13th March - Win or Lose, Sink or Swim

It was misty and overcast in the morning, and quite cold.  We spent the day up in Oxford, but when we got back there was some time and the sun was out and it felt quite warm.  I walked down Brislands with plenty of Lesser Celandines in flower on the verge, and as I was admiring them a butterfly flew past, I watched it as it flew away from me and could see it was a Small Tortoiseshell, spring doesn't seem to far away now.

As well as the butterfly further evidence was send with a Greenfinch in display flight around the hawthorn bushes.  I turned into Gradwell, and then across the field into Old Down.  A Song Thrush sang away in the distance and as I walked into the wood there were several Robins singing.  The Larches were beginning to leaf, and in he late sunshine the footpath was lit up.

A little further on a Coal Tit was in full song from the top of a Beech Tree, the lack of leaves making it easy to find.

I walked to the crossroads where there were several large puddles, and every single one was full of frog spawn, I don't think I have ever seen so much in the wood before.

I walked around towards Old Down cottage, and stopped to check the large pool on the footpath.  This has always been a pool that has quite a bit of spawn, and today it was like every other pool of water, full.

Some of the pools were quite small and must run the risk of drying out, especially over the next few weeks as the forecast is for it to remain dry.

As I made my way back to the main path a Nuthatch called above me as it foraged amongst the lichen on the branches.

I made my way towards the exit, and by the perimeter path the Bluebell shoots looked to be very well developed, if it warms up we may have flowers for Easter.

At the pond a Buzzard was annoying the smaller birds, and alarm calls rang out.  A small bird flew from the top of a tree, and then mouse like crawled around the branches.  It was difficult to pick out and I only managed a record shot of my first treecreeper of the year.

I was hoping to find toad spawn in the pond after seeing all the frog spawn, but there was no sign at all.  There was some frog spawn, and a few frogs splashing in the shallow water.

The Mallard pair were standing in the shallow water, enjoying the evening sunshine.

I walked down the lane towards Kitwood.  The light was now wonderful, all golden and soft, and it lit up a Goldfinch at the top of the trees.

There were three Goldfinch in the tree, plus a male Greenfinch and a Collared Dove that was being pursued by another along the branch.

Leaving the birds in the tree I headed back along the lane when a Great Tit sat on one of the branches from the hedge again in the wonderful light.

I headed down towards the school, the hedgerow being turned golden by the low sunshine.  The familiar piping call of a Bullfinch alerted me to movement in the hedge.  There were two females and a single male, that managed to keep partially hidden.

As I waited for the Bullfinches to appear I noticed movement in a tree, at first I thought it was a Treecreeper then a familiar pose revealed it to be another Nuthatch.

I headed down to hill, and noticed shapes in the field.  A closer look revealled the shapes to be Red-legged Partridges.  I counted nine together, but with another pair closer to the road there were eleven.

Along Gradwell the field was full of about 30 Redwing, however they seem to know exactly when I am looking to take a photograph because they upped and flew away.  One or two though remained in the sunshine.

The calls of Jackdaws came from the chimney pots on the cottages, and several birds seemed to be arguing over the pots for nest sites, or maybe just to find a warm place to roost tonight.  This one was inside the pot and peered out at me.

The sun was now almost set, and I made my way back home, as I passed the recreation ground a pair of Mistle Thrushes flew over calling.

The first butterfly of the year and two year ticks made it a worthwhile walk this afternoon.  Slowly the new season is coming, and with it the hope and anticipation of something special.

8th March - Like I've Known Them All My Life

Yesterday evening it was cold but clear blue sky and a lovely blue Sky.  Yesterday when we went for a run we had a wonderful view of a Sparrowhawk taking an unfortunate Starling, but of course no camera.  Today its overcast with drizzle in the air, an despite this I decided to go out, and took the same route as last night in the hope that just maybe it would do it again, but of course it didn't.  

As I walked the back lane up towards the centre of the village I could hear the very quiet song of a Blackbird.  It was half hearted and came from the middle of a tree lacking the forcefullness and wonderful full notes normally associated with a Blackbird in song.

