Isles of Scilly, 2023 Pt.5 - 30th September to 3rd October, 2023

This fifth instalment of my account covers the final four days of our recent holiday on the Isles of Scilly. All ended rather differently to that expected or hoped for. 

If you missed previous parts of my account, you can find them by going to the bottom of this post and then clicking on 'Older Post'. 

Saturday, 30th September

The weather forecast for the day was not very favourable, with a strong wind all day, and a chance of rain, with very little sunshine.

My first job of the day was to retrieve my camera bag from the kiosk on the quay, where it had been put after I left it on the boat the previous afternoon.

Having returned to base, I then took Lindsay shopping so that she could buy a belated part of her birthday present, and we could get take-home gifts for granddaughters at home. The next stop was at Becky's Scilly Cakes where, on Saturdays, she offers the best doughnuts in the world. This week's special filling (it changes every week) was apple and cinnamon, which is what I chose. The girls, variously, had custard or jam. Mine was absolutely delicious and was eaten while still warm.

It was about 11.00 before I got out,  and I was given a lift in the buggy to Carreg Dhu Garden by Melanie and Lindsay. I saw little there, and only took shots of Humming-bird Hawk-moth without being able to freeze the wing motion because of the low light levels. They were on some Escallonia bushes, which had small, but rather beautiful, flowers.

 

Escallonia macrantha - Carreg Dhu

Humming-bird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) - Carreg Dhu

I set off to walk back to base and, just after I had passed the road to the airport, was accosted by a gentleman that asked if this was the way to the airport. Somehow I had managed to miss the news that two Bobolink had been seen there. Never having seen this extremely rare visitor from the Americas, I went to have a look. I found about 40 to 50 birders already there. The birds put in very brief appearances every time an aircraft flew in to land, but I only got one very distant sighting of one of the birds as it flew, and didn't get a single shot. Having an aversion to crowds, I gave up after half an hour and walked to Old Town and checked out Standing Stones Field and Lower Moors, only finding a Snipe at Lower Moors. 

 

Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Lower Moors

The girls then came and gave me a lift back to base.

 

After a very late lunch, I fell asleep on the sofa. It was 17.00 before I got out,  taking the buggy to Higher Moors,  having quick visits to both the hides and Porthellick beach. The light was atrocious by now and, as little was seen and a dense sea mist was building, I didn't linger for long.

I returned to base and took part in a 'build a better pizza' competition with the four girls. Mine was wonderful!

 

Thus ended the most unproductive day, photography-wise, of the holiday.

 

Sunday, 1st October

 

This was to be our last full day of the holiday as we were scheduled to fly back to the mainland the next morning. The forecast for the day was for little wind,  but low level cloud and the occasional rain. It turned out to be a bit worse than that as, for much of the morning, the cloud level was zero metres above ground. 

I took a few photos from the garden after breakfast,  including some of a seal that was venturing to occasionly stick its nose out of the water.

 

Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) - Littleporth

A few years back, a trio of Mallard hybrids made a name for themselves by regularly appearing in the bay at Porthcressa. For several years, 'the Porthcressa Three' were lauded and fed by locals and visitors, and were very much at home on the sea.

Last year, we found that the 'Three' had produced offspring and they were now the 'Porthcressa Three plus Three'.

This visit revealed that they had now become 'the Porthcressa Seventeen'! I took this shot from the garden.

The Porthcress Seventeen - Littleporth

Having sorted out a few administrative jobs, I  set off on foot at about 09.15.

As I  passed along the head of Littleporth beach,  I grabbed some shots of what I think was possibly a White Wagtail (rather than Pied Wagtail). This was on what I think were Mermaids Tresses (Chorda filum).

White Wagtail? (Motacilla alba?) - Littleporth

I took the path that climbs up to Buzza Tower, stopping to photograph Littleporth, including the property that we were staying at - at the bottom of that yellow line.

 

View to Littleporth from Buzza Hill path

A little further on I just about managed to photograph a Song Thrush. I believe that I have mentioned before that this species used to be numerous, and very confiding, on the Isles of Scilly, but I have seen far fewer on recent visits, and they seem far more nervous.

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) - from Buzza Hill path

Having passed Buzza Tower I then found a Humming-bird Hawk-moth on Red Valerian opposite the hospital. Being one of my favourite moths, I hope that you will excuse more photos.

