Great white egret

We went along to the Hanson nature reserve, or Linford Lakes at around 3.45 today, just as the light was starting to go on what had been a beautiful sunny day. (I nearly had another close nature encounter earlier when I saw some mushrooms growing on a city grass verge, spotted from the bus as it passed, and considered stopping on the way back to investigate, but after 3 hours' shopping, sense prevailed and I left them alone). There has been a great white egret at the Lakes for some weeks. We didn't see it when we went with the organised trip a few weeks ago, but have intended to go back since, both to see whether we could see the egret, and to see whether we might see the short eared owls or barn owls.

We went to the first hide which overlooks the lake and the spit. The lake seemed very busy: the usual ducks, quite a few swans, a small number of lapwings and one or two egrets that were still wading with the remainder roosting in the trees. We counted around 22, but the light was starting to fail and we had not seen the great white, until another bird watcher came in and pointed out that it was roosting with the others. And indeed it was. Much bigger, and still light enough to see its yellow bill and to get an impression of its size when it moved around (though we had not noticed previously!)

After 5-10 minutes it flew across the lake and we had a good view of it flying - and we presume it went off to roost somewhere else. We kept our eyes open for the owls but did not see any. When I have seen the owls, it has usually been from the public footpath at the top of the field, near the canal, rather than from the nature reserve lakes which are in the valley, but we did not have time to go there before it got dark.

I knew (or thought I knew) that the great white egret is not normally found in North Western Europe and probably had a long way to come (unlike the small white egrets which were in northern France before they came over to the UK) but I had not realised how much it is a bird of the tropics. Presumably the British climate is rather a cold one for it, although there have been a number of sightings recently.

Autumn sightings and hearings

Autumn this year continues to be amazingly mild. I picked raspberries again yesterday (November 18th) and although there weren't many it was amazing to have any!

I have seen a couple of sparrowhawks recently, and as I didn't get good views, this prompted me to look up images of sparrowhawks in flight and to read descriptions to ensure that these were not kestrels. But I am fairly certain from the flight and behaviour and what was going on.

The first was a "fly-by". Whilst cycling on a path which borders the canal last week, a bird of prey appeared ahead of me and glided past me, very skilfully flying between two poplars and disappearing. This is typical sparrowhawk behaviour - like goshawks, they can weave in and out of wooded habitat, which kestrels typically don't do. The glide is sparrowhawk like too.

Then a few days later, hearing a commotion, I looked up to the sky to see crows harrassing a bird of prey. This was quite a long way up, and the bird was circling, gliding and occasionally flapping, with the crows in hot pursuit. Again the flight pattern was indicative of a sparrowhawk and also the flap and glide pattern. And when I looked up the silhouette, that too indicated sparrowhawk. There are also kestrels near where I saw the birds, but usually these are hovering and often their tails are more fanned out - and the body has a different shape.

But it is still not always easy when you don't get a good view. I did get a good view of a buzzard the other day though. We have a small number around - in fact I think it is mainly one pair that nests in the woods beyond the field I usually walk in. So they are to be seen circling around from time to time. But this one flew into the trees the other side of the river and perched there for a while, giving me an excellent view, before flying off. And that, I thought, was the end of it. However as I walked back later, again I heard a noise and saw that the buzzard was back near the trees above the river, being mobbed by crows. We have crows, rooks and jackdaws in this area but I think it is the crows that are the main "mobbers".

Another hunting bird is the tawny owl. I have not seen a tawny owl for many years. And indeed they are more likely to be heard. And cycling home on Monday night through the fields as I left work I heard the eerie hoots of an owl and it was a good start to the journey home.

I'm hoping to visit our local reserve today, where there are short eared owls - or one at least. Visiting at around 3-4 gives the best chance of a sighting as they are often active towards the end of the day, though in winter of course, they (and barn owls sometimes) can often be seen in the day when daylight is in short supply.

Marsh tit and early autumn round up

Clearly I am not managing to post to this blog very often - which does not mean that my interest in natural history has waned. Rather, it is a reflection of 1) prioritising my welsh blog Ailddysgu and 2) that I do at times do the nature related blogging in Welsh that I would otherwise do in English - and having limited time, as always.

Yesterday Jim and I went on a walk at the Hanson reserve - our local nature reserve - with our county bird recorder, Andy. The weather was kind and we had an ausipcious start, as he told us that the bird flying so quickly past us and the hedge was a sparrowhawk. Although I do see sparrowhawks from time to time around us, I certainly could not identify such a bird flying past very quickly - giving you only a glimpse.

