SKYLARK SUE’S REFLECTIONS OF NATURE 

December 2013

 

Chill December brings the sleet,
Blazing fire and Christmas treat

Winter sunshine on Old Man's Beard

 We didn’t have sleet in our part of Essex, but we certainly had storms, hail, flooding and torrential rain. Many parts of Britain suffered terribly with raging seas, sections of cliff and beaches destroyed, winds that tore down trees, and in numerous places people were left without electricity, sometimes for days – for them, there was no ‘Christmas treat’. On the plus side, the weather was extraordinarily mild with temperatures often in the low 50s F.

Starling and Great Tit on the garden feeeder

December 1st revealed a gloomy, grey day, though the sun broke through the cloud for a while in the afternoon. The feeders in the garden attracted blackbirds, house sparrows, starlings and wood pigeons. The following day a magpie came down to eat from a feeding dish, tempted by the cheese that we had put out. Magpies regularly nest in the oak tree across the road from the garden, and no doubt it was one of those. There were also starlings, dunnock, house sparrows and great tits in the garden. December 4th – it was interesting to see that a robin and a blue tit seemed to be going round together; firstly they shared the feeder and then they sat close together in the apple tree. On December 4th yet another storm swept through the country; again many trees were blown down. It looks as though the country is going through a series of storms – there was a major one at the end of October which brought down thousands of trees, and this one seems bad, too. Many parts of Britain were flooded. The day dawned with a vivid pink sky and ended with a very low, large crescent moon. December 6th – there were three blue tits in the apple tree, coming down to the feeders, as well as a dunnock and blackbird.

Blue Tit

Collared Doves

 
The 7th of the month brought collared doves, wood pigeon, a pair of blackbirds, three great tits, three blue tits, sparrows, starling, dunnock and a grey squirrel. A flock of approximately 100 rooks flew overhead to a roost at dusk. On the 9th a really thick mist enveloped everything, making the trees appear as shadows through the gloom. The wood pigeons were gorging the seed on the feeder; on the 11th there were three of them gulping it down.

Wood Pigeon

Starling



Grey Squirrel

December 12th brought a grey squirrel into the garden but for once it ignored the feeders. Instead it crammed a large apple into its mouth and carried it off. Later tough, a squirrel came down to the nuts. It was slightly colder than of late, and there were sparrows and wood pigeons in the garden. On the 13th a wood pigeon noticed me as it was on the feeder, and ‘froze’, sitting immobile for several minutes in the hope that I wouldn’t spot it. All the wood pigeons are extremely nervous, the slightest noise or movement causes them to clumsily fly off with loudly clapping wings. It’s getting colder again, and the starling, tits and other birds are coming back.

 

Fallow deer race across a meadow

Greylag geese in flight

Canada Geese

This gull appeared to be wearing a Walkman!



Mute Swan

 December 14th was a beautiful, sunny day with plenty of blue sky, and we went to Hatfield Forest near Bishop’s Stortford.  On the journey, a few miles away from the entrance, we saw four fallow deer running across a field, silhouetted against the sky – a beautiful sight. We also saw a couple of grey squirrels along the roadside verges. On the lake in the forest were over a hundred Canada geese – I have never seen so many there before. There were also many greylags. Other birds around included mallards, black headed gulls and coots. One of the black headed gulls appeared to be wearing a Walkman - the black head had mouted into a line and spot, rather than just the usual splodge! Fallen trees and branches from the storm were still in evidence; the rangers had of course cleared anything likely to be hazardous, but it was still evident that damage had been done. There is an excellent mistletoe crop this year, and I saw that several of the trees bore enormous clumps. We also noticed a tree with a mixed flock of rooks and jackdaws.

