Some winter birds

I've spotted a few interesting things recently. The cold weather seems to have emboldened many animals.

I spotted this small flock of Siskin (Carduelis spinus) at Cromford Canal in Derbyshire just after Christmas. First of this species I have ever seen. With all the big lakes frozen at Watermead the rarer ducks have been forced onto the canal making them easier to see.

A male (top) and female (bottom) Goosander (Mergus merganser) in the canal. A drake Teal (Anas crecca) in its lovelly winter colours.

And this Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) is the first I've seen down at Watermead.

Slightly further afield I spotted this Red Kite (Milvus milvus) at Eyebrook Reservoir over in Rutland.

Pintail at Watermead

Trust me to have the wrong camera at the wrong time. Today down at Watermead we spotted a pair of Pintail (Anas acuta) and I didn't have a good camera on me. The best I could do was with my family Compaq. Still its the first of this species I have seen and so was a welcome sight. At the weekend I was able to go to Rutland water and take advantage of the fact that none of the animals were camouflaged any more to get some great shots in slow motion.

And also, not for the first time but certainly in the greatest number I have ever seen (17! Flaming eck!), I bring you Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiacus)!

Another nice day down with the ducks.

Ahhhhh! Look what I found down at Watermead. A Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus) busy feeding on all the bread that has been thrown down for the swans. You could look at this way, these rats are clearing up after us. Who are the disgusting species really?

In another lake this Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) looked resplendent in his short no-nonsense winter plumage.

Another winter visitor is the Shoveler (Anas clypeata). Most of the time these are quite shy but can sometimes be caught by surprise.

Gadwalls at Watermead

New species (for me) down at Watermead. That must be about 102 birds now, but I am actively recounting just to be sure. The Gadwall (Anas Strepera). I suspect that I have seen these before but have failed to recognise that they were not female mallards. I only noticed these were something else when I noticed a male and female together. Now very few Gadwalls actually breed in the UK so it is most likely these are just wintering here.

What does a Whooper Swan sound like?

I was surprised that they made any noise. Swans usually don't say anything. With a name like Whooper I guess I should have expected some whooping and indeed that is the noise they make.

For those looking at this on facebook, you are going to have to follow the link back to my blog to watch this clip.

The light was quite good, so I took a few photos before moving on.

With the light fading I was just about to leave when I noticed what looked like a dog stalking through the grass towards some rooks. Suddenly in an explosion of movement it erupted out of the long grass and tore towards them. It was a fox. As the rooks launched into flight they flew straight at a second fox which jumped up snapping at them with its jaws. I managed to get the very end of this hunt scene on film. Again facebook viewers will have to go back to my blog to see it.

Holy cow, I didn't expect to see one of these...

So, I went down to Watermead to photograph the geese. It turns out that they are Greylag Geese (Anser anser). Also present are Canada Geese (Branta Canadensis). Just as I was about to get back in the car I spotted this amongst the Mute Swans.

That is no ordinary swan, that is a Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus). A swan so rare that twitchers alert each other when one of these turns up. Its also the first one I have ever seen. Making my bird count 101.

Counting up the birds I've seen and getting stuck on Gooses.

How many birds have I seen? 100 different species so far as I can make out. How many can I prove I have seen? Probably 70%. So I thought I would look through my photos and try and find where my photos for each bird are. I've followed no particular order other than that in my bird book. My first problem bird family is one that I just have never been bothered to photograph. That is, of course, the geese. Don't get me wrong, I've seen plenty of geese in my time but I have never been inclined to photograph them. I know that there are loads on one of the lakes at Watermead so they shouldn't be too hard to find. Hopefully with photos I will be able to identify what species they are. The possibilities include Bean Goose, White-fronted Goose, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose and Brent Goose. The first four are geese in the Anser family and look like farm geese whilst the last three are all in the Branta family and look more swanlike. In the Anser family I really don't know what is common or rare so I don't yet know what I will find. I'd like to know if there is more than one species down there. Tune in later and I'll tell you how I got on.

Woodpeckers!

Last winter we spotted a patch of trees down near Barkby Village that was home to some Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos Major) it would be really interesting to see if those same trees attract some more this year.

I wonder if I will ever get a descent photo of a Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis). This is the best I have ever got and as you can see its not great!

On mankind changing his landscape

Local planning authorities should seriously consider the visual impact of any changes to the landscape. It is surprising how far man made changes to the landscape can be seen from. There is a coal mining spoil heap near Eastwood in Nottinghamshire that is so big that you can see it from Leicestershire. Don't believe me? Check out these pictures.

This first one is of the hill from Ilkeston in Derbyshire. Note the triangle of trees that runs up it left hand side. (There is also two stripes on the left where a tractor has spread some muck!)

This second photo is from Beacon Hill in Leicestershire. I am 95% sure that I am looking at the same thing. Not bad considering it is 33km away. But imagine, if I can see it at 33km that means that this man made adjustment to the natural beauty of the British Isles can potentially be seen over an area of three and a half thousand square kilometres. Maybe we should think harder when it comes to changing this green and pleasant land.

A wander around Pewit Carr Nature Reserve

I spent one day last week up at Pewit Carr Nature Reserve in Nottinghamshire. This place used to be a desolate ruin of a landscape corrupted by years of mining. Now it is a wildlife haven. This is a female Pochard (Aythya ferina). I didn't recognise what it was at first. My only other encounter with this species was in February this year down at Watermead and that one was a male (see below).

