All Beak and Feathers

February 2012 - Yes... the Wagtail and snow.

2012-02-05T13:31:00.000Z

Sunday 5th: Well, it was at the back door this morning at 9:30am to get meal worms that I had just recently put out and the Grey Wagtail muscled its way through the House Sparrows to get one! Snow had fallen late yesterday afternoon and is lying about 6cms deep, though it is fairly mild today and a thaw seems to be underway. At the time of writing this (lunchtime), the Wagtail has been here all morning pecking at the ice on the pond and returning frequently to the back door to get a meal worm.

February 2012 - Grey Wagtail has returned!

2012-02-05T12:28:00.005Z

Saturday 4th: The Grey Wagtail is a female, and after a months' absence, came back to our garden last Thursday. This must be the same bird that was here last year. Thursday 2nd was the day that Melanie first saw the Wagtail since last December 19th. Where has it been all this time and why has it come back to our garden? Not that we are complaining, we are "chuffed-to-bits" that she is back. Mel was positively over the moon when she rang me at work to tell me the good news.

We have taken note of the fact that when she last spent time in our garden; on 28/11/11, 30/11/11, 2/12/11, 4/12/11, 12/12/11, 14/12/11 and 19/12/11, the weather was very cold and frosty. The Wagtail was not seen until 2/2/12 which coincided with a period of mild weather conditions. Then last Thursday, she was spotted in the garden by Mel. Now she has been here for three consecutive days and the weather has turned bitterly cold again, and this afternoon, a couple of inches of snow has fallen and settled.

Last Thursday, the Wagtail spent a little time in the garden but yesterday and today she had spent much of the day in and around the back garden. In fact, today, she didn't leave the garden until 4:30pm! The Wagtail has even taken to eating live meal worms and will come to the back door to get a snack. The Wren has taken to shadowing the Grey Wagtail around the pond to pick at anything edible that the Wagtail disregards! The Grey Wagtail has had to endure the occasional mobbing by the male Blackbird or a Starling when it gs a meal worm, but this harassment hasn't bothered the bird to any degree.So we suspect that as long as we have cold weather the Grey Wagtail will remain in our garden, eating meal worms and other bird food.

December 2011: Grey Wagtail frequently visits our garden.

2012-01-12T21:06:00.001Z

Wednesday 14th: It was near dark outside when the Grey Wagtail came to the pond in our back garden. In fact, the time was recorded as 3:54pm! Mel grabbed these shots of the Wagtail again on the pond reeds. It does seem to like the pond and as it's near dark, I suspect that the bird is roosting a short distance away.

January 2012 - Great Grey Shrike and Whooper Swans!

2012-01-08T23:58:00.001Z

Sunday 8th: Out and about again to see the Great Grey Shrike. After parking the car and talking with birders who had seen the bird earlier in the morning, I faced a 40 minute walk to it's location. Apparently the bird had been caught in a mist-net earlier and was identified as a Shrike that was ringed at Spurn last year. For more details on this go to the Doncaster Birding Blog.Here you will find a detailed discussion on it's race and some lovely photos.

Looking at it through a scope offered great close views and the familiar black mask across its eyes stood-out immediately. The bird appeared to be fluffed-up when I saw it, probably still had a strop after being caught! A Great Grey Shrike is about the size of an adult Blackbird, so at distance, appears smallish. I took a few photos as it shifted position. Not great but a record. For the next 90 minutes I stayed in the hope of getting a closer photo as it is prone to get quite close. We were treated to three more sightings of it as it patrolled it's territory. But none of these were closer. Is it here for the winter months, who knows? Though it has already been in residence for over two weeks. What a smart-looking bird and a great way to start the new year!

Whooper Swans and Mute Swans were still on the field at Alderfen and all showing well. As usual 3 Kestrels were seen hovering in the fields around me. As I was walking back along the southern bank of the river Torne, the Whooper Swans took to the air. What a wonderful sight and noisy too as they continually call to each other in flight.

January 2012 - No Shrike but Rooks and Whooper Swans.

2012-01-08T00:31:00.001Z

Monday 2nd: A trip out to Wroot to see the Great Grey Shrike that has been hanging around for a week now at least. When we got to the location where it resides, a cold wind was blowing and there was already several birders in attendance. Sandra and myself took up position on the south bank of the Torne and waited and waited, scanning the countryside with binoculars....but we didn't see it! We must've been the only people who missed the bird as everyone else got a good show! One birder even pulled our legs about not seeing the bird!We did manage to see 2 Buzzards, 2 Reed Buntings, 3 Kestrels and 3 juvenile Mute Swans...if not the Shrike!

Behind me was the field where all the Whooper Swans seem to favour. I counted 47, of these there were 3 juveniles. Some Mute Swans were also in attendance. Above are some snaps of these magnificant long-distance flyers!

On our way back, just outside of Wroot was a large flock of Rooks all perched on telephone wires.There numbered 67, made up of 41 adults and 26 juveniles. The juveniles are noticable by their shorter beaks and of course smaller body. What a grand sight, all to rarely seen unless you are visting farming areas. In the second image of Rooks, you will notice two birds to the bottom left. I have magnified the image of these birds and have identified them as a male and female Chaffinches.

December 2011 - Yet again the Grey Wagtail!

2012-01-08T00:22:00.001Z

Monday 19th: This is surely an amazing sighting, yet again for the 8th day since 28th November, the Grey Wagtail visits the pond in our back garden to feed on invertebrates and...soaked fish pellets! Yes it seems that the Wagtail is partial to the floating fish food and this was at 10:30am!

</td<iframe></td></tr></tbody></table> Post Script 7th January 2012 Since the 19th December 2011, the Grey Wagtail hasn't been seen in our garden. We have no idea why. Maybe it just got bored with the limits of the pond. Maybe - and I hate to say it - but it could have been predated by the neighbourhood Sparrowhawk, though no sightings have been recorded of this. On a lighter note, the Wren is now coming into the kitchen again for live mealworms. As you know, the Wren has been around the garden for sometime now since the end of Autumn and has been seen frequently in and around the pond reeds. We suspect that because of it's habits, this Wren could be the bird that has been visiting for the last two years! Since the middle of this last week it has been calling rather loudly until Mel throws out some live mealworms. Last Thursday, Mel caught the little fellow on camera and videoed the Wren entering the kitchen, perching on the side of the bowl and eating mealworms. The male Blackbird, another long term garden regular is also coming into the kitchen for mealworms. Meanwhile, large numbers of House Sparrows will flock to the back door if we through-out a handful of live mealworms.</body>

Update January 12th 2012: This is so far the last recorded visit of the Grey Wagtail. Well, the show she put on had been good! To get a Grey Wagtail visit a garden pond on a housing estate is pretty good I think! If it wasn't for Mel, I would never have seen it. All the visits except one were during the working days and even that one visit on the Sunday, got me out of bed at 9:30am! Many thanks Mel!

December 2011 - Grey Wagtail is back again!

2011-12-12T21:24:00.004Z

Monday 12th: The Grey Wagtail was back in the garden again today. Mel got some more video footage and stills of the bird in and around the pond. This time it had a bath on the waterfall and, by the look of it, it was thoroughly enjoying itself. Mel also filmed the bird eating fish food again... yes fish food as well as pecking at insects. The bird also ventured further away from the pond and beneath the feeders where it pecked at maize flakes. It didn't take too kindly to being interrupted by two House Sparrows and a Dunnock and moved away from the water flow, but not too far. This bird has now visited our garden pond on 6 separate days (that we know of), since 28th November.

December 2011 - Grey Wagtail in the garden...again!

2011-12-05T00:57:00.001Z

Sunday 4th: 9:25am and a shout wakes me from my slumber: "the Grey Wagtail is in the garden!" I bounced out of bed to the window looking out on the back garden. There it was...a Grey Wagtail bobbing along around the pond! This is the first time that I have seen the bird in the garden and it is absolutely astounding. Grey Wagtails are countryside birds that frequent fast flowing rivers and streams. What it is doing here, in the middle of a built-up area is anybodies guess. By the looks of it, the Wagtail is a female and spent about 25 minutes around the pond before it flew off. Let's hope it returns soon.

These two short videos were taken by Mel through the window. The photos were also taken by Mel.

December 2011 - Whooper Swans & Fieldfares!

2011-12-02T19:56:00.001Z

Friday 2nd: Woke to the first frost of Winter and the temperature at 8:30am was 0° centigrade! Driving round the corner to collect Sandra, I bagged my first sighting of the day. Darting-out in front of the car and alighting on the pavement to my right was a Yellow Wagtail! Wow, fantastic sighting, regaled in all its finery. Sadly no chance or time to grab the camera, but I did stop the car to revel in this splendid looking bird. With Melanie seeing the Grey Wagtail again, for the third sighting this week, in the garden at 10:20am, this has been a good week for Wagtails.

After the initial excitement (on my part), we headed for the Wroot and the countryside. The Sun was up but still it was freezing. We stopped by the river Torne and were greeted by a huge flock Fieldfares. So many that to try and count them was an impossible task, so we agreed that there was 500+. They were everywhere! Many perched on the telephone lines, in bushes and atop trees. Of course these were Hawthorn bushes and trees covered in berries. Two Kestrels were perched on the telephone wires, not taking much notice of the Fieldfares even though they were being crowded-out! The male Kestrel did change locations and even came near us to hunt. But the abiding image must be of the clouds of Fieldfares taking to the blue sky every now-and-then.

A couple of miles up the road, just outside Wroot and in one of the farm fields were what we were looking for. There, off to one side, 70-odd Swans. Wow! Whooper Swans, I counted 34, and 37 Mute Swans.

After chatting to a fellow Birder, he advised us to walk up to the banks of the Torne to get a better view with the scope. He wasn't wrong either, outstanding views! A flock of Lapwing, probably 250 swirled around the sky and descended onto the field. Behind us on the other side of the Torne, Sandra spotted another Kestrel and we watched as it hovered and dove and hovered.

Below is a photo of an adult Whooper and 1st year in the field at Alderfen. This image was captured by Sandra by placing her camera at the eye piece of the scope (digiscoped). Even though the weather was freezing cold and a bitter wind was howling around us, she managed to capture this remarkable image!

Another image from Sandra below is of a flock of Lapwings, 210 in this photo! They may be just specks but I can assure you that they are Lapwings and that there were even more!

Both feeling very cold now, it was time to make for home and a hot cuppa tea. A fantastic few hours of birding.

November 2011 - Grey Wagtail in the Pond Waterfall

2011-11-28T22:56:00.001Z

Monday 28th: This afternoon there was visitor to the garden that, to our recollection, we have never seen before. Unusual in that this bird, a Grey Wagtail, is generally associated with rivers, fast flowing streams and the countryside. To see one padding about in your back garden... a small back garden in the middle of an estate must be very rare indeed. The Grey Wagtail was seen by Mel to be walking and bobbing on the fallen reeds and then standing in the waterfall against the flow looking for water-borne insects. This first video shows the Grey Wagtail amongst the reeds of the pond.

This next video shows the Grey Wagtail standing in the waterfall, against the flow, poking around for tasty insects.

Earlier in the day, 10:50am, Mel spied a Sparrowhawk hiding amongst the conifers, waiting to ambush anything that came her way. This is a different Sparrowhawk to the last one that visited a few weeks ago. That afternoon it was a male, today... a female. This raises the questions; are two rival Sparrowhawks overlapping territories? Are these a pair looking to establish a territory for the winter? Or are they siblings, learning to hunt in a secure environment?

October 2011 - The Wren returns and a Treesparrow in the garden!

2011-10-16T21:40:00.000+01:00

Sunday 16th: The Wren that has been visiting our garden each Autumn\Winter since 2008 has returned today. It surely must be the same bird as it comes to the bush at the back door and calls for mealworms. If it is not the same bird, then has it indicated to others about where to get an easy meal? This is an intriguing question. But if it is then it has clearly survived the harsh snows of December 2010\ January 2011! The bird seems to follow the same pattern in that it departs the garden in March and returns around October. This being the case for 2009, 2010 and now 2011.

It was at 2:20pm that I first saw the Wren picking through the undergrowth in the garden. Throwing some mealworms out,immediately caught its attention and it came to the backdoor to feast, closely followed by a dozen House Sparrows.

Scanning the House Sparrows, one caught my attention. It looked oddly out of place. Looking closer I could see that it was a Tree Sparrow. Now as can be seen (image below) Tree Sparrows have a white cheek with black spot and an all brown head. Whereas House Sparrows (image above) don't have white cheeks or an all brown head. Above, the male House Sparrow is on the left and the female is on the right. It's very unusual for Tree Sparrows to visit a garden, that is unless your garden is the countryside! This one may just have been passing through, on its way somewhere. Both Tree Sparrows and House Sparrows will freely associate as flocks and can live side-by-side. Only the one Tree Sparrow was seen in our garden but I now scan the large flock of resident House Sparrows...just in case!

October 2011 - A couple of Goldfinches visit the garden!

2011-10-15T09:31:00.000+01:00

Friday 14th: After all the rain and cloud of recent days, today is sunny with clear blue skies. It's very rare indeed that we get Goldfinches in our garden. But today, Mel snapped some photos of these two Goldfinches on one of the sunflower-heart feeders. There is clearly a difference in the markings on these birds and we believe that one is a juvenile while the other is an adult.