A Good Year for Mistletoe

 

Rooks and Jackdaws Roosting in a Tree Together



Starling



The 18th, yet again, was very windy, with storms forecast, although the wind died out in the late evening in our area. In a small nearby shopping precinct, there was a wood pigeon and a magpie together in a tree. The following day brought thunder, lightning and a hailstorm, and on the 20th the temperature had dropped enough to ice over car windscreens. The sun soon broke through to give a bright day, however, and the golden yellow winter jasmine looked beautiful with the sunlight reflecting on its petals. Collared doves, wood pigeons, house sparrows, tits, dunnock and all the usual birds came down to feed. In the evening the wind increased a lot. On the following day once more there were many birds at the feeders. It was the shortest day, so now we can begin to look forward to lighter evenings.



House Sparrows on the Pyracantha

 Yet again the winds and storm came back with a vengeance - the 23rd of December brought flooding in many areas of the country and high winds were forecast for the next fortnight. On the 24th, a magpie was down on the feeder after the cheese, it’s probably the same one who braves the garden. At lunchtime there was sudden hailstorm which didn’t last very long but briefly made the bushes and the roof of the conservatory white, and in the evening there was a beautiful sunset. A robin was in full song on the 26th, warbling from the apple tree and the following day the birds in the garden included starlings, house sparrows, blackbird, blue tit, wood pigeons and robin. It was still fairly mild and a rose was in bloom.

 

Magpie on the feeder

December Sunset

House Sparrow Line Up



Male Blackbird

There was a frosty start on the 29th, but it wasn’t heavy. There were magpies and wood pigeons in the oak tree across the road, and a squirrel paid our garden a visit. There were also several sparrows and a dunnock. The next day saw blue sky – we are certainly having plenty of sunny days this month, alongside the storms and heavy rain – and the sparrows were dominating the feeders. The final day of December was threatened with a storm, but it didn’t materialise in our area. A robin and a blackbird were both singing lustily, and the squirrel was around the garden. The year ended with a lovely sunset which suffused the sky with pink.

 This has been a rather topsy-turvy year – a cold, very wet spring which appeared after a mild false start that had lulled the birds into nesting. Consequently, many early broods failed, which may well have especially affected such species as blue and great tits who tend to have one brood a year. The cold, gloomy weather limped on – and then July changed into a glorious month of sunshine and warmth, continuing right through till September and giving us a magnificent butterfly summer. It was excellent for dragonflies too. Peacock butterflies seemed to be everywhere, and later they were joined by small tortoiseshells and commas. However, red admirals were conspicuous by their absence – or, at lease, very low numbers.  Ladybird numbers seemed to be down too, certainly in my part of Essex. Towards the end of October came the storms and the flooding, and even in areas that weren’t near rivers or the sea, water poured off the land leaving roads flooded, and many grassy areas turned into mud.

Winter Jasmine in the Sunshine

 I’m pleased that I managed to keep a nature blog for the whole of 2013. Hopefully I will be able keep it up for 2014 too!

 

SKYLARK SUE’S REFLECTIONS OF NATURE 

November 2013

 

Dull November brings the blast
Then the leaves go whirling past

 

Colour at Anglesey Abbey

 

We certainly had a blast last month, and the November woods are still littered with fallen trees and snapped branches, but on the whole November was mild with quite a bit of sun. It didn’t really live up to its ‘Dull November’ reputation.

 November 1st was a mild day, and consequently few birds were around the feeders. They preferred to feast on the numerous insects still in evidence. There was a smooth newt on the garden path; the amphibians are reluctant to hibernate while there is so much food around. On the following day, a trip to Cambridge resulted in an ‘almost positive’ sighting of a brambling in the hedgerow as we passed by in the car.

Mute swans at Hatfield Forest

The lake at Hatfield Forest

Last month's storm damage at Hatfield Forest

A visit to Hatfield Forest on the 3rd revealed many trees broken or fallen due to last month’s gale, and I was surprised to see some striped snails that had worked their way up the trunk of one upright tree. A lot of the trees are still green, especially those around the lake; the autumn colours haven’t completely taken hold though the leaves look tired and are beginning to discolour.

