Monday, March 28, 2011
The Tree bumblebee was back in the garden again this morning, feeding on the just-flowering Mahonia.
A report of a tree pipit in Swinley Forest today made me look again at, and considerably brighten, a photo I took yesterday on Wishmoor. A handful of chaffinches had flown into a pine, and among them was this bird.
I wondered at the time if it could be a tree pipit (especially as there were no meadow pipits around). But it was wary and I didn't see it again.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Forest and heath
My poor man has yet another cold, and was content to rest at home today while I went out for a trek. He was pleased when I said where I was going, because apparently when I go to Swinley I always come home happy!
I walked quickly down through the still-cool forest, eager to get to Wishmoor; but I got delayed by an immense flock of finches. Redpolls and chaffinches were restless in the tree-tops and as they flew in wave upon wave over the path ahead, I thought I saw a white-rumped bird amongst them. A little later I heard a harsh wheeze confirming the presence of a brambling, but it wasn't until they'd all settled to feed on pine cones that I was able to get the bins on one (possibly two).
Much of the heather has been burnt off on Wishmoor, though whether in a controlled measure by the authorities or in an act of vandalism by wastes-of-space I do not know.
The sun broke through the lingering mists and it became a genuinely warm day. I was delighted to see several stonechats on both the Berkshire and the Surrey heaths. For a nanosecond, a lesser redpoll shared a bush with a male stonechat - which looked away at the critical moment. Typical.
The heaths were alive with the songs of woodlarks; two were singing simultaneously and I probably heard at least three birds.Thursday, March 24, 2011
Jubilee River
A brisk walk in a coolish east wind this evening didn't bring anything new apart from a handful of meadow pipits and a singing chiffchaff. This lone parakeet flew past shrieking and settled in a willow to feed.
Two Cetti's warblers sang and two buzzards (evidently a pair) were just over the bank on the sewage farm.Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Spring has sprung
Following the Peacock butterfly on a brick wall a few days ago, some 7-spot Ladybirds were sunning themselves on the heather today in another colour co-ordination disaster.
A gorgeous queen Red-tailed Bumblebee visited the Pieris bush (in which, several years ago, I saw my first-ever firecrest).
I think this is a Red Mason Bee.
A couple of websites give the information that the males emerge first in the spring, then hang around waiting for females to mate with. Typical.Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Late afternoon woods
A lesser spotted woodpecker was seen from the path in the darkening woods. It called several times, then shot up above the trees and flew round in a circle. When it landed on the other side of the path, I realised there was a second bird already in the same tree. There was some crest raising and wing-spreading from one bird. This was the first time I've seen two lesser-spots together - so quite an event.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
To the woods!
The ants of Burnham Beeches are waking up. This is an even lousier shot than usual because after just a few seconds standing on the edge of the nest I had large belligerent-looking wood ants swarming up my legs, and I had to beat a hasty retreat.
Later in the spring and all through summer, the entire woodland floor will be covered with these ants, making it almost impossible to stand still for any length of time. Fortunately they haven't yet wandered far from their nests, so when, a bit further on, a small movement high up caught my eye I was able to watch a lesser spotted woodpecker for some minutes as it foraged at maniacal speed.
At the turning point of my walk, a flock of redpolls about thirty-strong with a few siskins mixed in beguiled me for some time. A tawny owl hooted twice from the depths of the woods.
When I passed the woodpecker spot again, I heard a faint tapping sound above. (Now this is strange, because an observer on a local website recently reported getting onto a lesser-spot by hearing this sound, and I thought at the time "I wish I could hear them - it would make finding them a lot easier!") And now I was hearing a tapping from above - and lo and behold, it was indeed a lesser-spot. It's the first time I've heard one feeding; but then it was unusually quiet in the woods early this morning.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Otmoor
Greger wasn't sure he could manage a long walk and suggested instead a visit to this wetland reserve north-east of Oxford.
He took a photo of one of several reed buntings we saw along the paths.
At the farthest hide, we were turning to go back when I took a last look through the hedge at the fields beyond. A black-and-white bird caught my eye as it came flying erratically towards the water; momentarily I thought it was a house martin but of course it was too big. It was a green sandpiper, my first of the year. It flew across the reserve and seemed to go down somewhere near the entrance where there are some new scrapes. I hoped it would be there when we walked back but there was no sign of it.Otherwise, hundreds of golden plover were the highlight of the walk. But it was nice just to be there on such a beautiful day, in bright sunshine under a wide blue sky.
Later: I see from the Oxfordshire website that fifteen pintail and fifteen dunlin were reported early this morning; either they'd gone or they were skulking somewhere. Perhaps these reports explain the number of visitors; the car park was almost full. A nice new hide has been built looking over the flooded fields; but the new scrapes near the entrance might need screening as they're quite close to the path.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Hitcham
Taking flowers to the grave at midday I lingered for a while in the first warm sunshine of the year, as did this Peacock butterfly. (Bit of a colour clash with the brickwork there, dear.)
A collared dove loitered on the wall until I walked away, then flew up into the yew tree.