The Goldfinches spent a fair amount of time on the feeders and seemed content, even with the hustle and bustle of the House Sparrows. We don't get visits from these birds on a regular basis like some, (Sandra), who live only a couple of hundred yards away! Could it be that the Goldfinches don't like conifers, as that is all we have in our garden?

September 2011 - Butterflies, Dragonflies, Ladybirds and Treecreeper!

2011-10-04T00:52:00.000+01:00

Saturday 24th: Had a walk around my local wood in the morning sunshine. Came across a flock of Blue and Long-tailed Tits. Amongst the flock were two Treecreepers. These birds are always a special treat to see and even more to photograph. For such a small bird, they are quick on their feet as they scramble up the bark of a tree - never down. I did see one of them flutter down the ground and then start climbing.

Aside from that flock, not much else. Most birds are either molting or coming to the end of their Summer-moult so tend to keep themselves hidden. But what I did notice was a large number of Ladybirds. These were the resident variety of 7-spots. No Harlequins seen.

With Autumn now upon us, this is the best time of year to seek-out those elusive fungi. Below is a photo of the Cauliflower fungus (Sparassis crispa).

Later in the back garden I came across an unusual Moth; Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa). After taking photos, we placed it on a bush where it has stayed all afternoon and was still there at 6pm!

Oh...and Mel got stung again (the second this season) by a Wasp!

The garden provides cover and residence to a large population of House Sparrows. At the last count a few weeks ago, there was 109. Clearly not all of these live in the conifers, but may do, with others from surrounding gardens taking advantage of the variety on food on offer here. Nationally, they may be on the RSPB's Red List, with very low numbers in London, but here they are most definitely on OUR Green List!

Wednesday 21st: My first outing since recovering from sciatica problems with my back. So it was just a local trip up the road to Hatfield Moor and hopefully not too much time on my feet. Fairly uneventful overall. The highlights being 2 Hobbies that flew overhead, with one returning about 20 minutes later - unfortunately no photos. A good view of a GreenWoodpecker through binoculars while Sandra used the scope to get an even better view and later a Great-spotted Woodpecker. Still, quite a number of Emperor and Red Darter Dragonflies about with various other kinds. The ground is damp as would be expected after the rain that we've had recently and various Mushrooms\Toadstools were evident.

Above: Just one of many Speckled-Wood Butterflies seen at Hatfield Moor (south).

Above: This Small Copper Butterfly was the only one seen.

Above: Red Darter, as usual, this was the most numerous of the Dragonfly family.

Above: Gadwall in flight.

Above: Shaggy Ink Cap (Coprinus comatus)

Above: Silky Nolanea (Nolanea sericea).

Above: Woolly Milk Cap (Lactarius torminosus).

Above: Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria).

June 2011 - Blackbird has brood 3 and 4!

2011-10-02T19:44:00.001+01:00

From our observations of this pair of Blackbirds, we beleive that the fledging of the chicks has been much too early for broods 3 and 4. In fact, comparing these with last years' broods by a more seasoned pair of adults and the first brood this year by this young pair, of two, the fledglings should be almost twice the size before they leave the nest. But against the odds, by 30th June, two of the fledlings had reached the appropiate size and stayed in the garden for a few weeks, being constantly fed by the adult male Blackbird.

Friday 17th: The female Blackbird that has been nesting by the back door is on her fourth nest...that we know of! She is currently on 3 eggs and looking very ragged! She has laid a total to date of seven eggs, of which she has had 6 successful hatching's and 6 successful fledglings. The first in mid-March was a nest of 3 eggs but only two hatched with the two chicks fledgling and after a couple of days we lost sight of them. Now a Sparrowhawk had been in the area on a regular basis and they may have succumbed to the raptor. Her second nest was up in the conifers where we couldn't see the eggs but we believe that it was raided by either a Squirrel, Magpie or Jackdaw. In late April, she returned to the nest by the back door and laid four eggs, all of which hatched on the 3rd of May and the four chicks fledged to a big size. At least two are still about and are fed by the male Blackbird. He even feeds them by the back door!

Last Tuesday, the female started laying eggs in the nest again and by today there are three in the nest. Where does she get all the energy from? Well it's quite obvious that access to live mealworms has supplied her with plenty of protein to produce these eggs. She is a young blackbird (two years) and is partnered with a very healthy and fit and strong male. The pair have had to repel invaders in the form of other Blackbirds and the female did have a near-death fight with another female Blackbird for feeding rights, but her facial scars have healed well. Below, you can see the massive lump above her left eye that was the result of this fight. The only other competitors that will not disappear are the House Sparrows! They continually harass her for mealworms and on occasion will try and rob both her and the male of mealworms. The Sparrows, of which there are approximately a regular 30 or so out of a garden population of 80ish will also fly into the kitchen to grab mealworms and there has been a few House Sparrow chicks in the garden too. Regular visitors too are the Jackdaws who are particularly partial to monkey-nuts and the Blackbirds do not take kindly to their visits, especially when there are Blackbird chicks about....of which there has been plenty this season.

NEWS FLASH!

By late afternoon of Thursday 30th June, all 4 eggs hatched and 4 Blackbird chicks are alive and kicking! This brings the total for this year (that we know), to 10 that the female with the nest by the back door has produced. Two, that fledged the nest on May 25th are still fit and healthy. The adult male is still feeding them though they do feed themselves and have developed in size greatly. Indeed, one of the fledglings has even taken to coming into the kitchen for live mealworms, having watched the adult male and female, though it still has to compete with the House Sparrows!

UPDATE 11th July:

Though all 4 Blackbird eggs hatched and for a few days, all 4 were being fed, only two are alive. In fact, sometime in the past week, either the male or the female Blackbird must've removed two of the chicks for some reason: more than likely they died. It is not unusual for the dead chicks to be removed as decaying matter would spread disease to the others and even attract predators. Now the nest is empty! Both remaining chicks seem to have fledged...rather too early as they are both underdeveloped. We wouldn't be surprised if both were either predated or died of cold in the night.

UPDATE 14th JULY:

The fledgling chick that was very under developed has died. This now leaves one. We haven't seen this fledgling but we have seen a fledgling that looks as though it has been out of the nest for a few weeks.

Below are a couple of photos that Mel grabbed of the male Blackbird and female House Sparrow, hiding in the house from the Sparrowhawk that was outside in the garden. The Blackbird has flown out of the kitchen where it was eating mealworms...and into the Utility room when the lawn mower is kept. Here you can see it hiding in the grass box!

Meanwhile... the House Sparrow that was also eating mealworms, flew into the living room and onto the sound-system speaker. After a while it relaxed and sat on the canary's perch. Later, both birds made their way out and back into the garden.

May 2011 - 25th: Brood 3, Blackbird chicks.

Below is a series of photos that Melanie took during the third brood that the Blackbirds hatched in the nest by the back door.

First chick hatched on 25th May.

By 28th, all four had hatched.

Close-up.

Always hungry - the adult Blackbirds were constantly visiting the kitchen for live mealworms.

The rival female - the nest is to the left just out of shot. The female is on the nest giving the rival the "evil eye". These two birds have had some ferocious fights these past weeks!

The female visits the kitchen for mealworms and catches the afternoon Sun.

4th June, getting ready to fledge.

8th June, the chicks have fledged the nest and are easy targets for predators.

8th June, the female gathering yet more mealworms from the kitchen.

May 2011 - Greater Spotted Woodpeckers feeding chick.

2011-05-24T21:40:00.009+01:00

Sunday 22nd: Whilst out and about in a local wood this afternoon, Sandra and I heard rapid "cheeping" coming from inside a tree we had just passed.

About 10 feet from the ground was a perfectly excavated circular hole, that could've been made by a power-tool, such as a Great Spotted Woodpecker's beak! In the trunk from where the sound was resonating came the familiar call from a Woodpecker chick waiting for the next meal. We retreated a short distance and sure enough, moments later a male Greater Spotted Woodpecker attached himself to the side of the tree. He appeared to pass a small bundle of tasty caterpillars and insects into the hole and the chick, then flew away in search of more critters to satisfy the persistent hunger of his offspring.

A few minutes later, the female GSW alighted on the tree trunk and fed the chick. Over the next 45 minutes we deduced that the two adults were flying out and back alternately to the chick with a "waiting time" of 5 minutes for the chick before it's next meal arrived.

Just the one chick in the nest, we think. But the continual chase for food by the adults for their offspring will continue for some days until it has fledged and even then the adults will be constantly harassed by the chick.

May 2011 - Beetle in the study.

2011-05-08T01:49:00.016+01:00

Sunday 8th: Just after midnight, I sat down in the study and then a "thwack", in the half-light I saw something on it's back waving its legs in the air..! A rather large beetle too, but what type? I've never seen anything like this before. A quick search of reference books by Mel and the beastie was identified. It is called a Cockchafer Beetle (Melolontha melolontha) and sometimes called the "May Bug", as it emerges from it's larval stage in the soil during the later part of April to early May. Much bigger than your average beetle, it has these extraordinary antennae, rather like antlers. This one as can be seen on my hand has seven "prongs" on each antennae indicating that this beetle is a male. The females have six.

Although the pointy-thing at his rear looks quite menacing, this beetle is in fact quite harmless. Starlings, Rooks and Crows are very partial to the grub or larval stage of the beetle and will dig at the ground with their long and strong beaks in search of them...and anything else that they may find. I must admit that as he walked over my hand and up my arm, the beetle had a firm grasp with it's pincer-like feet! I could feel every movement on my arm as he lifted each of his six legs! After taking several photos of this little-seen, but fairly common beetle we placed him on a plant stem outside where we assume he will find a mate!

May 2011 - Sparrowhawk season!

2011-05-05T16:13:00.011+01:00

Thursday 5th: Sparrowhawk visits to the garden, and I suspect other gardens, are becoming more frequent now. Today at 2pm, a male Sparrowhawk perched on the arch in the garden as can be seen above. From the study window, holding the camera outside, I snapped a succession of photos as Melanie stood motionless not 10 feet away. This is the time of the season when the female Sparrowhawk will be sitting on a clutch of eggs and the male will need to find and catch small birds, mammals etc in order to keep her well nourished. On this occasion, he nipped into and through the conifers to grab a small bird. Promptly he took off back towards the nest clutching the live bird in his talons and the waiting female.

May 2011 - Red Kites Galore!

2011-05-05T16:08:00.018+01:00

Monday 2nd: On my way to South Wales to visit my Mum, I made a detour to Gigrin Farm, a Red Kite Feeding Centre in Powys, mid-Wales. When Summer Time is in force, the Kites are fed at 3pm, so a target was set. Leaving home at 10:30am I deduced that I had ample time to get there from South Yorkshire. In fact I was parked-up at 2:15pm on a bright and sunny but breezy day. Red Kites are a familiar raptor in Wales, frequently seen in the skies. Other areas thanks to a successful rehabilitation programme now have their own population of these raptors, including Yorkshire. The main congregation being located in West Yorkshire, but occasionally, a lone Red Kite is seen as was evidenced by Melanie a couple of weeks ago. She saw a Red Kite slowly move across the sky at low-level over the garden and was flabbergasted at what she saw.

The last time I saw a Red Kite was way back in 1997 when myself and a friend, Neil drove down to Aberystwyth for an Astronomy weekend. At a loose-end during the day, Neil suggested we travel eastwards to the interior and try to see Red Kites. On that trip we saw about half a dozen individuals, all at fairly close range! Back in 1997 there were a recorded 152 monitored Kites in Wales, rising to 568 in 2008 with many more estimated and numbers increasing throughout various areas of England.

Back at Gigrin Farm, Red Kites had began to arrive. Looking up into the sky, I could see Kites gliding on the thermals. To see one is incredible but to see many more is just amazing and at such close range. The area where the beef is put out for them has an arc of long hides to one side and already they seemed full of spectators. I took my place in a hide and prepared for the spectacle.

At the stroke of 3pm, a tractor with a trailer loaded with cuts of prime beef entered the area. The number of Red Kites had increased dramatically in a matter of a few minutes. The sky was full of Red Kites as can be seen by the two photos at the top. These are not photos of the sky with superimposed Red kites, but actual photos I took during the course of the session. I kid you not when I say that the immediate sky was crowded with circling Red Kites. But these were not the only birds; three Buzzards were in attendance as were approx 32 Rooks and a few Carrion Crows. I counted 35 individual Red Kites but there were many more, probably three times as many! The tractor and the chap shovelling the meat out did not seem to deter the Kites, Buzzards or Rooks as they grabbed the meat almost as soon as it was on the ground!

The closeness of the action made this scene all the more exciting, Kites would swoop down from the sky and grab a chunk of beef and rise up into the sky, eating on the wing! Birds were wheeling, diving and making sharp turns in the sky with one or two near collisions but the Kites appear to be such masters in the air, swivelling their large forked-tails to manoeuvre, that a collision in such a crowded area was never going to happen!

After about 30 mins, all the meat was out on the ground and the tractor was driven out of the area. Two brown and one very pale Buzzard were on the ground feeding with the Rooks on the periphery while the Red Kites continued to swoop and collect meat. A sole White Kite was also in attendance. This White “Red” Kite or Leucistic Red Kite is apparently a frequent visitor and is 8 years old. This Kite has tags on its wings and so do some others that I saw. The tag on the right wing denotes the year the raptor hatched while the left wing tag denotes the county to which it resides. More info can be found at the Gigrin Farm web page. But not all Kites have tags, so are truly wild!