It made me realise that we had not been to the reserve for some time, but apparently there is a short-eared owl there again so I will plan to go a bit more often and see if I can spot it. There is also a great white egret around - and has been for a month so hope to look for that too. It was not apparent yesterday, at any rate.

In addition to the water birds (the usual crew of lapwing, heron, many black headed gulls and one common gull - which I don't think I've seen before, heron, shoveller, teal, coot, gadwall, widgeon, swans, canada geese, cormorants and a very large roost (around 16?) of little white egrets) we saw a beautiful bird at the woodland hide. This was a marsh tit - which I have never seen. Apparently they are quite difficult to separate from willow tits, but Andy was pretty certain that this pair were marsh tits - and pointed us to all the features to support that identification. Not that I would be able to tell the difference if I see another one. It was a striking bird - much prettier than it looks in the field guide with a warm, buffish colour on its breast and a very smart black cap. The photo is my best go on my little camera - but it is not really able to show it very well.

We are having quite a mild autumn so far, having had really hot weather at the beginning of the month. To round up: in the last couple of months, I have seen a kingfisher on the way back from work on the river - I stopped my bike having seen a bird fly past quickly and as it perched on the bank, saw that it was a kingfisher before it flew back again. A few weeks earlier I saw the first weasel I have seen for a long time - running across the road this time. And a couple of weeks later we saw a large fox on our way back from the city centre. Again, I have not seen a fox for quite a while, though the rabbit population is still pretty high with a large number on the verges as we drove back into Newport Pagnell last night.

Ashridge Reserve: A PS

I forgot that I had taken a couple of photos of the information board about the reserve, called Aldbury Nowers. Here is one of them giving information about the chalk grassland, its history and wildlife. It tells us that the abundance of nectar in the flowers, including the wild thyme whose photo was in the last blog, attracts around 30 species of Hertfordshire's butterflies.

Two very different habitats: chalk grasslands and mud flats on the North Wales coast

I am not managing to post to this blog very often, partly because I post more frequently to my Welsh blog, Ailddysgu, to keep up my Welsh writing. So this is is a bit of a round up of the last few weeks.

Three weeks ago when my friend Jenny was over from the States the two of us went for a walk near Tring – a circular walk, versions of which I have often done – not that it stopped us getting slightly lost and doing a different variation at one point. The land is mainly owned by the National Trust (Ashridge Estate) and is a mixture of downs, woods ( a lot of beech) and farmland. It takes in part of the ridgeway and leads up to Ivinghoe beacon. Part is a designated nature reserve, and, I think, an SSSI.

I was hoping we would see some of the kites that are there, but apart what I’m fairly sure was a fleeting glimpse of a kite, the birds of prey were a buzzard, and another bird of prey we couldn’t identify from the distance.

But the flowers were beautiful, varied and abundant – not that I am too good at knowing my flowers, though they mostly those that grow on poor chalky soil. Farmland nearbly is managed for the flowers – and the insects – and birds that follow. The birds that we saw were testimony to this system, including several yellow hammer – which I have not seen for a long time and corn bunting, which I’ve never seen before.

I would not have know what the butterflies are, and even with a guide, they are quite hard to see well enough to check their markings, but according to the board, many are apparently skippers. The prettiest was the marbled white.

Since then I have also noticed a number of small brown butterflies in our local common – which is not unimproved grassland – but does have a large chunk left ungrazed, partly again, perhaps to manage wildlife. But I will need to learn my butterflies better to know what they are (and by then they may have gone!)

The following weekend we went to Caernarfon and stayed in a B&B very near the Foryd which is now nature reserve and with its extensive mud flats on the Menai Straits, attractive to a large variety of waders and also to ducks (though more in the winter).

I was so pleased to see that there were many curlews still around – we counted around 10 one morning. I find their calls very reassuring and reminiscent of my childhood when I used to walk along the Foryd (which is also very scenic facing Anglesey in one direction and the Snowdonia mountains in the other). There were always curlews around this area and I have been saddened by their general decrease. But they seem to be holding their own in the Foryd. I have seen whimbrel in the past but didn’t notice any this time.

We went on a short nature walk as part of the Caernarfon alternative festival – Gwyl Arall, and the leaders were very knowledgeable. I had not realised (or noticed perhaps) that the medieval walls of the town, built mainly from limestone from the quarries in Penmon in Anglesey, are the sites of fossils. Another surprise was seeing a rock pippit – the second we have seen recently near old buildings near the sea – there was one near the castle in Guernsey’s St Peter Port. Another sea bird that is declining in its coastal habitat is the herring gull – and again this seems to be thriving in Caernarfon and along the coast. And, as with other parts of the UK, the little egret is also now commonly found in the area.I can’t remember the plants we saw – though we saw a number on the walk both near the beach and near the castle walls but have enclosed a photo of a couple.