Also in the churchyard were several bumble bees including a very large queen Buff-tailed. At home, at least five Honey bees and three ladybirds were on the winter-flowering heather. These were native ladybirds, not the dastardly foreign Harlequin thingies. Coming over here, eating our aphids.....Friday, March 11, 2011
Gloomy woods
I thought I'd made a mistake when I got out of the car yesterday, late afternoon. The trees were black against a dark sky and there were a couple of spots of rain, although they didn't come to anything.
A pair of Mandarin ducks zoomed past. A goldcrest hopping about in a holly tree trying to sing reminded me that I had seen one in Maidenhead the previous day, singing lustily from trees by the library. There were loads of redwings about, some nuthatches and a treecreeper.
And then, impossibly high and distant through a fretwork of branches and twigs, a lesser spotted woodpecker was seen foraging restlessly in the canopy. The usual male, I supposed.
The bird faced me for a few seconds and I was quite thrilled by the absence of a red crown. Where it should have been was a patch that looked, at this distance and in this dimness, dirty white. A female! My first definite since January last year, although the bird in Dorney Wood a few days ago was a possible female.
She swooped away into the gloom where I could not follow and was gone.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Dorney
A walk at lunchtime on the wetlands brought a singing Cetti's warbler and a chiffchaff. Fieldfares, redwings and starlings were on the windy common.
Driving away, I spotted two magpies feeding on a dead fox. When I stopped and reversed, one walked away out of shot.
From the evidently awkward angle of the hind leg, it seems probable that the fox was hit by a car.Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Taplow
This pretty little Blue-eyed grass has been in flower for two days now. It's a lovely name, but apparently the plant is nothing to do with grass, belonging instead to the iris family.
As I snapped it, a rumpus above turned out to be a kite being harassed by a jackdaw. I clicked off a shot, forgetting the camera was on macro mode.
An endangered species put in an appearance yesterday, when a single honey bee was on the heather.Monday, March 07, 2011
Dorney Wood
I went for a late walk up the woods, hearing two tawny owls and getting a brief view of this high and wary lesser spotted woodpecker. This is the photo I took, at full zoom.....
.....from which I got this lightened, cropped image. Better than nothing.
This morning, we had a Monty Python moment* in the kitchen. Looking through the window I said "There's a buzzard over the garden." Greger looked out and said "No, two - three buzzards." I looked again and said "Four - five buzzards." I went into the garden and called back to him "Six buzzards over the garden!" They were fairly high, soaring majestically and moving slowly east.*the Spanish Inquisition sketch
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Burnham Beeches
On this bright, cold Sunday afternoon I braved the crowds of Burnham Beeches and began the list with a flock of redpolls. I watched a pair of treecreepers for a while and then made a brief detour to Upper Pond to see Mandarin ducks, since they don't seem to be favouring the moat this year.
A group of four or five bullfinches feeding high on buds caught the sunshine beautifully but were always viewed through twigs. A green woodpecker and a great spotted woodpecker were seen in flight.
Just as I was about to give up for the day I caught a glimpse, several trees away, of a lesser-spotted woodpecker being chased by a nuthatch. I lost him, then picked him up again as he began to forage.
I was over the moon to see him because I've paid several visits recently and been unlucky. I'd assumed the lesser-spots of Burnham Beeches had expired - or worse, gone to Hedgerley.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Walbury Hill
We parked on Walbury Hill and wandered along a lane, across an extremely muddy field, through a small wood we'd never been in before and along the ridge back to the car park.
It was a short walk but it blew the cobwebs away, and the peregrine falcon was my first of the year.
Wot, no lambs? Still a bit early.
And on the Isle of Mull it's certainly too early - confirmed by the website forargyll.com. Too early for the photo of the golden eagle taking a lamb (BBC website and several newspapers) to be this year's; so you have to wonder where and why the picture has been languishing since last spring.I'd thought the bird was a white-tailed, but I suppose I can see now that it's a golden eagle. The photo and the sensationalised (and sometimes inaccurate) writing in the original article are a couple more nails in the raptor's coffin.
Instead of using our money to finance stupid re-introduction schemes in East Anglia, perhaps the RSPB should set up a fund to reimburse farmers who lose significant numbers of lambs to golden eagles. That way the species (of native stock, unlike the white-tailed) may survive, although it would still have to take its chances with the owners of grouse moors and their gamekeepers.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
In the garden, a tiny plant called blue-eyed grass that arrived a few years ago from goodness knows where is coming into flower. I photographed it last year with its petals fully open on 23rd March, so it looks as though this year it will be even earlier; yet all my plant books give a season of anywhere between May and October. Even more startling - something is already eating it.
Not quite the first cuckoo, though.
Sunday 27th February
A long walk which started in sunshine and ended in rain brought two woodlarks, flying around and calling over the heathland. One landed nearby for a handy photo.
I don't usually go off-track here, which is probably why I haven't noticed this sarsen stone before.
Sarsen stones are more often seen lying around in the downs country to the west, though they have apparently been much used in local buildings - including Windsor Castle.