SKYLARK SUE’S REFLECTIONS OF NATURE
October 2014
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| House sparrow in the apple tree |
October 1st proved to be sunny and warm,
a wonderful start to the month. There were still plenty of insects around and
the garden was being visited by all our usual birds –sparrows, blackbirds,
robins, wood pigeons, jays, magpies, starlings, collared doves and various
tits. The warmth and sunshine remained for a few days, and there were still
butterflies around enjoying the autumn flowers. On the 3rd there was a Large
White as well as a very tatty, nibbled Speckled Wood. There were plenty of bees
around, too, including some large bumblebees, while numerous spiders’ webs sparkled in the sun,
most with a fat garden spider splayed in the centre.
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| Sparrow at the fountain |
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| There were many webs around |
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| Robin on the mesh feeder |
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Blue Tit
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| House sparrows |
It’s interesting to note that the jays,
which have a reputation for being shy, timid birds, are less wary of humans
than are wood pigeons and collared doves. The latter two birds will fly off if
they see us at the window or if we open the garden door, whilst the jay will
usually remain. Our apple crop is very poor compared to last year’s, when we
were faced with a glut and spent hours peeling them to freeze for puddings.
This year, the crop is not only sparse but the apples are small and blemished
so we are leaving most of them for the birds to enjoy. A slim, rather spruce
robin, maybe a youngster, was on one of the feeders,. The following day, the
house sparrows decided to bathe in the fountain and also spent much time just
perching in the sun on the trees and shrubs, seemingly relaxing in the warmth. The scruffy female blackbird, mentioned in last month's blog, returned and her head feathers were growing back.
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| Blue tit with meal worm |
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| Blue tit |
The weather changed on the 5th, and though
it was still sunny, it turned much colder. A squirrel came down to feast on
peanuts, as did two jays, and the usual garden visitors were around as well.
Maybe they were making the most of the sun, because the following day was
almost constant rain and very overcast. Gloomy wet weather continued over the
next few days, and there wasn’t much bird activity, though two jays were
around. They are certainly appreciating the nuts in the shells; they need them,
because for some reason there is a dearth of acorns this year, even though
berried crops seem to be doing well. On the 9th, there was thunder as well as a
particularly bright rainbow. However, the weather was soon to change.
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| Male Chaffinch |
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| Impressive Insect House |
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| Female Blackcap |
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| Red Deer |
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| Red Deer |
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| Redwings |
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| Redwing |
On October the 12th I went to Suffolk
for a couple of days, calling in at the RSPB reserve at Minsmere, and spent some
time in the North Hide watching a Hobby catching dragonflies. The RSPB use
Highland cattle to graze the fen, and they are an attraction in their own right.
It was interesting to see the all the sand martins’ nests in a large bank, and
I intend to return next year when the birds are in residence, as I’d like to
see them swooping around the cliff. I was impressed with a large ‘insect house’
made from logs bored with holes, lengths of hollow cane, bark, fir cones and
other natural materials. This is something that could easily be made at home –
I have a couple of small insect homes, but this was more like a mansion! There
was a handsome male chaffinch around the picnic area, and there was gorse in
flower. The bracken was turning deep bronze, beautiful in the sunshine. It was
amazingly warm and sunny, more like a summer’s day than mid-autumn. Two days
later, I was back at Minsmere, and this time went to the North Bushes area. We
had some good sightings, including a flock of blackcaps, as well as redwings,
fieldfares, ring ouzel, Cetti’s warbler and a herd of red deer. Unfortunately
though, most of the sightings were quite far away, so although I could see them
through binoculars, I couldn’t capture them well with the camera. Once more the
weather was warm and sunny.
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| Compass Jellyfish |
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| Moon Jellyfish |
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| Lagoon Jellyfish |
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| Sun Starfish |
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| Common and Brittle Starfish |
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| Starfish |
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| Young Manta Ray |
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| Me with a Manta Ray! |
By contrast, the day before – the 13th –
had been a different story. There was torrential rain, just hurling down from
the sky, flooding roads and pavements. We decided the best thing to do was to
visit the Seaworld Aquarium in Great Yarmouth, and were really glad that we
did, because there was so much to see. The jellyfish and starfish displays were
really interesting, and some of the tropical tanks were stunning with vivid
coral displays. I enjoyed watching the seahorses tethering themselves by their
tails to the plants and seeing the manta rays almost lifting themselves out of
water, their strange faces seeming to bear smiles! The very young rays were reared in separate
tanks before later being transferred into holding nets in the main pool.