Most spectators had drifted away by 4pm but I stayed another 30 minutes just soaking-up the spectacle! Kites were still wheeling around in the air and swooping to mop-up the remainder of meat. I suspect that some Red Kites stay in the area while others roam much further a-field but they will be back tomorrow for another feed. A truly amazing experience and well worth another visit!

April 2011 - Easter Waxwings!

2011-04-24T10:52:00.034+01:00

Saturday 23rd: After the success of seeing the Waxwings yesterday, I had arranged to re-visit Sandra's garden and this time take my scope and video camera. So at 7:15am, I drove the 300 yards to Sandra's house with a plethora of equipment. "Why drive?" I hear you say. Well, my back has been plaguing me these past few months and lugging all this equipment 300 yards would just aggravate it more! Having set up the scope and video camera on tripods...pikelets were kindly served by Sandra...that's crumpets to you and me! Indeed, as the minutes passed and an hour with no sign of them...Waxwings, that is, we were beginning to feel that they had finally departed back to their native country!

We sat in the garden and were soon rewarded with the local bird life. Amazingly, a Nuthatch visited the sunflower-heart feeder just 5 feet away! I couldn't move to get my camera but Sandra quietly snapped a photo. A pair of Great Tits kept visiting the nest box, two Goldfinches drank water on this warm morning, the odd Collard Dove and Wood Pigeon pecked at the ground and a pair of Robins were constantly around our feet. Yes, both Robins were very trusting and one even perched on one of my tripods not two feet away! But it got better...one of the Robins landed on my knee as I sat in the sun-chair! Sandra grabbed a photo and I hope to show it here soon! With time, I suspect that Sandra would be able to get at least one of the pair to eat from her hand, but it would require enormous patience. A Sparrowhawk slowly circled overhead against the blue sky and headed towards my garden.

Finally at 9:30am the Waxwings flew over and moments later came back and alighted in the same sycamore tree as yesterday. Now we would get much more detailed views and wow, what a view! Looking through the scope showed the pinkish colouring and yellow flashes of the birds' markings. I counted thirteen individuals, Sandra, fifteen. These must've been the same individuals as yesterday. The Waxwings stayed for around 20 minutes and then at some unknown signal they took to the air and away. Well that was well worth the time spent waiting.

What a great time to spend an Easter weekend, in the Sun watching the birds!

Postscript: That morning was the last that the Waxwings were seen in that sycamore or anywhere else around here. It is now about the time of the season that they should return to Scandinavia, maybe these have. But there are still plenty being seen around the country.

Friday 22nd: For the past few days, Sandra had noticed that Waxwings were flocking to a distant sycamore tree. Using binoculars from her kitchen/back garden, she can see these birds amongst the blossoming and unfolding leaves. So this morning at 8:30am, I joined her in the Waxwing-watch and I wasn't disappointed! For twenty minutes we watched as the birds, 15 of them ate the buds. Amazing, but I should've fetched my scope! After the show we walked over to Sandra's local patch; Church Wood Plantation. Quite a few Wrens were about calling, Robins and Blue/Great Tits. The Bluebells were also out and look like they had been for the past few days.

We wandered back down the road towards my local patch; Kirk Moor Plantation Wood. Here we saw my first Black Cap of the year - a male. A pair of mating Wrens were active with, I presume the male holding a small white ball of fluff or wool in it's beak. An unidentified warbler was flying around and harassing the Wrens. It kept flying to the undergrowth were we believe it had or was making a nest. Chiffchaffs were abundant, at least four and we even managed to see one after some astute tracking by Sandra! Like Church Wood, the Bluebells were out in here too but not as many as in previous years. I also managed to glimpse a couple of Jays amongst the blossoming leaves! That was a first in this wood for a few years for me!

Monday 11th: The two Blackbird chicks that hatched a few days ago, appear to be doing well thanks to the constant feeding by both the male and female adult Blackbirds. Unfortunately the third egg has failed to hatch. We left it in the nest for a few days to make sure it was an unfertilised egg and then removed it.

April 2011 - Farewell Grumpy, Pinky & Little Lad!

2011-04-17T10:57:00.011+01:00

Saturday 16th: Well they've finally been released...out into the big wide world. The 3 Hedgehogs that we affectionately named; Grumpy, Pinky and Little-Lad were transported to a garden in Tickhill, the home of Elaine and Paul. Sandra also kindly helped with the relocation as it was a major operation moving 3 Hedgehogs, boxes and sundry items to this new area.

As dusk fell, Grumpy was the first out and investigating her new surroundings. Eventually she made her way out of the garden and onto the field where myself and Mel followed her as she moved down the edge of the field bordering the gardens. Soon she became a faint shape as the light faded. She seemed to be enjoying herself as she was tasting the new odours and anointing herself. Farewell Grumpy, we wish you success!

Pinky emerged soon after but seemed content to stay in the garden. Before we broke off the "Hedgehog Watch" to have a bite to eat, prepared by our hosts Elaine and Paul, we had hoped to see Little-Lad emerge, but he stayed resolutely in his box.

After a very nice and welcome pizza and a toast with Bucks-Fizz to the Hedgehogs, we ventured back outside into the dark. Pinky was still in the garden but had moved further along the flower-bed and had been anointing herself. No sign of Little-Lad, his box was empty so he would be out-and-about somewhere but two other Hedgehogs were on the other side of the garden so that bode well. at least there is a community of Hedgehogs that these 3 may integrate into.

So farewell Grumpy, Pinky and Little-Lad, we wish you well in your new location.

April 2011 - Hedgehogs pre-release night!

2011-04-01T23:42:00.012+01:00

Friday 1st: The time has come, the bad weather gone and spring is in the air. Tonight at 10:20pm, all three Hedgehogs - Grumpy, Little-Lad and Pinky - are back in the garden. Born last June, we found four baby hedgehogs in the planthouse. Probably two days old and cold to the touch. It appeared that they had either been abandoned or orphaned. We of course took them in and through Mel's perseverance, raised three to adulthood with the fourth unfortunately dying a few days after we took them into the house. They spent the late summer months and early autumn living outside in the garden. But in late November when the freezing weather and the snows came, we moved them back into the house to feed and gain the weight needed to become adults. So now the time is here and they are back in the garden. Here they will stay, probably for three or four weeks before we transfer them to another garden in the countryside where eventually they (we hope) disperse into the wild. The Blackbird nesting just outside the backdoor has today hatched two of the three eggs. Two tiny and helpless chicks are being fed by both male and female Blackbird.

March 2011 - Blackbird on nest

2011-03-26T23:01:00.011Z

Tuesday 22nd: A female Blackbird that has moved into the nest near the back door is sitting on 3 eggs. By our calculations, the eggs may hatch next Wednesday. The nest was previously built and owned by the female Blackbird that died last December. The photo below was taken at 5:20pm today. Meanwhile another pair of Blackbirds are nesting in the conifers at the bottom of the garden. The male is a frequent visitor to the kitchen for live mealworms.

Hedgehogs to return to the garden soon. All three have gained weight over the winter months and will go back into the garden for a couple of weeks, soon. Having checked with various sources, the weather has not warmed sufficiently for pre-release. Hopefully we will then transfer them to a friends' garden where they will make the first steps into the wild.

March 2011 - A Grand Tour

2011-03-19T23:56:00.028Z

Saturday 19th: Another early start to a cold but sunny morning. By 7:25pm we were at Hatfield Moor (North) at Ten Acre Lake. We were there to see the Red-necked Grebe. Well, I needed to walk back to the car to get the tripod for the scope. While I was gone a flock of Whooper Swans flew over the jetty where Sandra was viewing the lake. I heard then but unfortunately couldn't see them! Having set-up the scope, the Red-necked Grebe was soon spotted, not one but two amongst the few Tufted Ducks and couple of Gadwell! We spent a good half hour there mainly watching the Grebes through the scope and the Gadwalls. A male Reed Bunting in summer plumage was seen by us through the scope and caused some consternation as at first were weren't sure what it was! There was another bird that we still can't identify. About the size of a Starling and all grey!

Driving away, I stopped the car st the side of the road to view the hundreds of birds in the stubble fields. A massive flock of Redwings, Fieldfares, Blackbirds, Corn Buntings, a couple of Lapwings and various other birds that we failed to identify, took to the air. Very impressive! Distracted we must've spent another 30 minutes here just photographing the obliging Fieldfare and Corn Bunting there were perched close to the car.

Soon we were at North Cave Wetlands, a short trip up the motorway. Here we were treated to Tree Sparrows and House Sparrows in the hedgerows. Seven Avocets were amongst the waterfowl. But good views of a couple of Snipe, which can be seen on the photo across the water from the two Avocets. Oystercatchers, Shelduck, Greylag Geese and a plethora of Gulls, mostly Black-headed and a pair of Shovelers. A pair of Great Crested Grebes were nest building and performing a wonderful mating ritual. After a quick bite to eat, it was a short drive back down the motorway to Blacktoft Sands.

Unfortunately my camera had discharged its batteries and the spares were also flat! So no images of our visit to RSPB Blacktoft Sands on this occasion! But we got some good showings as we walked around the Reserve. Tree Sparrows, Chaffinches and Goldfinches greeted the visitor to the NR. A Toad was our first encounter outside the Visitors Cabin. From inside, we saw the first Sand Martin of the year for Blacktoft. From a hide further along the Reserve we spent 30 minutes or so observing the Marsh Harriers as they flew low-level over the reeds. I counted 4, Sandra 5. From the same hide good views of 17 Black-tailed Godwits at close quarters together with two Ruff in winter plumage were had and 5 Snipe in the grassy tufts. From another hide we had superb views of a Hare through the scope. We we lucky that it stayed close to us in the grassy stubble near the waters edge. To round-off the day a Song Thrush was singing its heart out from the top of a tree in the car park as the Sun began to set.

March 2011 - Donny Waxwings!

2011-03-12T13:31:00.014Z

Saturday 12th: The Waxwings are still around in town and this morning I drove into town to see them. Again it was outside the Post Office in the town center. This time we left it late, 08:40am when we got parked-up. Speaking to a couple of chaps there, sightings of 70 and 100 were seen earlier in the week! Sandra came along to try and bag that elusive first sighting and she wasn't to be disappointed! At 08:55am 4 Waxings touched-down on their favourite perch, a TV ariel across the road from the PO. They showed well and were constantly calling, though they didn't make any attempt to feed on the berries across the road! Sanda was "chuffed to bits" at seeing a Waxwing for the very first time. Happy with four, though more is always a bonus we drove over to St George's Minster in the hope of seeing more Waxwings and besides I was getting "edgy" at the sudden appearance of a Traffic Warden "eyeing-up" my car!

In the churchyard, several Thrushes wandered over the lawns with Blackbirds, Wood Pigeons and a Robin, but no Waxwings! A Feral Pigeon flew backwards and forwards to an opening in the walls of the Minster and on each journey it carried one twig, presumably for a nest it was building. The photos below show the Pigeon entering and exiting the nest area. Unfortunately, the photo captures the bird in an Unfortunate position as it enters the opening!

March 2011 - Sandra's Garden

2011-03-06T01:29:00.006Z

Saturday 5th: Early riser again this morning...another 6am start! I'd arranged to go into town again to view the Waxwings and take Sandra as she hasn't seen these birds yet, herself. Well we got there at 7:10am and who should be there with the same intention? Rich from Work, he's the person who passes on all the tips. He had been outside the Post Office since 6:30am but they hadn't showed yet. I was in confident mood but half-seven came and went, eight o'clock and still no sign of Waxwing! Ten minutes later and three flew over calling probably with the intention of eating the berries on the cotoneaster tree. Well, they never got the chance, a male Sparrowhawk darted out from somewhere, possibly a nearby rooftop and chased the Waxwings! They all shot off at a rate of knots never to be seen again. Disappointed Sandra and myself took a tour up to another location on the other side of town to check of a Waxwing haunt. Another no-show. House Sparrows, Blackbirds, Black-head Gulls and an interesting 1st Winter Common Gull was all that we saw. A quick drive-thru to the Post Office, just to make sure there were no Waxwings about and then home. What a let-down! I'll just have to go for it again next week as they'll be heading off back to Scandinavia soon.

At least Sandra's garden held some surprises. A pair of Great Tits were in the garden and the female was giving some serious consideration to the nest box. We reckon that she was in there a for at least 10 minutes. The photo shows her just squeezing out!

The usual suspects were there; Goldfinches, Greenfinches (no photos), a pair of Dunnocks, a Robin, some Starlings and most surprising of all, a Rook! We'd already seen three Rooks earlier on our way to town but this time the bird actually perched on a post in Sandra's garden! It didn't come down to the lawn for a meal but flew back to a nest atop a tree across the road.

What do you think this bird below is? Maybe an immature Goldfinch?

March 2011 - At last.....WAXWINGS!