Coastal birds

Had a weekend sailing on Sea Scamp, a lovely classic boat built in the thirties. A new experience for me, as I’d previously only been on a small excursion around Southampton water with my brother-in-law when our children were young. We sailed to the Isle of Wight and moored at Newtown Creek, where there is a natural harbour and a nature reserve.

I saw little egrets when we were leaving Southampton: it was here that I first saw little egrets in this country and have always seen them along this bit of coast. Near our Southampton mooring there were a number of vocal oystercatchers and they were also nesting at Newtown Creek on the mudflats. Although it happened rather quickly, I rather suspect that an incident I saw when a gull swooped down near an oystercatcher, causing some consternation and flew off with something in its beak which it then ate quickly was a chick being stolen and eaten. It must be very hard trying to protect chicks with gulls around – some of which were large black backed gulls – though I think this thief was a herring gull.

There were also a couple of shelduck flying nearby and terns on the sail back. I’m not sure what kind of tern – I assumed they were probably common to start with but apparently there are arctic tern around too.

When we were sailing back to Southampton, it was quite rough, force 6 and getting towards 7 at times. Although we didn’t see any on the trip out, on the return we saw several gannets. Are they more likely to be seen in these conditions. No matter how often I see them, I think they are so amazing as they wheel around and then dive into the sea at such speed. And it is great to get the opportunity to see coastal birds given the landlocked nature of where I live.

Mid May update

Had a very good nature day yesterday and saw my first hobby. That was later in the morning. First thing, I decided to change my usual pattern of doing my exercises and some yoga and having breakfast before going out and took the dog for a walk just before 8am. Even that late I seemed to have the whole of the riverside meadow just off from the common to myself, or perhaps ourselves. There didn’t seem to be anything exciting around – for this walk – exciting includes the little egrets, that are around but not always seen, kingfishers, kestrels, buzzards, sparrowhawks, hearing cuckoos (rare), seeing kites (even more rare), or mammals such as deer (have never seen them on this walk though we know muntjacks are around, foxes or hares. But nevertheless, it is a lovely walk: a circular walk taking in the river and farmland takes around an hour, with the possibility of seeing the above. We often also see herons, which I love.

Yesterday I was reflecting about half way around that I hadn’t seen anything very exciting, but then thought about what I had seen. The river was quiet and beautiful, but low – we have had little rain. Mallards were swimming up and down and then a tern came along. Most summers we have a pair of terns on the river, and they are wonderful to watch. The number of swifts, swallows and house martins has fallen again this year I would say. Nevertheless there were some swallows around and the sky was full of the sound of skylarks. In spite of their decrease we have kept them here – not many – but some. Given this is an area close to a town and walked by many dogs and their owners, I’m so pleased that they are here and yesterday their song really did feel as if it filled the sky. I watched the bottom field for hares as they often forage here when the crop is young. Yesterday there were none, but I did see the pair of plover that is nesting – and I don’t remember having plover there before. One of the local birdwatchers said he had spotted them when the farmer was sowing and had been able to mark the spot so that it was avoided.

Unusually the rabbits were out and in the field. There is a very large population locally, but they are not usually spotted away from the burrow in these fields – not in the daytime anyway. As I was watching the plover a kestrel flew fast across the field having spotted something and dropped to the ground – a blaze of chestnut. I lost track of it then, but on the way back home, with the skylark song everywhere, I saw a buzzard circling overhead. It all reminded me that it is so worth keeping your eyes and ears open even wherever you are.

The reason for going out fairly early was that we had arranged to go got he BBOWT college lake nature reserve later, near Tring. I had never been, but know that it is a reserve created from and around old gravel pits, with chalk grassland and wetlands and a new visitor centre. We didn’t spend too long in the visitor centre as it was around 11 on us getting there, and decided to walk on the trail right around the reserve (only around 2 miles). There’s a good view from the visitor centre itself and the hide nearby, from where we could see redshank, oystercatcher, green plover and various ducks – none in great number. Apparently there were lapwing chicks, but we couldn’t see those. The sky was full of swifts and I wondered if there were nest boxes as there were no obvious nesting sites.

The woodland around the lake was full of birds – chaffinch, chiff-chaff and songs of birds I can’t identify. Sheep are kept to graze the pasture (see the photo) – which is think is poor, based on chalk, and thus good for many meadow plants and butterflies. There were what looked like spotted orchids that were not yet out, and a kestrel hunting down by the lake.

