A History Lesson and a Bit of a Lark!

I know, I know! I said my next post wouldn't be long but time flies by and one week just seems to roll into another, maybe I'm just not very good at this blogging game. Slapped wrist! Must try harder, write it out one hundred times...must try harder, must try harder...no, maybe not, that would be incredibly boring ;-) I had to do it once at school you know! 'I must not blow grass during my history lesson' one hundred times! 

I was sat by the open window on a hot, sunny day and would much rather have been out there enjoying Nature instead of sitting in a classroom  not listening to a dull and boring lesson about things so far in the past that they seemed completely unreal to my young and disinterested  ears. The long grasses inches away were just too tempting! I plucked one, put it between my thumbs, raised it to my lips and blew. The loud whistling noise rang out...my classmates laughed uproariously...the teacher didn't :-( ...I didn't expect it to work quite that well!

Enough of this waffle! Back to business and despite the inhospitable weather which has befallen most of us here in the UK I have managed to dodge some of the heavy showers and get out a few times with the camera. I also have some photos left from a few weeks ago including the next one.

This Great Spotted Woodpecker was a very long way away and I nearly missed it when I was scanning around with my binoculars. 

Great Spotted Woodpecker

I was so pleased to see these Snake's Head Fritillaries at a very small Nature reserve near me. Although a popular garden flower they are rare in the wild due to so many of the ancient meadows which provided their habitat being ploughed up and used for the production of food crops during World War II. The ones I saw were there last year too and as last year they were carefully protected from Rabbits etc. by a wire surround which as you can see made photographing them difficult. Hopefully in years to come they will gradually spread.

Snake's Head Fritillaries

'The snake’s head fritillary is one of the most exquisite jewels

 in the treasure house of British wild flowers.

Its linear grey-green leaves are followed in spring

 by nodding heads sometimes of pure white,

 or more frequently marked with a delicate

 chequerboard pattern in shades of purple.'

(The Royal Horticultural Society)

I only saw this bird briefly and in a rather dim spot so was pleased to find when I looked at the photos afterwards that it wasn't the Coal Tit I had thought but a Marsh Tit. I did wonder about a Willow Tit but there is no discernible white panel on the wings.

Marsh Tit

I mentioned in my last post that while at Draycote Water I photographed some Great Crested Grebes. They are always at Draycote in good numbers and at the end of the visit as the sun was starting to set I saw the following pair engaging in the beginnings of the 'weed dance'.

Great Crested Grebes

Unfortunately after the next photo, as often happens,  it fizzled out.

Also right at the end of the walk and in dim conditions I saw lots of pipits foraging on the grassy bank. I think this one is a Meadow Pipit although I know there were also Rock Pipits there that day.