 There was a jackdaw perched by the nesting hole that the birds had nested in earlier in the year, so perhaps it was staking its claim already. Maybe it was one of those who had nested there before, or even one of the youngsters. On the lake were dozens of black-headed gulls, though naturally the black feathers had moulted to the winter plumage, leaving just a small blotch. A couple of mute swans were plying the shore hoping to be fed, and there were also coots, moorhens, greylags, mallards and Canada geese. Surprisingly, there were still red blackberries on the bushes, though the sun will probably be too weak to ripen them now. A very large stone, fallen from one of the walls or buildings, was covered in rabbit droppings. Obviously the creatures had decided it was a perfect latrine!

Rabbit latrine at Hatfield Forest!

Snail up a tree at Hatfield Forest

 

 

Moorhen at Rye Meads

Tufted Duck at Rye Meads

Mute Swan, Teal and Shoveler at Rye Meads



Lapwings taking to the air at Rye Meads

 November 4th was a perfect day to visit the RSPB reserve at Rye Meads, near Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. It was a beautiful, sunny day with a cloudless blue sky. Even so, I was surprised to see half-a dozen or so peacock butterflies in a group near one of the hides. Although Rye Meads is one of the smaller of the RSPB reserves, there are several trails and hides overlooking scrapes and lagoons. From the Tern Hide I spotted teal, gadwall, shoveler, coots and moorhens, as well as around 150 or so lapwings, which suddenly all arose in the air, a fantastic whirling spectacle against the blue sky. From other hides I saw gulls, mainly black-headed, and tufted ducks, mute swans and cormorants, and I watched a wren through one of the slats. Bushes along the paths were heavy with scarlet hips and haws, and there were even some roses still in bloom. There was a very strange fungus on the ground in one place. It closely resembled lumps of white polystyrene and was slightly slimy to touch.

Gadwall at Rye Meads

 

Black-headed Gulls and Coots at Rye Meads



Dunnock on the seed feeder

Many of our garden birds have been absent over the last couple of weeks, presumably because there are so many insects, fruits and berries around. On the 8th there were a few sparrows and tits around the feeder, and a magpie had been visiting the apple tree where a few apples still remain. On the 10th we moved the bird feeder pole from the lawn to its winter position on the garden path. It’s necessary to do this, as the lawn tends to get very boggy in the winter months and it’s much easier to replenish the feeders when they are so easily accessible, especially if we get snow. Great tits soon found the feeders, and gradually the other birds followed suit. A dunnock was spotted there on the 14th. At one time the dunnocks seemed quite shy birds in the garden, timidly shuffling around under the bushes, but now they are much bolder and will hold their own with larger birds on the feeder trays.

 



The oak tree was turning gold

The mild weather had continued, and by the 15th there were still plenty of insects about, so apart from the occasional sparrow, wood pigeon, tit or dunnock the feeders remained deserted. The trees were really turning now, and the oak across the road was mainly gold with just a few green leaves. It bore a good crop of acorns – oaks and horse chestnuts seem to all be cropping well this year. In fact, it’s been a bumper harvest for most trees and bushes, so if we do have a hard winter there will be a good crop of food for hungry birds. On the 18th a robin was following my husband around the garden, taking the worms and grubs as they were turned up in the soil. From the car on the 20th I spotted a kestrel hovering low near Bourne in Lincolnshire. It’s always so frustrating to get quick glimpses of birds from the car – there is rarely time to observe them, let alone grab a photo. This was yet another blue-skied day, feeling more like early autumn.

Starling on the Feeder

 



Magpie in the Oak Tree

 

The weather was getting a bit colder now and the birds were returning to the garden. On the 20th the sparrows had claimed their patch in the pyracantha and were very active on the feeders. The squirrel had been visiting frequently over the last few days, too. Surprisingly, on the 24th there were still some alpine strawberries waiting to ripen but it must be too late now. With the weather remaining chilly, as well as the sparrows in the garden there were two blackbirds, two dunnocks, three blue tits, and a robin. Magpies were in the oak opposite as usual. The following day the birds in the garden had been joined at the feeders by great tits, a wood pigeon and several starlings.

