THE WESSEX REIVER

When snows came to Wiltshire

2012-02-11T08:59:00.000Z

On Thursday night at about 9pm the snows came to Wiltshire. It seems this area had quite a covering, but just a few miles away it was just a dusting. But the child in me never stops getting excited when it snows especially as yesterday was a work at home day. Opportunity then at lunchtime to pop out for half an hour in the car to snap some scenic photos for the blog.........

So at 9.30 pm on Thursday it was snowing quite heavily

By the morning the garden looked lovely and wintry

But this was a work day, so no going out until lunchtime, though these two red kite over the house did distract me for a moment, sadly though they'd moved off before a better photo was possible

Lunchtime arrived, so off in the car for half an hour around the village and the surrounding countryside

Snowdrops in the front garden

Looking towards Wilton windmill from Wilton Road - this field is at the back of the house and offers a regular 40 minutes walk around it if we don't wish to travel far.

A closer look at the windmill, with cover cops adjacent to it if you were wondering

And again above). But nearby some strange natives of this part of Wiltshire came to investigate what I was upto

Looking towards Tidcombe and Wexcombe

East Grafton village, nearly home now and back to work. In the foreground the stream was full of jackdaws, they flew off when I got there, one is still in shot at the top of the bank

Just liked the composition really. these huge lime trees have tree preservation orders on them

A couple of shots of the jackdaws circling about then landing on the trees

East Grafton's church looking lovely in the snow

And finally another scenic shot of the village green

But then it was back to work. However the office window looks over the garden, so in late afternoon this Great Spotted Woodpecker caught my eye, as did the resident pheasant......

....... who then decided to investigate the greenhouse for tit-bits

Living World Jackdaw Roost Sunday 29th

2012-01-28T08:30:00.000Z

I know some of you in the past have been kind enough to send in comments about the wildlife radio programmes I make, thank you. Well just to remind those who do listen, on Sunday the 29th January at 06.35hrs, there is a new series of Living World on Radio 4, beginning with a favourite subject of mine, the Jackdaw. And of course it's also available on the BBC i-player after broadcast.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b8yxm

This was recorded on January 5th in Cambridgeshire. If you can remember back then, it was a stormy day, much damage across swathes of Britain. So at 5.30am in total darkness I set off into a woodland with the presenter and contributor to record a wildlife programme. The noise of the wind through the trees was deafening, it really was like a steam train passing by, only it never passed by. The stuff of wildlife recording nightmares.

The technique in such conditions then is to 'close mic' the presenter and contributor to make sure their voice isn't drowned out by the atmosphere. That does have a disadvantage in that a lot of the atmosphere is lost. So what then needs to be done is record what's called 'wildtrack' of the atmosphere, and then in the studio mix the two together to produce something both atmospheric and listenable to.

I enjoy making all the programmes I have had the privilege to be allowed to make, but this one on jackdaws was something special, as in the evening we just witnessed what has to be one of the all time wildlife spectacles in the Natural World. I've been interested in corvids for a long time, and to be with specialists is for me just so exciting. Sadly my photographic techniques need help, as these 2 images of jackdaws taken in Dorset in 2008 prove, I never did manage to get to grips with digi-scoping!

The bittersweet taste of hail

2012-01-27T15:31:00.000Z

I had my car in for its MOT today and the garage I use is on a farm in the middle of the "northern" Somerset Levels, not 1.12 miles from my house. Very handy. At 1pm the garage rang and said, all okay come and collect. So the sky was blue the clouds were white and fluffy, and I set off.

However half way into the walk to the garage it began to look very very dark over Wales, where, from where the above photo was taken on my phone, you should be able to see Sugar Loaf Mountain in the Brecon Beacons. Not this afternoon, it looked very dark and brooding, but there was a lovely rainbow developing, right over the building in the mid ground, which happens to be the garage.

I had no choice, I had to walk to the garage, so I continued. Until that is I found myself about a quarter of a mile away in a quandary. Should I stop and look at the double rainbow, knowing what was happening..........

....... or stop and look at the double rainbow and take some photos on my phone. I chose the latter (shame I didn't have the camera with me). I couldn't quite get the whole double rainbow in, so above and below are the result.... if you use the tree by the hedge you get the idea.

Seconds after taking these the heaviest, and I have to say most painful, hailstorm I've been in for a long time hit me, boy did it hurt. I arrived at the garage like a drowned rat. However I wouldn't have missed this for the world, and the chance to unexpectedly see a double rainbow in front of an advancing warm front over cold air is just fantastic.