 

Humming-bird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) -by St. Mary's Hospital

As I finished with the hawk-moth, I was greeted by Ren Hathway, who remembered me from previous visits. We chatted on our way to the airport where we both hoped to have views of the two Bobolink that were there. Unfortunately it started raining a bit heavily soon after we arrived. I didn't stay long because of the weather, and I didn't see a Bobolink, but I  did get some shots of a distant Whinchat and of the two Wheatear that were in the area.

 

Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra) (female) - near Airport entrance

Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) (female) - by Airport entrance

I returned to base a little damp and concerned for the welfare of my camera, particularly of the lens which is clearly stated as not being waterproof.

Having had lunch, I took a few photos from the garden.

 

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - Garden, Littleporth

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - from the garden, Littleporth

After this, I headed out to Carn Vean Cafe where I was to meet up with the girls. I first went down to the beach at Pelistry Bay with the intention of going onto Toll's Island. I have never been on the island, which one can walk across to when the the tide is out, as it was at this time. However, having crossed the beach to the island, I found that the initial scramble over boulders to get up onto the top of the island was a bit beyond the physical abilities of my aged body.

When they arrived, the youngsters enjoyed feeding the sparrows that eagerly visit the outside tables when it looks as if food might be on offer. Georgie took great delight in feeding the sparrows by hand.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) (female) - taking food from Georgie's hand

There being five of us, and with only a four-seater buggy, return to base needed two runs. Melanie dropped me off at Maypole, where Wryneck had been seen. I arrived to find people there, and was informed that Wryneck had not been seen for a long time. A Lesser Whitethroat was pointed out to me but I didn't manage to photograph it. My lift to base was on it's way and I was waiting at the appointed spot when a recently arrived lady spotted a Wryneck in the field next to the one where people had been looking. I got a view of it through a kind person's 'scope, but didn't manage any shots of it. I'd only brought my backup camera with me, as I didn't want to risk getting my main, non-waterproof, kit wet.

Once we'd got everyone back to base, I returned the buggy to Scilly Carts. 

The evening was spent relaxing and preparing for our departure.

 

Monday, 2nd October

 

The weather forecast for this day had looked a little worrying, with a high chance of low cloud and fog. I was up and packed quite early and found time to take some photos from the garden before our departure. 

 

I have difficulty separating White Wagtails from Pied Wagtails but, by the amount of grey showing on the flank, I think that this was a Pied Wagtail

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii) (female) - Littleporth

A Shag was fishing in the bay too, and getting tangled in 'weed'.

 

Shag (Gulosus aristotelis) - Littleporth

Before 09.00, the weather did not look too bad, although low cloud was obscuring much of the view of Peninnis. However, I was dismayed to see on Twitter that flights were currently on hold due to poor visibility.

 

Our flight was scheduled to depart at 11.20 and our transport to the airport was booked to pick us up at the property at 10.20. We had to be out of the property by 10.00 but the management kindly let the girls sit in the kitchen while I kept a look out for the mini-bus outside.

 

The mini-bus arrived spot-on time and we were delivered safely to the airport, where we found many people trying to sort out what their situation was. We managed to find five seats in a quiet area (essential when you have two autistic teenagers with you that have difficulty coping with people in close proximity) and, hgaving been told that our flight was currently on hold, waited for news. We had been told that enough places had been reserved on Scillonian III (the boat which plies between the Isles of Scilly and the mainland), but no moves would be made until the status of our flight changed from 'on hold' to 'cancelled'. 

The flight cancellation was announcedjust before noon, and were bussed to the quayside. Check-in for Scillonian III was not until 15.30, for a 16.30 scheduled departure. As it was now raining, this resulted in us sitting in the waiting room for three and a half hours. 

We had another problem to sort out and that was, with an arrival at Penzance expected to be around 19.15, and then probably losing another quarter of an hour or more before being able to retrieve our baggage, followed by another half an hour being bussed to Lands End airport, we were not going to be on the road before about 20.00. This was clearly too late in the day to safely drive the 308 miles (496 km) to our home.

Melanie came to the rescue by booking hotel rooms for us for the night. She managed to get the last room available at the Premier Inn, Hayle, for Lindsay and I but the nearest she could find for herself and the two girls was in Oakhampton.

 

The ship was full and all areas were crowded, much to the discomfort of the two youngsters. It didn't help that a few Gig Crews were having a bit of a noisy party and sing-song on board. I did try and spend a little time on the outside deck-space of the ship. There were some dedicated birders out there, but it was very wet so I didn't stop for long.

