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

Local Observations - 14th to 23rd September, 2023

Header image (while this post is current) - Snipe - Kelham Bridge on 15th September, 2023 

This post, mostly prepared before our departure to the Isles of Scilly, takes my account of my local obesrvations up to the day we departed. It will be a relatively short one when compared to my previous two posts.

Thursday, 14th September          Garden

The male Sparrowhawk was making increasingly frequent visits to the garden. The overall effect was that the number of birds visiting the garden was dropping significantly - through their avoidance of the predator, rather than actual predation. Here was one of its visits on this day

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - our garden

Friday, 15th September          Kelham Bridge Nature Reserve  :  Garden

An on-line friend had seen and photographed a Grass Snake at Kelham Bridge NR. I am rather fond of snakes so decided that this day, which was quite bright and sunny after some very wet weather,  would be a good time to visit and see if I had any luck.

I arrived at the parking area and nearly gave up there and then as there were already eight cars parked there. I usually find somewhere between zero and two cars when I get there. I decided to risk it anyway, thinking the cars might belong to dog-walkers or to members of a work-party.

Just through the gate,  I stopped to photograph a Common Darter.

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (female) - Kelham Bridge NR

Half way along the path to the first hide, I met a camera-porting fellow who advised me that the second hide was rammed full with people hoping to photograph Kingfisher and Grass Snake, but that they were seeing nothing and were unlikely to because of all the noise and vibration coming from the hide. He advised me to go to the first hide where there was some action, albeit at a distance, and that there was only a lady photographer there. This proved to be sound advice.

I arrived at the hide to find it just as he'd said, and parked myself on the left-hand side, where I had a good view of the right-hand edge of the pool in front of the hide.

A Moorhen was dabbling in front of the hide.

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) - Kelham Bridge NR

 A Snipe was showing well in the same area.

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Kelham Bridge NR

Two Green Sandpipers were in front of the hide too. They were soon joined by another Snipe. I have often wondered how the 'green' aspect of the name originated, but can find no reference to this.

Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) - Kelham Bridge NR

A Snipe had a preening session which resulted in a wonderful spray of water. I tried to video this after taking these stills, but the action was not repeated.

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Kelham Bridge NR

A Heron came into view from behind the island.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - Kelham Bridge NR

I now realise that I have a fascination with Snipe, as I cannot resist photographing them, so here is another shot.

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Kelham Bridge NR

I also got some better shots of Green Sandpiper, although they remained a little too distant for good results.

Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) - Kelham Bridge NR

I'd been in the hide for about an hour and the person that had been in the hide when I arrived had departed about half an hour previously and gone to try her luck in the second hide. I thought that it was time that I did likewise, hoping to see some dragonflies on the trail between the two hides. In the event, I only found a few more Common Darters. 

The second hide was absolutely full, with people standing and waiting for a turn at the windows. There was a lot of conversation going on too. It seems that there was nothing on view except a couple of Mute Swans. I didn't bother trying to enter but exchanged a few pleasantries with people I knew there before departing after a couple of minutes.

Back at the first hide, I found it deserted and settled in for another session. Little happened, but I did get some more shots of Snipe, with two of them in the frame and then a record shot with four of them in frame.

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Kelham Bridge NR

I took some shots of two Moorhen.

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) - Kelham Bridge NR

For some reason, I decided to take some video. I was glad that I did as I find this clip quite amusing, as it seems to show a male attempting to mate with a female and then trying to look nonchalant having been rejected.

After a while, a group from the second hide arrived. Shortly after their arrival, Paul Burton (a thoroughly good guy that I have known for years) alerted us to a Water Rail starting to show at the end of the island. I just managed to raise my camera as it flew, and was lucky enough to get a shot.

Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) - Kelham Bridge NR

With the second hide now starting to fill, It was time for me to go.

A relaxed late-afternoon meal in our conservatory gave me the opportunity to photograph a Dunnock which was causing us some concern as it looked a little puffed up. It was also not very alert to human presence. It was not seen again after a few days later.