Invasive species, friend or foe

2012-01-24T18:22:00.002Z

A couple of weeks ago, I had a walk around the National Trust’s Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire. Quite a blustery day, so windy in fact I seemed to be the only visitor on the reserve. The assistant in the visitor centre showed mild surprise I wished to venture out into the reserve on such a storm lashed day, with the comment “how hardy are you?” Well I am hardy, but after an hour of being buffeted and battered as the winds hurled themselves from the North Sea and across the flatlands of this area, I decided to hurl myself into a sheltering hide for a respite.

Sitting in the hide, windblown but unscathed, in front of me were a myriad of finches and tits desperately clinging onto the oscillating feeders, and 3 grey squirrels. It was while watching the antics of these alien mammals to the British countryside that the embryonic stirrings of this blog developed. In the sunlight and the wind, these North American invaders looked stunning and completely at home here on the Fens as they grappled with the peanut feeders. It’s hard to imagine therefore the devastating effect they’ve had on out native red squirrel, as the vector of the squirrel pox virus.

But look around the British countryside and I can guarantee you won’t need to look far before finding an invasive species, anything from the “iconic British” snowdrop, to Munjac deer, harlequin ladybirds, Canada goose or even the exceptionally widespread bête noire sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus which was introduced sometime between the Roman era and the 17th century.

So what exactly what is an alien species? Biologists have identified over 11,000 alien species in Europe, but while the majority of these are not troublesome, approximately 15% are known to have some impact on the environment. Much has been written about this, but while watching the grey squirrels, I thought more on the question, how alien is alien?

Invasive species are often labelled as the greatest threat to the world’s native wildlife, derided and eradicated with a zeal and vigour. Undoubtedly some species are very detrimental to the British countryside, either outcompeting native species, or vectors of disease, but the vast majority fill a niche which happily coexists with native fauna and flora. As I’ve mentioned, come January we all look at snowdrops and think, ahh spring is on its way. But we forget that snowdrops are not native to the British Isles, and were probably introduced in the 16th Century, or maybe as far back as in Roman times.

A few years ago an attempt to tackle the issue led to the formation of a European Commission funded DAISIE project (Delivering Alien Invasive Species In Europe) and headed up via the Centre of Hydrology and Ecology in Wallingford. Its aim was to attempt to log invasive species across Europe in order to understand the problem.

http://www.europe-aliens.org/aboutDAISIE.do

Terminology is also confusing, exotics, invasive, invading, alien, but what exactly are we talking about here? It is difficult to exactly define this, but put simply, an alien species is a species brought to an area through man’s activities. In other words it hasn’t got here by normal habitat or range expansion. That seems simple enough.

But this can then be subcategorized into non problematic species, those which can exist in the wild but do little harm, so we could include the snowdrop. And problematic species, those which cause impact to ecology of the environment or have an economic impact. These are probably better known as invasive species, and the ones which often grab the attention of the press. The cute looking muntjac deer would fit this category, now widespread after being released from Woburn they have a huge impact on woodland native flora as they browse herbage in flower, thus reducing vigor, affecting nesting sites and can destroy gardens. We could also have a category of non-problematic climate change species. Currently these have no or little impact on native wildlife, but with climate change may do so, for example southern hemisphere plants which may become established in warmer climate.

A possible example of this is affecting the Breamore Marsh in Hampshire’s New Forest. In August 2009, botanist Clive Chatters discovered a small patch of Creeping Water Primrose, which comes from Central and South America. Since then 14 sites have been found in south east England. Although released by accident into the wild, it is thought as the climate in Europe warms, this plant is able to colonize areas once deemed too cold to become established. In France this plant is now a huge conservation problem.

Legislation for alien species came about with the arrival of Schedule 9 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1377 which makes it an offence to deliberately release or plant or otherwise allow to grow a non-native species in the wild. But across Europe there are over 50 different pieces of legislation. It is complicated so in 2008, a cross British strategy was set up, the Non Native Species Secretariat. http://www.nonnativespecies.org/. From this site I was surprised to learn that in England there are 2,721 non-native species, of which 66% are plants and in Scotland in 2000, 988 species of which 70% were plants.

The Royal Horticultural Society have long campaigned for responsible imports of horticultural flora, especially if pot grown, as vectors of fungal disease and pests. Indeed the recent arrival of the fungus Phytophthora ramorum is rapidly wiping out larch species in Britain. This phenomenon wasn’t well documented until 2009 until it was discovered in the south west of England. Indeed I was shown some of the first affected areas back then. It is thought it has arrived from horticultural stock, however the non-native and often highly invasive rhododendron is also a target. Could this fungus have a benefit in the long term in helping control rhododendron? In most British gardens about 70% of plants are non-native and the vast majority non-invasive. But care at disposal is needed.

So is there a dilemma maybe?