2011-03-04T22:25:00.005Z

Friday 4th: Finally, after months...no, years, I have seen a Waxwing! Following a tip-off from a fellow Birder, I arrived early this morning at 7:15am in town to see these fine birds. Precisely at 7:30am a flock of 33 appeared in the sky above us and descended onto a TV ariel across the road from the cotoneaster tree. But before they could eat, a kestrel made an unwelcome entrance and dispersed the flock. Thankfully this male didn't catch anything but the flock had now gone. Of the 6 of us there to witness this, only myself and another chap stayed till 8am, before deciding that we needed to get to our respective places of Work.

February 2011 - Local Patch.

2011-03-04T22:22:00.020Z

A walk through two local woods recently, yielded a surprising host of birds. A bright sunny day always helps and though cold, that big yellow ball in the blue sky made for good conditions for us and the birds! Across the road from our estate is a small wood...well, a wooded area beside Cantley Road. In fact on older maps, it is known as Church Plantation.

Earlier this year or late last year Sandra had seen 30+ Redwings here and she was keen to see if they were still in residence. Luckily they were. We're not sure exactly how many but we did see quite a few, 20+. Unless you are almost on top of them, they are not very photogenic as they spend most of their time on the ground amongst the leaf litter and so blend in remarkably well! I did get a few good pics as can be seen here.

A Chaffinch was very obliging and supplied an unusual shot from below. Blue and great Tits along with a few Long-tailed Tits were seen. We did see a Nuthatch but my photo doesn't do it justice as I was shooting into the Sun. A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers were conspicuous by their red underparts.

Once out of the wood we walked across the vast expanse of lawn between the flats the wood. Soaring high above was a Common Buzzard. Against the blue sky it made for a pleasant sight. A couple of passers-by were quite interested in what we had seen and asked if we were looking for Waxwings. We were but so far had drawn a blank. I did point-out the Buzzard overhead and that got an "aha!" from the pair.

Walking all the way down the road for about 2 miles, didn't produce anything in the way of birds but after a quick stop at my place we continued on to Kirk Moor Plantation Wood. Here in the mid-afternoon Sun we got superb views of a Treecreeper, so good that I didn't even take photos! At the other end of the Wood by the Pub, high up the top of Silver Birch and Alders were a small flock of what we believe we Lesser Redpolls but on examining the photos, I am 90% sure that there are a couple of Linnets mixed in with them! A great day walking around our local patch and still plenty more to see!

February 2011 - Sparrowhawk comes a calling!

2011-02-02T22:10:00.011Z

Tuesday 1st: A sunny and balmy day for the beginning of February, perfect weather for the Sparrowhawk to call. Melanie took these shots while this male perched on the broken arches. He didn't stay for long, maybe 10 minutes and then he was off, without a kill, probably to another of his hunting territories.

News on the Hedgehogs: Well they are still inside and semi-hibernating. They are still spending around 20 hours asleep but do tend to get up to eat and toilet! When in their card-board boxes (they each have their own), we have found on a couple of occasions that all three are sleeping in one box together. This is unusual as Hedgehogs are solitary animals but these three do spend a lot of time together, even when they were outside in the garden. We are still looking at an March release back into the garden for a couple of weeks or so and then hopefully into the big wide world. Still looking at locations for release. So if you know of anywhere that is devoid of Badgers then we would be interested in hearing from you.

January 2011 - RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch

2011-01-30T19:15:00.016Z

Saturday 29th: This was an hour of watching the birds in our back garden. Both Melanie and I recorded the different types of birds that would spend time in the garden. The usual suspects were about; House Sparrows (32), Starlings (11), Wood Pigeons (3) & Collard Doves (12). By far, House Sparrows and Starlings are the most numerous of birds in our garden. Though we shouldn't complain, we do yearn for more of a variety of garden birds, both House Sparrows and Starlings are on the RSPBs RED list of conservation concern. Luckily some interlopers visited within the hour; two Great Tits! Now I'm not sure if they were a pair but they are infrequent visitors to our garden. Also the Wren (who currently stays most of the day every day to feast on live mealworms), along with the Robin and another pair of Blackbirds were included in the count. I also briefly saw a male Greenfinch fly-off from the garden. I guess he got lost on his way to that other place! So well down on numbers this year!

The Government has announced plans to sell-off the 18% of England's woodlands and forests currently run by the Forestry Commission. There is a public consultation in progress until the 21st April after which, the Government will review and then make known it's decision. You can read all about it at the link above. Read what the National Trust has to say on the proposals. If you wish, sign the petition at the campaign group 38 Degrees website.

January 2011 - Hatfield Moor

2011-01-16T13:37:00.030Z

Saturday 15th: An overcast and very blustery day started with a stop on the road to Hatfield Moor, on the banks of the river Torne to join other Birders in looking for a Rough-legged Buzzard. Set up the scope and spent maybe 50 minutes scoping the farm fields and tree-line. In the scope saw got a good view of a Common Buzzard. Decided to come back later in the afternoon for another look.

Parking up at Boston car park, a first year Mute Swan stood forlornly at the fence and when Sandra went to feed it some bread, it was quickly joined by two Canada Geese and a Lesser Scaup (Aythya Duck). I say Lesser Scaup for want of another name. It seems that there is some discussion as to what the duck actually is, on the Hatfield Moor blog. But in the final analysis, it is likely to be an immature female Lesser Scaup.

The duck (whatever it is), seemed unconcerned with us and was more interested in the bread that Sandra was feeding the Swan. It was constantly on the move and it seemed that we were treated to the "Little 'n Large" show as the little duck ran around the much larger Swan!

Sandra wanted to visit the hide where we would be guaranteed to get a good sighting of various birds and we weren't to be disappointed! I have never seen so many Great Tits and Blue Tits gathered together in one group before! On and around the feeders, (note: when feeding birds fatballs, please remove the green plastic netting as they can easily get their feet tangled in this) there were at least 10 Great Tits with at least 9 Blue Tits! I suspect that nearby there were more! We even had a surprise visit by two Long-tailed Tits to the feeders. Reed Buntings, Chaffinches, a Robin and female Blackbird along with 2 Dunnocks picked at scraps that had fallen to the ground. Some good photos were captured from here as can be seen above and below.

We moved on towards what is named as The Prison Lakes. A short trek up a muddy trail to a couple of very large lakes. No waterfowl on these except for a solitary pair of Mallards. But we did get a good close view of a Kestrel as it glided at low-level above us. Three Bulfinches whistled overhead and perched for a few minutes in the bare branches of Alders, long enough for us to get stunning views of the rose-breasted male and the female. Wandering back to the car we came across a birder who was watching some Lesser Redpolls amongst the Silver Birch. We too studied them before they took to flight.

Back at Boston Park lake we made a check on the waterfowl. Plenty of Canada Geese, of which I counted 125 using my "counter-device",Coot; 140, Black-headed Gulls with some Tufted Duck, one male Wigeon (above) and some Pochard. A Good day out though very blustery at times but mildish!

January 2011 - Sandra's Garden

2011-01-08T20:58:00.019Z

Saturday 8th: A dry but cold and sometimes sunny day, I called round to Sandra's house on an errand and as she gets a good variety of birds, took my camera along... just in case. Well as I've said before on this blog, there must be something in the trees over there as Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Great Tits and Blue Tits are regular visitors to her garden.

This afternoon a few Goldfinches fed from the feeders, always a pleasing sight. A couple of Greenfinches provided competition for sunflower hearts while a couple of male Chaffinches alternated between the feeders and the ground.

Over on the other side of the garden, a Great Tit, Blue Tit, Dunnock and Robin were in the buddleia bush. Every now and then a Collard Dove or Wood Pigeon would touchdown, scattering the smaller birds to the neighbouring gardens.

January 2011 - New Years Day Birding

2011-01-03T12:55:00.021Z

Saturday 1st: The first day of the New Year is traditionally a day when "Birders" get out and about for those first ticks of the year! This one is no different. A cold and wet day with the promise of sporadic rain shows... great! For Sandra and myself, it started with a drive down to Sheffield in search of those elusive Waxwings! Unfortunately when we got there at 10am, there were none to be seen, though Sandra did see a small flock of birds through her binoculars that may have been a group of Waxwings though we couldn't confirm this as I had left my binoculars in the car! A walk around Abbeydale constantly searching the leafless trees and skies did not reveal any of these birds. Though a small group of Long-tailed Tits did provide our first sighting of the year! A Robin, Carrion Crows and half-a-dozen Wood Pigeons added to that tally.

So a trip out towards Redmires Reservoir and towards the Peak District. We didn't actually get to the Reservoir but a sighting of flocks of Fieldfares by Sandra in fields at the roadside necessitated a short road side stop to view them and take photos. Sandra was thrilled as this was a FIRST for her and the first time that I have seen more that one Fieldfare! There were loads of them! We estimated that there could be circa 60 after I did a quick count. As can be seen in a photo above, but not seen by us at the time is a Redwing. Redwings will often join Fieldfares in large flocks. The light rain was constant throughout the day wherever we went and annoying.

Driving on, we ended-up at a small NR called Rivelin. A small secluded car park with picnic area and two small ponds surrounded by trees. Six drake and seven duck Mallards occupied the frozen ponds, a few Long-tailed tits in the trees and a couple of Robins. But a Wren seemed interested in me and landed on the wooden fence just 4 feet away and sang to me. I was so close I could even see it's throat moving as it sang. Of course for reasons I shan't go into, my camera was in the car so no photo of this friendly Wren.

On to Thryburgh Country Park near Rotherham. As with other locations, ice was prevalent here with large swathes of the lake frozen. Mallards, Black-headed Gulls and Common Coots were in very large numbers and flocked around anyone who went near the waters' edge in the hope of food. The Swan Goose was still there and I noticed a tag on it's leg. A lone Great-Crested Grebe in winter plumage, (as Sandra pointed-out) was out on the water.

Before we embarked on a trek around the Park, someone,presumably a Park Ranger came with a huge bucket and threw bread and other food to the flock. From all sides; Canada Geese, Coots, Mallards and inevitably the Gulls rushed to grab their own piece of food. This was when I photographed the Coot below, looking suitably satisfied with itself have just eaten! Look at those huge feet!

In the trees on the bank of the lake were Goldfinches and Chaffinches. We walked over to the hide and there we were treated to a flock feeding at the bird table and peanut feeder of Tree Sparrows, with a few Blue Tits, Great Tits and the one Yellowhammer.

Seeing Tree Sparrows here was a surprise to me because although Thryburgh is in the countryside and surrounded by fields, a town, Rotherham was only a few miles away.

Time was short, it was 3:30pm and darkness would fall by 4pm. The lake didn't look that large an area so we decided to have a quick walk around it back to the car. Well, to cut a long story short, apart from it being very muddy and wet, we saw no more birds! We got to the other side of the lake and were forced to back-track!

It turned-out that a huge fence was blocking off the footpath and it was locked too! Too high to climb so we had no choice, we had to back track, the way we came! The race was on! Get back to the car before it gets dark and the main gate is locked!

A quick march back got us to the car in the gathering gloom. All other cars and people had already departed. The Tea Shop was locked! Thankfully the gate was not locked and we did get home for our respective dinners. I've done some things while out birding, but almost getting locked-in at a site is crazy!!

December 2010 - Lakeside still frozen!

2010-12-31T19:25:00.018Z

Friday 31st: After dropping my sister-in-law off at the railway station I motored on over to the Lakeside to see if anything interesting was about. The thaw that started a few days ago has got rid of any lingering snow but the ice is still covering the lake and substantially thick, although in places, the very slow thaw has begun.

So there are groups of waterfowl spread out on the ice, some slipping as they precariously waddled over the ice. A large flock of Mute Swans and Canada Geese are camped-out by the beach and get fed by people from time-to-time. Black-headed Gulls, Coots and Mallards also add to the throng.

This morning, the mist was lying low and heavy on the lake and still hadn't lifted by 11:30am when I left for home. Although the air is damp, the temperature has risen a few degrees... it's now a balmy +4°c! Over on the far side of the lake, not noted for being seen on the here, were a pair of Shovelers which made a slippery landing but departed after 5 minutes. A small group of Teal were huddled together in a group on the stadium-side of the lake, which is also unusual. Judging by the ice, and although there are large cracks, it still appears to be quite thick and I suspect that it will need another few days of moderate temperatures to melt the ice.

On the way back home, I stopped-off at Cantley Park... nothing much doing there either! So just to get a record snap, I grabbed a photo of the iced-pond.

December 2010: Donny Lakeside Frozen

2010-12-28T16:20:00.014Z

Sunday 26th: The exceptionally cold weather is unrelentless! Temperatures are still well below zero and as a consequence, the fish pond in the back garden has been frozen for days now. This morning, one or two birds ran across the ice covering the pond and when a Pied Wagtail did the same, Mel took this snap prior to it having a cold bath!

The Lakeside, where a variety of waterfowl hang out, has completely frozen over and with a thickness of about 2 - 3 inches! I knew that some of it was frozen but not as much as I saw! I drive past the Lakeside on my way to work each morning and the light dusting of snow had fallen onto the ice and itself frozen.

The grassland around the lake that the geese use is rock hard with no tufts of grass to be eaten. Canada Geese, Black-headed Gulls and various other waterfowl walked the ice in search of food. Later in the coming week a thaw should eat into the icy conditions.

December 2010 - Tame female Blackbird dies.

