moira Furnace site, and then back to my car. I saw disappointingly little during my walk, only stopping to photograph some teazels, a Blackbird, and another Great Tit, which I shan't bother you with here.

 

Teasels are the dead flowerheads of plants of the genus Dipsacus. They are still used by some people for carding wool but, for me, they are an architecturally atractive plant

Teasel (Dipsacus sp.) - Donisthorpe Woodland

Blackbird (Turdus merula) (male) -Donisithorpe Woodland

Sunday, 28th January          Garden  :  Longmoor Lake

This was a good day for visits by birds to our garden, with 18 species setting a foot down. These included 8 Long-tailed Tits - always fun to watch.

 

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) - our garden

Most exciting, however, was the appearance of a Reed Bunting. We last saw this species in the garden in February 2023, when a female visited. These shots were taken from my studty window.

 

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) (male) - our garden

That afternoon, I made a quick visit to Longmoor Lake. This lake is situated in the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Wood, which is close to our home. In the early days of this wood, when the trees were mere saplings, the area was good for birds, including Barn Owl and Tawny Owl.  However, the trees have grown rapidly, and are so densely placed that it seems to have made it unattractive to the birds. I saw virtually nothing until I reached the lake, some one and a half kilometres from the car park.

I spent a few minutes in the hide and saw that Canada Geese and Greylag  Geese were there in good numbers, as were Wigeon. I took some photos from the hide but didn't stop long as my time was limited.

 

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Longmoor Lake

Greylag Goose (Ansa ansa) - Longmoor Lake

I then walked to the far end of the lake, taking a few more photos as I went.

Wigeon (Anas penelope) (male + female) - Longmoor Lake

I went a little beyond the far end of the lake, before turning back. Immediately I did so, some Long-tailed Tits moved through the hedge beside me. The light was poor, but I did manage a shot that is just about useable. 

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) -by Longmoor Lake

On the way back, dusk was beginning to fall. I photographed an immature Mute Swan that looked as if it was hoping that I'd feed it, but it soon gave up.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) (immature) - Longmoor Lake

It was that time of the afternoon when the geese decide that it is time to return to their night roosts. There is plenty of warning when this is going to happen as their calls build up to a very noisy crescendo before they take off in groups.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Longmoor Lake

I took a shorter route back to my car, arriving home at the expected time.

Tuesday, 30th January          Staunton Harold

It was only two days before I managed another brief trip out, prompted by a report of a Cattle Egret in a pasture with sheep, opposite the hall at Staunton Harold, and less than ten minutes from our home.

 

Having parked my car, I walked up the road past the sheep pasture, and a little further, before turning back without seeing the egret. Arriving at the public footpath that leaves the road and goes uo the hill through the pasture, I decided to give it a try in case the bird was skulking over the brow of the hill - it wasn't.

As I descended on this footpath, I scanned over the nearby lake, looking at the swans and gulls that were on the grass on the far side of the lake - and there, to my surprise, was the egret, at the water's edge, in a position where it would be clearly visible from the road that leads to the hall.

As I crossed the causeway between the two lakes, I took a shot of a Coot.

Coot (Fulica atra) - Staunton Harold

A little further on, the road takes a curve to the right that brings it closer to the lake, and the egret was clearly visible from there. I got in quite a few shots before it decided to return to where it had originally been seen - the sheep pasture. You may be able to detect that this bird is showing a hint of colour on the forehead - the start of breeding plumage.

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) - Staunton Harold

Given more time, I would have walked up the road to take some photos of it in the sheep pasture, but I needed to get back to base to check that all was OK with Lindsay.

 

No photography was attempted on the last day of the month, although we had a good number of birds visiting the garden.

Currently, I have no idea when my next blog post will be as we have a plethora of medical visits coming up in the next fortnight, culminating, if all goes to plan, with Lindsay having a second replacement knee on 12th February. I can see that I'm going to be rather busy for a while!

In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard

New Forest, 2023:- Pt.1 - 7th-8th July

This year, we returned to The New Forest in Hampshire for a family vacation. Lindsay and I were joined by our daughter, Melanie, and granddaughter Georgie for the duration. We stayed at a place just outside Lyndhurst, where we have been fortunate enough to stay on three previous occasions.

A few days before our departure on 7th July,  the long-term weather forecast indicated that we were not in for a good weather week. This is how the stay unfolded - this first instalment is, I'm afraid, a rather long one!

Friday, 7th July          Ashby de la Zouch to Lyndhurst ; Cadnam Common ; Eyeworth Pond

Lindsay and I  left home at 09.50, with the satnav set to 'avoid motorways' to give us a more countrified and leisurely journey.  Our route was a familiar one to us and included a lunch stop at one of our favourite places to eat  - the White Hart in Ashton Keynes, which is near the source of the River Thames. We arrived at 13.45, and both of us had their excellent Ploughman's Lunch which consisted of two types of cheese, pork pie, a hard-boiled egg, ham, salad, coleslaw, two types of pickle, and three different warm crusty breads.