Arriving on time at Penzance, for some unexplained reason, we had to wait for about twenty minutes before we were allowed to disembark. It was then a few minutes walk to the baggage retieval area, where it was difficult to find one's own baggage in the darkness.

Having reclaimed our baggage, I went ahead to find the bus and managed to find and 'reserve' a group of five seats so that the youngsters could sit together in relative isolation from the rest of the passengers. We departed for the airport almost immediately after the girls were boarded.

 

This allowed us to be checked in for the night by 21.00, but Melanie's journey that day didn't finish until about 22.30.

You will not be surprised to hear that this day was the absolute low-point of the holiday.

Tuesday, 3rd October

Lindsay and I awoke fairly early. I declined Lindsay's invitation for me to have an early morning visit to see what birds were at Copperhouse Pool, Hayle, favouring getting hgome as soon as possible. As I discovered on the outward, the light would have been totally against me anyway.

We soon ran into rain, and the traffic situation was worse than expected, resulting in us not getting home until 16.45. Melanie, who had a significantly shorter distance journey than us that day, had far worse traffic than us and didn't get home until about fifteen minutes after us.

 

From a wildlife photography point of view, it had probably been my least satisfying of stays on the Isles of Scilly, but I still had a great time. The real bonus was, however, seeing our granddaughter, Georgie, come out of her shell through having her friend Kerris with her, giving them both the confidence to do things independently of us adults. All five of us are very much looking forward to returning next year.

All things being equal, my next blog post will be covering my October sightings close to home. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard

Isles of Scilly, 2023 Pt.1 - 24th and 25th September, 2023

This begins my account of another family holiday on the wonderful Isles of Scilly. Lindsay and I  were accompanied by our daughter Melanie,  granddaughter Georgie,  and Georgie's friend Kerris.

To put things in context, we were both extremely nervous at the prospect of starting out on this journey to the Isles of Scilly. On Friday, 1st September on the way home from having a meeting with Lindsay's surgeon, while travelling at about 40 mph (65 kph) the rear wheels of our car suddenly locked solid and we skidded all over the road before coming to a halt. It was, to say the least, extremely frightening. Fortunately, there were no other cars around at the time. After about two hours the rescue truck arrived and took the car to the nearest Skoda dealership. It was even more unsettling that this could happen less than 200 miles (320 km) after the car had a full service and MoT test at the dealership.

It was the Tuesday before they found time to investigate, and found that the rear offside brake  calliper was broken, and so they replaced that, plus the brake disc and brake pads for an eye- watering price. They then took it out for a test drive and the same thing happened on the test drive as had happened to us. Having retrieved the car and supplied the test driver with clean pants, they got it back on the ramp and found a hole in the 4WD differential casing and came to the conclusion that the diff. was well and truly lunched. With a price now quoted for the repair being close to £6,500 we had a long hard think about whether to go forward with the repair or ditch the car. We decided on the former option. A day later, we were told that there was not a replacement diff. anywhere and it could be weeks or months before they managed to get the part. Arrangements were made for them to supply us with a car for our trip to the Isles of Scilly. We were comforted by the thought that we'd not have to take the long drive to the tip of Cornwall in a car that we'd not had time to regain confidence in.

I was not, therefore, overjoyed to get a call on Thursday 21st September to say that they'd got the part and fixed it, so that we could collect it on the Friday, two days before our departure, giving us no time to have a good run  and gain confidence. If it happened again when we were travelling at 70 mph on a busy motorway we would stand little chance of surviving!

Sunday, 24th September          Ashby de la Zouch to Hayle  :  Hayle, Copperhouse Pool

We managed what for us was a fairly early start, departing from home at 09.15. The first half of the 300 mile journey was in constant drizzle but it dried up later. I drove very gingerly at first but, after about 150 miles I started to gain confidence. We had a few comfort stops en route and arrived at the Premier Inn, Hayle, at 15.15. 

Having unpacked the car, I went off for a walk beside Copperhouse Pool as it is an interesting birding spot. I arrived to find winds of 26mph, gusting to 43 mph, rain threatening, and the tide out so the water was quite a distance from the road. Wind and distance made photography difficult, but there were some interesting birds to see - nothing rare, but with a few a bit different to what I see close to home

 

Close to where I'd parked the car, a Little Egret posed nicely.

 

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) - Copperhouse Pool, Hayle

Over on the far side of the pool, about 150 metres away, a Cormorant was spreading its wings.

