Slow March Pt.1 - 1st to 15th March,2024

For reasons previously explained, I didn't get out much during March, and most of the excursions I did manage have been covered in previous posts. This will be an account of some of my other observations in the first half of the month.

Friday, 1st March          Garden

Much to our delight, the male Brambling was still visiting us on most days. I was pleased to get a shot of this bird in flight - albeit a rather poor one.

Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) (male) - our garden

Saturday, 2nd March          Staunton Harold  :  Melbourne Pool

On 29th February, Lindsay and I had visited Melbourne. During that visit, we'd called in at a charity shop in the grounds of Melbourne Hall and Lindsay had spent a little while browsing through the books there. After we'd got back home again, she did some resaerch on a cookery book she'd seen there and come to the conclusion that she wished she had bought it. That day, I'd also taken a walk beside Melbourne Pool and thought I'd seen what might have been a Red-crested Pochard in the distance. This bird is rated locally as being 'uncommon, probably feral'. It is, nevertheless, a very attractive duck.

 

A Saturday is not a good day to visit Melbourne as it gets very busy, and car parking can be hard to find. It made sense, therefore, for me to visit Melbourne on my own this day, not having to worry about parking too far away from the shop for Lindsay to walk. It also meant that I could take more time out to walk round the pool.

 

Due to a long-term road closure and the official diversion route being a long one, I took a short cut through Staunton Harold deciding to stop there briefly to see if the Cattle Egret was still there. A swan greeted me as I arrived.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) - Staunton Harold

It took me a little while to find the egret, as it was tucked down in some reeds. Eventually it woke up and became more visible and, by moving further along the road, I got a better photo.

 

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) - Staunton Harold

Having returned to my car, I headed off to Melbourne and did manage to find a parking space quite close to Melbourne Hall. I hurried to the charity shop and was relieved to find the book that Lindsay wanted was still there. I quickly took it back to the car, and set off to Melbourne Pool with my camera.

I won't trouble you with most of the photos that I took, but this one, of a Black-headed Gull landing on the water, I thought was a bit unusual.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Melbourne Pool

From the road on the east side of the pool I could see a Red-crested Pochard in the far distance - this was with my lens at the full 400mm.

 

Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina) (male) - Melbourne Pool

If the duck stayed in the same area, I would be able to photograph it from a well-used footpath that ran closer to its location, so I set off in that direction, taking another shot of Black-headed Gull as I did so.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Melbourne Pool

I got to a point where I could get some closer shots, but the bird was still at quite a distance.

 

Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina) (male) - Melbourne Pool

I then stood behind the trunk of a tree, in the hope that the bird would come even closer - I suspect that this was to the amusement of the several passing dog-walkers. It did, eventually come a little closer, and I got some better shots, although far from perfect, before it drifted out into the centre of the pool. In the first image, below, it is enjoying a good scratch.

 

Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina) (male) - Melbourne Pool

I returned home, happy to have seen my target, whilst earning a few brownie-points with Lindsay.

Sunday, 3rd March          Garden

The Hedgehogs came out of hibernation early this year, and we have had up to three different ones visit us in a night. On this occasion, there was a bit of an altercation between two hogs, as can be seen in the video below. The cat that appears is one of many that visit our garden (at least five), and I have named 'Ghost'.

 

Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) - our garden

 

Monday, 4th March          Garden

 

A female Blackcap had now become a regular visitor, and was very fond of the 'flutter butter' that I make (blitzed peanuts in lard). She was back to this treat several times a day.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (female) - our garden

Tuesday, 5th March          Garden

On this day, the male Brambling brought a female with him. Sadly, it seems that she was not impressed enough to return.

Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) (female) - our garden

We were still getting frequent visits by three Carrion Crows. This is one of them on that day.

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) - our garden

Sadly, Stock Dove has become a less frequent visitor, and when we do see one, it is usually a single bird.

 

Stock Dove (Columba oenas) - our garden

Friday, 8th March          Garden

 

Here is the Blackcap again on her favourite twig from which she launched herself into the 'flutter butter' feeder.

 

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (female) - our garden

Saturday, 9th March          Garden

 

A visit by Great Tit is not unusual in our garden, and they usually go for our sunflower hearts or flutter butter. However, I don't recall ever before seeing one probing in the moss on the wall, like a Wren often does. I missed the shot of the probing, but here is the bird.

 

Great Tit (Parus major) - our garden

Sadly, this next shot is my last one of the male Bullfinch that had been visiting our garden several times a day all winter. Three days later it was taken by a Sparrowhawk, dashing our hopes that, one day, he'd find a mate and bring her to visit.