Afterwards, it is our norm to have a short walk beside the Thames, but Lindsay didn't fee up to it on this occasion, so I went alone. There are usually a few damselflies around but I  only had a fleeting glimpse of one unidentified blue damselfly.

You might be surprised at how small the Thames is at this point.

 

River Thames - Ashton Keynes

Our onward journey was equally slow and, due to the main road being closed because of an accident, involved a long diversion down a narrow country lane behind a vehicle with a trailer that had to stop every time we met something coming in the opposite direction.

We arrived at Japonica Cottage, our home for the next seven nights, at 17.30. Our daughter and granddaughter, who had travelled separately and taken a totally different route, arrived just five minutes after we did.

Once we were all settled in, because it was a beautiful sunny evening and possibly the last we'd get. I went out to try and find some dragonflies at Cadnam Common. Being a little unfamiliar with this place, which is quite complex in its layout, having parked my car, I decided to what3words its location so that I could find it again. If you are not familiar with what3words it's a app which can specify an exact location (to within a metre?) anywhere on the planet with a unique combination of three words, and provide directions to get to that point. You can probably imagine my amazement when the what3words for my car's position came up as 'dragonfly.confident.dwelled' !

On my way to the pond, I saw a couple of large hawker dragonflies interacting high up in a distant tree then lost them. At the pond I initially only saw a couple of Emperor dragonflies that were zooming around at high speed. I tried for about 15 minutes to get some flight shots as they were not settling, and failed. I gave up, and made a circuit of the pond, only finding a Broad-bodied Chaser.

 

Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa) (male) - Cadnam Common

I then went back to keep an eye on the Emperors, and noted that one looked as if it wanted to settle. After half an hour, it did, but not in a very good position. 

 

Emperor (Anax imperator) (male) - Cadnam Common

The evening was still relatively young, and I  didn't want an evening meal, so I decided to head off to Eyeworth Pond to see what might be around. As I was walking back to my car at Cadnam Common, I noticed that the 'heather' flowers were attractive to bees.

 

Cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix) - Cadnam Common

Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) - Cadnam Common

Arriving at Eyeworth Pond, I found that, sadly, the bright low evening sun was in the totally wrong direction for the only accessible side of the pond. I did take a few photos, but nothing special was observed or photographed. 

 

By the dam end of the pond there were a couple of ponies grazing. Here is one of them.

 

New Forest Pony - Eyeworth Pond

On the opposite side of the track to the pond, there was a small water-filled gully, and a Blue-tailed Damselfly was ovipositing there. The sunlight was a bit strong and horizontal for a good shot.

 

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (female, f. rufescens) Eyeworth Pond

I wandered back to the car as a family that had been having a picnic just a short way from the car park were packing their car ready to depart. One of them kindly informed me that he'd been surprised to find Sundew beside where they'd been sitting. I went to have a look but found nothing, but I did take some photos of a bright yellow flower which, I believe, is Bog Asphodel.

Bog Asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum) - by Eyeworth Pond

It was only when processing my photos, more than a week after this, that I found that I'd actually taken a shot that evening which, unbeknown to me at the time, included Sundew lurking in a corner !!! The most likely candidate (thanks to Conehead54) is Round-leaved Sundew.

Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia?)  - by Eyeworth Pond

It was then time to head back to base and have a relaxing rest of the evening with the girls.

 

As it was a fine evening, I spent a little time sitting in the garden with a glass of cider. This is the view of our cottage from my position.

 

Japonica Cottage - New Forest

We turned in rather late for Lindsay and I,  at about 23.00.

Saturday, 8th July          Keyhaven Marshes ; Crockford Stream

The day started dull, and it was soon raining. However, the forecast said that the rain would stop locally by mid morning. It also suggested that Keyhaven, on the south coast, would be relatively dry this day. Keyhaven is a place that I have visited twice before and can be an interesting place for finding birds. As the day looked as if it would be a dead loss for looking for dragonflies, this is where I  went.

I set off from base at about 10.20 after the rain had stopped, and arrived at my chosen parking place near Keyhaven at 10.50. From here I had a quite productive walk, and found myself photographing mainly birds and butterflies, with butterflies being the main subjects as I started out from the car park and headed for the sea wall.

 

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) (adults + young) - Keyhaven Marshes

Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) - Keyhaven Marshes

Peacock (Aglais io) - Keyhaven Marshes

On reaching the sea wall, I took the lower path that runs to the west, adjacent to the two lagoons. At Fishtail Lagoon I was, initially, confused by several ducks on the water. However, the penny dropped and I realised that, for the first time, I was seeing juvenile Shelduck, and in good numbers too.

 

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) (juvenile) - Keyhaven Marshes

Black-tailed Godwit on the island of the lagoon were mainly asleep, but one that wasn't seemed to be trying to be inconspicuous.