 

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Carbo) - Copperhouse Pool, Hayle

It was good to see a Black-tailed Godwit probing in the mud for a snack

 

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) - Copperhouse Pool, Hayle

Black-headed Gull is a familiar bird localy to home.

 

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Copperhouse Pool, Hayle

By far the most numerous bird species present was Canada Goose (I suspect that there were a couple of hundred, or more) - also a familiar sight close to home.

 

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Copperhouse Pool, Hayle

I am used to seeing Redshank at this location and was surprised to only spot one on this occasion.

 

Redshank (Tringa totanus) - Copperhouse Pool, Hayle

The north end of Copperhouse Pool is usually good for Curlew in my experience, and so it was this time too.

 

Curlew (Numenius arquata) - Copperhouse Pool

On my way back to the car, the Godwit was in a slightly better position.

 

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) - Copperhouse Pool, Hayle

I'd only been there for about half an hour, and my timing was almost perfect as it started raining when I was just a few metres from the car.

 

I drove back in heavy rain and returned to base to find that Melanie and the girls had just arrived. 

After a chat, for convenience, our evening meals were obtained from 'the Scottish restaurant' with the two youngsters having takeaways and us older folks eating in. 

That night we turned in early at 20.30

 

Monday, 25th September          Copperhouse Pool, Hayle  : Hayle to St. Marys, Isles of Scilly 

The day got off to an unfortunate start, and seemed to be a bit jinxed thereafter. I'd set the alarm to wake Lindsay and I up at 07.00. The alarm went off in the morning and we both started sorting ourselves out when I suddenly noticed that my watch was reading 05.34. Somehow I'd also managed to set an alarm for 05.30!

There was an upside to this mistake as it meant that I had time to return to Copperhouse Pool before we needed to depart for the airport.

In contrast to the previous day, it was a sunny day with just a gentle breeze and I  hadn't reckoned with the early morning sunlight being all but horizontal and straight ahead of me as I looked over the pool. Also, the water level was even lower than it was the evening before. I did manage a few photos, however. I'll leave off the shots of species photographed the previous evening.

I thought that I'd found the Black-tailed Godwit again, but it was only when examining my photos that I realised that I'd been looking at a Bar-tailed Godwit. This is a species that I rarely see.

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) - Copperhouse Pool. Hayle

A Greenshank was near the bridge.

Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) - Copperhouse Pool, Hayle

Grey Heron is, of course, common almost everywhere.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - Copperhouse Pool, Hayle

We arrived at Lands End Airport in good time and had already checked in when I noticed that Lindsay was not carrying her binoculars. She'd left them in the car, so I had to hot-foot it back to the car park to collect them. Due to this minor kerfuffle it completely slipped my mind that I had to cancel the rooms that I'd booked at the hotel for that night as a contingency in case our flight was cancelled - flights to the Scillies are a bit vulnerable to weather conditions. By the time I realised this omission we'd already been charged for the rooms.

The flight was uneventful and we were on the Isles of Scilly by 12.30, and soon transported to the self-catering property we had rented on Littleporth, St Marys. Having collected our shopping for the week and had a light late lunch. I set off on what I'd intended to be a short walk along the sea-front that is at the bottom of the garden of the property that we were staying in.

 

I was delighted to see a Wren in the garden of the property.

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - property garden, Littleporth

On Porthcressa beach I found something that I was not sure of the identity of, but was informed that it was the 'holdfast' of Furbelows - a kelp seaweed.

 

Furbelows (Saccorhiza polyschides) (holdfast) - Porthcressa

There was far more seaweed on the beach than I have ever seen before, presumably as the result of recent storms. This Herring Gull was probing some of it for a tasty treat.

 

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) - Porthcressa

In recent visits to the Scillies, I have seen far fewer Song Thrushes than I had previously been used to. These used to be quite confiding. I have even had them take food from the hand. I wonder if the seeming increase in domestic cats has been the cause. I was pleased to see a Song Thrush this day, gracing the back of a memorial bench on the sea-front.

 

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) - Porthcressa

Deciding to go a bit further, I headed up the hill to Buzza Tower, dipping into the small disused quarry near the lower end of the path. Here I found the caterpillar of a White Ermine moth.

White Ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda) (larva) - quarry below Buzza Tower

Further up the hill, I stopped to photograph a lowly Large White butterfly.

