a mammal tick......

8 January 2009
After a very cold night recorded at - 10 a day with broken sunshine ensued. We couldn't break the dizzy heights of Cuddesdon's near Polar temperatures but it did feel very cold, so waited till 12.30 and then had a couple of hours flexitime and went for a walk. Checked on the garden wildlife first and found the Giraffes in good spirits despite the snow.

Decided to walk through the village to the old barn and see if the Barn Owls were still present.

Looks like one of Santa's little helpers was following me. I was concerned about creeping up on the Barn Owls with the red hat bouncing away but resigned myself to assuming they wouldn't be there anyway, so it wasn't a problem.
Arrived at the barn and walked into the end section where I had seen them before. Sam shouted "they're behind you" and thought I was in a pantomime, I was !, turned round to see two Barn Owls shoot past me. They had emerged from the first bit of the Barn

They flew out over the field, seen here, and towards a tree. I fired off a couple of flight shots as one bird flew reasonably close, but the other disappeared into a hedge. Mindful of my New Years resolution I set about walking to the tree. Admittedly it was a fair way off and I could only see the tree properly through the bins, but I was undaunted. Sam and dog decided to retreat to the warmth so off I set.

Beautifully quiet and crisp snow. I was building confidence that "the picture" could be soon in my grasp. Checked the camera when halfway there, at the point the above picture was taken. ISO down as it was bright, that would give a clearer image, reasonable depth of field and exposure.........,Hmmmmm underexpose for Barn Owls was screaming in my head, but the camera wouldn't get the exposure right due to snow reflection, so bravely I tried a bracket setting with full stop compensation. Surely nothing could stop me now, just another few hundred yards. And then.... a flaming blizzard !

No sign of any Owl, in fact no sign of anything and I was beginning to wonder about the return journey with snow filled ditches. Hey ho all very exciting and disappointing. Returned home via a tantalising Treecreeper and Bullfinch. Neither stayed put. On my return I popped next door to see how Tom (blue coat) was and caught sight of him with a large snowball about to do some damage to an unsuspecting Jasmine. Though it looked as if Cadoc was about to return the compliment. I couldn't look and slunk off.

Back in the study and about to take up work again when just outside the window there was a movement in the snow covered Ivy. It was a small mammal, a mouse ? no surely not, small ears and no bulging eyes, it was a Field Vole, new for Harvestile Farm.

and as for those pesky Barn Owls, well there will be another time. In the meantime here is one of them flying off over the field. If only it had known what the next half hour would have brought it'd probably have died laughing.

Water shortage

4 January 2010
Still plenty of snow lying around in the garden and this rather angry looking Robin found it's favourite water feature, frozen.

The Dunnocks were faring much better, foraging and finding some insects in the wood piles.

and while I was having coffee, a Mistle Thrush decided to hop onto the lawn in search of food, only managed a photo through the kitchen window though. It looked cold out there so I wasn't going to open the window!

A white New Year

2 January 2010
Two sunny mornings on the trot for the new year and while work got in the way of any walks, today held some great sightings on the way in. First this Barn Owl at Gayton. It had just caught a mouse and wolfed it down in seconds before it flew a short distance and perched.

Now the trouble with Barn Owls is this - I can't get a decent photo of them. A few good shots at Titchwell in 2008 but that aside most of my pictures are washed out. OK I know I should be underexposing as they are white birds, but time is always so short, that a quick fire out of the car window is all I usually manage.No time for checking and changing settings on the camera. If I have it all geared up for Barn Owl type birds then I never see one and something else comes along which requires standard settings...

So here is such a shot, they are meant to be ghostly, but this is ridiculous it is too pale and lacks detail. So not having made any resolutions, I now make it my resolution for 2010 to get a good shot of a Barn Owl. Watch this space.

The hedgrerows were stuffed full of Redwings, and a few Fieldfares. A rough guesstimate of about one and a half thousand Redwings in the tweny odd mile journey into work.

They are one of my favourite birds (see Blokes and Birds page 31 if you want confirmation). I would love a hide staked out in front of fruit filled fields in snowy conditions to get the best pic, but one resolution a year is enough and so it'll have to be birds hidden behind twigs in hedgerows for the time being.

and then nearing the coast thousands upon thousands of Pink-footed Geese in dozens of skeins all over the place.Not a bad commute to work and makes working over the New Year much more enjoyable/acceptable/bearable.

End of days

31 December 2009

So the last day of the year and a morning walk round the village to the lakes. A recent snowfall adding to what hadn't thawed. The garden was fairly full of the usual suspects, feeding on the berries, like this female Blackbird, while the rest were attacking the nut and seed feeders.

