May 2015

Nature Notes: May 2015

I couldn't wash my face in the morning dew on the first of May as there was a rather hard frost. Although I felt this was rather unseasonal it was not the last of the month.

There was quite a lot of firsts this month:

The first sound of the cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), the first drumming of the great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) and the first swallow (Hirundo rustica), all of which were on the 9^th.

The breeding season brought fourth its results on the 13^th in the shape of a young blackbird (Turdus merula); the first juvenile of the year.

We had to wait until the 23^rd before the starlings(Sturnus vulgaris) introduced us to their new broods.

 Two families of turned up with three young each. The parents were pecking off mouthfuls of suet block (the birds are eating one a day now, with a little help from a squirrel) and feeding them to their squabbling young.

With all this activity around the feeders it is becoming more common to see a sparrowhawk swooping in to come to grips with some fledgling prey. When the alarm call goes up the birds scatter to the safety of the bushes. However, the sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) can be seen plunging into the bush to grab a bird from the supposed safe cover of it's conifer shelter.

The birds are not the only creatures who have been procreating this spring as we have some unwelcome visitors in the shape of three rats (Rattus norvegicus) . Three rats in the daylight probably means many more under the cover of night. That's life.

This sparrow kept looking through the window

A female eider duck with ducklings on the Firth  of  Forth

April 2015 Nature Notes

Birds

I caught a shot of the pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) feeding from the seed feeder whilst standing on the bird table.

Plants

 We had a bit of luck in that we were able to keep a Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) alive all winter and it is now flowering. I have never seen one flower before. They usually die within the first couple of weeks of getting them home.

Some sort of strange daisy that appeared in my lawn. I dug it out and put it in the wild lawn where it won't get mowed.

Nature notes; March 2015

Nature Notes: March 2015 

Birds

Snippets of interest:

A jay (Garrulus glandarius) on the Roman Road.

A kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) on the conker tree.

A crow (Corvus corone) chasing a barn owl (Tyto alba) on the Roman Road.

Two yellowhammers (Emberiza citrinella) in an oil seed rape field near B.

Yellowhammer 

Up to four buzzards (Buteo buteo) near B woods.

A sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) on the bird table and one wet evening it kept coming back to perch on the pergola above the feeders.

A kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) was spotted twice in the ditches near the second wood on the Roman Road at 16:45 on the 12th. I watched the blue flash of rump fly up the ditch when I was on my way down and again on my way back.

Two pied wagtails (Motacilla alba) fighting on the roof of the garage.

A one eyed great tit on the bird table.

 

A great tit but a poor eye

Mammals

I saw five deer (Capreolus capreolus) and two hares (Lepus europaeus) on the 6th when I was walking on the Roman Road.

The oddest site I saw was on the Saturday afternoon of the 7th I met a fox hunt coming up the Roman Road. There was perhaps two or three men in red coats riding the boundaries of the fields with a pack of dogs but they looked like they were out of luck trying to raise any foxes. The main body of the hunt were composed of 20 to 30 riders all plodding along chatting dressed like gentry in their best fox hunting costumes. A very odd pastime.

Nature Notes: February 2015

Birds

The long tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) continue to visit the garden and seven of them were spotted at the feeders on the 8th.

We are also doing well for goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis) with seven spotted on the 28th.
Two robins (Erithacus rubecula) were at the feeders at the same time which is quite strange as they are very territorial. Perhaps they were male and female getting ready to nest? I did see one collecting nesting material on the 8th which was a sunny day.

Our pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) has survived the shooting season and returns most mornings to peck around the ground under the feeders.

The early life of a pheasant is one of privilege and protection, all competitors are persecuted and food is served in the safe confines of your pen. Then comes the shooting season and life changes dramatically like a Romanov royal.

Nature Notes: January 2015

What is the difference between a weasel and a stoat?

A weasel is 'weasely' identified but a stoat is 'staoatly' different.

I found a rather large but unfortunately dead stoat (Mustela erminea) on the old Bilbrough road which had no signs of injury. I watched another hunt in the garden. It would disappear down summer rodent burrows that were hidden by the falling leaves and then pop up in a different place.

However, once I looked at some photographs that I took I could see that it had no dark tip to the tail and was therefore a weasel (Mustela nivalis).

On the subject of carnivores I saw a fox twice in the same field on two different days. Although he was quite a distance off he wasn't taking any chances and took of at quite a rate.

A very distant fox puts a bit more distance between him and me

Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus) can still be spotted in the fields and on the 17^th I saw five.

Birds

I found a dead barn owl (Tyto alba) on the road near the Street Cottages bus stop. It had a ring on a leg which I took to report to the BTO.

We are attracting some long tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) which love to peck at the suet.

I also saw a grey wagtail (Motacilla cinereaon) the roof but he hopped off before I could get my camera.