Large White (Pieris brassicae) (male) - path to Buzza Tower

Reaching the hospital, where I had intended to turn back, a message came through that there was a Wryneck on Peninnis Head. I was already halfway there so cleared it with Lindsay that I'd be back late and set off along the lane.

There was not anybody around when I arrived and I was not too sure as to where the bird had been seen. I looked around in the area where I thought it had been and, apart from a momentary double-take when a bird popped up onto the wall, which turned out to be nothing but a Dunnock, I saw little.

 

Dunnock (Prunella modularis) - Peninnis Head

I started looking along the start of the path that runs along the west side of Peninnis. I'd  not gone far before I saw a fellow waving his arms to me a few hundred metres down the path. I hurried to him and he confirmed that he'd had a Wryneck working it's way along the wall in a northerly direction. We continued to search together and at one point he had it spotted, but I misunderstood his directions and was looking in the wrong place, whereupon it flew before I spotted it.  I did get some distant shots of a Whinchat.

 

Whichat (Saxicola rubetra) (female) - Peninnis

We continued to look for the Wryneck for some time before giving up. I decided to continue northward and back to base, while my companion returned to Peninnis Head.  About five minutes later, a message came though on the WhatsApp group saying that Wryneck had been spotted at the place that I'd originally looked at, only about 10 minutes after I'd left that location.

As I continued my walk, another message came through, this time from my previous companion, with a wonderful photo of the Wryneck at the location. I only found some butterflies to photograph.

Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) - Peninnis

Peacock (Aglais io) - Peninnis

As I neared base,  I found Lindsay and Melanie sitting on a seafront wall. I joined them and, just to rub it in, another message came through that  there were now two Wryneck at the same location. 

I took a few more photos at Littleporth. A Wren was in the usual corner at the western end of the beach.

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - Littleporth

An Ostercatcher in drab, and rather cryptic, 1st- summer plumage was on the beach and flew as I watched from the sea-wall footpath.

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) - Littleporth

The youngsters turned in at around 19.30. Lindsay and I called it a day at 21.30 after what seemed like a long day. 

I will terminate Pt.1 of my account here. Pt.2 will probably follow in about a week's time, when I have had time to process the many photos that I took. I suspect that it might be rather longer than this post.

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

 

 

Getting There - January, 2023

January has been a strange month in the Pegler household.

Lindsay's condition continues to improve as her cellulitis gradually settles down after her knee replacement, although she's just had to go back onto a fifth course of antibiotics as it started to deteriorate again a few days ago. I'm sure that she'd be well-recovered from her knee operation if it was not for the cellulitis.

To my disappointment, when I went for what I hoped would be my final eye injection on 10th January, I was told by the consultant that my eye had deteriorated, and it rather looks like I'm going to have to have injections into the eye every 8 weeks for the rest of my days. He then told me that I needed to attend a glaucoma clinic as I had an exceptionally high pressure in my 'good' eye. I'm still waiting for that appointment.

The weather has been quite strange too. The month started extremely wet and the garden had become quite waterlogged, and this was followed by a rather long cold spell with temperatures hovering between -12°c and -3°c for a couple of weeks. We even had a light fall of snow at the beginning of the cold spell. I did, nevertheless, manage to get out three times during the month, although only for short periods in case Lindsay needed my attention, although she is now attaining an encouraging level of independence. 

However, the garden has been quite bountiful as far as bird sightings are concerned, so here are some of my observations for the month.

Sunday, 1st January                    Garden

The year got off to a reasonable start, with 15 species visiting the garden this day. However, I only photographed Greenfinch and Blackcap, and I won't bother you with the only Blackcap image I kept (for 'record' purposes). Greenfinch is a relatively common visitor to the garden but I very rarely get an opportunity to photograph one as they tend to head straight for the feeders at the far side of the garden.

Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) (male) - garden on 1st January, 2023

Tuesday, 3rd January                    Garden

In a comment on my last blog post, 'Conehead 54' stated that he thought my 'White Wagtail' was, in fact, a Pied Wagtail. As the bird had seemed to be getting darker over the weeks, this caused me to investigate further and, with the kind confirmation of the Pied Wagtail ID from Rhys Dandy on the County Records Committee, I am happy to accept that I was mistaken. My excuse is that the three main reference works that I turn to are all lacking in detail when it comes to separating the two, omitting much about seasonal and sex differences.