2010-12-18T15:12:00.015Z

Friday 17th: Nature is harsh! A female Blackbird that we affectionately called "Nice Misses", died from wounds inflicted by a Sparrowhawk.

She was attacked on Thursday afternoon. Melanie heard her cries as she was stuck in a buddleia bush. How she got there, we will never know. Judging by the wounds on the bird, they were most definitely inflicted by a bird-of-prey and the most common one in this area is the Sparrowhawk which has constantly been visiting the garden. Unusually either the Blackbird had escaped the Sparrowhawks' grip or the Sparrowhawk had been scared-off by something and somehow the Blackbird managed to wedge herself in the leafless bush.

"Nice-Misses" was the second bird to start entering the kitchen to eat mealworms after watching a Robin initiate this habit back in 2008. But she had been around in the garden long before that (we have records going back to 2004) and before she actually came into the kitchen, she would always hang around the back door for mealworms. For two years in succession she built a nest in the ivy attached to the fence directly by the back door and raised a total of 6 known fledglings

Her original mate was the male Blackbird that himself was attacked by a Sparrowhawk back in September 2009, but who subsequently survived but has not been seen since April of this year. Her last mate still spends time in the garden and he too continues to come into the kitchen for a feast of mealworms and other delights.

December 2010 - Sparrowhawk eats House Sparrow

2010-12-14T18:05:00.006Z

Tuesday 14th: This afternoon I disturbed a Sparrowhawk in our garden. I assumed that it flew away but hen I looked out of the window upstairs, I saw the raptor stood on the empty aviary in the next garden, devouring the dead House Sparrow that it caught. It took the Sparrowhawk approximately 40 minutes to tear and eat the carcass. Afterwards, it cleaned its beak and flew off towards the local wood.

Wednesday 15th: This same male Sparrowhawk has been visiting the garden several times today. During one of it's forays, I managed to get some video of it with a mouse.

December 2010 - Bittern at Potteric Carr YWT

2010-12-10T21:46:00.025Z

Friday 10th: Wow! What a day! An early start at a snowy Potteric Carr. Snow that fell in the area over a week ago was still lying deeply over all the nature reserve. All the marshes and lakes were totally frozen with no waterfowl at all (Ducks, Geese etc) to be seen. I have never seen it like this before. Where are all the birds? Well the only birds to be seen were the usual garden & woodland variety in small numbers, namely; Bullfinches, Chaffinches, Siskins, Goldfiches, Reed Buntings, Blackbird, Mistle & Song Thrush, Redwings, Pheasants, a few Moorehens, two Water rails and one BITTERN. Yes, Bittern, these are very elusive waders, part of the Heron family, that spend most of their time skulking amongst the reedbeds. During the harsh weather, especially when the lakes are frozen, this is the best time to see Bitterns as they tend to come out into the open more.

Sandra and myself happened to go into Willow Pool hide, expecting to see the usual song birds gathered around the feeders. What greeted us when we opened the door to the hide were the hushed words, "Bittern!" A mass of birding-paparazzi and cameras with lenses as long as your arm! The target in question was not 500 metres away hidden in a mass of reeds, but 10 metres away amongst the frost ravaged undergrowth!

It was close but looking at it through a fellow birders' scope was just fantastic! This is not an every day occurrence, these are amongst the rarest native birds in the country. I've been lucky enough to have seen Bitterns before but always at a distance and heavily camouflaged amidst a mass of reeds! But it got better, the bird came out of the undergrowth and as it slowly walked through the snow, the birding-paparazzi let loose, the sound of cameras working furiously (mine included) to capture these treasured images. It stood there for a while, posing like a celebrity-starlet while the volley from the cameras continued. It then made ready, launched itself into the air and its huge wings took it leisurely gliding off to the far side of the frozen lake. Afterwards the birders started congratulating each other and checking photos, one even chirped, "Luck's in today, think I'll buy a Lottery ticket". A cuppa was needed now to relax, if nothing else showed today then seeing this was worth the free entry..... thanks Potteric Carr!

Well nothing much did happen for the rest of the day. Except that both I and Sandra yomped through the snow and around the rest of the NR, getting extremely wet boots and feet, only seeing the occasional bird. Tired after trekking through the snow, we departed just before the sun set.

December 2010 - Snow and more snow!

2010-12-10T00:18:00.009Z

Wednesday 1st: The snow fell relentlessly last night and we awoke this morning to a depth of 13 inches! As you can see by the amount of snow around the car, I didn't get to work! In fact hardly anybody did, in common with the rest of South Yorkshire. The roads were impassable and nothing was moving. Glad we took the decision to bring the Hedgehogs inside, they could never have survived this and I suspect that many wild Hedgehogs will perish. It is bitterly cold! Our Hedgehogs are content to be in the warm and are oblivious to the weather outside.

Blast from the past - Birthday Falcons!

2010-11-30T00:26:00.015Z

21st May 2008: A surprise birthday present for me today. Melanie took me on a mystery tour to deepest Lincolnshire. For what, I knew not? It was a surprise right up to the moment I parked the car at a remote house on the Lincolnshire plains. for the surprise was an afternoon at a Falconry and even better, we get to fly the raptors.

This was a private session with just Melanie and myself there. The husband and wife team of Falconer's gave us a talk about the birds that they have; 2x Harris Hawks, an Eagle Owl and a Lanner Falcon. All had been reared from the egg and so were fairly humanised. All of them were large birds and when the time came to hold one of them... heavy too!

Over in the flat, flat fields, we were given a flying display by one of the Harris Hawks and very impressive it was too. Though we were a bit worried and so was the Falconer when "Bovis", the Harris Hawk went and perched on an enormous hedge and refused to return even after repeated calls. Eventually the Falconer had to go over to the hedge and retrieve "Bovis".

Both Mel and I had an opportunity to fly "Bovis" and to have him fly direct towards your arm and then at the last moment slam on the air-brakes as he lands on your gloved hand, is very impressive! What a birthday present.... thanks Mel!

November 2010 - Old Moor RSPB in the snow

2010-11-28T23:19:00.034Z

Sunday 28th: It was bitterly cold today! With overnight temperatures dropping to -7, the snow from last Friday night, froze. Still, undeterred, a trip out to Lakeside and Old Moor RSPB was the plan. But first a visit over to the town centre Tesco where there was a faint chance of seeing Waxwings. Unfortunately, no sign at all of the elusive bird that has spread across the country this autumn. It seems that the Doncaster area is a no-go zone for these brightly coloured Scandinavian birds! We did see a Song Thrush perched on top of the clock tower spire above the store and a few Blackbirds, Robin and various members of the Tit family.

So onto Donny Lakeside in search of a Black Redstart that had been seen there yesterday. Well... you guessed, no sign at all. What we did catch sight of, though purely by accident and if we had been paying attention, we would have got a good close view, was a Kingfisher! It had been perched close to us and we watched as it flew at low-level across the surface of the lake to the other shore. A Cormorant perched on a buoy in the middle of the lake, with its beak raised to the sky with indifference! Plenty of other waterfowl; Canada Geese, Mute Swans, Tufted Ducks, Mallards and Pochards.... and of course, the ever-present Black-headed Gulls standing on the frozen lake along with 2 Herring Gulls... oh, and... the Coots.

A twenty minute drive over to Old Moor RSPB through the snowy countryside. It was perishingly cold! At the garden hide were many song birds namely Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Bulfinch, Blue Tits, Great Tits and Long-tailed Tits.

A couple of Pheasants were also in attendance. Over at the Tree Sparrow farm Sandra and myself saw at least two Yellowhammers, with several Tree Sparrows, Chaffinches and several Magpies.

The lakes were frozen and what water fowl were there, were massed together over where the water was still ice-free. Quite a few Wigeon could be seen together with Mallards, 8 Goosanders. a small flock of Golden Plover stood on the ice in a long line facing into the bitting wind.

Interspersed were with the Golden Plover were Lapwings. A fellow birder pointed-out a Peregrine Falcon perched high on a pylon. Well even through the scope I couldn't identify it as it was so far away as the photo shows. But he assured us that it was indeed a Peregrine Falcon.
Walking back to get a cuppa, someone shouted, "Waxwings!" We all looked up but again we couldn't be sure. Now for that hot cuppa tea and home! Though my toes and fingers were frozen... it was a good day out.

November 2010 - House Hedgehogs!

2010-11-28T23:14:00.009Z

Sunday 28th: Last Thursday evening, Melanie moved the 3 Hedgehogs into the house and the warm... and not a moment too soon! Because Friday night saw a deluge of snowfall and overnight temperatures plummeting to -7! It had been getting steadily colder for a few days before and as they hadn't gone into hibernation and were losing weight, we took the precaution of bringing them into the house. They will stay here for as long as it takes during this cold-snap and probably longer. Though all 3 are together in one large penned area, after initial grumbles, they seem to have accepted the close proximity of each other and appear content. All of them sleep all day and do not wake until late at night when they become active for a short while, eat and drink and go back to sleep. Daytime temperatures outside are sub-zero and this is not good for their health. If the weather continues like this, I can imagine that it will have a detrimental effect on any Hedgehogs out in the wild. Saturday night and temperatures were again below zero with a very hard frost!

November 2010 - Another visit by the Wren

2010-11-22T23:01:00.015Z

Monday 22nd: I posted last week that the Wren made it first return visit for mealworms after a Summer vacation. Well, today he/she came into the kitchen to help him/herself to mealworms! Now tell me that this Wren is not the same Wren that visited all last Winter! Wrens are very flighty birds and it's inconceivable that a bird on it's second visit would hop into the kitchen to eat! It took this Wren, last winter, several nervous visits to the back door before it would come in. Even the Blackbirds took half a dozen days and numerous visits to the back door before they comfortable in entering the kitchen to perch on the side and eat mealworms.

Saturday night was the last time we saw all three Hedghogs. Tonight is the second night that the Hedgehogs have not stirred from their hibernation houses. Last night they never appeared nor ate any food. So we believe that this could be the start of the hibernation period.

November 2010 - A long-missed friend returns!

2010-11-16T23:07:00.007Z

Tuesday 16th: A visit from a very noisy Wren at the back door this afternoon signalled the return of an old friend from last Winter. We had a Wren paying regular visits to our kitchen and take some live mealworms from last December 2009 to March this year. The Wren then disappeared, we assume to pair-off and raise a brood. So imagine Mel's delight when this bird re-appeared at the kitchen door! We are both convinced that it is the same bird from last Winter as it knew exactly where to go and where the mealworms were, it even announced it's arrival with the usual calling, until fed by Mel and not at all nervous at Mel's close proximity! let's hope that it again decides to stay for the duration of this coming winter.

November 2010 - Thrybergh Country Park

2010-11-15T18:18:00.013Z

Sunday 15th: Not planning to do any Birding this weekend, Sunday dawned a sunny but cold day and an unplanned trip to Sheffield was on. I have never seen a Waxwing and currently, there is a population invasion from Scandinavia. A quick drive to Sheffield and the location that I had, produced nothing! Next time I will be armed with several locations. I am determined to see at least one Waxwing before the end of the year! The website http://www.sbsg.org/ looks a good place for picking up sightings. So determined that my trip out was not totally wasted, I drove on up to Thrybergh CP near Rotherham.

A small country park where there is a lake with various waterfowl. Plenty of Mallards, Coots and Canada Geese not to mention the ever predsent Black-headed Gulls. But what caught my eye was a unusual goose, the type of which I had never known existed, let alone seen! It turns out that this goose is called a Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides). Originally from China/Mongolia, its possible that this is an escapee. It seemed 'at home' with the other waterfowl and a Greylag Goose spent alot of time in its company. Several Lapwings came in from the surrounding fields. There were also large numbers of hybrid Mallards as the photos show. Apparently Mallards routinely cross breed with other ducks. At the car park, 3 Mistle Thrushes and a female Bullfinch were in the trees, but not much else was seen. A very quiet day!

November 2010 - Hatfield Moor YWT & Blacka Moor YWT

2010-11-07T21:12:00.032Z

Sunday 7th: An early start to a bright and Sunny day with a visit to Hatfield Moor... well, this was our second visit of the weekend. Sandra and I went over there yesterday afternoon as a Rough-Legged Buzzard had been hanging around for the last 3 days and I need a doctor... I'm turning into a twitcher! Unfortunately we didn't see it yesterday (though a couple of Birders did shout at us to look to the sky as it was airborne)... but I can't be certain I saw it! Lots of formation flying Gulls, hundreds of them. Where did they come from and where were they going? On the lake there wer the usual waterfowl; Little Grebes (the photo below is from Lakesdide a few weeks ago), Pochard,Tufted Duck, B-H Gulls and Mute Swans... not to mention Coots!

Today, we saw high-flying falcons; Buzzard (common), of which I got some questionable photos, Kestrel and another that we couldn't identify. A Roe Deer! After spending 45 minutes with scope at the ready, atop a small hill, we decided to move on. One of the bird hides provided close-quarter photos of Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Willow Tit and Chaffinch. Sandra saw a Redpoll which evaded me (it would've made an interesting photo). A Common Red Darter obliged for its photo - early November and still a member of the Dragonfly family about, in fact there were two! Then came the Great Buzzard photo shoot... Sandra spotted the raptor high up in the clear blue sky. I immediately took some photos, while she watched it through binoculars slowly circling. It was at the limit of my camera's' zoom! A Ranger believed it could be the Rough-Legged... but another birder confirmed it as Common! Still, a fine image! Time to move on to Sheffield.