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| Beautiful aquarium |
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| Seahorse |
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| Coral |
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| Humboldt Penguin |
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| Bristle Shrimp |
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| Being nibbled by a Bristle Shrimp! |
There were Humboldt penguins there too, as well
as turtles and terrapins, and of course, hundreds of fish. The rock pool
feature was interesting, with creatures such as anemones, crabs and starfish to
touch. My finger was nibbled by a bristle shrimp!
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| Waves breaking on the beach on a very rainy day |
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| Dark-bellied Brent Geese |
Later, we drove to a car park along the
cliff to watch the waves breaking. It was still raining heavily and the sky was
leaden. We saw skeins of dark-bellied Brent Geese flying low across the water. A
cormorant flew over, too.
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| Jay discovers the new dish |
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| As does a starling |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Starling |
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| Collared Dove |
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| Teasel |
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| Colourful snail |
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| Household visitor! |
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| Dunnock |
On the 17th, a surprisingly warm day with
temperatures in the high sixties, the adorned feeding dish was visited by
several birds including a jay and a starling, so obviously met with approval.
Other birds around that day included a dunnock that perched in the apple tree
for some time, set off well against a clear blue sky. There were several house
sparrows and a collared dove. The garden is still a mass of blooms, attracting
insects which in turn attract the birds – even the passiflora is still
flowering. Golden leaves were stunning against the blue sky – the leaves are
now at last turning to their autumn colours – and the teasels are at their
spikey best. Such striking plants. There are lots of snails around in the
garden, no doubt brought out by all the recent rain, and in our bedroom was an
enormous spider! The
mild, mostly sunny weather continued over the next few days, with temperatures
in the high sixties much of the time, and scarcely any rain. The usual birds –
see October 1st – continued to visit the garden. It was surprising how much
colour was still about the garden, with most of the summer bedding plants in
bloom, as well as roses, fuchsias and lilies. Yet the autumn plants –
Michaelmas daisies, winter jasmine and sedum were out as well.
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| Autumn light through the leaves |
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| Reflections in the Lode Run |
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| Fungi grows in a hole in tree |
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| Dunnock |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Beautyberry |
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| Birch trees in Winter Wood |
Due
to various circumstances I was unable to get out and about for a few days, but October
28th, yet another warm and sunny day, was spent in the glorious grounds of Anglesey
Abbey in Cambridgeshire, one of my favourite gardens at any time of the year.
The shrubs were showing their autumn colours and berries to advantage against a
cloudless blue sky, with the sun sparkling off dogwood stems and scarlet
maples. It’s amazing that there were so many butterflies still around – we saw
Red Admirals and a few creamy Clouded Yellows. There were hundreds of bees too,
not only on the plants but as a mini swarm near the restaurant. It was warm –
we really are having an Indian summer. The white birches in the Winter Wood had
shed their leaves, and the delicate shapes of their branches were emphasised
against the sky, whilst along the river the trees were reflected in the still
water. Driving home, at about 3pm, I
noticed a strange effect in the sky, rather like the rainbow appearance you see
in spilt oil. It was just a patch of colour, not a bow.
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| Autumn colour at Anglesey Abbey |
November 1st proved to be surprisingly mild and sunny with several bees around, visiting the numerous out-of –season flowers which should definitely have stopped blooming by now. A coal tit visited the garden, which was good as I haven’t seen one for months. A drive along the M11 on the way to Cambridge revealed several kestrels – for a couple of decades these birds seemed to disappear from this stretch of the motorway so it’s good to see them back. There was a wonderful sunset –sunsets at this time of year are often vivid. I believe it’s something to do with the quality of the light and the angle of the sun.
By the 3rd, the weather had changed to colder, rainy conditions. A grey squirrel was in the garden, and we also saw two jays, two magpies and several starlings – all down at once. The 4th of November was sunny once more, with a glorious blue sky, which showed to perfection the ornamental trees surrounding our local garden centre, whilst a flock of long-tailed tits flitted amongst the branches. There was a good crop of berries around, too which no doubt will attract birds once the, still plentiful, insects disappear. Two days later it was cold enough to give the first frost of autumn, not a heavy frost, just enough to whiten the roofs of cars.
It is interesting to see the shells of monkey nuts that the jays leave behind, each with part of the shell removed so that they can reach the kernel with their sharp beaks. They are often scattered beneath the roof strut of the pergola, on which the birds perch to feed. Smooth newts are still about; we found some on the 19th in the garden. They lurk under a wheelie bin during the day so it must be still too mild for them to think about hibernating. It isn’t a good hiding place though, as the bin is regularly moved. On the 21st a jay was around for a long time in the garden eating the nuts on the path and pergola, as well as perching in the tree, and so providing plenty of photographic opportunities! A collared dove, woodpigeon and blue tits were in the garden too, alongside plenty of sparrows.