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii) (female) - garden on 3rd January, 2023

Thursday, 5th January                    Packington

On this day, four weeks after Lindsay's operation, we felt confident enough that she could safely be left unattended for an hour or two. I felt that it was time to see what the situation was at my most recent Little Owl site. In the event, it was a great disappointment as there seemed to have been even more chainsaw destruction to the trees, including the one that I had been seeing the owl in. It was even disappointing in the lack of wildlife sightings during the 15 minute walk each way, with the only birds seen being Blackbird, House Sparrow Chaffinch and Great Tit, apart from a small group of Redwing that passed through as the light was fading, and this was the only bird that I photographed.

Redwing (Turdus iliacus) - near Packington

It had, however, been good to get out, even if it was not a productive excursion.

Saturday, 7th January                    House

Whilst in our lounge this day, I noticed what appeared to be a small dark streak on the glass of a picture frame. It turned out to be a pug moth. Pugs are some of the smallest moths to be described as a macromoth in UK and I usually consider them to be relatively plain and uninteresting. I potted this one to photograph later and, when I did return to it and took some shots, I realised just how beautiful it was. This moth only has a wingspan of 8-10 mm, and its flight season is stated to be late March-May and July-August, so what it was doing arriving in our house in January, I don't know! Maybe it's something to do with climate change?

Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata) - from house, on 7th January, 2023

Monday, 16th January                    Garden

It is not often that we have a Brambling visit the garden, but when we do it is usually round about February. Numbers seem to have dwindled over the years, so this one (our first for the year) was a very welcome visitor on a mainly dull day.

Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) (male) - garden on 16th January, 2023

Bullfinch is a sporadic visitor to the garden, and rarely present themselves in a good photographic position. Sometimes a pair will arrive at the same time, but I have only ever succeed to get shots of them together when on the feeders.

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (female + male) - garden on 16th January, 2023

Even rarer in our garden than Brambling, sadly, is Song Thrush. The day had brightened up by the time this one visited.

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) - garden on 16th January, 2023

Wednesday, 18th January                    Garden

The 'big freeze' had started to arrive and we'd had a sprinkling of snow. The Song Thrush visited again, as did the male Pied Wagtail that had become an occasional visitor.

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) - garden on 18th January, 2023

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii) (male) - garden on 18th January, 2023

Friday, 20th January                    Calke Park

I made a somewhat longer excursion this day and had a couple of hours out from mid-afternoon, visiting Calke Park which is just 15 minutes down the road from home.

I first went to the hide near Calke Explore where I had a most enjoyable session in pleasant company. It was a sunny afternoon, which actually made photography difficult. Much of the area in front of the hide was in deep shade, but there was still snow on the ground, and the trees in the background were brightly lit by the sun. Much twiddling of the exposure compensation on the camera was required. I did manage to get a few shots that I am quite pleased with, although nothing unusual was seen. Here are a few items.

Great Tit (Parus major) - Calke Park

Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris) - Calke Park

Coal Tit (Periparus ater) - Calke Park

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) - Calke Park

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - Calke Park

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) - Calke Park

It is not often, these days, that I get the opportunity to photograph Reed Bunting in a reedy situation, hence me offering the first image below.

 

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

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

A person that came into the hide here stated that he'd spent some time in the other hide, which is by the main car park, and seen nothing of interest. It was not much of a diversion to drop in here on my way out of Calke Park, so that is what I did.

As I arrived there was a stag Red Deer in the park, not far from where I parked my car. It seemed to eye me with curiosity and was quite obliging for photography.

Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) (male) - Calke Park

The hide was empty when I entered, and stayed that way during my time there. It was much as the person had said, with very little happening, so I said to myself that I'd give it half an hour, as this place seems to attract Great Spotted Woodpecker, especially towards sundown. Sure enough, right on cue, a wooodpecker arrived - shortly followed by a second one, which caused the first one to depart. I then observed strange behaviour from this second one. It kept flying from tree to feeder, but veering away from the feeder as it reached it and then circled back to the tree. I think it did this six times before giving up and departing, but it did give me some photo opportunities.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) (female) - Calke Park

After a splendid trip out, I now felt that my batteries were well and truly recharged.

Saturday, 21st January                    Garden

A real highlight this day was the arrival of a Fieldfare. This was our first, and almost certainly our last,  of this winter.