When is an alien species a problem, and when is it just a happenchance arrival on our shores with little effect on the native wildlife? In a recent article by Dr Thomas Ings is at the School of Biological & Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary University, London he discussed the use of the bumblebee, Bombus terrestris as a commercial pollinator. As a result the species has become established in 2 countries, Chile and Japan. Commercial growers also use the subspecies, B. terrestris sassaricus, which can hybridise with the native B terrestris. However in areas of France where the subspecies had escaped, although fears of hybridization would wipe out the native bumblebee, it seems the, the latter had out competed it for food and resources and in a study, 6 years after being found living wild, no sightings of B. terrestris sassaricus were made.

But are we conditioned to think of some species, especially the nice to look at species, as a native British species? A quick look on the internet will throw up some surprising facts. Christopher Lever, a naturalist who has studied naturalized animals in Britain for 50 years. He says the first species to be introduced to Britain was probably the house mouse that came over with Neolithic man. Hard to think the house mouse being non-native as it chomps its way through your cheese store (actually they prefer sugary items, not cheese).

Other experts claim that the threats posed by invasive species have been exaggerated and that many native species can be equally destructive. Professor Christopher Smout, from St Andrews University, is one who recently argued this "culturally-determined" idea of native and non-native species is fundamentally flawed.

Reading the Naturalized Animals of Britain and Ireland, the general assumption is that generally it is a very bad thing to introduce an alien species outside their natural range because in most cases they damage the surrounding environment. However with current projects to reintroduce once native species into the wild such as sea eagles, beavers and red kites, are we any more at risk of creating a wildlife crisis as the control measures for these species are now often none existent?

So am I any clearer in this topic? Well yes and no. Some introduced species are obvious candidates for eradication, such as the Japanese knotweed, but if someone suggested eradicating snowdrops from the British countryside this spring, the word would spread like a carpet of Spanish bluebells in May. And the sycamore tree once seen as having little conservation merit is now known to become with age a microcosm for rare lichens and epiphytes in western Britain, as a result of its base rich bark. So the next time you’re observing wildlife at Watership Down, bare a thought for that iconic invasive species which inspired Beatrix Potter too, the rabbit, first brought to Britain by the Romans but only becoming established in the wild during the mid to late 12th Century.

Personally I adore the brown hare, certainly they’re non-native as like the rabbit they were brought over by Romans, although possibly they may have been native before the last ice age. Are they friend, foe or probably something in the middle happily ignoring the problem and just living free and adding to the biodiversity of Britain’s countryside?

In search of Jackdaws

2012-01-13T19:47:00.003Z

Corvids have always been a fascination for me. But it's only since working in the radio department of the BBC's Natural History Unit that I've had some of the best opportunities anyone can ask for to get close up to some of our most intelligent birds, indeed some of our most intelligent animals in the world.

Last winter I had the privilege to visit a raven roost in Shropshire, however last week I had the pleasure to spend a day with academics from Cambridge University, looking at cognitive behaviour in corvids, specifically jackdaws. I'll post more about the programme next week. I've long known jackdaws roost in the winter in large numbers. In fact back in 2009, fellow blogger Jane from Urban Extension, posted a video of a jackdaw roost in Dorset.

So from that little embryo, this posting arose. Late this afternoon I headed off into the fields around the village. This area of Wiltshire is remote. It is this remoteness which gives the area a sense of isolation, yet as the crow flies, Reading is 50 miles away. Jackdaws however are lovers of human activity. Indeed in Britain their numbers are doing well as these resourceful and beautiful birds both forage on the detritus of human life while, nesting in the cavities and chimneys of our houses.

In the centre of the village, stately trees dominate the green. There, in the sun, on top of the trees, a hundred or so jackdaws, noisily chattering to themselves. Jackdaws are monogamous and do pair for life. Look at jackdaws and 9 times out of ten they are in pairs, flying, preening and even, though this is impossible to see food passing as a pair bonding behaviour.

So what happens in these winter roosts? From November through to about March, jackdaws and rooks gather in increasing flocks. The morning flight from a roost is different to that in the evening and it was an evening roost I sought today. From the first signs of a setting sun, so about 3.30pm in January, small groups of 50 or so birds will begin to leave their foraging areas and alight on trees. This is pre-roosting behaviour. Noisily they chatter while not really doing much. Occasionally they'll preen one and other, or fly about, but jackdaws do spend a lot of time doing nothing. Eventually as the light begins to fade, these pre-roosts begin to combine and head over to the roost site. Many roost sites may be hundreds of years old, so finding one is a piece of history. And that was my quest tonight.

Taking my cue therefore, I followed these black birds, down the aptly named Dark Lane in the direction they were heading. It was not long before I found a sizable jackdaw and rook flock, probably five or six hundred in total.

