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

October nature notes

Birds

The  great spotted woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major) have started to return to the garden. Both males and females have been seen feeding on the suet.
Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis) are on the increase with up to four on the Niger seeds at one time. However I did spot ten of them on a telephone wire near B.

A tawny owl (Strix aluco) can sometimes be heard during the night calling from the chestnut tree.
On the down side there was a dead barn owl (Tyto alba) on the road verge between Buckles Inn and Bilbrough services.

Bird on a wire..........

Mammals

We still have evidence of hedgehogs (Erinaceous europaeus) in the back garden. Judging by the amount of droppings there must be quite a few or at least one very incontinent one.

 There was only one sighting of a stoat (Mustela erminea) in the garden this month, although I did see one on the way to work. That is I was on the way to work not the stoat.
There was a dead badger (Meles meles) on the A64 near the race course.

Insects

Fox moth caterpillar in Scotland at Yellow Craig. Time to hibernate.

September Nature notes.

Birds

September has been even quieter than the preceding months. The hour long bird count that I do at the start of each month came up with the grand total of two great tits (Parus major). Apart from the tits there is a flock of sparrows and the odd goldfinch. There is only one starling (Sturnus vulgaris) that comes to the feeders. This starling looks like it still has some down from it's juvenile coat.

Mammals

The squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is in the garden burying some chestnuts. One hare (Lepus capensis) was spotted in the garden. Apart from this there was a dead rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and a few dead mice.

Insects

I'll end on a positive note with a picture of a shieldbug that was crawling up the back door.

Woundwort Shieldbug (Eysarcoris fabricii)

August Nature Notes

It has been another quiet month concerning bird numbers and species variety. There has still been a number of sparrows, blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major) visiting the bird feeders.

However some of the other species to visit have been a an early morning visit from a juvenile moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), a bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) on the fat balls and a juvenile goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) being fed by a parent.

Young goldfinch

I have only seen one great spotted woodpecker in the garden this month and that was a male feeding on the fat balls.

Other sightings have been three jays (Garrulus glandarius) in the trees near B wood.

In Scotland I saw a few snipe (Gallinago gallinago) in the potato field after the harvest. Nice to see this species as they have undergone a decline in the numbers in recent years. 

Scottish snipe 

Buzzards (Buteo buteo) could also be heard calling and I managed to capture this image of one far off in the distance.

Mammals

The usual rabbits and the odd hare come into the garden. There has also been an increase in the rat population. This is perhaps connected to the harvest clearing the fields of any cover and probably making a few rats homeless.

However the most interesting visitor to the garden this month was a stoat (Mustela erminea). I saw it on a couple of occasions hunting through the garden.