Stream at Anglesey Abbey

Stream at Anglesey Abbey

 

Beauty Berry (Callicarpa dichotoma)

Greater Spotted Woodpecker High in the Tree

A trip to the grounds of Anglesey Abbey, Cambs, on the 25th proved a delight as, once more, the sun was shining from a bright blue sky, showing off the trees to their best advantage. The autumn tints were stunning and there were plenty of berries, including some purple Beauty Berry (Callicarpa dichotoma). The algae that had been so thick earlier in the year on the stream had either been cleared or had died away, and the water was clear. Sightings included great spotted woodpecker, blackbirds, great tits, goldcrests, a large flock of goldfinches and a particularly friendly robin who pecked around our feet along the woodland path. Amazingly, we even saw a bee on one of the shrubs.

Great Tit in Hiding!

 

Friendly Robin at Anglesey Abbey

On the 27th there was a small mixed flock of blue tits and long-tailed tits in the hedgerow across the road from our garden, and there were collared doves back in the garden on the 29th. On the last day of the month the garden was visited by starlings, sparrows, blue tits, great tits, dunnocks and blackbirds.

 

This November has been, for much of the time, exceptionally mild in our patch on the Essex/Herts border, with plenty of sunny days. For once it hasn’t lived up to its dismal reputation as immortalised in the poem by Thomas Hood:

 

No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day.
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! -
November!

In fact, I think that Thomas Hood was proved completely wrong this November!

Autumn Sunset

 

SKYLARK SUE’S REFLECTIONS OF NATURE 

 October 2013

 Brown October brings the pheasant,
Then to gather nuts is pleasant

 

Dunnock

I’m not sure why October is designated as ‘brown’, certainly, this year it was still very green, with just hints of autumn tints.

Scruffy Blackbird

 In contrast to the previous day, which had been warm and sunny, October 1^st proved to be chilly, due to the wind. The sparrows were still enjoying the birdbath, however, while a dunnock patiently waited its turn. The next day was slightly warmer, and we had the usual garden birds, including sparrows, starlings, dunnock and the same scruffy blackbird from last month's blog, which seemed to be moulting around its neck and head. The mildness continued, and there were collared doves on the feeders on the 5^th October. I also saw robin, dunnock, blue and great tits.

 

 

 

On October 5^th I went to the British Wildlife Centre at Lingfield, Surrey, and as well as the creatures in the enclosures, such as otters, red squirrels, deer, stoats, foxes etc, a walk around the wetlands area, on the boardwalk, was quite productive as I saw many dragonflies still around. They seem to be hanging on really late this year, presumably because not only is the weather so mild, but summer started later – it was July before it really kicked in.

 

A Buzzard was circling overhead

Roe Deer at the BWC

There were several herons perched in the trees and a buzzard circled overhead. There were plenty of fungi around, too. It’s always interesting to watch the red squirrels in their enclosure, because many birds come to share their food; there are usually chaffinches and great tits around the feeders or on the ground below. Sometimes the tits boldly enter the feeders to take the peanuts, braving the squirrels’ wrath. It was really warm and sunny.

 

The warm sunshine continued, and on the 8^th, I went to Hatfield Forest, near Bishop’s Stortford. This Natural Trust owned land is a regular haunt of mine, as readers of my previous blogs will know. Amongst the birds spotted were jackdaws, green woodpecker, jay, buzzard, blue tit, goldfinches, coots, gulls, moorhens, mallards, greylag geese and Canada geese. There were also squirrels, butterflies and dragonflies. There was an excellent crop of berries, presumably because of the wet spring and later warm weather – blackberries, honeysuckle, elder, hips, haws, mistletoe and many others.