Around the countryside, many trees were sprinkled with black confetti, black chattering confetti to be accurate. Now at this point, these flocks should all begin to combine until one super flock develops, something akin to the well known starling murmerations. What is different and extraordinary with this jackdaw and rook flocking, is precisely that, it is two different species working in unison, both flocking and displaying together.

Tonight though, this didn't happen. On two fields agricultural operations were going ahead. Maybe this changed these birds behaviour. Certainly the mixed corvid flock took full advantage of the newly turned soil. Indeed so did I. That wonderful wet earth aroma drifted across the countryside, so while I stood watching the birds, the farm machinery and the developing sunset, my senses took my mind back to a distant, primeval countryside, where for hundreds of years these birds have been roosting in these same woods, watched over by countless agricultural workers I'm in no doubt.

More birds came in and took advantage of the direct sowing, even more gathered in trees behind me. But where do they roost I wondered?

By now the sun was setting rapidly, giving me a brief opportunity to take a scenic photograph or two of these wonderful skeletal trees dotted around this Wiltshire landscape.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the jackdaws and rooks headed in a westerly direction. I followed across field after field. Above me a lone song thrush sang it wonderful piercing song, each phrase repeated. Many's the time I have heard a song thrush in full voice, never to have found it. Which is strange given that they usually sing a-top a tree, but that song is for another thrush, and not for me.

And then as I waked towards the sunset and the developing flock of corvids, they about turned and headed back east. Loose flocks drifted like black paper billowing out of a fire, across the now orage sky, the chattering of the jackdaws far out competing the relatively more silent rooks. As they flew back to where I had come from, it was obvious that pairs flew together. Obvious too the size difference between rooks and jackdaws.

Why rooks and jackdaws spend so much time together is a bit of a mystery. Protection from the bigger rook could be one reason for jackdaws to combine their numbers. It is possible the larger rook assists the smaller jackdaws by probing deeper into the soil and allowing the jackdaw to feed on the spoil of the forage. But we just don't know. I like mysteries, mysteries make us quest for knowledge, search for experiences and as I did this evening, venture out in cold conditions to allow my senses to be enveloped by the winter night drawing in.

But for the roost, I do not know. After heading east again, these birds kept flying. Jackdaws can forage up to 30 miles from their roost site, so although I thought I had a good idea where it was, they fooled me and escaped the camera's lens. There is always tomorrow. That is the fun of wildlife watching. I may have lost the roost, but I gained a brown hare hunkered in the middle of a field; I gained a flock of over 100 fieldfare, and I gained a wonderful spectacle of 40 or so lapwing rising from the shadows and heading east in their distinctive flap flap flight. That is wildlife watching at its best, the unexpeced often outshines the planned or expected. Which is how this final photograph came to be. Walking back along Dark Lane, the colours intensified, the silhouetted trees grew taller, and maybe just a little bit more menacing. One last opportunity for an image of a wonderful dusk in deepest Dark Lane Wiltshire.

Twelfth night

2012-01-08T07:29:00.004Z

Well it's gone. After nearly 3 weeks being gazed upon and the focus of our attentions over the festive the season the Christmas Tree has been taken down.

Twelfth night has always been significant for me. I'm not sure why, but on the evening before the tree, and decorations, come down, I often sit quietly with just the tree lights lit thinking about the last few days, Christmas, the New Year ahead and generally just absorbing the peace and quiet of this time in January, a respite from the hustle and bustle leading into Christmas itself.

According to the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Twelfth Night is described as "the evening of the fifth of January, preceding Twelfth Day, the eve of the Epiphany, formerly the last day of the Christmas festivities and observed as a time of merrymaking".

However there is often confusion these days, whether it is the 5th or the 6th. I've always said the 6th, but maybe I'm a day overdue.

Like many people I love putting the decorations on the tree. Most are now getting on in years and have sentimental value, either remembering when first bought, or recalling past Christmases. This one above was a house warming bauble from my parents in 2009, after moving into my current house on December 21st. I didn't have a tree that year, last year I had pneumonia over Christmas so this year is the first year it has been used and enjoyed.

This chap was bought in Germany in 2000. He's one of 6 soldiers. I was on an overland holiday to Italy and stopped off near the Rhine. In the now long forgotten town there was a permanent Christmas shop, so he, along with a rotating decoration powered by candles, was bought. Sadly the first time I lit the candles on the latter it busts into flames and was no more. Most entertaining.

I love gnomes, don't know why. Not gawdy plastic gnomes, but proper woodland gnomes which are quite special to me. Back in 1995 or 1996 I saw a box of 6 gnome decorations, 2 on snails, 2 on mushrooms, 2 on Christmas baubles. I've never seen anything like this before or since and they've treasured. The only down side is they're made of pottery so weigh a lot, hence they're attached to branches in the middle of the tree.

