Goldeneyes at Watermead

This is what a Goldeneye should look like. This photo was taken at Rutland water last year. The other day I spotted some very distant black headed ducks in the very middle of King Lears Lake at Watermead. One quick peak through the binoculars confirmed that they were Goldeneyes. I couldn't get any closer than this, so I will have to show you some better shots from Rutland Water that I got last year.

This video starts with me watching a pear of Great Crested Grebes and then via a rapid pan of astonishment to a duck that stays mostly underwater, but pops up now and then. That is the Goldeneye.

Can you hold your breath for as long as this Goldeneye?

Female Reed Bunting

After the awful weather of Friday I was quite relieved when Saturday turned out nice. At dawn the ground was still wet from the day before and low grey cloud was hanging on. By about 10 am the sun broke through and filled the land with a pleasantly warm and crisp light. This made all the wet surfaces at Watermead steam gently as they dried out. Down by King Lears lake I spotted this female Reed Bunting stripping the seeds from the reed heads. Its harder to spot the females as they tend not to advertise themselves like the males do.

Further on I spotted this Greenfinch at the top of an small Oak Tree. With so many ducks around it is easy to forget about the smaller birds.

This male Robin was boldly marking his territory by singing his heart out. As I walked along I passed through neighboring territories and would come across the next male robin and then the next. Once you had tuned in to it, it was like being sung all the way back to the car.

Snow Bunting!

Yes, another trip down memory lane. This time to 2005 atop of Ben Nevis in Scotland. A long haul up an unattractive path was made more than worth it by spotting this little snow bunting at the top. It was displaying some of its winter feathers as well.

Otter!

There is nothing like getting back from work in the dark to make you reminisce about wildlife encounters of yesteryear. Or 2008 to be exact. There we were by the Teifi River in South Wales when I said "I wonder if we will see an otter?" Just then an otter appeared in front of us. Magic!

How far can you see from Leicestershire?

From Bardon Hill in Leicestershire you can see most of the midlands. In the picture above you are looking beyond the church at Breedon on the Hill towards Derby.The redbrick building is the Westfield shopping centre. I have looked hard at this image and I can't make out the cathedral. In the background the hills of the peak district can be seen covered in snow. The Bleaklow stones can been seen at a distance of 56 miles.

In the other direction you can quite easily see Coventry. The spire of the bombed cathedral is just about visible about 1/10th of the way onto the picture from the right hand side. Just visible behind the buildings on the right is the edge of the Cotswalds 47 miles away.

Back towards the north East you can see Nottingham really quite easily because of the Victoria Centre Flats. Behind the city you can see Robin Hood Hill 27 miles away.

Down in the gloom you can see Leicester. The Cardinal Telephone Exchange building can be seen on the left and St Georges tower on the right. The land behind is about 26 miles away.

To the far west you can see Birmingham quite easy. This is a distance of about 35 miles.

Of course on a good day you can see from the hills on the welsh border to Churches on the east coast. You do really get a feeling of how small the country is when you can see most of it from one place!

Mandarin down at Watermead

I managed to nip down to a flooding Watermead this morning. The new all terrain pushchair seemed to handle the shallow water on the paths surprisingly well. I couldn't get over to King Lear's lake because the key access point near the bridge was flooded by the river. On the lakes over near Birstall I couldn't help but think that the number of birds was a lot lower than normal. The cold weather must have moved them on somewhere. Even though the park was in the grip of thaw the lakes were still covered in a skim of ice. It was entertaining to watch the Moorhens and Coots slipping on it!

Just when I was considering coming back I spotted some bird watchers photographing something I had walked past. So I went back to see what they had found.

Deep in the undergrowth that overhung the lake I could see the distinctive red and green of a Mandarin Duck. Its also the first one I have ever seen. I tried to find a vantage point that allowed me to film it, but the near ground was always full of twigs and sticks. Just when I was about to go it suddenly made a bid for freedom and set sail across the lake allowing me to get some cracking shots!

Mouses near my houses!

OK, no reason to shriek in terror or run for the hills but whilst the weather has been bad I have spotted some visitors in the garden that under normal circumstances would not be welcome. However since the weather has been so bad I will let them off. This poor little House Mouse was attracted into the garden by the seeds that I had put out for the birds. (All filmed in ultra slow motion)

Vultures

Yes, I know. You don't get vultures in the UK but I have been lucky enough to catch sight of them both in Europe and in America. This first one is one of the rarest birds in the world. In Europe Black Vultures (Aegypius monachus) are only found in the central mountains of Spain. Whilst on conference at El Escorial I climbed the 2000 metre Pico De Abantos in the Sierra Del Guadarrama and spotted this fellow circling overhead. This bird gave me the impression it was hanging around to see if I would fall off and die!

I spotted this Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) whilst hiking in California. Whilst on the upland one would zip by, using the thermals rising off the hillside to gain height.