The drizzle in the air became a more persistent rain, the sky and everything around me assuming a monochrome set.  I headed down towards Blackberry Lane, and around me the Starlings were flying about calling to each other and settling in the tree tops, contrasting black against the grey sky, almost like a black and white picture.

At the footpath down towards Alton Lane a Crow called from the top of a tree, this time a larger black and white bird, a theme was developing.

As I came down the footpath between Blackberry and Alton Lane there was a flock of approximately 20 Redwing feeding in the paddock where the ground had been turned over by the horses.

One of the other reasons for coming this way was to check on the Rookery along Alton Lane.  Lats year there were around 50 nests, and the indications were that there may be quite a few more this year.

As I approached the colony I could hear the Rooks calling but also there were plenty of Jackdaws about.  Rooks nest quite early to take advantage of the soft ground in the fields.  During winter Jackdaws and Rooks form huge roosts in the woods around Chawton Park, and it is as if the Jackdaws can't be parted from their winter night fellows.  The Jackdaws seem to hang about with the Rooks despite the fact that the Rooks are now nesting.  You could see the Jackdaws on the edge of the branches while the Rooks were staying close to the nests.

While some of the Rooks were clearly sitting on the nests and their partners close by in attention, some of them were still reinforcing their bonds.

The nest is a large bundle of twigs, many do remain from last year but with the storms of the winter I can imagine there has been much repairing going on.  Birds can be seen flying around with twigs in their beaks even once eggs have been laid.  In many case the twigs are broken off the tree itself though as many are likely to be stolen from nearby nests as are collected from trees.

Eggs are usually 3–5 in number, can appear by the end of February or early March and are incubated for 16–18 days. Both adults feed the young, which are fledged by the 32nd or 33rd day.

Once fledged the juvenile is superficially more similar to the crow because it lacks the bare patch at the base of the bill, but it has a thinner bill and loses the facial feathers after about six months. 

There was plenty of activity around the whole colony, and I attempted to count the number of nests, I am not convinced this is the complete total, but I managed to locate 57 nests which is in excess of the number counted last year when the two colonies along Alton Lane decided to combine.

The rain now was becoming a lot heavier and I decided it was time to leave the Rooks who were now sitting high in the trees alongside their nests.

I made my way home with Jackdaws heading north again a black and white image in the grey and miserable sky.

A short walk, brought to a quick conclusion by the change in weather.  I did though get the chance to catch up with the Rooks always a feature of the early March skies as they wheel around the their nests in the top of the trees calling and filling the air with a scattered black and white display.

4th March - Immerse In That One Moment

March has arrived along with spring but the weather continues to refuse to comply, since the start of the month the temperature has dropped and there was even snow on my car in the week.  This morning the skies are a lovely blue with plenty of sunshine, but it is also quite cold.  These conditions look set to last through the weekend and into next week.  "Spring?"  Mother Nature says, "Not yet you have to have your winter!"

The sunshine and lighter mornings though seems to have sparked life into the garden birds, the House Sparrows were very active, males chasing each other around the trees, and looking to find a prominent position to sing from.  The females though were more interested in feeding.

One male seemed to take a liking to the buds on the Acer trees, and was ripping these apart.

Last weekend I saw the first Siskins in the garden since last October, this morning the three birds, a male and two females were present once again, using the sunflower feeders but would approach them very cautiously.

The male was looking quite smart in his green and black plumage.

He sat watching and waiting, wary of the more aggressive Goldfinches and the much larger Greenfinches.

The female does not have the same colour of the male, but is much greyer with more evident streaks on the flanks, while retaining the same light yellow wing bars.

One feature of the Siskin is the bill, while still a finch the bill is very fine, in comparison to the Gold and Greenfinches, there approach to the feeders is to delicately pick out the seed, and of course they are also attracted to the niger seeds.

In the US the American Goldfinch is all yellow, and for me the Siskin is probably closer in comparison to that bird than the Eurasian Goldfinch.