Every year I like to buy one new decoration to add to the collection, however this year I've added 2. On the drive up to visit my parents just before Christmas, we stopped at the National Trust's Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire, for a break in the journey. I have begun to stop there as it is about half way between home and parents, just off the A1, and the food is infinitely better than on a motorway service station. This year after an enjoyable soup and a roll, we noticed the shop had a sale on, which was handy as we'd still quite a bit of Christmas shopping to do, stocking fillers and the like. So spying this white owl at half price, he had to be added to the tree decorations this year.

But then when standing in the queue I spied this bicycling Santa. I love quirky things, and so, as he was also half price, in the basket he went.

So there we go. In another 330 days I'll be getting the decorations out of the loft again, but for this year I'm going to enjoy them one last time in this posting.

NHU Bird Cup - final day

2012-01-01T14:38:00.005Z

Well I've finished. It's 2.40pm on a very wet New Years Day here in Wiltshire, so I'm hanging up my Bird Cup binoculars for the last time. My final score, 96. Sadly I didn't make the 100 which was my target, but I feel happy with failing by only 4. Not bad too as over 80% of the birding has been inland, a lot of miles have been walked on farmland and woods away from wildlife reserves, and my one day at the coast, at the RSPB's flagship reserve at Arne in Dorset was thwarted by rain and thick fog, so any seawatching at Portland was out of the question.

After a cracking 49 on Christmas Day, the remaining 47 have been a hard slog. But that's always the thing with bird cups or races, a total soon tallies up, then slows down dramatically.

So here's how the remaining 47 were found;

Boxing Day; Chew Valley Lake, Avon - Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Pochard, Little Grebe, Goldeneye, Treecreeper, Goldfinch, Shelduck, Moorhen.

December 27th; Ditcheat, Somerset - Coal Tit

Steart Point, Somerset at dusk, Song Thrush, Golden Plover, Redshank, Curlew, Dunlin, Short Eared Owl.

December 28th;Sand Bay, North Somerset - Linnet, Great Black Blacked Gull, Stock Dove, Bullfinch, Reed Bunting, Greenfinch.

Coate Water, Swindon - Goosander

Wexcombe Down, Wiltshire - Red Kite, Sparrowhawk, Red Legged Partridge, Grey Partridge, Hen Harrier (Ringtail).

December 29th;Non birding day at the Hillier Gardens in Hampshire - Mistle Thrush (2 feeding on mistletoe which was just perfect) and a Nuthatch

In the evening sitting in a tree near village of Oxenholme, Wiltshire - Tawny Owl

December 30th;Wet and soggy day at RSPB Arne - Marsh Tit, Green Woodpecker, Oystercatcher, Pale Bellied Brent Goose, 2 Dark Bellied Brent Goose, Bar Tailed Godwit, Great Crested Grebe, Red Brested Merganser, Skylark, 600+Avocet. I and another birder also thought we heard a Dartford warbler, but we couldn't locate it, so I didn't count it.
Woodcock - flushed from a track at dusk at Wexcombe Down, Wiltshire.

New Year's Eve - Woods around St Katherine's Church, Bedwyn Common, Willow Tit and then a Barn Owl at 10pm in the lanes near Little Bedwyn in Wiltshire.

New Years Day - non birding walk along the river Kennett in Wiltshire near Ramsbury, provided the last 2 birds, a stunning Kingfisher and in amongst 50 or so Canada geese, a single barnacle goose (presumably feral but that counts).

Great misses - no snipe seen in 8 days despite being in wet meadows a lot of the time, so getting a woodcock was even more of a weird fluke.

Great hits - well, the barn owl last night was fantastic. This area is prime habitat for them, but it had been raining all day but by 9pm it had stopped. I just had a hunch to go out and if nothing else enjoy the drive around the empty lanes here before returning to the fizz at 12. And there on a fencepost in classic pose, a barn owl. Absolutely fantastic end to 2011.

It's been a funny 8 days because the weather has been so mild, wet and grey, colder and sunny conditions may have got me to 100, but hey, it's just a bit of fun.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL............

Snowflakes, daffodils and still December

2011-12-29T18:39:00.006Z

I'll begin this short posting with a photograph from last night. This is he hamlet of Wilton near Great Bedwin in Wiltshire. This is the next village to where Julie lives and we drove through it last night enroute to looking for owls (we found a wonderful tawny watching us in a tree as it happens). Anyway for a tiny hamlet of about 40 houses they do go to town with their lights at Christmas.

Anyway the main reason for the posting was a birding free day today, as a result we headed off to the Hillier Garden in Hampshire, one of Julie's favourite. The weather sadly was diabolical, rain both heavy and not so heavy, but that didn't stop us. What did surprise us though was that so many spring flowers were out, considering this is December 29th.