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) - Keyhaven Marshes

I continued on the lower track, photographing a few other items as I went.

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) (female) - Keyhaven Marshes

Parsley Water-dropwort (Oenanthe lachenalii) - Keyhaven Marshes

Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) (female) - Keyhaven Marshes

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) (male) - Keyhaven Marshes

On reaching Keyhaven Lagoon, I was pleased to find one of my two target species present - Avocet. It would seem that they've had some breeding success this year.

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) - Keyhaven Marshes

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) (immature) - Keyhaven Marshes

My other target species was Little Tern. However, I was informed by a local birdwatcher that these had transferred to Normandy Pool at the eastern end of the reserve.

 

Here are a couple of the supporting cast on Keyhaven Lagoon.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Keyhaven Marshes

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) - Keyhaven Marshes

I had about two hours here before heading back to my car. More butterflies were seen from the path to the car park although I failed, after fifteen minutes or so of attempts, to photograph a Marbled White. I saw many Gatekeepers and they were all male, with the dark 'sex brand' on the upper side of the forewing.

 

Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) (male) - Keyhaven Marshes

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) - Keyhaven Marshes

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) - Keyhaven Marshes

 

My plan was to have my picnic lunch at the Hatchet Moor car park and then possibly go and meet up with the girls as I'd promised them that I'd be back in time to take our granddaughter to the ice cream shop in Lyndhurst before 16.00. However, while eating my lunch there, I  got a message to say that they'd already been for an ice cream. This gave me a change of plan - I'd head a couple of km down the road and visit Crockford Stream, which is reckoned to be one of the best dragonfly spots in England.

 

There are five species of odonata that can almost be guaranteed here at this time of year, and are not likely to be found near my home, and these are Beautiful Demoiselle, Southern Damselfly, Small Red Damselfly, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, and Keeled Skimmer.

As I  parked my car, it started raining quite heavily. Fortunately the rain only lasted for about ten minutes, so I collected up my kit and set off for the stream. It was dull and breezy to start with, but things settled down a bit and it got sunnier and warmer. However, photography was not easy as things were blowing around in the breeze.

I had about three hours at Crockford stream and, with improving weather, it did not disappoint.

Beautiful Demoiselle is a gorgeous damselfly and, to my mind, although very different, both sexes are equally attractive. There were plenty of males around. Females, however are harder to find.

Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) (female) - Crockford Stream

Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) (male) - Crockford Stream

Both sexes have a habit of flicking open their wings occasionally, and I just managed to catch this with a male.

 

Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) (male) - Crockford Stream

I also managed some video of this behaviour.

 

The Southern Damselfly is very similar to other blue damselflies, but has distinguishing markings on the second segment of the abdomen. It is a rare and very localised species with two main strongholds - the New Forest and a location in Wales - and a few lesser colonies elsewhere. I only found males on this occasion.

 

Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale) (male) - Crockford Stream

The Small Red Damselfly is also a little rare, and I felt lucky to find this species as it has a reputation of shunning breezy weather.

 

Small Red Damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum) (male+female in cop)- Crockford Stream

Small Red Damselfly (Ceriagrion tenellum) (male)- Crockford Stream

I did take a break at one point to have a chat with a group of four people which included Paul Ritchie. It was Paul who originally introduced me to Crockford Stream six years ago, when I hired his services as a dragonfly guide. I believe Paul still offers guided dragonfly visits in the New Forest, and I strongly recommend his services so, if you are heading that way, do take a look at http://www.hampshiredragonflies.co.uk/

 

After our chat, I spent a short time away from the stream and went to seek out a butterfly target - Silver-studded Blue. This is a relatively rare butterfly in UK and has a strange relationship with ants, which is too complex to go into in this blog post. I found some, but they were mainly well worn, and difficult to photograph as they were in an open area where the breeze was quite strong.

Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus) (male) - near Crockford Stream

Back at the stream I was photographing Keeled Skimmer, which were around in good numbers. The female keeled skimmer is a beauty to behold, looking (from above) as if she is made of the purest gold. Sadly, the only female I found on this occasion was too busy with other matters to show anything but her underside!

 

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens) (male) - Crockford Stream

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens) (male+female in cop) - Crockford Stream

The real icing on the cake was finding a Golden Ringed Dragonfly that was photographable. I'd seen one soon after I had arrived, but it flashed past and was lost. This one was perching. It did fly occasionally but came back to the same spot. I have found this species to be particularly confiding as far as close-up photography is concerned.

 

Golden-ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii) (male) - Crockford Stream

All my target species had been seen, and it was time to head back to base. 

My timing was good as, soon after my return to base, it started to rain and continued to do so for most of the evening.

 

In spite of forecasts for poor weather, the week was getting off to a promising start.

 

 

Thank you for staying with it up to this point. Part 2 should be considerably shorter and will probably appear, as usual, in about week's time. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature - - - - Richard