The ducks seemed happy enough in the lakes. In fact in one lake I saw more coots (Fulica atra)than I have probably ever seen in my entire life, all in one place. I am not joking, there was at least 30 of them all swimming about in this one small lake.

We didn't just see birds though. Despite the rapidly dropping temperature and the coming winter there was still creepy crawlies about. This Ruby Tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa) caterpillar was running across the path as we headed deeper into the park. The landscape itself was displaying all the signs of Autumn. The trees were yellowing, the grass dieing down. The sky was full of dark grey clouds. Droplets of long fallen rain hung to the branches and added a aromatic dampness to the environment.To the North we could see the forested Shipley Hill. I have wandered around there in the past. Long a go it used to be a big country house. Now the house is gone the gardens have slowly returned to nature. Its manicured lawns and terraces now home to great mature trees.

Some man made curiosities could be also be seen from Pewit Carr. Towards the south west the windmill on Cat and Fiddle Lane can be seen. I love windmills, they add a kind of romantic nostalgia to any scene.

If you fancy this walk, check out the map below and get out there.

A ramble in the woods around Groby

Too much to blog and not enough time! I have just been doing so much that I have not really found the time to reflect on what I have been doing. Let me tell you about a walk I went on a week ago. It started near Groby in Leicestershire and worked its way past Groby Pool. I got there at about 4.30 and realised I had arrived too late for the car park. It was a gated car park and that gate was due to be locked soon after I was there. I ended up parking the car in the entrance of Groby Quarry.

People call this lake the largest natural lake in Leicestershire as history has not recorded if anybody ever made it. It has certainly been around for at least 800 years. On a good day you can see a fantastic range of rare birds and other animals, on a good day. I must confess that every time that I have been here it has been a bleak and inhospitable place and I haven't seen anything.

Having not seen anything at Groby Pool I continued on into Lady Hay Wood. It was peaceful. You got the feeling that you might be being watched by deer and other small animals. Then the walk crossed over the main road and out along a farm track.

As the sun set the world seemed to come alive. Birds began to roost, mad squirrels dived around looking for nuts. The crepuscular species of leicestershire don't really bother trying to hide themselves. Geese from Groby Pool took to the air and practiced flying around in their V formation.
As the evening wore on we ended up in Martinshaw Wood. The failing light made it difficult to see around us. As the woods grew darker there came with it a feeling that the watchful eyes that were on you were growing resentful that a diurnal creature like yourself should noisily be interrupting their lives. The darkness became intimidating and it did something very strange to me. It made me want to be as loud as possible. I started singing to myself. Anything to break the silence. Suddenly my dark adjusted eyes caught sight of a large animal running away from us on the path ahead. A badger. Knowing what it was almost made me laugh. I wonder how it is that we can tell when we are being watched. Soon we were back in Groby and back to the car. I think that the drawing in of the daylight will prevent such after-work forays into the wilderness in the next few months but I am already looking forward to next spring.

Name that bird!

Whilst walking in Derbyshire the other day we saw this bird. Do you know what it is?

Stop Press!

The kind folks at Wild about Britain tell me that this is a female Stonechat (Saxicola torquata). Tremendous! I've never seen one of these. That means, folks, that my birding total (the number of different species seen in the UK) is up to a big fat 100!

Stormy views of lakeland

The summer before last I was able to get up Highstreet in between rain showers. Considering that we were experiencing inclement weather the view from the top was not bad. I've had a look at my pictures and have identified the other hills that we could see.

The last grubs of summer

Some of our insect friends have not quite received the message that Autumn is here. A quick root around in the bushes will reveal a whole host of creatures still in their larval stages. Here in my garden a Green Lacewing (Chrysopa carnea) larvae is still eating up the last aphids.

Down at Watermead a Knot Grass Moth (Acronicta rumicis) caterpillar is finishing off the last few bramble leaves.

At Borough Hill Fort a Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) caterpillar is hunting for that last leaf to munch on.I wonder how many of these will survive the first frosts?

South from Borough

So what were those hills to the south of Borough Hill Fort? It took some working out but they are the watershed hills of east Leicestershire. Their eastern slopes drain into the River Gwash, Welland and eventually out into the Wash. The western slopes drain towards the River Soar, Trent and eventually out in the Humber.

Some sights from Borough Hill Fort, Leicestershire

The other day I took the little one for a stroll around Borough Hill fort in Leicestershire. If anywhere in Leicestershire could be counted as upland than this place could. The windswept slopes offer tremendous views across the landscape.This is the view to the north.

This is the view to the south.

This is the view back to the city of Leicester.

On the distant western horizon Bradgate Park was clearly visible.

Though less distinctive the distant shape of Beacon Hill could also be seen.
To the East we spotted this windmill, but haven't as yet been able to locate it on the map.

*Note. I've found it now. It is in the village of Whissendine.

Slowing down and enjoying nature

I was playing with the slow motion feature on my camera the other day and filmed some great slow motion footage of animals down at Watermead. Lets take a closer look.

This video is fantastic! Watch the Migrant Hawker dragonfly (Aeshna mixta) dive bomb me at the end.

Here a Heron (Ardea cinerea) stalks through a pool of collected rain water. Its likely that he is after small frogs that would have taken advantage of the temporary home.

This video shows a Magpie (Pica pica) on the left and a Crow (Corvus Corone) on the right.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No its a vapourer moth caterpillar

There can't be many things as weird as this. What is it? It is the caterpillar of The Vapourer Moth (Orgyia Antiqua). I spotted one down at Watermead the other day. I felt lucky to be looking at something so incredibly odd.