Like this camellia (above) and daphne (below)

or these daffodils, called January gold....

or these snowflakes.....

But what he Hillier Gardens are best known for is their Winter Garden the biggest in Europe. Because of the weather opportunities for photography were limited, but these dogwoods against a deep purple Tom Thumb pittosporum caught my eye.

Well worth a visit if you're near Romsey. Tomorrow I'll be back on the bird cup race. Currently I'm on 79 species (thanks to a pair of mistle thrushes on mistletoe and a nuthatch at the Hillier Garden). If the weather's good, a coastal trip beckons methinks. In the meantime I'll sign off with a robin at the gardens today.

Kauto Star returns home.........

2011-12-27T18:12:00.005Z

I'm going to take a break for a while on the birding blog, as today Julie and I hopped down to Ditcheat in Somerset to welcome home Kauto Star who yesterday won the King George the 6th Chase for a record 5 times. What a wonderful treat to see him return home and be welcomed so warmly by his village.

First off a cup of coffee in the pub while we wait......

and then the rest of the photos speak for themselves....

Wonderful to see such a warm welcome in the village, a great atmosphere.

NHU Bird Cup - Day 1

2011-12-26T09:10:00.002Z

Well I'm off and running to a good start with this years NHU Bird Cup. 8 days to see as many bird species as possible between Christmas Day and New Years Day. Well yesterday got me off to a blistering start, and I ended the day on 48 species.

After opening the presents, Julie and I headed off to Catcott Reserve on the Somerset Levels. It was lovely and quiet, it being Christmas Day and the highlight there was a black tailed godwit (in this picture but one of the many dark blobs.

From there we went to the Shapwick Reserve and the highlight there were many goldcrest, chiffchaff plus singles of a blackcap, great spotted woodpecker and a good number of gargany.

So this is where I've got to on day 1: birds in order seen or heard

First bird (always exciting to wonder what it is) - robin, in garden at 05.43hrs

+In Garden (incl flying over) : carrion crow, starling, magpie, house sparrow, great tit, blue tit, dunnock, herring gull, collared dove, wood pigeon, fieldfare

+On drive to the Levels (Julie drove so a treat for me to be an observer)buzzard, redwing, rook, jackdaw, chaffinch, mute swan, canada goose, grey heron, kestrel, lesser black backed gull, pheasant.

+At Catcott lapwing, wigeon, long tail tit, pintail, black headed gull, black tailed godwit, shovler, greylag goose, teal, cormorant, meadow pipit, stonechat

+At Shapwick great spotted woodpecker, goldcrest, blackcap, siskin, wren, cetti's warbler, chiffchaff, jay, coot, mallard, gadwall, tufted duck, raven.

Today we're off to the Chew Valley and then Wells. it will get a lot harder now to get more species on the list. Fun though.

The icing on the cake..... almost!

2011-12-24T16:04:00.007Z

Well it's here, Christmas 2011. As I write this at 05.50hrs on Christmas Day, I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and all prosperousness (is that a word) for 2012.

The following blog was meant to be written yesterday, on Christmas Eve, but for some reason the photos wouldn't upload, maybe everyone was last minute buying on-line so the systems crashed.

As a Christmas treat to myself, I have bought a feeding station. That's not quite true. It was offered at 50% off on the Crocus website in early December, but, after buying it for my parents, it arrived after we'd visited them for Christmas last weekend. So having arrived too late for them, as I'd bought something else in the meantime, I thought I'm going to have this for myself, as an early Santa present.

So mid day on Christmas Eve, I began the unpacking and assembly. I have to say I didn't realise there was as much kit. One of the reasons I initially bought it, was that my seed feeder had been damaged in a gale, so looking for a replacement, I found this which with the discount cost just a few pounds more (Scrooge is alive and well in Somerset). So having lost one feeder, I now have 2 seed feeders, a nut and fat block feeder, seed tray, bird bath and fat ball hanger. It's just missing the tinsel and Sat-Nav.

So after 45 minutes of top notch DIY skills (I only had to re-do the design twice), the thing was up, in a temporary position. While I was putting it up, I wondered how long it would be before birds began to use it. I was soon to find out......

...... because, well this is no word of a lie, this blue tit arrived on the feeder, seconds after I'd walked away, I'd not even reached the house when Julie said, look behind you. Fantastic, and followed in quick succession by a great tit and a robin....

This amazed me. I do feed the birds anyway, but in less than 15 seconds from erecting it in place they were using it. I assume they were watching me put this together from the wings, and eager to investigate, as in the blue tit photograph you can see a robin in the conifer, watching and waiting.