Off to Blacka Moor on the edge of Sheffield to see if we could find a Great Grey Shrike... I am turning into a twitcher! Well we eventually got there no thanks to the Sat-Nav! Looking for one little bird amidst a vast Peak-District Moor is impossible but that's the sport of Birding! Needless to say when we got there it was late afternoon. The light was beginning to fade, made even more gloomier with the ever present storm clouds. We did see a Dunnock, missed a pair of Bulfinches but spent a lot of time watching an unusual Kestrel through binoculars as it was pale in colour and I'd decided to leave the scope in the car! Well I started trekking out over the moor in an effort to get closer and that's not to be recommended as the light was fading and the ground was very uneven and boggy! Below is the best long-long range image of the "Kestrel". Needless to say, no Shrike... well it is a very large moor! All-in-all a good day out!

Below are two silhouette images of what is probably a Kestrel - the Sun is behind it and beginning to set. The other three images show a pale and grey bird in a small tree about 200 yards away... is this also the same Kestrel? Is it a Kestrel? The Sun is low and to the right.

November 2010 - Belfast Lough.

2010-11-02T22:59:00.031Z

Tuesday 2nd: Yesterday I caught a lunchtime flight to Belfast to fulfill a lecture engagement for Northern Ireland Amateur Astronomy Society (NIASS). So today, while waiting for my return flight from Belfast City Airport, Steve, the Chairman of NIASS showed me around some of the sights and just to complete the trip he took me to Belfast Lough. Well, imagine my delight when he left me to have 20 minutes or so of bird-watching before we had to return to the airport! This is a sea lough and as a consequence, open to the Atlantic! Although reasonably mild, there was a terrific, almost gale-force wind which was so strong that I had to push against it just to keep my feet!

In front of me on the shore was a Curlew, wading in the shallows while sifting the water for food. The wader was so close and didn't seem to mind about all the ramblers close by. A FIRST for me was the close appearance of 3 Turnstones. They looked much smaller than I'd imagined and were constantly on the move.

An Oystercatcher too was close by, along with three different types of Gulls; a Common Gull and Black-headed Gull and a First Winter Black-backed Gull. But another FIRST really grabbed my attention; near two Jackdaws were three adult Hooded Crows. These are a particular rarity as they mostly confine themselves to Ireland and Scotland and only very occasionally turn-upon the English mainland! So in 20 minutes, I twitched 2 types of bird that I never seen before and one of those, the Hooded Crow which in all probability would never see in England!

Half an hour after I arrived home from Belfast, Melanie and I were pleasantly surprised to see this male Sparrowhawk perched in our garden. Is this the same male that Sandra saw in her garden last Sunday? Quite possibly, the chances of two male Sparrowhawks hunting in gardens located 200 yards apart, would be very unusual! The bird didn't catch anything and after an hour, Mel shooed it away as our pet canary was looking decidedly nervous as his cage hangs outside the back door during the day. It was a blustery afternoon and as can be seen below, the wind has ruffled the Sparrowhawks' feathers somewhat!

October 2010 - Sparrowhawk visits Sandra!

2010-11-02T22:57:00.013Z

Sunday 31st October: A Sparrowhawk alighted in Sandra's garden and she emailed me a couple of photos that she snapped of the bird prior to it taking a Goldfinch! Quite possibly this predator has moved into the area to supplement it's food intake during the autumn\winter. Gardens that attract numerous song birds through residents putting out seed etc, will provide an easy and abundant food source for falcons and other predators. It's just "one of those things", nature's "dark side". On a lighter note, Sandra also sent me a photo of a fledgling Robin taken earlier in the year... lovely photo Sandra! And would you believe it... a Nuthatch on one of her feeders too!

October 2010 - Hedgehog Hibernation Houses!

2010-10-23T00:30:00.015+01:00

Friday 22nd: The nights are drawing-in and Autumn is finally upon us. It will soon be time for the three Hedgehogs to hibernate for the Winter. So the other night we went to the local DIY store and purchased some wood so that Melanie could construct the houses that the hedgehogs will use for the duration of their hibernation - that is if they decide to!

After spending the best part of the week building them, Mel tonight transferred the Hogs from the old cardboard shelters to these nice wooden boxes. Two have been built as that was what we reckoned was needed... "Pinky", the female that prefers her own company and is behaving rather squarely, has her own box. "Little-Lad"(not so little now), the male and "Grumpy", the other female, we thought, shared the other cardboard box and so Mel built a slightly larger wooden house. Well it turns out that "Grumpy" sleeps on her own too and the male has been cast out to sleep rough under a make-shift shelter... no wonder he likes to come into the kitchen at every opportunity!

Update 4/11/2010:

Mel has since built a third hedgehog house for Little-Lad and he has finally moved-in. All the hogs now appear to be using the houses and with the onset of the early dark nights, both "Pinky" and "Little-Lad" are out and about at 5pm. "Grumpy" meanwhile, stills likes to awaken later. They tend not to spend so much time in the kitchen now, preferring to be outside. The Hedgies have not shown any inclination as yet to hibernate. This is not unusual as the weather is still relatively mild.

October 2010 - Spurn Point YWT

2010-10-14T02:01:00.027+01:00

Sunday 10th: The morning started overcast but as the Sun got up, the cloud was quickly burnt-off by the Sun. It looked like Sandra and I were going to have a very good outing to Spurn Point. The autumn migration is underway and Spurn is a good place to see birds coming into these islands.

A 2-hour drive soon passed and we were greeted by the sight of an army of Birders marching along the narrow country lanes. As I slowed to pass some Birders, I looked down to the roadside on my right and saw what was to be the first of many Siskins at close quarters. There were so many birds about that we didn't know which way to look! We went on through to the Reserve and immediately saw large numbers of Redwings criss-crossing the fields.

A lone female Chaffinch seemed to be interested in us when we ate our sandwiches and hung around the parked car. We wandered over to a hide on the Humber estuary coast where we saw Robins on the beach, Little Plover in another Birders scope, 3 Redshanks, a couple of Oystercatchers and other Waders not identified, some Great Black-backed Gulls and even a Meadow Pipit or two also on the shore. Through my scope 11 Brent Geese waded in the shallows. It seemed that the shoreline attracted a great many birds, presumably as they arrive exhausted and drop down on the beach to feed!

We decided to move on and drive down to the Point. I volunteered us to walk around the Point not knowing that it was going to be a bit of a hike. Down on the Humber-side of the beach I lost count of the number of Northern Wheatears patrolling in and around the clumps of seaweed and shingle. We saw at least two males but many more females. Also there, large numbers of warblers; Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. Siskins were abundant as elsewhere. At the Point I managed to see and photograph a Common Redstart (another first)!

Climbing up to the Nature Reserve, I saw vast numbers of Redwings together with numbers of other unidentified birds! In fact Sandra did well in getting up a steep incline from the shore on the North Sea side to the roadside! There were so many Wheatears and Siskins that I lost count but we both got some good photos! Most of these birds would be making ready to migrate back to Africa while yet more; Robins, Redwings etc would be just coming-in for the autumn/winter. A truly amazing spectacle! I've not seen so many different species of bird in such a small area before - no wonder Spurn Point is a mecca for birdwatchers!

To round off the day, we drove back to Kilnsea and after some refreshments, a fellow birder lined-up a Lapland Bunting in my scope. We were treated to some first-class views of this rarity. It's just a shame that the photo I took through the scope was a crock... A flock of 9 Curlews flew over the car towards the north and as I watched them through my binoculars, I neglected to call Sandra to which I got a stern rebuke! Sorry Sandra!

A great day out and one of the most spectacular places that I've been too for watching birds. So I can count Northern Wheatear, Common Redstart and Lapland Bunting as new species for my Life-List. Another visit is definitely on the cards next Spring!

Above: The Kilnsea Sunset.

October 2010 - Slavonian Grebe at Doncaster Lakeside!

2010-10-07T23:48:00.011+01:00

Thursday 7th: Well, at the third time of asking... I finally twitched this rare visitor! For the past three days I have trekked around the lake looking for the Slavonian Grebe, during my 30-minute lunch break from Work and during the last 2 hours before sunset after Work! It turned-out that if I was at one end of the lake, the Grebe was at the other end! This afternoon, I received another update from Richard, a fellow Birder telling me that at 2:15pm it was at the Stadium-end of the lake. When I got to the lake I teamed-up with another Birder who had a "top-of-the-range" camera with a telephoto lens the length of my arm! Almost immediately we saw the bird and followed as it casually sailed along.

When it got chased by a Great Crested Grebe, it took flight and we lost it briefly. A quick scan with binoculars soon located it and catching up with a more relaxed bird, we took some photos and chatted about its behaviour patterns and why it could be here. This Slavonian Grebe has been on Donny Lakeside since September 26th, so a decent time. The chap I spoke to has posted some images to http://www.birdguides.com/ and will be posting the images he took today, and cracking photos they are too! But here are my modest offerings.

September 2010 - Fairburn Ings RSPB

2010-09-24T23:40:00.030+01:00

Friday 24th: It's true what they say; "what a difference a day makes"...or two! Last Wednesday, myself and Sandra went to Old Moor RSPB and the weather was warm and even sunny at times... so warm that shirt-sleeves was all that we needed. But today...today here in Yorkshire it was blowing a right old gale! Heavy rain all the previous night only relented at around 8am this morning! A grand day to spend outside watching birds! So fleece and jacket was required but the gloves were left behind and were sorely needed at times. We drove up to North Yorkshire to visit Fairburn Ings RSPB near to Castleford. Setting off early we got caught up in the "rush-hour" traffic but by 9.30am we were parked in a bleak wind swept car park wondering; "is this worth it".

Well we needn't have worried, within the first 30 minutes we had already twitched a Kingfisher at close-quarters that obliged by constantly fishing and gave us around 20 minutes of breath taking views. Marvelling at the antics of Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Tree Sparrows, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit and others on and around a closely situated bird table. After all this, anything else would be a bonus. Well during our long and wind-swept trek around the NR we were to get that bonus!

On our trek down to the village-end of the lake, the usual suspects were seen; Cormorants (17), Mute Swans (lots), Mallards (quite a few), Coots (too many to mention) but also Shovelers, Gadwalls, two Herons, eight white Geese that were probably farmyard related and Grebes, both the Little variety and Great Crested of which we saw five adults and one adult shepherding three immatures that were probably about 3 months old! But the bonus was another two Kingfishers that flew in front of Sandra and the female Goosander sitting on the bank of a lake that I would have walked right past if Sandra hadn't motioned to me!

Having slogged back to the car (at least 3 miles were covered in total) we ate a hearty bunch of sandwiches and drank tea while watching the Tree Sparrows on the feeders. House Martins wheeled overhead in the steadily bluer skies and out of the blue glided a Buzzard! We watched through binoculars as it slowly wheeled around in the sky - what long wings it has!

We had a quick tour of the feeders by the Visitor Centre and over at Pickup hide we watched in amazement as a Kestrel was mobbed for some 10 minutes by three Carrion Crows! To finish the day, we drove up to Spoonbill Flash, but alas no Spoonbills! Here were lots of dabbling and diving ducks, the usual suspects a Black-tailed Godwit and two other waders that have yet to be identified but what was to be the last highlight of the day was the Kestrel that spent some time in front of our hide hovering and dropping to the ground in its search for food. And we got some good close views as it wheeled in front of the hide...binoculars weren't needed it was so close! But the very last highlight was when we got back to the car and Sandra nervously fed a band of Mute Swans tuna sandwiches!

September 2010 - Old Moor RSPB

2010-09-23T11:41:00.020+01:00

Wednesday 22nd: Today I went over to my local RSPB nature reserve near Rotherham. A warm late September day meant that it was shirt-sleeve weather -no need of a jacket! I called for Sandra and we got there just before lunch time. almost immediately we were treated to some sights: a male and female Bullfinch, Sandra's first since 2006! Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits and even a Willow Tit (we think), was seen from the hide attached to the Visitor Centre. Luckily everything is very close at this hide as my binoculars are just too powerful... must remember to bring the 10x25's as well! Being a warm day, there were plenty of Dragonflies about and one of the Red Darters even landed on Sandra's hand, obliging long enough for me to grab some photos! The Tree Sparrow Farm area was strangely quiet with a couple of birds about, a Tree Sparrow (Sandra's FIRST) and a chiffchaff.

On the Main lake there were the usual suspects: Canada Geese (37), Mallards, Coots, Gadwalls, a couple of Mute Swans, 5 Great Crested Grebes, 5 Little Grebes with 2 Cormorants and 10 Wigeon. Across the lake wheeled 8 Swallows or were they House Martins?

The highlight of the day was over at Wath Ings hide. Here there were flocks of various types of bird, all congregated over the grassy banks and mudflats. Unusual to say the least was the sight of 11 Grey Herons all equally spaced along the bank or fishing in the shallows. A large flock of Lapwings was on the mudflats, could have been 200+. Amongst them were smaller numbers of Golden Plover. As always I take my scope and that just added to the enjoyment of seeing the details of the birds. Amongst all this were... well at least 20 maybe 30 Linnets! Again Widgeon with some Pochard and quite a few Shovelers! A Kestrel disturbed the flock and all Lapwings, Plovers and Linnets took to the air. A mass flock swirled around the sky as the Kestrel tried to pick one from the swirl! Fantastic... but the sight of a lovely plumaged Black-tailed Godwit on the far bank was the bonus!