Meadow Pipit

 ~~~

The Chaffinch is a bird I see often, both in my garden and on my walks. This one was seen during a local walk.

Chaffinch

I thought these pretty little Celandines, seen just two days ago, made a lovely splash of colour on a rather dull and showery day.

Lesser Celandine

'There is a Flower, the Lesser Celandine,
That shrinks, like many more, from cold and rain;
And, at the first moment that the sun may shine,
Bright as the sun itself, 'tis out again!'

(William Wordsworth)

As I said earlier, I have some photos left over from just before my previous post which is why there is not much new growth on the hedge where I saw the House Sparrows at the beginning of my post and in the following photo.

 

House Sparrows

Unlike the Tree Sparrow which I showed in an earlier post the House Sparrow is still a fairly common bird in the UK although it's numbers have declined dramatically in recent years. I do see them in my garden but nowhere near as regularly as I used to.

I love Chiffchaffs. The moment you hear the first one of the year you know that Spring has finally arrived. There seem to be lots on my patch this year :-) The poet, John Clare called it by its local dialect name, the Pettichap.

Chiffchaff

'Stop! here's the bird—that woodman at the gap
Frightened him from the hedge:—'tis olive-green.
Well! I declare it is the Pettichap!
Not bigger than the wren, and seldom seen.'

(John Clare)

I wish I had reacted more quickly and got the camera to my eye a few moments sooner when this Fox crossed my path carrying supper home. I had assumed it was one of the many Rabbits which inhabit that location but I'm pretty sure it was a Grey Squirrel. I was slightly disconcerted when I looked at the photo on the computer and saw the eyes of its prey!

Fox (with prey)

While following a public footpath through the middle of a field of newly growing corn there were Skylarks singing everywhere and every few steps one would fly from the crops just inches from me. Somehow, I managed to capture a brief glimpse...hence 'a bit of a lark' ;-)

Skylark

'The earth was green, the sky was blue:
I saw and heard one sunny morn,
A skylark hang between the two,
A singing speck above the corn;

...

 The cornfield stretched a tender green
To right and left beside my walks;
I knew he had a nest unseen
Somewhere among the million stalks... '

(Christina Georgina Rossetti)

Well, I think I may be starting to outstay my welcome so to brighten up another wet, English day I'll leave you with these beautiful Daffodils found growing in the middle of nowhere a few weeks ago.

Daffodils

Now, will I post any sooner next time, have I learnt my (history) lesson?...only time will tell :-) Until then...enjoy the beauty of Nature, wherever you are.

Springtime Strolls

What a wonderful taste of Spring we have had in the last couple of weeks or to be more precise I should probably say taste of Summer! It really has been glorious here but this week it's back down to earth with a bump, well a crash really :-) Many parts of the UK have plunged from temperatures in the low 20sC/70sF to sub zero and snow!! It hasn't been quite that bad where I live but we have had some much needed rain and it has turned very cold but of course the Blackthorn is in flower which often coincides with a cold spell, hence the old country term 'Blackthorn Winter'.

Blackthorn (In the Autumn it will bear Sloes)

The lovely weather has brought the butterflies out but I am rather worried that this cold snap will have an adverse effect on them. After a good start here last year they were disappointingly sparse during the Summer so I was hoping they would fare better this year. So far I have only managed to photograph Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells, none of which posed on anything pretty unfortunately. The lovely pattern on the wings of the Peacock butterfly has always reminded me of the 'faces' of Pansy flowers. This one was on a house wall.

 Peacock Butterfly

'A velvet-winged butterfly flew,
And the pansies themselves were not brighter
Than the beautiful creature in hue.'

(Eben E. Rexford)

And this one showing the underside.

All my recent walks have been within a couple of miles of home but on one occasion we went further afield to Draycote Reservoir which as some readers will remember is a favourite place of mine to see birds, particularly water birds, which living in such a landlocked area I wouldn't usually see at all. Due to illness for much of last year, I hadn't been there for over twelve months and I was shocked to see how extremely low the water was and really it was disappointing as everything was very distant making photos with my 50-250mm lens very difficult. This drake Teal was about the only bird I managed on the water apart from some Great Crested Grebes which I will put on my next post.

Teal (drake)

At the end of a pleasant but not very productive walk I saw this Woodpecker foraging for ants. The sun was setting which made the colours slightly odd.

Green Woodpecker

Back to local walks and I was pleased to see a Redpoll, it was distant but nice to see as they usually escape me, I think it is the Lesser rather than the Mealy but stand to be corrected.

Lesser Redpoll