Here is what the RSPB have to say about the grey wagtail;

The grey wagtail is more colourful than its name suggests with slate grey upper parts and distinctive lemon yellow under-tail. Its tail is noticeably longer than those of pied and yellow wagtails. They have gradually increased their range in the past 150 years and in the UK have expanded into the English lowlands from the northern and western uplands. They are badly affected by harsh winters, and because of recent moderate declines it is an Amber List species.¹

Another rare sight was a red kite (Milvus milvus) flying over the fields of Bilbrough on January 1^st at 11:10. The Kite is described by the RSPB as;

This magnificently graceful bird of prey is unmistakable with its reddish-brown body, angled wings and deeply forked tail. It was saved from national extinction by one of the world's longest running protection programmes, and has now been successfully re-introduced to England and Scotland. It is an Amber List species because of its historical decline.²

Other sightings

The first snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) were seen in the garden on the 11^th and green shoots could be seen poking up through the leaf litter of B woods.

1 http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/g/greywagtail/index.aspx

2 http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/r/redkite/index.aspx

Nature Notes: December 2014

Birds

A normal December day started with the blackbirds (Turdus merula) arriving in the half light of morning. The alarm call of the blackbird always heralds the first light as they stake their individual claims to the feeders. They expend a lot of energy sorting out the pecking order and local disputes. There is one female who seems to be the boss or perhaps she is just the most aggressive. I suppose females compete for resources and males compete for mates.

By 08:00 the wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), robin (Erithacus rubecula) and tits are beginning to arrive. The next on the feeders are the gang of sparrows, who together with the tits pick their favourite seed and then scatter any they reject.

Under the table is the spent dried mass of fallen leaves and decayed flower stalks; it is here that we find the hedge sparrow or dunnock (Prunella modularis) picking up the fallen seed. 

He is not alone in this occupation as up to ten chaffinches (Fringilla coelebs) can be found flitting between the seed of the table and the ground.

The time is now 08:30 and the first woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) arrives. Suet is usually their favourite food and their first port of call. However, they are rather fond of peanuts as well. The one thing that makes peanuts more attractive is the fact that a second woodpecker has arrived and is tucking into them. This usually always ends with a chase.

On a cold frosty morning when the birdbath is frozen solid and the daylight lasts for a little more than six hours the birds race to get as many calories inside themselves before night falls again. They jostle for position, they flap their wings, they peck each other, they fight territorial squabbles and then they are startled from their occupation to flee to the safety of a nearby bush.

Then little by little the bravest return and the feeding starts again.

Other bird sights for December were:

A mixed flock of thrushes, redwings and fieldfares eating the holly berries and fallen crab apples on the Roman Road.

Ten blackbirds eating the remains of the fallen apples in the garden.

One starling (Sturnus vulgaris) came to feed at the table but didn't stay long. I wonder if he had been part of the murmuration I saw last month?

Two buzzards (Buteo buteo) still flying about B woods area.

Ten collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) were seen in the garden on the 20^th. This is really exceptional as we usually only have two or three at the most.

Three long tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) in Junk Woods

A cock pheasant comes into the garden every day to search for seed under the bird table.

Mammals

Two groups of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are often seen in the fields near the house. There is what looks like a larger individual and a smaller companion. There is also another group of three.

One evening after Christmas I was walking on Yellowcraig beach at dusk when I spotted a dead porpoise on the beach. The head and tail were intact but the blubber had been removed from the rest of the body. This gave it the appearance of an anatomical model. Close by was a flock of crows silhouetted by the moonlight as they waited by the tide line.

The next morning I walked the same stretch of beach and all that was left of the porpoise was the backbone and the upper jaw. I suppose such a good meal doesn’t turn up everyday.

Nature Notes: November 2014

Birds

With the shorter days came less time for viewing nature. 

November was rather grey, wet and mild. 

However the cooler shorter days are bringing the birds back to the garden. All the usual species are back in at least low numbers, except the greenfinch (Carduelis chloris), which has only been spotted once this month. I also don't see them on my local walks either.

I did see a bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) at Junk Woods on the morning of the first.

A mixed flock of sparrows often dominate the bird table. They seem to be about 60% house (Passer domesticus) and 40% tree (Passer montanus). There is also the odd hedge sparrow or dunnock (Prunella modularis) which is a more solitary individual.

I spotted at least five goosanders (Mergus merganser) on the River Wharfe at Tadcaster, 

Goosander 

Three buzzards (Buteo buteo) at B woods, and a murmuration of starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)at the flyover. I spent some time filming the murmuration on the afternoon of the 29^th. They started about 15:50 and it was all over by 16:30. They dropped out of the sky to roost in the shrubs around the pond. There must have been about 500 of them. Quite a spectacular spectacle.

Whilst this was going on there was a kestrel hunting in the field nearby.

Cock pheasant through the kitchen window

Mammals

A tortoiseshell cat was seen in the garden on the 1^st but after a couple of other visits has now disappeared again.

Although we used to have rabbits in the garden every day in the summer they are now a very rare occurrence, only one has been spotted in the last couple of months.

Plants

I took some photographs of plants that were still in flower on the last day of the month. I suppose this is testament to the mild weather.

Buttercup in perspective

Nasturtium

Geranium

Fungi

The wet weather has also been good for the fungi.

Part of the fairy ring?

The common name of Auricularia auricula-judae - 'Jew's Ear'-may have come from 'Judas' Ear'. This refers to a common belief that Judas hanged himself from an elder tree, the common host of this fungus.

Winter sunlight captured through a fallen sycamore leaf