That done the next job was to put labels on the sloe gin. And here they are. I think I've got the marketing description perfect now........ click to enlarge.

And so the last job of Christmas Eve was the ice the Christmas cake. I've never iced a cake before, so Julie and I set to. The mixture was slightly runny, but by surreptitious use of Boyle's Law of equilibrium motion, we managed to make it look half presentable.

So it just leaves me once again to wish you all a Happy, Peaceful and Merry Christmas

And as I write this I can hear a robin singing in the dark, ....that's my first bird in the NHU Bird Cup. Bring it on!!

Twittering at Christmas

2011-12-23T07:44:00.003Z

Well as the Winter Solstice has now past, it is time for new beginnings, so I've done just that and joined twitter. Not for personal reasons, but as a work tool. I've resisted for years having a twitter account but we're developing a new radio programme at work and looking to use tweet to get the message out. So I took the plunge. If you'd like to follow me it's @Wessex_Reiver

Speaking of work, we have a very important programme going out tonight at 20.00 hours on Radio 4. It's called Saving Species : Sustaining Life, link to it here...... Sustaining Life.

Finally it's nearly time for the NHU Bird Cup. Every year the fair people at my place of employ, run a bird cup, this year I'm on the committee, but we've handed the reins over to a younger more efficient organiser. This bird cup begins at 00.00 on Christmas Day and runs through to 23.59 on New Years Day. We've got 5 categories this year, Supreme Champion is up for grabs this year, which I'll have a go at but don't expect to win as usually over 100 species are needed to win.

I'll try and update what's happening each day.

Which leaves me wishing you all a Happy Christmas.

The Quiet Woods

2011-12-14T11:22:00.012Z

Last weekend Julie was at Lydney Park in the Forest of Dene for an Equine Psychotherapy workshop, which apparently from all accounts was fantastic. Anyway I thought as I don't know that area very well, I'll offer to drive Julie there and back each day and that will give me 4 hours a day to amuse myself, with a spot of walking-cum-birdwatching.

Safely dispatched on Saturday I headed off to a place called Tidenham Chase. I've had to look up some facts and figures, but this area of Gloucestershire sandwiched between the River Severn, and Chepstow in Wales was a real gem of a find. It had a real feel of isolation, yet as the crow flies, just 15 miles from Bristol.

Parking the car I headed into the woods which have recorded woodcock, nightjar, crossbills and other classic boreal avians. Today though, and as is oft the case in mid winter woodlands the birdlife was sparse and hard to see.

I didn't mind, the day was sunny, mild (for December) and I was just enjoying the walk, when all of a sudden I came across these free range pigs. This is how pigs should be kept, not indoors. The gentle snuffling and grunts told me they were happy pigs, if a little dirty.

There is something magical about being in a silent wood in mid-winter. There is a heady presence of silence everywhere, mainly as the birds are mostly silent at this time of the year. Yet this silence is just a smoke screen for life carrying as normal, if we just look a little harder, such as these flies, grabbing as much warmth from the suns rays as it is possible to do in mid December.

The views up here across the River Severn to "mainland Gloucestershire" were stunning, and if you are wondering that's Berkley Nuclear Reactor on the distant shoreline.

Tidenham Chase seems to actually be an amalgam of smaller woodland areas. This area, as was most of the Forest of Dene, was a mining region, so there is much evidence of past exploitation of the coal reserves underground. At an adjoining woodland called Parson's Allotments, I stumbled across this monument.

And try as I might I can not find out what this monument is about. The inscription said VP 1837-97 (or was it 1867, it had some damage to it). Was VP the Parson of the woods name? I'd be interested to know more.

I did see some wildlife of course. This buzzard idly flew up from the woodland floor and sat looking at me. Which helped me enormously as while watching the buzzard, I noticed a small number of marsh tits flitting about, 3 or 4, but on looking at one of them, one had a very sooty black head, was this a willow tit? It's so hard to tell them apart without song. The marsh tit's did call, but not this sooty black chap, so I can't be certain but my hunch was 3 marsh and a single willow. Quite possible as around these 4 birds were half a dozen blue and great tit. Mixed tit flocks are a very familiar sight in the winter, although long tailed tits, of which I saw many by the pigs, do not seem to be as sociable.

This active hole was also a nice find, woodpecker possibly, but given the damage to the tree around the hole itself it is more probably being used by grey squirrels as a winter site, but again maybe little owl, other birds, even bats, if abandoned.

And so I wound my way back to the car after a glorious 3 hour ramble in December sunshine; it wasn't spectacular, just a pleasant walk in silence.