During these very local walks in the last few weeks I have seen and heard House Sparrows, Greenfinches, Magpies, Starlings, Song Thrushes, Yellowhammers, Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Green Woodpeckers, Treecreepers, Nuthatches, Common Buzzards, Kestrels, Skylarks, Linnets, Coal Tits, Pheasants, Canada Geese, Coots, Moorhens, Mallards and the single Lesser Redpoll. Also a huge amount of Blue Tits, Great Tits, Robins, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Blackbirds, Long-tailed Tits, Dunnocks, Wood Pigeons, Collared Doves, Carrion Crows and Rooks. Oddly, I haven't seen Bullfinches for some weeks. On March 23rd I was pleased to hear my first Chiffchaff of the year and just two days later they seemed to be calling their names to me everywhere I went, such a welcome sound in the early Spring :-)

'Live in each season as it passes:

 breathe the air, drink the drink, 

taste the fruit and resign yourself

 to the influences of each'

(Henry David Thoreau)

This Dunnock didn't seem at all bothered by my presence, I began to wonder if it was super-glued to the branch ;-) Frustratingly, and despite the lovely weather I mentioned, most of the birds in this post were photographed in moments when the sun had either disappeared or was very hazy :-(

Dunnock

For me, one of the loveliest things about this time of year is the emergence of Spring wildflowers, as a child it was always a thrill to find the first Violets of the year...and it still is.

Violets

Although I love them all, my favourite wildflower has always been the Primrose. I remember, as children, each year Mum would take my brother and me on what seemed quite a long trek to see them in a particular wood where they grew in great abundance, they looked an absolute picture.

Common Primrose

'I dream of uplands, where the primrose shines 

And waves her yellow lamps above the lea;

Of tangled copses, swung with trailing vines;

Of open vistas, skirted with tall pines,

Where green fields wait for me.'

(George Arnold)

I know I quite often show photos of Yellowhammers but I keep finding them on different local walks :-) They are actually on the red list of UK birds of conservation concern so I am always pleased to see them.

Yellowhammer

The Small Tortoiseshell butterfly suffered a worrying decline a few years ago but thankfully seems to have done much better in the last two or three years.

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

7-spot Ladybird

Finally this Buzzard was one of many I have enjoyed watching soaring high in the skies in the last couple of weeks.

Common Buzzard

I hope everyone (who celebrates it) has a Happy Easter. I intend to post sooner next time. Until then...enjoy the beauty of Nature, wherever you are.

Stirrings of Spring...the Simple Pleasures

'It is the first mild day of March

Each minute sweeter than before

The redbreast sings from the tall larch

That stands beside our door'

(William Shakespeare)

What a difference a few weeks make! After the sub zero temperatures of last month we now have clear signs of Spring all around us and what a treat it is, a long wait but well worth it. As a child my favourite season was Autumn, I loved the changing colours, the 'mellow fruitfulness' and the promise of Christmas just around the corner. But now... give me Spring any time... the tentative fresh green growth, warm sunshine, creatures all around preparing to bring new life into the world... so much promise! What could be better?

So, in just a few weeks we have gone from these Mallards on a frozen lake, wondering where the water went,

Mallards

to this. Just look at the deep ruts in the ground, no wonder an official drought has been declared here!!

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

'See her bright robes the Butterfly unfold,

Broke from her wintry tomb in prime of day,

What youthful bride can equal her array?'

(James Thomson)

What a treat, my first butterfly of the year! A real thrill and so eagerly awaited through the dull, drab days of Winter. When it took flight two more joined it from the undergrowth and it was such a pleasure to watch them dancing together in the sunlight. They would, of course, have only recently emerged from hibernation encouraged by the particularly warm, early Spring sunshine. What a shame it is that so many people are completely unaware of such simple pleasures as watching butterflies and of the wealth of natural beauty which surrounds them.

I was pleased to see a male Blackcap in the garden recently. They usually visit in the Winter and early Spring but I was beginning to think they were giving me a miss this year. Unfortunately I only managed one unusable photo. I did manage to snatch a quick and not very sharp photo of a couple of Long-tailed-Tits in the garden, through glass. It has been a while since I got any sort of photo of one of these despite having seen plenty flitting from tree to tree in various places.

Long-tailed Tits

It is always a joy to find Snowdrops growing wild.

Snowdrops

'Hail, gentle Snowdrop, Spring's first flower,

No more we dread drear Winter's power:

We hail thy coming with delight,

Thy presence makes all nature bright. '

(William Count)

I thought I was destined not to get any photos of Siskins this time so I was very pleased to see some. They were high in a tree and quite distant and I mistakenly found the 'wrong one' through the camera's viewfinder. I realised when I looked at the photos on the computer that there was one on the end of a branch, lower in the tree. Oh well, at least I got something ;-)

Siskin