Canada geese

So many berries - these are Elder

Glorious rich colours of a conker

 

 

Grey wagtail by the tigers' pool

October 12^th – surprisingly, there are still ripe strawberries in the garden. Apparently there is a large influx of redwings this year, and the first waxwings have arrived. The following day we travelled to Hampshire for a couple of days. It poured with rain, and we noticed a green woodpecker searching for worms in the wet grass at Winchester service station.  The following day, we crossed to the Isle of Wight. A visit to the Zoo there produced a sighting of a fearless grey wagtail around the pool in a tiger enclosure, and we watched him for several minutes. As usual, the tigers, lions and other animals looked happy and healthy. We were intrigued by a cloud in the shape of a long-beaked bird - a cormorant maybe? – as we crossed back to Lymington on the ferry, and later there was a spectacular sunset.

 

The cloud was shaped like a cormorant or pelican!

 

Morning dew sparkles in the sunshine

The 15^th October proved beautiful. The grass was covered with such a heavy dew that it resembled frost, and shafts of sun filtered through the trees making the dew sparkle. There was some swirling mist, too; it was quite ethereal. As we drove through part of the New Forest we noticed an enormous, scarlet fly agaric toadstool by the side of the road. It must have been as large as a tea plate.  After parking at the Canadian Memorial, we walked through the Forestry Commission land, and there were dozens of different types of fungi in the grass along the edges of the track.

 

We could see the Red deer through the trees

Veering off onto one of the side tracks, we looked through the trees across the valley, and spotted a herd of red deer. We were able to watch them for several minutes before the stag roared and raced off towards another herd which we could see some distance away in the shelter of the forest. Then we went along to Bolderwood, and stood on the viewing platform there. We didn’t expect to see any deer, as they had stopped being fed, but luckily there were a few fallow deer in the shelter of the trees across the grassland.

Fallow deer at Bolderwood

 Later, we went to Millyford Bridge, where mossy trees flourish and where a fallen tree lies near the stream. The fallen tree was covered with fungi and lichen, as was much of the area. There were several fly agarics too, as well as a variety of other toadstools. It is a very picturesque place, very beautiful.

 

 

That evening, a trip to Mudeford Quay was rewarded by the sight of swans swimming in the estuary, illuminated by the rays of the setting sun. It was a tranquil, peaceful scene and we watched until the, almost full, moon rose above the trees. I always think that the Hampshire/Dorset region is one of the most beautiful areas of Britain – it is soft countryside. No dramatic mountains, just stretches of forest, moorland, estuaries and shore.

 

On October 20^th I had a very good sighting of a red kite from the car, between Harpenden and Luton. The trees have stayed green much longer this year, but by the 22^nd I noticed that many have turned yellow and gold, although the oaks are still green. The 24^th was sunny and mild, and the house sparrows were sunbathing on the pyrancantha in the garden. Wood pigeons were in the oak tree across the road. There was a ripe alpine strawberry in one of the garden tubs. October 25^th started out damp and grey, then brightened up and there was quite a bit on sunshine. Later it became overcast. There was a beautiful great tit on the feeder – the great tits seem to have really deep black heads this year. Several sparrows about, too.

 

On the night of 27^th/28^th October, a fierce storm swept through much of Britain. We were relatively unscathed in out part of Essex, but there was much damage elsewhere, especially tree loss. Apparently there were over a hundred fallen trees blocking railway lines, and Kew Gardens lost many mature trees. Trees were blown down along many roads, and Hatfield Forest suffered losses too. They had to close for several days whilst the rangers went round to check that trees were safe and had no fallen or had loose and unsafe branches. They also had to clear those trees that had plummeted to the ground.

On October 31^st there were three collared doves on a tree near the front of the house. Such beautiful sleek-looking birds.  And so October ends, an unseasonably warm month – a proper Indian summer – but with a sting in its tail in the shape of a hurricane force winds.