After a quick bite to eat we toured the outlying areas of the NR where we came across what I took to be a Scaup. Now female Tufted Ducks are often mistaken for Scaups but this duck was bigger than your average female Tufted Duck. The jury is still out on that and I will need to consult some more pictures and compare with mine.

The late afternoon had brought the cool air and the sky became overcast. It was time to depart for home and reflect on a marvelous day out. I have some video footage that when transferred from tape, I will attach to this entry... soon.

September 2010 - Hoglets are now Hedgehogs!

2010-09-23T11:34:00.013+01:00

Sunday 26th: It has been a privilege to watch these animals develop from such tiny and helpless creatures to three individuals who have their own personalities and are approaching adulthood. We are approaching the end of the 14th week so they are now 3 months old and all have a healthy weight: the male weighs-in at 818g and the largest female at a whopping 918g! We are extremely happy with the male as he was very poorly when just a few days old and not gaining any weight. It was touch-and-go with him but now he is a very healthy Hedgehog! The only (little) problem with these two is that they keep coming into the kitchen at night and spending as much time as they can in there!

Meanwhile, the other female is becoming a cause of concern; her current weight is 788g, which sounds good, but she has not gained the weight in the last two weeks that the other two have. She is the only one of the three that tends to behave as Hedgehogs do. She is people-shy, which is good, and spends most of her time outside in the enclosed garden. Though there is plenty of dried cat food out there plus whatever insects etc she can get, she is now lagging behind weight-wise. This Hedgehog was the one that was showing the most promise for release, but now we are holding-off.

Indeed, last week was the week that we were due to release them all but releasing them would in our opinion be a death sentence for them. After checking up on various websites and reading the research on releasing into the wild and seeing poor results with tagged hogs...we have decided to over-winter them for hibernation come December and take it from April when they emerge. When they emerge from hibernation next April, they should wake-up as adults and just maybe they will have all the adult instincts that tell us that we can release them to the wild and know that they will have a fighting chance.

September 2010 - Sparrowhawk visit to the bird table!

2010-09-23T10:51:00.007+01:00

Tuesday 21st: Lunchtime and all of a sudden the bird song stops. Mel calls me, "Sparrowhawk on the bird table!" I grab the camera and reel-off a few shots. The bird stayed for about 10 minutes and even flew across the garden to the perch by the feeders. As everything had taken cover and nothing was available for lunch, this female Sparrowhawk flew off without making a kill. The photos were shot through the study window so as not to scare it off if I opened it. The short movie below was shot on my camera.

September 2010 - Hoglets now young Hedgehogs

2010-09-05T11:29:00.018+01:00

Thursday 9th: The Hoglets are now reaching the end of week 12 and have grown to such an extent that they can be called "young Hedgehogs". It's now approximately 4 weeks since they began to spend all night and day outside in the penned garden. Their weight tends to fluctuate by a few grammes on a daily basis but on the whole, the Hedgies are gaining the weight and thus, the fat reserves. All three at last are ahead of target for their weight according to
http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/, but are not ready for release yet. Having researched the subject of; "release into the wild", we believe that the Hedgies need to be over 700 grammes minimum weight in order to survive the Winter and hibernation.

At the moment, the male is far from ready. Weighing only 588 grammes and although healthy , fit and with a heavy set of quills, he has shown no inclination to making a nest, eating live insects, or showing any purpose in what he does. He does eat dried cat food and live mealworms and would readily eat all that we have, but mealworms are not generally found in abundance in the wild! It maybe that come late December, he may be staying behind but as yet it is still too early to make any decision about him.

The two females weigh-in at a hefty 690 & 670 grammes. Both have a heavy set of quills covering their bodies but like the male, are not eating live insects only live mealworms and dried cat food! Although one of them made the nest that all three tend to sleep in, the second female has shown no interest or need to build a nest.

The big question that faces us is; "If released in the next month or two, would they survive or starve?" I keep coming back with the answer; "they would starve!" These Hedgehogs are not wild animals, they were not born into the wild and know nothing of the wild and how to hunt for food. They were born by the patio door and abandoned/orphaned after a few days. Mel has done a monumental job in raising these three Hoglets to become young Hedgehogs. Though, they still have along way to go. For us, it would be cruel to release these animals into an environment that they have no instinct for. Better that they stay in the environment that they know until the time comes when they show us they are ready to leave!

August 2010 - First day and night in garden for Hoglets!

2010-08-22T13:00:00.015+01:00

Sunday 22nd: Well, we are nearing the end of this journey of raising 3 orphaned/abandoned baby Hedgehogs. Maybe in four weeks we will release the Hedgies into the wild. We are now looking at possible locations well away from roads and hopefully their main predator...Badgers! The Hoglets already spend about 5 hours outside in the garden at night so as last Friday was a dry and warm night, we left them outside all night with their respective shelters, their group-built nest and a good supply of food and water. But it wasn't just a case of "leave them to it". I also stayed-up all night, checking on them each hour.

It's now 62 days and Monday is the start of week 10. Their weights are 436 and 382 grammes for the females and 300 grammes for the male. He is still not showing much in the way of instinct and purpose about what he does, like the two females. We would ideally wish to release them together, but if he is not ready then we may have to hold the two females back until he is ready. We will see what happens in the next few weeks.

Friday 27th: Apart from one night, the Hedgies have been spending all their time this week outside in the garden. Mel has widened the area within the garden that is secure and they roam at will, eat and sleep a bit then roam again. Apart from one day, when they lost weight due to the weather turning cold, they have all regained that lost weight and more!Their weights as of yesterday are 518, 442 & 364 grammes respectively.

August 2010 - Looking more like adult Hedgehogs

2010-08-16T21:32:00.013+01:00

Monday 16th: This is the start of the 9th week and its been 56 days since the birth of these amazing animals - they look more and more like mini versions of adult Hedgehogs, particularly the two females. Besides being bulky and heavy, (the Hoglets pile on the weight each day), their bodies are now fully covered in quills and their fur has developed a brownish tinge.

The Hoglets are eating only dried food in enormous quantities and drinking water. A Hedgehogs natural instinct has kicked into play as they sleep most of the day and only become active at dusk - meaning late nights for us! As the Hoglets have got larger, they require a greater area to roam at night. This has necessitated in Melanie turning our back garden into one giant enclosed area.

Here the Hoglets can forage amongst the flower beds and rockery for insects and alike. The two females have taken to nest-building amongst the flower beds and tend to spend some of the night inside, while the male still prefers to rest in the shelter we have provided.

At the moment, their weights are 358, 328 & 234 grammes, the latter being the male and because of that we bring them inside the house around 2am for their safety. When the Hoglets top 400 grammes, we will be more confident about having them stay out all night by themselves!

August 2010 - Hoglets and Hedgehog!

2010-08-08T16:56:00.024+01:00

Sunday 8th: Well, what a difference a week makes! We're now at the end of the 6th week, all the Hoglets are now into the 3-figure bracket for their weight! The two females weigh 202 and 222 grammes with the male lagging behind on 110 grammes. It's a strange scenario; what the male lacks in weight, he more than makes up for with bodily development. His eyes are fully open, ears are developed, whiskers and snout well grown and bodily hair on his body just like his siblings. The only things holding him back is his body size and his weight. We think that because he's always charging about, he doesn't sleep as much as the other two, so he's continually burning-off calories and loosing body mass! The females are very much on the road to youthful Hedgehog status. They eat, have a little mooch about and then slink-off to sleep. We try and have all three outside as much as possible now and they do seem to be better Hedgehogs for it! Though they are nowhere near the weights needed to release them, so that they have a chance of surviving hibernation and the forthcoming winter. And that will present another problem: where to release them? Do we provide them with shelter and food to start off with? These and more questions are what we have to tackle in the near future. But for now, the Hoglets progress is steady.

STOP PRESS!

In the early hours of Monday morning.....1:50am to be precise, Mel encountered an adult Hedgehog in the garden! I too saw it too just before it scampered off. My bed was calling me, so I too scamperd off soon after. Mel decided that she would stay out a little longer and sure enough, it came back! Not only that but it made it's way to the back door, climbing up a couple of tall steps and then tried several times to clamber over the taller door-step presumably with the intention of getting into the kitchen. After failing to do this, the Hedgehog walked past Melanie (who was watching only a few feet away) across the patio and under the gate through to the front of the house and away!

August 2010 - Hoglets out & about!

2010-08-01T18:39:00.013+01:00

Sunday 1st: Melanie finished the pen for the Hoglets, that she began making on Saturday. Though they have because accustomed to roaming all over the garden, (under supervision), they have a secure area for when they have a nap! We are taking them outside more and more while we have this warm weather as they benefit from the smells, sounds and feel of the outside. Although this is only a small taster of what the future holds for them should they become independent enough to 'go it alone'! We still house them indoors for safety and warmth at night. When outside, they will all split-up and explore by themselves and at times it requires two pairs of eyes to keep tabs on them as they are into everything! Above are photos of the 3 Hoglets: top is 'Pinky', female and weighing 122 grammes, next is 'Grumpy', female and weighing 100 grammes and finally is the male, Little-lad, weighing 66 grammes.

Each of the Hoglets has developed their own personality: the little male who is still 2 weeks behind the others in development will only feed on kittens-milk with tiny fragments of kittens food mixed in. Still wobbly on his legs but roams far and wide in the garden even though his eyes are still not fully open. Half the size of his siblings, he still looks for human contact in the shape of Mel. The Hoglet we call 'Grumpy' is by far the most advanced in terms of awareness and the ways of Hedgehogs. Of the three, she looks very much like an adult Hedgehog, though not in bulk! She prefers to be on her own and snuffles the ground in search of new tastes and smells. She will often snort, puff and head-butt anything that comes near her, including myself and Mel! We can only explain this as 'the change', moving from Hoglet to Hedgehog. Today though she was very preoccupied with my arm and spent some time licking it and anointing herself without even a snort! The third, also a female is at present the heaviest at 122 grammes but appears not to have acquired that sense of 'self' that Hedgehogs develop. She is the most inquisitive of the three and is into anything and everything. All are now 5 weeks old and though still under weight, they are healthy and active.

July 2010 - Hoglets eyes open and ears up!

2010-07-25T10:09:00.009+01:00

Sunday 25th: I am pleased to report that the three Hoglets are now looking more and more like mini Hedghogs. Since they moved to the 'glop' from kitten's milk, they are piling the grammes on at 80, 78 grammes for the two females and 52 grammes for the male. Though according to various sources on the Internet, they are still underweight at 33 days, but we are happy with their progress. They appear fit and well, are eating and are now even spending time after every feed in the garden - though very closely supervised to guard against predators from both the ground and air.

The eyes on the two females are now fully opened and their ears have opened and are upright - in fact they are looking and behaving just like Hedgehogs. The lone male is still underdeveloped but his ears have opened and are upright too. His eyes are not fully open yet. We believe that he is about 2 weeks behind the other two in his development as he still only prefers kitten's milk. But he joins his siblings outside on the lawn after feeding. They snuffle about in the grass, anoint themselves and will walk around and investigate everything. After 15 minutes outside they will be brought back in and go back to sleep until the next feeding session when they will spend some more time outside. This acclimatisation is proving very beneficial and will prepare them for when they spend time in a small penn outside during the day in about 3 - 4 weeks.

July 2010 - Hoglets anointing and eyes peeping!

2010-07-19T22:52:00.015+01:00

Sunday 18th: In the warm afternoon Sun, we took the Hoglets out into the garden to start a process of enabling them to feel the fresh air and ground. Hedgehogs rely almost entirely on their sense of smell, so introducing them to the great 'wilderness' and the feel of grass, soil etc will start to attune their senses for the task of survival. Of course we stayed very close to them, never taking our eyes off their continual walking.

Yes the Hogs have now got to the stage and have been for a week, where they have lifted their bodies off the ground and are now walking! In fact given the chance they'd walk until tired! This is good exercise as it strengthens the legs. All are putting on weight more rapidly and they are bulking-up at a reasonable rate - still below targeted weight but they seem to be progressing well at their own rates. The male though still the smallest is piling-on the grammes! The two females are much larger, being a third heavier than the male. Today was a day of 'Firsts': the eyes of the two females are now peeping, that is to say, though the eyelids are still slits, the tiny eyes can be seen. The other First is that the two females are now 'anointing' themselves.

July 2010: The Hoglets are growing!

2010-07-17T15:52:00.007+01:00

Saturday 17th: Day 26. Of the three, the two females seem to be doing better than the solitary male. The females are putting weight on, weighing-in at 56 and 50 grammes. By comparison, the male is vastly underweight at 36 grammes and a source of concern. Mel is hand-feeding the male more intensively than the females which spend more time lapping from a small shallow lid. All are now on the 'glop', a mixture of quality puppy food and kitten's milk. It does now look like the females are developing teeth but their eye slits are still firmly closed. As you would expect with two of them now feeding themselves, there is also added mess as they will walk, fall over and roll in the 'glop' as well as getting it all over their head when feeding! All the Hoglets do still spend much of the time sleeping. Indeed it's still a case of sleep and eat at the moment.