I have always thought it would be nice to have a wildlife pond in the garden especially at this time of year when the frogs are so busy but I do think it is much more special to look for frogs and their spawn in the wild and for me it is another Springtime thrill. I found this quite by chance when I noticed water glistening through a hedge.

Common Frog

'What a wonderful bird the frog are--

When he sit, he stand almost.

When he hop, he fly almost.

He ain't got no sense hardly.

He ain't got no tail hardly either.

When he sit, he sit on what he ain't got--almost.'

(Virginia Hamilton)

It looked like there will be plenty of Tadpoles before too long which is good news as although called the 'Common Frog' it is unfortunately becoming much less common in the wild in the UK due to the diminishing number of ponds and use of insecticides.

Frogspawn

Another species which has declined alarmingly in the UK is the delightful little Tree Sparrow. Over the last forty years there has been a dramatic drop in their numbers, as much as fifty percent in many areas! I hadn't seen one for years until just recently at the end of a short afternoon walk, as the light was failing and as I was about to get into the car, I spotted a small group in a hedge and managed to catch one on camera, I was thrilled and returned a few days later in better light but needless to say they were nowhere to be seen and it is a little awkward lurking in a country lane, outside a farmhouse and pointing a camera in the direction of the windows!

TreeSparrow

Finally, this cheeky little chap and I had great fun playing hide and seek with each other, he tried his best to avoid the camera but curiosity got the better of him :-)

Grey Squirrel

Until the next time... enjoy the beauty of nature, wherever you are.

Fieldfares in the Garden

After the very mild weather we have experienced in much of the UK for most of the Winter I suspect the recent severe frosts, ice and snow were quite a shock to the system for many of us. The bonus though, since the snowfall, has been that the Winter Thrushes have been dropping into many of our gardens in search of sustenance. Apparently, compared with the week which ended with the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch on the 28th and 29th of January, there have been over twice as many Redwings and over five times as many Fieldfares seen in gardens! Luckily, my garden has been one of them :)

Fieldfare

Even though the cold snap had not yet descended on us, I recorded a Redwing in the garden on bird count day which was very pleasing on what was otherwise a very poor day, bird wise, with many of my regular daily visitors deciding to play truant and keep their names off the list this year. My (disappointing) tally of the most birds seen at one time during one designated hour was as follows:

Greenfinch 9; Collared Dove 6; Wood Pigeon 4; Chaffinch 3; Goldfinch 2; House Sparrow 2; Feral Pigeon 1; Blue Tit 1; Robin 1; Blackbird 1; Jackdaw 1; Redwing 1.

Last year on bird count day, in colder weather, I recorded Blackcap, Redwing and Brambling in addition to the regulars. I was surprised not to record any Great Tits or Coal Tits on this year's list, they are usually regular, daily visitors and of course the Long-tailed Tits only showed up a few days after the count!

Anyway, back to the Winter Thrushes in my garden, and although I have seen Redwings feeding on Cotoneaster berries several times I unfortunately failed to get photos. It has been Fieldfares who have been boldest and unable to resist the apple halves I have been putting out since the Wintry weather tightened its grip. I should add that all of the photos in this post were taken from indoors, through glass and some of them (they were taken over two days) were in poor light.

One Fieldfare in particular was fiercely defensive of the apples and every time another one approached any of the halves, it would see it off very aggressively! The Blackbirds especially suffered its aggression and couldn't get even a morsel. There was quite a lot of fruit eaten in a short time!

Look at that tongue!

It is a sad fact that after their overnight flight from Scandinavia some of these lovely migrants are hijacked, just as they are approaching our shores, by Great Black-backed Gulls seeking an easy meal. The gulls pounce on the tired birds and force them into the water where exhaustion sadly overcomes them. However, for many the journey is successful and they will spend the Winter here enjoying the fruits of our countryside and gardens.

'He sits in winter's sleet, and the snow is round his feet, 
But he cares not for the cold;
For his little cheerful heart thinks the snow as fair a part
As the summer's green and gold.'

(From a collection, edited by
James Manning Sherwood)

Towards dusk Fieldfares will flock together and settle for the night, often in a tall hedge all facing the same direction... for some reason, to me, that conjures up visions of lots of bottles stacked in a wine rack! I do have a weird and wonderful imagination sometimes, well maybe more weird than wonderful ;-)

Just as it defended its food in my garden, the Fieldfare will fiercely defend it's nest in the breeding season in its summer quarters, often by bombarding egg seeking marauders with faeces! ;-)

 

'We've taken quarters here till spring-

'Till then we'll stay;

But, soon as birds begin to sing,

We'll fly away!'

(Thomas Fisher)

The snow has all gone here now and today has been much milder but it was lovely, during the recent harsh weather, to get a closer look at the Winter Thrushes in my garden.

Until next time... enjoy the beauty of Nature, wherever you are.