 

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden

Tuesday, 12th March          Garden

 

It had been mainly male Siskins that had shown up in our garden, so the arrival of a female this day was a real pleasure. I only managed shots on a feeder, however.

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (female) - our garden

I was quite excited when a female Sparrowhawk landed on the trellis at the bottom of the garden as, usually, it is male Sparrowhawks that we see.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (female) - our garden

It did not stay long in that position, but shot off to the left round the back of our viburnum, reappearing a second or two later, landing on the ground in front of its previous position. I didn't spot anything in its talons, but could tell from its actions that it had got prey. I still couldn't spot the prey when it saw me and departed at speed. However, when I zoom in close to my photos of it on the ground I can just detect the red breast of a male Bullfinch in its talons, and the lack of subsequent sightings of our Bullfinch bears this out.

 

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (female) - our garden

Wednesday, 13th March          Garden

 

This day was quite remarkable, in that we had a group of six Siskin visit - four males and two females. The best photo that I could manage, however, was of just three males on a feeder.

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (male) - our garden

Friday, 15th March          Garden

This day, a male Sparrowhawk stopped briefly in the Rowan outside my study.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - our garden

I'll bring this account to a close now. With luck, Pt.2 will follow in about a week's time. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard

The Third Week of January

My last blog post was a bit of a marathon event, so I am trying to keep it down to a shorter length by just covering one week.

Monday, 15th January          Garden  :  Peggs Green

At this time, we were still being visited by the Pied Wagtails, although their visits now seem to have dried up. They tended to arrive as a pair, the female of which had a distinctly black crown. However, we also had a grey-headed female visiting occasionally, as on this day.

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

The weather brightened up in the afternoon, and I went to have another session with the relatively local Waxwings. I didn't fare much better than on my previous visit to this location. I'd been hoping to get some side-on shots clearly showing the yellow tips to the primaries and the red appendages on the secondaries, but failed on this count. I think that these were probably a group of 1st year birds (maybe females?), which would explain my failure.

This will probably be my last experience with Waxwings this winter, so here are a few more shots than usual!

Bohenian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) - Peggs Green

I was rather pleased by the fanned tail-feathers in that last shot.

Tuesday, 16th January          Garden

The female Siskin has become a regular visitor to the garden, but I guess she'll be gone when the weather improves. On this day she obliged by spending a little time just a few metres from my study window.

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (female) - our garden

Wednesday, 17th January          Garden

It was a good day for bird sightings in the garden but, sadly, I failed to get a shot of the briefly visiting Grey Wagtail.

Here are a few shots of some of our other visitors that day, all taken from my study window.

Stock Dove (Columba oenas) - our garden

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) - our garden

Siskin (Spinus spinus) (female) - our garden

The Pied Wagtail I photographed this day was the female with the black crown to her head, usually accompanied by the male.

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

Thursday, 18th January          Garden

A female Blackcap has recently become a frequent visitor to the garden, but remains rather elusive photographically. This day, I caught her out in the open, but not well posed or in a photogenic location.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (female) - our garden

Starlings are now starting to appear in the garden on an almost daily basis, but only in small numbers.

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - our garden

Friday, 19th January          Garden

The only bird photographed this day was a Greenfinch on a frosty morning. Greenfinches went through a really hard time a few decades ago, due to trichomonosis, a parasite-induced disease that prevents the birds from feeding properly. Just recently, however, they seem to be bouncing back and we are seeing greater numbers than I recall from any previous years.

Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) (male) - our garden

Saturday, 20th January          Garden

An exciting start to the day was given by our second visit of the winter by a Redwing. Sadly, only a single record shot was obtained, as it departed as soon as I managed to get to my camera.

Redwing (Turdus iliacus) - our garden

We have seen little of the Sparrowhawk of late, but it did put in an appearance this day. It departed without succeeding in taking prey from our garden.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - our garden

Sunday, 21st January          Garden

Nothing was photographed this day, but we did end up with a healthy total of 22 bird species seen visiting the garden during the week.

 

I expect that my next blog post, featuring the remainder of the January observations, to be in about a week's time. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard

December, Pt.1 - 1st to 14th December, 2023

I hope you had a great Christmas, and take this opportunity to wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year.

I'm ending the year with an account of my wildlife sightings and photography in the first part of December. This almost exclusively consists of sightings of birds in our garden! I hope that you don't find the lack of variety too boring!

