SKYLARK SUE’S REFLECTIONS OF NATURE

October 2014

 

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.

Sparrow at the fountain

There were many webs around

Robin on the mesh feeder

Blue Tit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Blue tit with meal worm

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.

 

Sand Martins' nest holes at Minsmere

 


Highland cattle are used at Minsmere

Hobby

 

 



Male Chaffinch

Impressive Insect House



Female Blackcap



Red Deer



Red Deer



Redwings



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.



Compass Jellyfish



 

Moon Jellyfish

 

Lagoon Jellyfish

 



Sun Starfish



 



Common and Brittle Starfish



 



Starfish



Young Manta Ray



 

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.



Beautiful aquarium






Seahorse



Coral



Humboldt Penguin



Bristle Shrimp

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!

Waves breaking on the beach on a very rainy day

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.



Seed dish with chicken wire wrapped around

Beginning to thread the greenery

Almost complete



Dish in place on feeder pole

Torrential rain returned on the 15th; by then I was back home in Essex, and for the rest of the month there was little rain and the temperatures were well above average. On the 16th we had a (very fat) wood mouse indoors today, but caught it in a humane trap and released it some way away near some stables, where hopefully it will be warm and content. I decided to try to make a more photogenic feeder dish as the wire one wasn’t very attractive, so I encircled the whole thing with chicken wire. Then I threaded various small branches of conifer and cuttings from other shrubs, including a sprig of cotoneaster berries, through the wire until it was completely hidden. I then returned the dish to its holder on the feeder pole and was pleased with the finished result. It does give a more natural look to photographs. Naturalist Chris Packham had suggested softening feeding dishes at one of his talks – he had used bark – but I had to adapt his idea as there was nowhere to wedge it.  I filled the dish with nuts and seeds, and the birds soon discovered it.

 

Jay discovers the new dish

As does a starling



House Sparrow

Starling



Collared Dove

Teasel

Colourful snail



Household visitor!



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.

Autumn light through the leaves

Reflections in the Lode Run



Fungi grows in a hole in tree

Dunnock

 



Red Admiral

Red Admiral

Beautyberry



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.

Strange patch of colour in the sky



Ivy on the apple tree

Large Garden Spider



Blue Tit

The next day turned out grey and gloomy, but brightened the following day. There is a good crop of ivy on the apple tree which hopefully will attract and shelter insects through the winter. The garden spiders were still very much in evidence. On the last day of October, the 31st, it was announced that it was the warmest recorded Halloween in the UK, with temperatures in the seventies in some places, the top temperature being 74.3F in Kent.  Whether November will continue to be mild remains to be seen.

Autumn colour at Anglesey Abbey