SKYLARK SUE’S REFLECTIONS OF NATURE
November 2014
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.
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| Autumn colours at the garden centre |
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| Starling |
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| Grey sqirrel enjoying the peanuts |
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.
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| House sparrows |
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| Robin singing between the showers |
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| Collared doves on the neighbours' roof |
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| Handsome great tit |
The weather continued to be a mixture of sunny periods and overcast conditions with occasional rain for the next few days, and we had the usual garden visitors, There was a particularly handsome, brightly-coloured great tit around on the 12th, and plenty of sparrows. It’s good to know that we are getting a substantial flock in out small garden, with often twenty or thirty birds on the feeders and in the trees and shrubs. The following day there was a large bumblebee, quite a surprise at this time of year, but there are still plenty of flowers in bloom, so presumably it found some nectar. Garden sightings on the 15th November, a damp and gloomy day, included about thirty sparrows, blue tit, blackbird, jays, several great tits, dunnock, wood pigeons, collared doves and a squirrel. On the 16th there was heavy rain but when it eased a robin sang sweetly from the apple tree, while a flock of eight collared doves settled on the roof of the house next door.
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| Monkey nut shells opened by jays |
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| A damp and gloomy day! |
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| Collared dove |
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| House sparrows |
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| Jays are very photogenic! |
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.
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| Rose hips at Rye Mead |
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| Teasels |
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| Gadwall |
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| Water Rail |
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| Coots, gull and lapwings |
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| Lapwings |
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| Cormorant and gulls |
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| Robin |
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| Female chaffinch |
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| Female gadwall |
A trip to the RSPB reserve at Rye Meads, Broxbourne, on the 24th of November, was enjoyable, not least because I had my very first sighting of a water rail. The bird was seen from the Gadwall hide, and kept emerging from the reeds to plunge its bill in the water in its search for food. I also saw teals, coots, mute swans, cormorants, gadwall, shelduck, little egret and black headed gulls. There was a large flock of lapwings also visible from the Gadwall hide. Something disturbed them, possibly a sparrowhawk, and they took to the air in a whirring mass, a dazzle of white and green glossy feathers illuminated by the sun. There weren’t many birds to be seen from Ashby hide, though I did see a pair of shovellers. There was an impressive crop of berries, rose hips, haws, sloes etc around the reserve, while other birds included chaffinches and robins.
It was the first air frost of the year, with many parts of the country glorying in white-frosted trees, but here in our part of Essex only the roofs were white.
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| Mute swan at Rye Meads |
The 28th of November continued mild, with swarms of gnats dancing over the lawn and pond, so there must still be insects around for the birds. It was a grey, overcast day though. The following day there was a starling in his smart winter plumage on the feeder, and the sparrows were about too, squabbling over the peanuts, while on the last day of the month there were two jays, two magpies and a squirrel all down in the apple tree at once.
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| Oak tree opposite the garden in autumn splendour |
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| Starling |
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| Great tit |
This has been yet another mild month, so can December continue this way or will there be a change to ice and snow?