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) - garden on 21st January, 2023

Lindsay is convinced that we have a Wren living in our garden, but we do not often see one as they tend to skulk in the undergrowth, only emerging when it suits it.  Lindsay will sometimes say "it looks like a Wrenny sort of day today", and she is often right! They don't stay still for any length of time at all, so photography can be difficult and all opportunities are taken when they arise. This was obviously a Wrenny sort of day! They do love to probe around in the moss on the garden wall.

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - garden on 21st January, 2023

Sunday, 22nd January                    Garden

We had been getting a Lesser Redpoll visiting us on an almost daily basis, but I was having difficulty trying to photograph it away from a feeder. I just about managed this day.

Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis cabaret) - garden on 22nd January, 2023

Monday, 23rd January                    Garden

A male Blackcap was still visiting occasionally.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (male) - garden on 23rd January, 2023

Wednesday, 25th January                    Garden

The previous day, a female Blackcap had visited, and became a regular visitor to the extent that it was unusual to look into the garden and not find her on a feeder. On this occasion, I found her eating an apple that had been put out for (and ignored by) the winter thrushes.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (female) - garden on 25th January, 2023

Thursday, 26th January                    Hicks Lodge

I had another excursion this day, with a mid-afternoon visit to Hicks Lodge, which is very close to our home. As I walked in from the Oakthorpe Colliery car park there were distant geese (Greylag, Canada and domestic), Lapwings and Black-headed Gulls in the fields beside the track, but the photos aren't worth showing here. 

I arrived at the lake to find approximately 50% of the surface covered in ice. The hide was open so I decided to sit in there for a while. In front of the hide, the water at the edge of the lake was still frozen for a short distance and the lapping of the water was crumbling the ice and making an eerie sound, which you may be able to hear in this video clip (taken with my phone) below - if it works!

 Near the island on the far side of the lake, numerous Black-headed Gulls were resting on the ice.

Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Hicks Lodge

There were several Coots, and one came drifting by.

 

Coot (Fulica atra) - Hicks Lodge

The sun was starting to come out and a pair of Mute Swan approached, with 8 immatures following. Unfortunately the youngsters were spread out so I didn't get them all in one shot. One of them then started bottom-feeding.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) (immature) - Hicks Lodge

At one time, the gulls took to the air. Maybe I missed something that had disturbed them.

Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Hicks Lodge

There were a few Little Grebes around and I spent some time trying to photograph them. They are quite charming to observe.

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) - Hicks Lodge

A flock of Lapwing arrived and made a circuit of the far side of the lake before coming in to land on the ice.

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) - Hicks Lodge

Having ignored Lindsay's suggestion that I should take gloves, I was now well and truly regretting it, and so headed homeward after a most enjoyable session.

Friday, 27th January                    Garden

We had a remarkable 4 Lesser Redpoll arrive in the garden this day, but I only managed a reasonably decent shot of one of them.

Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis cabaret) - garden on 27th January, 2023

A Coal Tit outside my study window was a welcome sight. They seem to be always busy - dashing backwards and forwards between feeders and perch.

 

Coal Tit (Periparus ater) -garden on 27th January, 2023

Saturday, 28th January                    Garden

 

I could not resist trying for better photos of Redpoll, as soon they will be gone from here until, hopefully, next winter.

Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis cabaret) - garden on 28th January, 2023

Sunday, 29th January                    Garden

 

It is now quite rare for us to get a Reed Bunting in our garden. Up until ten or more years ago, they used to be relatively frequent visitors. To have one visit this day was, therefore, rather special. This bird also was attracted to the apple - well it was a rather tasty Braeburn!

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) (male) -garden on 29th January, 2023

The Redpoll were now regular visitors (and still are as I write this) and I managed to get a record shot of three of the four that were with us for much of the day, and also a shot of the fourth one..

 

Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis cabaret) - garden on 29th January, 2023

Blackcap and Reed Bunting were not the only things that found my apple offering to their taste. A Grey Squirrel was also a fan. However, it also took to some bread that I'd put out.

 

Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) - garden on 29th January, 2023

Tuesday, 31st January                    Garden

 

The highlight of this day was a visit by a Sparrowhawk. It seems that this bird has now become a bit of a nuisance as I am seeing it flash through quite frequently. From the wing feathering, I believe it to be a juvenile. It does not seem to be overly adept at hunting which, with the good numbers of relatively unusual birds we have around at present, is a bit of a blessing.

 

Sparrowhawk (Accpiter nisus) (immature) - garden on 31st of January, 2023

That brings me to the end of January, and this rather long blog post. I expect the next one to be very much shorter and possibly in about a week's time.

 

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