July 2010 - Father-in-Law's Heron problem!

2010-07-16T00:54:00.006+01:00

Friday 16th: My Father-in-law has a garden pond that gets admiring glances from a Heron, sometimes more than that, the Heron has skewered fish in the past. As this image shows, early morning and the arrival of the Heron. Now is it the same bird each time? Who knows but as my Father-in-law has spread a net over the pond to protect the fish. The Heron has been seen wading out over the net. It has deduced that if it walks onto the mesh then the mesh will sink and this may give it a better chance of trapping any slow moving fish, skewer and snack on it. One very smart Heron! These two photos were snapped by Hadi on the morning of the 11th July.

July 2010 - Hoglets!

2010-07-05T13:24:00.010+01:00

Monday 5th: Today, the Hoglets, we estimate are 14 days old and they appear to be developing more-or-less as expected. Most notably they have grown larger and the pink skin has turned dark in colour and become firmer. Their facial features are now more pronounced. The eye-slits are now beginning to open and we expect in 2 to 4 days they will be fully open.

Their weight is below target for 14 days but we expect them to pile it on when they start feeding on 'glop'. Mel has spoken on the phone to get some advice from a local 'Hedgehog Carer' and this was very helpful, which is more than can be said for one of the more "well-known" Rescue-Centers that she rang!

The photos were taken yesterday, Sunday 4th. More updates as and when.

July 2010 - House Sparrow in the House!

2010-07-05T13:01:00.021+01:00

Saturday 3rd: As you know, we keep a bowl of live mealworms just inside the backdoor and two female Blackbirds (one sometimes accompanied by the male) regularly come in to feed. But when they do, a gang of House Sparrows follow and will rob the Blackbird of mealworms and sometimes even sit in the bowl and feed as this fearless fledgling House Sparrow above shows! The House Sparrows sometimes wait until the Blackbird has a beak full of mealworms and just like Gulls do to smaller birds at the coast...chase and hassle her so that she drops some or all of the food. The common House Sparrow turning to piracy!

If the Blackbird snaps at the Sparrows as she sometimes will, they just ignore her! The majority of this piracy is carried-out by the females. It sure does make for an interesting sight to see a Blackbird with a beak-full of mealworms being chased at low-level back to her nest by several House Sparrows!

Last Saturday while some Sparrows were in the kitchen, the local Sparrowhawk came to visit the garden. She must have chicks herself as she is making more frequent forays now. The alarm-call went up and all birds dived for cover. Those in the kitchen scattered to a nearby bush but one panicked and flew out the kitchen door and up the stairs! She flew along the landing and into the bathroom then back out along the landing again and into the Study! Fortunately Mel and I were there to see this and Mel grabbed a couple of snaps.

Eventually, when the bird was settled, we opened the window and out she flew. This is not the first time either. As reported in this blog last year, May 19th, a couple of House Sparrows flew upstairs into the study were they both perched side-by-side on the back of the chair.

Going back a few years...well back to 2000, we had a fledgling Blue Tit fly into the house and cling to the curtains in panic. A photo of this is shown below. We did manage to get the bird and release it into the back garden where it met it's relieved mother.

June 2010 - Hand-rearing Hoglets!

2010-06-30T19:33:00.013+01:00

Wednesday 30th: Unfortunately the Hedgehog either abandoned or orphaned the four Hoglets. As of last Thursday evening, Melanie has been hand-rearing these tiny Hedgehogs. When we checked on them late that afternoon, they were almost blue in colour with cold and looking like they had been left alone most of the previous night (as Hedgehogs hunt at night and can roam 2 to 3 kilometers) and all day.

They were obviously in some distress so the decision was made to take them in, warm them as a priority and then feed them. This necessitated me dashing down the road to the local Supermarket and buying a couple of cartons of Kitten's-milk.

Judging by the growth and firmness of the spines, we suspect that the Hoglets were born sometime last Monday 21st, so were initially suckled by the now absent Mother. As you can imagine with new-born animals, they require feeding every 2 or 3 hours and initially toileting. All credit to Melanie as she has risen to the challenge by following religiously a course of feeding through the day and night!

Various sources on the Internet have been checked-out for information on how to raise them. But alas last Saturday, the weakest and most underweight, passed-away. So we have three Hoglets: one male and two females. They are putting on 2 grammes of weight each day and as of yesterday weighed 30, 32 and 34 grammes.

Their eyes are not open yet and so are still blind We estimate that they will not open for another week. The Hoglets don't appear to require toileting now as they can go for themselves. So with fingers crossed and with Melanie's resolve we hope to rear these fine animals.

June 2010 - Hedgehog with hoglets in the Garden!

2010-06-24T00:02:00.009+01:00

Wednesday 23d: Tonight Melanie discovered where the Hedgehog had nested...quite by accident. Let me recount the story...Last Sunday night, she found a rather large Hedgehog in the garden. We gave it some food and water and left it too it's own devices not thinking that we would ever see it again! Mel surmised that it was a pregnant female...Very astute of her because as it turns out, this Hedgehog has given birth to 4 Hoglets! The nest is in our garden and safe...well as safe as things can be. The spikes on the Hoglets are firm and the eyes on all 4 are still closed. So between last Sunday night and today, the Hoglets were born. Needless to say, we will be keeping a close watch on mother and babies.

June 2010 - Iberian Chiffchaff...at Potteric Carr YWT

2010-06-17T23:16:00.017+01:00

Thursday 17th: In the birding fraternity, something that is termed "A MEGA" is considered an extremely rare visitor to the British Isles. Well on May 11th, an Iberian Chiffchaff took up residence at Potteric Carr YWT in Doncaster. This rather shabby-looking male has since staked out a territory and continually sings for a mate. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that he will get one, though there is another Iberian Chiffchaff that has taken up residence, but that is in Gwent, South Wales!

There have been only about 25 recorded instances of this Warbler in this country and this is only the 2nd ever in South Yorkshire! Well, late Thursday afternoon I finally got the chance to see this bird. Finishing work at 4pm, I crossed the road to the nature reserve. At that time of day it is always quiet as the site closes it's doors at 5pm. A good 20 minute trek to St. Catherine's Field where the bird has it's territory on a warm and sunny day.

As I approached the area, the Iberian Chiffchaff was conspicuous by it's song. Straightaway I saw the bird high up, atop a small tree but not so high that it was indistinguishable. Glad I carted my scope and tripod with me so that I could get some good close views of this once-in-a-lifetime visitor! Though binoculars served just as well. I was the only person there and had the Chiffchaff all to myself! It soon became apparent that the bird had a routine that it followed and by this I could take photos and alternate to either visual with or without the scope/binoculars.

For an hour and a half, I spent time in the company of the Iberian Chiffchaff, taking photos and just watching as it continued to sing. I could even hear it sing from some trees on the other side of the field although it was lost to view during it's set routine. The constant rumble of Motorway traffic close by was not a worry to it at all.

But as I said before, the bird had a set routine and I knew that after 10 minutes at the far-end of the field, it would be back. and of course it was. The best views were while the bird was perched singing in the small Hawthorn tree just a few meters away. These photos are taken while he was in that tree.

The song is, as you would expect different to the Common Chiffchaff that are Summer visitors to the British Isles and sometimes resident. Below is a short video of the Iberian Chiffchaff in song.

June 2010 - Hand-feeding a Blackbird!

2010-06-13T00:11:00.003+01:00

Wednesday 9th: Early evening and as usual, the 3 resident Blackbirds have been in and out of the kitchen all day...closely followed by half a dozen House Sparrows. Now these Sparrows have become very bold in their actions. They will also fly into the kitchen to grab a mealworm and in some instances, hassle and rob the Blackbirds while they are collecting mealworms! In an effort to scare off the marauding Sparrows, the Blackbirds snap at the House Sparrows with their beaks but mostly, the Sparrows ignore the threats. So in an effort to make sure that this Blackbird got a mealworm, I decided to see how trusting she was, after all, the Blackbirds allow us to get very close to them and in most circumstances within 2 feet!

As you can see the Blackbird does take one mealworm from the palm of my hand but is very aware of the Sparrow watching it. She takes the mealworm and then jumps up onto the bench to take the rest (out of shot) of the mealworms from the bowl!

June 2010 - Drama in the garden!

2010-06-06T15:20:00.013+01:00

Friday 4th: A usual working-day morning - came down to breakfast at 7:15am, put the kettle on, but no sooner had I made and was about to take a bite of toast, topped with strawberry jam, I was stopped in mid bite. A rapid wing beat from a large bird startled me. Grabbing my camera, I rushed outside expecting that the local Sparrowhawk had caught something! Imagine my suprise when I was presented with the scene as shown in this photo; a Wood Pigeon hanging upside down, wings splayed and motionless. All the other birds; Sparrows, Starlings and the Feral Pigeons just ignored it and calmly went about their business.

The unfortunate Wood Pigeon was trapped by it's leg and would never have freed itself from this predicament! The bird was surprisingly calm and motionless, it was not even struggling to free itself! Having a look, it was just a matter of gently folding the birds' wings, holding it with both hands and lifting the bird free and in an instant...it had flown. Shaken by it's ordeal, it nethertheless was in one piece and with no breakages, flew off to eat somewhere else.

Usually, this bird and other Wood Pigeons tend to perch on the fatball holder as it's just the right height from the sunflower feeder and they can eat fairly comfortably. On this occasion, the Wood Pigeon must have slipped and put it's leg through the gap between the two metal rods that hold the fatball feeder to the pole. As it's leg went through the gap, the bird went over the side, immobilising it! Fortunately the leg did not appear to be damaged in any way. One lucky Pigeon!

May 2010 - Bempton Cliffs RSPB

2010-05-21T23:51:00.031+01:00

Friday 21st: As I came into this world on this day all those years ago, I decided to treat myself: take the day off work and drive out to the East Yorkshire coast near Bridlington for some birding on a gloriously hot and sunny day! My aim was to enjoy the coastal birds and see some Puffins. So where are all the Puffins? When I got to the Reserve I heard tell that there had been two seen today... but try as I could, I didn't see them! Scanning the cliff-face amongst the Razorbills and Guillimots is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Maybe it's early in the breeding season and they are all underground in their burrows. But surely the males must be constantly on the wing to supply their mates with a meal? Maybe the majority of them haven't returned yet...it may prove more profitable to make a return visit during June/July? I also over-heard someone saying that the surrounding North Sea is too warm and this will have an adverse effect upon their preferred prey; sand-eels. Well, lets hope there's a turnaround in the Puffins' fortunes and they return in numbers to inspire awe and wonder for visitors to this splendid coastal NR.

But the cliff-faces were lined with hundreds of Guillimots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Gannets. I never cease to look in wonder at the Gannets, such a large and sleek bird. When they are fairly close, as was one bird that can be seen from the photo gathering nesting material...they are huge! I also found an area where all the Rock Pigeons seem to congregate in numbers for safety, though I didn't see any of their predators, Peregrine Falcons. Too soon in the breeding season, I suspect later when chicks are out and about then these masters of the sky will be cruising the skies.

The sea water looks unusually clear. From the cliff-tops I could clearly see beneath the surface to the bottom and in some circumstances, see the patterns made by the volcanic lava that was laid down millions of years ago and now hardened to form rock. As can be seen with the photo of the Guillimots at the base of the cliff, large amounts of lava has hardened to rock and little holes can be seen where once the air bubbles escaped the cooling lava.

As for Passerines, there were plenty away from the cliffs. Pied Wagtails, Tree Sparrows, Chaffinches and Goldfinches are very common around the feeders. Carrion Crows and Jackdaws are the Corvids in residence. Lots of Barn Swallows were evident. Sky Larks and Meadow Pipits were in good numbers...but the highlight was the close sighting of a Whitethroat....which proved to be the one that got away as I spent a good 30 mins stalking it to get a photo which never happened!

Sunday 13th June - addendum:

I have since heard that some Puffins have returned to Bempton Cliffs! A work colleague, Jayne went to the NR with her family over the last Bank Holiday and her father saw 20 Puffins!

May 2010 - Goldfinch touch-down again!

2010-05-15T13:23:00.016+01:00

Saturday 15th: Once again the Goldfinch (a single this time) has landed on the niger-feeder. This too stayed for some minutes and Mel was quick to grab the camera and take a few snaps! It even spent some time looking in a bush close to the feeder. We are hoping that it may take up residence in the garden. But the lure of Sandra's Bird Cafe was too strong and after a while it took off towards her place!

A male Chaffinch was again here early yesterday evening and again Mel was on hand to take a couple of snaps. The female Chaffinch visited today mid-morning but no images are available for that.

As you would expect at this time of year, the garden is still busy with birds feeding and generally doing bird-things! Even the Jackdaws are regular visitors to the garden at the moment, taking monkey-nuts and eating crushed peanuts. We didn't get a supply of live mealworms this week until yesterday and so with stocks completely depleted, we started feeding the Blackbirds and Sparrows grated mild cheese and soaked-brown bread. The birds still take this but prefer live food which is much more nutritious. Mel managed to find a local supplier as a stop-gap measure and I collected the mealworms last Wednesday. But fortunately we received 500 grammes through the post yesterday and all is well.