Out over the fields and a remarkable lack of hedgerow and field birds. A few Meadow Pipits and a Reed Bunting in one of the ditches, then looking out across the rolling snow covered fields at some distance I saw a group of huddled up shapes. Fixing them in my sights and likening them to the North Pole I set out, in a black coat against the white snow, not good field skills! Just before they flew I managed a snap.

it was a group of eleven Grey Partridges (seven seen here) presumably hiding from the local shoot.The fields held nothing much else, though the speciaes count was up to twenty two, so down to the road and a look at the Lakes

and here added another seventeen species, with over a hundred Wigeon, fifty Teal and a single Redshank, among others. Plenty of Black-headed Gulls, seen below

Coming round back to the village and I heard that plaintive little whistle of a Bullfinch, they have been getting more regular in the bushes lining Narborough Road, but are incredibly difficult to creep up on, that added to any traffic makes this my best shot yet ! No it isn't a Robin

and that was the end of 2009 for my diary

Fill yer boots......

Saturday 17 December 2009

Well yes, fill yer boots, but not with snow !  Left them out at the wrong time and woke to eight inches of snow. Garden looked great and walking around first thing had that muffled effect, no traffic and all sounds very distant - great. Walking on the crisp snow sounded like walking over egg shells covered by felt.....well all very muffled anyway.

A look to the bird feeders revealed some very cold tits. Clearly in need of food they chipped away and soon the garden had over a hundred birds including, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Dunnock, Wren, House Sparrow, Goldfinch. Magpie, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon and Jay to name just the obvious ones.

here the Coal Tit breaking into a frozen feeder.

and here a Blue Tit choosing some less frozen nuts

and very protective of it's nuts in the cold

so after walking round the garden at the back and the normal area of bird activity I was surprised to see some movement on the front lawn, seemed to be bits of vegetation flying into the air. I crept round and saw some snow moving, could it be the moles returning for a Christmas fling, no surely too cold, then up popped a head, almost as surprised to see me as I was it, three seconds, a quick flick of the head, and away

this fine female Green Woodpecker ! I guess someone's got to get through the snow to feed, males have a red centre to the dark moustachial stripe and are usually found back at home waiting for the food to arrive.

So garden done and off round the lanes, with hundreds of Redwings and Fieldfares stripping the bushes of berries.

but unfortunately very jumpy, shame as the Fieldfare is a truely great bird and when you see them up close the apricot colour of the breast and the intricate flank markings make them a wonder to see. So a bit of wandering round hedgerows with plenty of Red-legged Partridges about, and finally a Hare legging it off up the track (good ol' Hatrley).

the short day length and domestic duties (including snow fights with Tom) meant very little time for any proper wildlife viewing, but that said a nice hour or so and all on the doorstep.

Play Misty for me...

Friday 11 December

A very misty start to the day, and birds using the feeders must have felt as nervous as Clint Eastwood in the film, play Misty for me....as somethng was watching intently. Can you see it in the tree ? I saw it from the kitchen and then ensued...where's the bloody camera?... do I take a shot through the glass, yes, crap, so I crept around outside trying to get a shot, tripping over the dog, furiously wiping condensation from the lens and trying so hard not to be seen (professional it wasn't)

The gazing continued by both me and the Sparrowhawk

and the waiting game continued

this time I thought it must see me, seemed to be looking right at me!

but no, just eyeing up any potential food, and then it made a stab at a Blue Tit (too quick for me) and missed, so off to nearby tree. Then along came a Jay (not a spider) which sat behind it knocking a peanut on the branch.

this unnerved the Sparrowhawk and it stretched out and went.

Why do such things happen in such poor light, still it was a good start to the day.
But the fog stayed and it seemed to get greyer and greyer so a quick flirt to the coast and still it was grey, until just one mile from Titchwell and the sky turned blue, the sun was shining and not a cloud to be seen. A walk at the reserve yielded two Water Pipits a fleeting Bearded Tit and this Turnstone.

stepping out on a lovely day

December dabblings.....

Tuesday 1 December 2009

So I started off in the garden on a fine morning, once the mist had cleared. It turned into a beautiful day  sunny and with little wind. This Blue Tit was also enjoying the change from horrible weather. The usual suspects were about and some migrant Redwings and Fieldfares, but nothing much else so I decided to venture further afield

Looking up in the trees and no thrushes close enough to be photographed, but a couple of Black headed Gulls took my fancy, one an adult in winter plumage and the other a first winter bird (right). Then to my left a small brown job turned out to be a wintering Chiffchaff, too quick for me and it disappeared as fast as it appeared. A bit more creeping around to a small lake with some duck on it... so fired off a shot at this fellow...

a fine male Pochard with almost blinding sunlight glistening off it's back. I should have stopped down a couple of points really, to bring out the full colour. Scanning round and the usual small lake things about, more gulls, three Teal, stacks of Mallard and then........ some movement in the reeds and slowly, ever so slowly,  drifting out, a brown blob

which manifest itself as a Little Grebe ! admittedly in rather scruffy winter type plumage but unexpected,  and, on such a lovely day it's reflection was almost as clear as the bird itself Double click on the image ) . A good day curtailed early by cloud coming in and the wind getting up, and then a bit of drizzle and then...back to wet and windy.