Dunnock (Prunella modularis) - our garden

Magpies are daily visitors as I write this, and have been observed seeing off the male Sparrowhawk!

Magpie (Pica pica) - our garden

Wednesday, 20th September          Garden

 

The male Sparrowhawk was continuing to be a threat to our avian visitors.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - our garden

Thursday, 21st September          Garden

Jackdaws are usually quite timid visitors to our garden, departing at high speed as soon as they detect movement from the house. I was, therefore, extremely surprised when a Jackdaw landed on the outside windowsill of my study and peared at me from less than a metre away. It stayed there for some time, walking along the windowsill and looking in.

 

Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) - our garden

Saturday, 23rd September          Garden

 

Lindsay can always ID a Robin, even if it is only showing in silhouette or facing away from us. She says it's the legs that give it away. In the second image, below, taken from my study window, I can see what she means!

 

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - our garden

 

All things being equal, my next blog post, probably in about a week's time, will feature the first part of my account of our recent adventures on the Isles of Scilly.

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

 

 

Calke Park with the New Camera - on 24th March, 2023

On 24th March I had a short session with the new camera at Calke Park. Being in the hide gave me a good variety of lighting conditions and background situations, plus an almost endless stream of birds, enabling me to get in some much-needed practice with the new equipment. I was delighted with the results, although some problems were discovered, and later resolved.

The owl sculpture just before the hide at Calke Explore, although a little on the naive side, is weathering nicely. I just managed to squeze it all in with the lens wound back to 100mm and turning the camera into portrait orientation - something that I don't think I've done for many years.

Owl Sculpture - Calke Explore

I was fortunate to find a space in the hide, and that someone had had the foresight to bring some suet pellets with them, as it seems that the feeders in front of the hide are not being replenished at the moment.

There were a few Reed Buntings in the area, both male and female, and these were not too difficult to photograph. The female, in the first image, was quite close to the hide, but the male in the second image was way behind.

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

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

There were also a few Nuthatches to keep me entertained, but they were not so easy to photograph as they habitually zoom in, grab food and then zoom away again.  One did, however, briefly stop quite close!

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) - Calke Park

During the next five minutes, I took some more shots, two of which I offer below.

 

Coal Tit (Periparus ater) - Calk Park

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

It was then that a minor calamity struck. A Water Rail - always exciting to see - wandered into view and I started firing off shots, only to find that my camera suddenly stopped and refused to take any more shots. There was a message to say that the card was full. This puzzled me as the camera has two card slots and I thought that I had set it up so that it automatically switched to the second card. By the time I found a workaround, the Water Rail had gone. I had, however, managed a few shots before I hit the stops.

 

Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) - Calke Park

I managed to sort out the problem when I got home again.

 

After this, I stayed a while longer, hoping for the Water Rail to return, but it didn't. Here are some more shots of some of the birds photographed during this session. With the objective of getting to know the camera better, I was trying for shots in a variety of situations, rather than a variety of birds, so the subject matter might seem a little repetitive.

Dunnock (Prunella modularis) - Calke Park

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

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) - Calke Park

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) - Calke Park

One small negative aspect of the new camera set-up came to light during this session, and it was one that I had not considered. My old Sigma 50-500 offered maximum appertures of f4.5 at 50mm and f6.3 at 500mm. The new 100-400 lens is f5.6 at 100mm and f8.0 at 400mm. This makes it a little more difficult to lose busy and confusing backgrounds behind the main subject.

 

I also have another minor problem, and that is that I had the camera set up to give a gentle 'beep' when focus was achieved. Since updating the firmware a few days ago, this 'beep' no longer happens. The camera beeps OK when I select it during the 'set up' process, but fails to carry it through to when the camera is in use. I am waiting for Canon to come back to me on this one.

 

Overall, however, I'm delighted to have made the switch.

 

 

I shall close now, and hope to be back with another post in, as usual, about a week's time.

 

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