Whatever Happened to Spring? - 3rd May, 2018

As I write this, it feels as if we have been plunged into the depths of winter once more, with cold temperatures and the chill factor of stiff breezes taking us down to around 0°C at night and keeping us in mid-single figures during the day!

We did have some sunny and warm spells around the end of March, and then again in mid-April, but it's all gone to pot since then.

I'm living in hope of a late spring which will instantly transform into an early summer - time will tell! In the meantime I'm hanging onto the memory of the previously mentioned warm spells and wishing I'd paid more attention to the butterflies that showed in our garden at those times. They included Brimstone (male and female), Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Orange Tip (male and female), Green-veined White, and Holly Blue. I only photographed a Brimstone and Orange Tip, and got some poor shots of a Small Tortoiseshell which I won't bother you with here. 

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) (female) - our garden on 25th March, 2018

Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) (female) - our garden on 19th April, 2018

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some extended warm sunny weather to re-boot the butterfly season and kick off the dragonfly season in these parts.

UPDATE: Since writing the above, the forecast has improved considerably, with the chance of some warm weather in a couple of days time. We had some sunshine briefly today (2nd May), after a morning of torrential rain, and were visited by a Holly Blue - not good shots as it stayed high up in the ivy and I could not get nearer than about 5 metres to this tiny butterfly.

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (male) - our garden on 2nd May, 2018

I'm not sure what my next post will feature but, unless I'm very lucky, it's going to be birds of some description.

Thank you for dropping by.

The Fieldfare Invasion - 1st to 4th March, 2018

Thursday 1st March, 2018

Most years we have one or two visits by one to three Fieldfare to our small suburban garden in Leicestershire. This is usually at the beginning of winter, when we still have berries on our Rowan tree. It was, therefore, somewhat of a surprise when the spell of extremely cold weather (commonly referred to as "the Beast from the East") hit UK on 1st March that we had a Fieldfare arrive in our garden and take the last few shrivelled berries on the Rowan that had been rejected by the resident Blackbirds.
 

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) - our garden on 1st March

I quickly took a couple of apples from our fruit bowl, cut them in half, and put them out on the snow on the ground. Almost immediately, more Fieldfare arrived.

The apples were being fought over and we needed more, so I went out to Packington Stores to buy some. Whilst there, I asked the proprietor, Peter, if he had any old apples that were past their prime that I could feed to the birds. He hadn't, but said he could get me some early the next morning when he went to market, and they'd be in the shop at 07h00!

By the end of the day, my counts of Fieldfare numbers present had peaked at 14. Here are a few images from that day.

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) - our garden on 1st March

Friday 2nd March, 2018

I was out early to visit Packington Stores to get the apples. Peter offered me two boxes - one more than half full with (I guess) around 60 to 70 apples in, and one with around 40 apples in. I chose the one with less apples and was charged next to nothing for these.

Having got home, I cut in half around a dozen or so and placed them at various positions around the garden in the hope of minimising competitive squabbles. The Fieldfare came in greater numbers and, by mid-day, I was having to replenish the offerings.

At one point I managed to count 33 Fieldfare in the garden, but I suspect that there were more than this! Here are a few from this second day.

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) - our garden on 2nd March

Saturday 3rd March, 2018

The snow was starting to disappear and Fieldfare numbers were down - at last some of the other birds that usually visit our garden were able to get a look-in! On this day we peaked at just 8 Fieldfare.

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) - our garden on 3rd March

Sunday 4th March, 2018

There was no doubt that the Fieldfare invasion was almost over.  We peaked at just 6 birds and by the afternoon there was just one left, then that one departed too. All we were left with was the remains of a lot of apples, masses of what must have been Fieldfare poo, but which looked like stewed apple pulp that was turning brown, and some wonderful memories of what is never likely to ever be repeated! It was amazing while it lasted! Here's a shot of the last bird to be with us.

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) - our garden on 4th March

At this point in time, I have no idea what my next blog post will feature.

Thank you for dropping by.

Bits and Bobs - November, 2017

For a number of reasons, it has been over three weeks since my last blog post, so I thought I'd better take a grip on myself and come up with something before questions are asked!

A few weeks ago, I stated that I intended for my birding activities to change, with a return to a focus on owls, and an endeavour to stay closer to home. In some respects, I have managed to adhere to this intention. My excursions have been rather more frequent, but shorter in duration, and resulted in virtually no photography! They have not, however, been totally fruitless.

Owls

Many of my shorter excursions have been in the late afternoon specifically to try and locate owls as dusk falls. I've had a few sightings of Barn Owl over two different sites, and a couple of sightings of Tawny Owl at one site. I have not had too much success so far with Little Owls as no new sites have been found, although I have had around a dozen sightings over three of my original sites. I've also recently found what was one of my more reliable owl nest trees to be totally destroyed - it's in a location that is out of bounds in the summer. The only photos arising from these sightings were from my old LO Site No.02. All but two of these sighting were in 'night time' situations. I have, therefore, little to show for my efforts. Here's a few shots to 'put you in the picture'.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.02

With luck, I may get some half decent owl shots in the not-too-distant future.

Other Excursions

All my birding has been relatively close to home. Hawfinch are in the county (and country) in unprecedented numbers, for reasons that I'm not aware of. There's one location that they have been reported from that I have now visited four times - so far without any luck. I have, however,  taken advantage of my time there to photograph some of the winter thrushes (my Fieldfare shots were awful, so don't appear here) that are in the area - not forgetting the Robin!

Redwing (Turdus iliacus) - Battram

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - Battram

Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) - Battram

I have been to Hicks Lodge a few times. So far, the most interesting sightings have been of thirteen Goosander, and a number of Snipe (not counted but around 10) that were doing their best to look inconspicuous in the evening light. Apart from a lone female, all the Goosander kept their distance.

Goosander (Mergus merganser) - Hicks Lodge

Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Hicks Lodge

Coot (Fulica atra) - Hicks Lodge

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) - Hicks Lodge

I also had an evening at Longmoor Lake in the hope of seeing owls. I was surprised by how few passerines I saw - I think that the tree plantation is now too dense. There were plenty of birds on the water, however, but nothing of great interest.

Greylag Goose (Anser anser) - Longmoor Lake

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) - Longmoor Lake

Our Garden

Sadly, the building work going on behind our back garden is keeping the more timid birds from visiting us during the week, but things tend to pick up a bit at the weekend when all is quiet on the building site. We have started to see a few winter visitors in the garden. I missed the first Brambling of the winter as I was in Derbyshire photographing Kingfisher, but Lindsay (my wife) tells me it was around for about an hour. Great-spotted Woodpecker (a male) - absent for most of the summer - has started showing reasonably frequently. We're now getting occasional visits from Goldcrest (no sensible photos yet), and we've had a few visits from Mistle Thrush (but our berries have now virtually all gone!). Here are a few garden bird images from November.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) (male) - our garden

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) - our garden

Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) -our garden

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - our garden

I hope that it is not another three-plus weeks before I manage to get enough time and material to share with you. 

Thank you for dropping by.