I mentioned that the House Sparrows were showing signs of display and breeding behaviour.  They have been quick to use the House Martin nest on the house opposite, and this male seems to have already laid claim to the nest this year, having visited it it came out and sat above it call vigorously.

A Cherry tree in a garden beyond mine showed signs of movement, and I watched as a beautiful male Bullfinch appeared from the middle of the tree.

The Bullfinch has a strong association with blossom, particularly at this time of the year. The flowers lure bullfinches to feed, though as well as eating blossom they also take its young leaf buds. Alternative names for the bullfinch include ‘bud-bird’ and the name which we now use is a description of the bird’s broad bull-necked appearance. Unfortunately the bullfinch’s habit of taking buds and blossom has earned it a bad reputation with some gardeners and producers of fruit.

I could see this bird pulling apart the both the blossom and the leaves as it moved up the branches.

The bullfinch has had a bad reputation in Britain since the 16th century when it was first regarded as a pest for eating the blossom of apple and pear trees. During Elizabethan times bullfinches literally had a price on their heads with one penny being offered for each dead bird. It seems to have preferences for certain types of apples being less likely to eat the blossom of cooking apples than dessert varieties. In the bullfinch’s defence, it has been shown that a fruit tree can lose a half of its blossom without affecting its overall production of fruit since it will naturally produce a surplus of blossom. The bullfinch can eat a great deal of blossom but only does so in years when its natural food supplies, such as ash keys and dock seed, are in short supply.

In the early morning sun, seen in amongst the blossom surely there is no better looking bird.

Signs of spring are all very welcome, lets just hope the weather plays along as well through March.

As a postscript and just to confirm my earlier comments about spring being here, but winter fighting back, this was the garden four hours later.

Oh well, some way to go yet!

28th February - With a Heart Like The Night

At 5.55 this morning I heard a Song Thrush singing, it was still quite dull, but a clear sign that the morning are getting brighter, and the days are getting longer.

As well as the Song Thrush, a little later on when I finally got up and was making tea I noticed three visitors to the feeders that have not been around much this winter, a male and two female Siskins.  The only camera I had access to was that on my phone hence the very poor quality as I tried to zoom in as much as possible, but please believe me they were Siskins.

It was a cold day, with a fresh easterly wind that really got into you.  I was going to walk around Plain Farm for the first time this year, but first I just wanted to check Old Down Wood.  If the Siskins were visiting the garden then maybe there could be some activity in the wood.

I parked at the pond where the female Mallard was sitting on the jetty, there was no sign of the males though.

On the bank behind the jetty were a pair of Moorhen, but as usual they were of at the slightest sign of me.  I walked into the wood, the cold was obviously having an impact on the birds as there was no song from the robins and the only sound was that of the wind in the trees.  I stood and listened and picked up the jingle of Goldfinches high in the larch trees, and the odd call of a Blue Tit, but that was about it.

I walked around to where I had seen the owl a few weeks ago but couldn't find any sign of it today.  I made my way around the perimeter path, and out of the wood and back to the pond.  As I approached the pond there was the call of a crow, and then a Buzzard broke from the trees being pursued by the owner of the call.

I walked around the pond, and found a pair of Mallard in the small pond, and they flew off.  I was interested to see if there was any sign of the Toads arriving but I couldn't see any, the water level was very high, as high as I have seen it for some time.

I set off for Plain Farm driving along Lye Way.  In the field to the north a Buzzard was sat on a post and being rocked by the wind.

When I parked at the bottom of the hill I was told that there was a drag hunt coming through a little later on, hopefully it would not get in my way.  I walked up the hill towards the estate in the bushes on my left there was a small party of Long-tailed Tits making their way through the bramble.  I stopped and waited to see if there was any sign of Firecrests around the yew tree, but there was nothing calling let alone a Firecrest.