Friday, 1st December          Garden

This was a frosty day starting at -3°C and only rising to 0°C, but sunny for most of the day.

During most winters, we get a little fed up with the Starlings that tend to arrive in great numbers, consume all the bird food,  and noisily frighten away the smaller birds. It is a relief when, eventually, they depart to somewhere else. However, this year we are seeing very few and are now getting excited when they do appear.

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - our garden

We were still getting regular visits from Pied Wagtail.

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

The above photos might make it look as if the weather was pleasantly warm and sunny but, where the sun wasn't shining, it looked a little different. Below, in photos taken in the afternoon, you can see the depth of the frost.

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

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

Saturday, 2nd December          Garden

It was frosty again, with -3°C rising to 0°C, but freezing fog and mist for much of day. We were out visiting our son for much of the afternoon. I did manage to get some shots through my study window of a male Pied Wagtail on a frost-free perch only about 7 metres from my seat.

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

Sunday, 3rd December          Garden

We awoke to a light covering of snow. The birds were impatient for me to go out and feed them. It warmed a little during the rather dull day, through which it drizzled with rain for most of the time, although some of the snow remained until the end.

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) - our garden

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) - our garden

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden

Wednesday, 6th December

There was a very heavy frost in the morning, but the day was sunny, which raised temperature from -5°C to 1°C.

We had two Stock Doves visit on this day. Here is one of them.

Stock Dove (Columba oenas) - our garden

A male Bullfinch was still a regular visitor.

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden

That night, the temperature was forecast to rise to 5°C during the night

Saturday, 9th December

After two very wet days, the day again started wet, but a few degrees warmer than it had been, rising to 8°C by mid day, when we had some sun. I photographed the Sparrowhawk that alighted briefly in our Rowan.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - our garden

However it soon turned windy, with wind speeds up to 45 mph (72 kph).

Sunday, 10th December

The day started quite bright.  In the late afternoon I went to the location of my most recently found Little Owl site, which I had not visited since the spring, and was disappointed to see that the nest tree, and all the other trees on that particular edge of the field, had been completely removed. I had hoped to see some winter thrushes here too, but I only saw about half a dozen Fieldfare as they noisily flew across the road in the far distance.

The only thing I photographed was a heron that had been behind a fence on the far side of a horse paddock, but took flight.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - near Normanton le Heath

Tuesday, 12th December          Garden

A very dull damp day, but having three male Bullfinches visit was exciting. We've had five Bullfinches before (male, female, and three juveniles), but three adult males together was a first. I managed just one record shot with all three in it!

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden

Wednesday, 13th December          Garden

A dull, but mild day. The Sparrowhawk was back.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - our garden

We get visits from Greenfinch most days at the moment - usually just one or two, but we have had up to four. This is a species that seems to be recovering. having been devastated by a virus a few decades ago.

Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) (female) - our garden

Just the one Bullfinch was spotted this day, but it did pose for a photo. It is a long while since we last saw a female Bullfinch in the garden, but fingers are crossed.

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden

Thursday, 14th December          Garden

Dull and wet weather removed any incentive to go out, and I was glad that I stayed at home as we had four wagtails visit that day. The first item that I photographed, however, was a heron on the back neighbours' roof, while we were having breakfast.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) -from our house

Later in the morning, a Bullfinch visited. Without a shadow of doubt, Bullfinch is the most messy eater of all the garden birds!

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden

A few minutes later, the Bullfinch was still here when what I originally thought was a White Wagtail arrived, but my local birding expert, Rhys Dandy reckons it was a female Pied Wagtail. Assuming this is the case, it would appear to be a 1st winter bird. White Wagtail is the nominate bird of this species, with Pied Wagtail being a race of the species, largely common to the UK.

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

Almost immediately, it was joined by a Grey Wagtail, and this time I got a few more shots than I managed on its previous visit. This one seemed to have a much darker breast than I'm used to seeing. I think that it is a 1st winter bird.

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) (1st winter) - our garden

Later in the day, a pair of Pied Wagtail arrived, with the female being a different bird to the earlier bird as it had a black (rather than pale grey) crown. However, I only got shots of the male on this occasion.

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

We also had a Stock Dove pay us a visit.

Stock Dove (Columba oenas) - our garden

This brings me to the end of what (for us) was a rather special special day, even if the weather was lousy.

It also brings me to the end of this blog post, which I hope has not bored you with too many images of Wagtails and Bullfinch (both of which are rather special for us) and it just remains for me to wish you all the very best in health and happiness for 2024. Please take good care of yourselves and Nature - - - Richard