As we came back towards the visitor centre we saw a hobby. What a treat. Just the one, but we stood and watched its aerobatic flying for some time – twisting and diving, a bit like a giant swift. I read later that they can catch swifts – but the swifts it was flying amongst did not seem to be that bothered. Perhaps catching a swift is pretty unusual: after all they are very fast themselves. I’m really pleased to have finally seen one and to know what it is that I am looking for again – as we do have them around MK, too. And I think they are one of the most attractive of the birds of prey. That bright rusty orange patch near the tops of their legs. Wonderful.

Spring round up

The internet connection has just failed and thus my long post has been deleted - grrr! So I was blogging about walking in Devon on the Two Moors Way and seeing various birds: buzzards (lots), pied fly catchers, wheatear, stonechat and linnets (I will check my list) and my first wlo-worm - see the photo.

Then back home a trip to the reserve to see or hear bullfinch, chiff-chaff (heard not seen), cormorant, gadwall, mallard, shoveller, grebe, canada geese, plover, oyster catchers, swans and terns and a grass snake. And heard a cuckoo yesterday morning.

Signs of spring in late February

It's been a miserable few weeks, it seems. Not that cold, but too many grey, drizzly, rainy days and quite a lot of windy days and I haven't been cycling as much as I usually do this time of year. But there have been a few highlights. I saw a sparrowhawk quite close up on my way to work on the 15th February. Haven't seen one around here for a long time.

Then over the last couple of days have finally seen daffodils starting to flower and today when I checked the pond there was frogspawn - that must have arrived either last night or this morning as it wasn't there yesterday morning. Although it was wet again, it did clear up and it looks as though it might even be sunny some of tomorrow so I am hoping to do a bit of greenhouse clearing and clearning

Waxwings, a blackcap and the Big Garden Birdwatch

I saw my first waxwings just over a week ago. The BTO newsletter said that there was a flock of around 150 in Milton Keynes - in a car park, of course. By the time I got there, a week last Friday (21st, I think) there were just a few. At first I cycled around the car park looking for this large flock, but then found the few that were there, moving in and out of the trees nearby to feed on the cotoneaster and berberis. Although there weren't many, they are truly beautiful birds - and unlike many of the bird you see in books, the real thing was not a disappointment. But I did get very very cold taking a detour in my cycle to work to see them and spent a bit of time letting my feet thaw out!

Then today I took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch. Nothing spectacular - blue, great and long tailed tits, blackbirds, a robin, housesparrow, wren and a dunnock. But I did see a blackcap which I have not seen before (I think I saw one last summer but it had gone before I could be sure and that was on the way to work). This one fooled me for a while as its head was a lovely chestnut brown, rather than black - but on searching through the book I saw that the female does indeed have a brown head.

We've had the bird feeding station in the garden for a few weeks now. I wonder if it is a little near to the house as the birds are reluctant to come, but they are gradually coming now. And the blackcap, which eats insects loved the baked potato pieces that were there. I wonder if she will also like the pieces of roast potato I have now put out.

I took some photos that did not come out too well - but seem to have lost or mislaid the connecting cable from the camera to the computer - so am a bit stuck until I find it or replace it

Ysgol Galan

Llynedd, r'on i'n edrych ymlaen at yr Ysgol Galan ym Mhontypwl - ond roedd gymaint o eira, a chafodd yr ysgol ei gohirio. Eleni, dwi'n mynd ar cwrs ym Mangor - Ysgol Galan, sy'n rhedeg o ddydd Fercher i ddydd Gwener. Dwi erioed wedi bod ar cwrs yn y Prifysgol o'r blaen (ac ond unwaith i ysgol undydd yn y gogledd) a dwi'n edrych ymlaen - gobeithio ehangu fy ngeirfa a falle dysgu dipyn o ramadeg........Dechrau da i'r blwyddyn newydd (gobeithio!)

New Year

We have finally bought a bird feeder. (What the RSPB call a feeding station). I avoided doing this for such a long time because of our two cats who have had an interest in chasing mice and birds, though the collar and bell helps. Now we only have one and at 13 she is no longer a hunter, (though wears a bell in case) so with the harsh winters last year and this year it seemed like the right time. The photo is from our of our kitchen window the day after the last big snow fall. As you can see the water holder is rather covered in snow....But I'm hoping that with the feeder there we may see more birds in the garden and will also be able to give suitable leftovers to our own birds instead of taking them to the crows and ducks in the riverside meadow.

So far this new year, the wildlife spotted has been the usual suspects: one spotted woodpecker seen by Jim on our walk today and several swans - but no kingfishers so far, no birds of prey, and no hares though we were on the walk where we have seen hares in the past (the Newport Pagnell circuit through Quarry Hall farm)