I walked up to the pond, and found a drake Mallard sitting in the sun, he stood out amongst the ivy on the bank.  A little to the right of the drake was a t first a brown patch, then I realised it was its mate the duck, showing how effective the brown plumage is at hiding her when it is necessary.

I walked down past the quarry where there were a pair of Bullfinches calling but doing a very good job of being hidden.  As I crossed the road I disturbed a Red-legged Partridge from one of the seed dispensers.  I walked up the hill past the grain dryers where House Sparrows chirped away from the middle of the hedge.

A little further on as I came out into the fields I noticed a small bird fly across the path from the bramble and settle on the fence wire.  I thought at first it was a Meadow Pipit but a closer look revealed a white patch in the wing, I couldn't see the head but thought it could be a Stonechat.  Then from the same patch the bird had come from another flew up on to the overhead wire and I could see immediately that this was a male Stonechat.  It then flew to the fence to join the other bird that I could now see was a female Stonechat.

I must assume these are the same pair that were here late last year and have over wintered here.  Both birds then flew off as I walked up the path and headed into the field where both birds perched on a small sprig of grass, the male being closer than the female.

A Buzzard was flying low along the top of the hedge at the back of the field, then it drifted away only to be mobbed by a pair of Lapwing.  It was nice to catch up with Lapwing early in the year, last year I didn't find one until November.  The buzzard headed away and then one of the Lapwing went into the aerobatic display flight that they perform at this time of year.

A Skylark was singing above the fields, and at the cottages a male Chaffinch was singing from the overhead wires.

I walked on checking both fields for a possible Grey Partridge or Brown Hare, but neither were about.  At the end of the lane by the cottages a Kestrel was hunting.

I walked to the end of the footpath in almost silence, everything concentrating today on keeping warm, not something they have had to do this winter.

As I headed towards Charlwood I noticed this dandelion flower with a small Hover Fly sitting on.  The fly was alive, but only just

A tractor was topping the hedges along Charlwood, it seems such a brutal way to do it, and I wonder if it helps the hedges or is just something to do this time of year.  As I reached the bridleway turn off I saw a Red Kite drifting across the field heading north.

I watched it fly away, and then continued along the road.  As I approached the paddocks I noticed two dark shapes at the back of the field in the distance.  I thought at first they could be Brown Hare, but when I looked closely I could see that they were in fact a Buzzard that was eating something, and Red Kite that seemed very interested in what the Buzzard was eating.

The Kite then walked around the Buzzard, and found something that it could eat.

If I walked around the bridleway I could get closer so I ran back to see if I could get a better view, I did check first to make sure no one else was about!

When I arrived at the best point I used the hedge as cover, and looked across the field, both birds were gone though, and there was no sign of any possible food on the ground.  

Then the Red Kite appeared and drifted past me, what a beautiful bird they are, the rich reddish brown standing out with the dark streaks on the breast and the lovely grey of the head.

It drifted away again with that lazy unhurried style keeping just above the hedge.

Then it was gone, so I decided against continuing along the bridleway, there were deep water filled ruts and a lot of mud, the 4x4's that use this small track have really messed it up this winter.  I went back the way I came, and then back on the road and around to Lye Way.

As I walked towards the car the fields on the left hand side were being ploughed and this was attracting an awful lot of Gulls, once again the dominant bird was the Common Gull, but there were a few Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls.  As you can see here there were also Buzzards looking to pick up an easy meal.

The gulls then suddenly disappeared, but the Buzzards remained, there were four circling around the field, one coming low and hovering holding its legs down to help with keeping it stationary in the wind.

A Mistle Thrush called from the trees, and then two flew across in front of me, strangely a first for the year, usually these are seen all the time during the winter.

As I made my way down the hill I could see riders heading up towards the estate, the drag hunt was making its way through the area.  As I reached the car they had all gone though.  

Not a bad day, two good birds for the patch in Stonechat and Lapwing, and some new Red Kite behaviour.  In two days time the meteorological spring starts, as I mentioned at the start the days are getting longer, it just needs now to warm up, and then hopefully the migrants, insects and flowers will arrive.