Wildlife – Magnificent May

Posted on 23rd May 2020 by Richard

Nature springs to life in Bishop’s Waltham

I say magnificent May for the reason the weather got warmer, wildlife very active and some hope after the Lockdown ending to a certain extent.
To get to the more tranquil places around here you first have to walk through more the Dog walker, Cyclists and Jogger parts of the countryside and through the past few weeks I’ve got to meet same faces daily and have a quick chat. What’s very noticeable is the amount of people speaking about what’s around them. I guess that not going to work so much and the need to get out more has brought about the will to appreciate and learn and indeed I still have a lot to learn !

Two of many Swallows Bishop’s Waltham

After weeks of walking around the locale I’m getting further afield now with trips to Titchfield Haven, Hook-with-Warsash on Southampton Water. Of the two, the latter is better, to get to the Beach and the protected area means a 400 meter walk from the car thus avoiding the crowds on the more popular beaches and Ice Cream Vans !

Green Woodpecker – Sedge Warbler – Skylark (Hook-with-Warsash

The Garden here is also very active, especially with the young Starlings from their nest in the Gutter above plus occasional visits from Long Tailed Tits, Goldfinches and the Great Spotted Woodpecker which for some reason loves the tree in the neighbours garden at the back, there every day without fail !

Young Starling causing havoc on the feeders

Blackcap – Hook-with-Warsash

Hopefully the rush of people going to the surrounding popular beaches won’t be the start of another Virus surge and life can get back to normal, Nature has moved ‘onwards and upwards’ over 5 or so weeks of partial rest.
The air is cleaner, the importance of nature has come to light. Long may it be so !

Winchester Green Party

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More birds inland Pembrokeshire

Posted on 10th May 2017 by Richard

Swallows

I was lucky enough to find a campsite just a mile from the coast, space for 80 Campers and Caravans, but I was only one of four people staying there.
In true anti-social fashion I found a spot the furthest away from anyone else and enjoyable the peace and smell of the Farm no end.

Fist to show up were a gulp of Swallows, a fair number of them flying at speed past my Camper just some three feet above the ground. Luckily photo wise some settled now and again so I was able to get a few half decent close up shots of them.

Swallow
Although seeing much the same amount of birds as I would back in Kent, it’s always nice to see them in another setting, so a good showing of Wheatears, Sedge Warblers,Reed Buntings Greenfinches, Linnets and more

Wheatear – Sedge Warbler – Linnet

Greenfinch – Reed Bunting – Whitethroat
There’s no doubt the fact this is a great area to visit. You have the Pembrokeshire Coast Path which goes through the places I visited; Marloes Sands, Martins Haven and up to St. Davids.

The nearest larger town with well known Supermarkets is Haverfordwest, about 6 miles inland but most of the Villages along the Coast have some smaller Stores and / or decent Public Houses !

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Swallows arrive back down the Lane

Posted on 17th April 2017 by Richard

It really is a good time of the year for bird migrants and to see two Swallows sitting on the Cables at the end of my Garden this week was a real joy.
They have been seen in Dungeness and other coastal places for a couple of weeks now, but over their rest for a while they’re returning to their haunts of previous years.
South Africa is a long flight !

Speckled Wood Butterflies

To add to my already seen Small Whites, Tortoiseshells, Peacocks and Orange Tips, are the Speckled Woods which at present are mainly seen in pairs doing their frisky mating dances along openings in the driveway and Lawn.
To photograph them it’s just a case of waiting. Sooner or later, they’ll have a break !

More activity round the Garden and Lane

Every year about this time sees an increase of Squirrel raids around the Bird Feeders. Try as one may, you’re usually on a losing battle to save your peanuts, the only good news is the Birds are now finding their own natural food sources and the Peanuts can be stored away until Autumn.

However, Greater Spotted Woodpeckers are pretty active now and it won’t be long before we see the parents and young ones at the Feeders for the Fat Balls!
There’s a pair of Green Woodpeckers about as well, nothing like hearing their laughing call!

Lastly, the evening song is alive, resident Song Thrushes fight it out with Blackbirds, Robin and the ever tuneful Chiffchaff.

Song Thrush

With a few cold days forecast next week it will be interesting to see how everything fairs, including my Vegetables !

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Little Owls and Yellow Wagtails

Posted on 4th July 2016 by Richard

I was supposed to be in Scotland this week but on my first day there, due to a medical situation treated at the excellent Fort William Hospital, had to return back to Ashford to set about some tests.
After three days of going to various places I was getting the shakes from not going out and decided that today was a day to get lost and be alone with nature.
A good day it proved to be.

The Little Owl keeping an eye on me!

My first point of call was Scotney Farm, set back from Jury’s Gap, the road between Lydd and Camber Sands.
A pleasant walk at a very slow pace brought about a sighting of the now quite well known Little Owl tucked high up in a Barn forever peering down to see what’s what and who’s who.

The fields to the North produced a view of an Avocet having conflict with a Crow and quite a few Yellow Wagtails flitting around amongst the barren shrubbery and Grasses.

White Wagtail – Swallow – Avocet and Crow

Just to cap things off a White Wagtail suddenly popped down to another Barn Roof and went about picking and choosing from the moss etc. which was growing on it.

After that I popped down to the ARC at RSPB Dungeness.

The Yellow Wagtail

Although a relatively calm day with the sun shining brightly I looked forward to seeing quite a bit of bird life, but as always, it never seems to follow your logic, nothing much about at all and the only half decent shot I got was that of a Swallow passing over the View Point on the ARC.

But the day did for me what I wanted it to, a day to take my mind of things and focus on just being out there.

Over 60 pages of Garden Wildlife on the main Web Site here Nature on our Doorstep

Sedge Warblers & more at Dungeness

Posted on 10th June 2016 by Richard

Although I go to Dungeness on probably a fortnightly basis (25 minute drive) and have done so for the past year, I hadn’t a photograph of a Sedge Warbler up to now.

The Sedge Warbler

My day started off just before 10am and it was cold! I walked from the ARC Car Park along to the viewing point on the main Site and sat there for a good hour. In this time I saw four Hobbys, a Marsh Harrier, Common Terns and the usual Reed Buntings making a right racket.

I walked back slowly, got the car and drove round to the main RSPB Car Park and set about a long walk around the whole Reserve. Between the Christmas Dell Hide and Denge Marsh Hide I found myself face to face with a Sedge Warbler sitting very calmly amongst the shrubbery.

Starlings – Wild Foxgloves – Small Blue
Ah good I thought, at last I’ve seen one. For the rest of my walk I must have seen another 8 or 9. It’s strange how this happens, you never see something, but once you do, you seem to see them over and over again.
This makes for not being so excited about seeing one (unless it’s rare) but on a challenge to take a better photo than the one you had before!

The Swallow, nice pose, pity it wasn’t on a twig though!

I finished up around 3pm, the sun had come out and from being cold in the morning I was now quite hot!
A Linnet and some Swallows sat on the telegraph wire back on the ARC and that roundd my day off quite well.

Other wildlife included quite a few Electric Blue Dragons, Four Spotted Chasers and lots more Invertebrates, most being in the form of Midges.

Good preparation for Scotland in two and a half weeks !