Sadly the next day, Sunday, brooded dull and the threat of rain in the air. Again Julie safely installed in her Yurt, I headed inland this time to the area around Nagshead, the RSPB site. To begin with I decided to have a wander about the area before visiting the reserve. I have to admit something here, in that I just headed off without really having a clue where I was. Even carrying a map was pointless as I didn't really know where I'd started from. But that didn't matter I was following old forestry tracks so couldn't really get lost.

This hole intrigued me. Ashamedly I've done the classic faux pas of not scaling this. It was about 4-5mm across and on a sandy substrate. I wonder if it is an oil beetle chamber, or mining bee, though a bit late in the season for them. I asked a few colleagues and they're a bit stumped too. Any ideas out there?

No mistaking this jay. I'm a huge fan of all corvids, and jays just fascinate me. But (my incompetence not their ability) I've never ever managed to get a descent photo of one. They're off faster than I can get the camera ready.

A lot of lichen can be found in the Forset of Dene, such as this fairly common Ramalina spp. The forest semed to be good for lichen, presumably due to the ancientness of the area's woodland, and of course being on the west, slightly damper conditions. The forest's longevity is partly due to it's proximity between Wales and England, so, as with many border areas, they weren't developed. Also the low-impact mining which carried on here needed timber for the mine shafts, so there continued a continuity of tree cover rather than clearance for agriculture. You can read more about ancient woodlands and their epiphytes here.

Plenty of squirrel dreys around here too, sadly not the reds, and another interesting sight of some cracking Stereum spp. fungi on stacked logs, which was good to see being left here in a Forestry Commission plantation.

I finally made it to the RSPB's Nagshead reserve just as the rain began to become more frequent. But I was here and decided for one last push and so tramping again through silent woods, I reached the hide, in excitement of possibly seeing mandarin ducks. Absolutely nothing, not a single bird within 100 yards.

But on the way back a nice collection of sulphur tuft fungi on a tree stump. So again the woods may be silent with birdsong, but if we look, there's a lot to see.

So that was it, two days exploring a part of the UK I'm not at all familiar with. It is very hard work birdwatching in woodlands in mid-winter, I probably saw 20 species in 2 days, including some lovely nuthatch on the Sunday. But that's not the point. It's all about getting out there and looking for other signs of life. There are birds there, but they're silent and often hidden. But look closely and we can see lichen, moss, fungi, as well as signs and tracks. And on this last point I shall end this posting.

The Forest of Dene is well known as being home to reintroduced wild boar. While getting myself completely lost in the forest on Sunday, I stumbled across a wild boar area. Optimistically, I'm sure I heard a single grunt from a distance, but in reality I didn't see a boar. I'd love to and think they're a fantastic addition to the UK countryside. But in the area I stumbled across there were many many signs of very recent activity.

Wild boar slot (quite similar to some deer)

a chewing post, and of course the uprooting they do along wide tracks.

To see these it's best to be out there in the dawn or dusk, so I may just have to ask Julie to go and book herself onto another course in the not too distant future...........!!

Who invented decking?

2011-11-26T13:57:00.007Z

Okay, who invented decking for the garden? I have loads of the stuff, it came with the house when I moved in 2 years ago. It had just been put in by the vendor that year so was in effect new, and I have to admit it looked smart when I viewed the house, and, along with a hot tub (oh yes!) and the 14 decking lights (which worked for exactly a week after I moved in) it did look stunning in the evening. But the hot tub was sold before I moved in (good) and the lights failed (water in the electrics and the cost of fixing is more than installing) and to be perfectly honest I'm not a decking fan, never have been. I did have a plan to rip it all up when I first moved in, but a mix of the cost of laying a patio and complete lack of time meant it has been left on the to-do list. And it looked okay, so why rip up perfectly good hard standing for the chairs and so on.

Anyway this decking is slowly becoming lethal. I wont use chemicals in the garden, so I try and keep the moss on the wood at bay by regular cleaning with a brush. However last week when going to top up the bird feeders I nearly came a cropper, it literally was like ice and only by clinging onto the silver birch did I avoid slipping down the 3 steps and into the shed, but in doing so pulled a muscle in my shoulder which still niggles. I could use a chemical moss cleaner, but don't like doing so for the birds and wildlife, or nail chicken wire everywhere which works well in a nature reserve, but looks a mess in a garden, so I think I will bite the bullet in the spring and rip it up. But what to do before then?

Well I'm ashamed to say I have relented and the decking has had a through scrub with Jayes Fluid. It's not the most environmentally friendly product on the garden but it works, and the smell takes me back to my agricultural days.

So after giving the decking a through coating of Jayes Fluid during the week, this afternoon I was out there with a stiff brush and the hose to give it a really good scrub.

Its sort of worked but it's not by any means moss free yet. But at least I can walk on it. Having the feeders over it is good in one way as the spoil is picked up by ground feeders, but their "after mess" is also causing a problem. I may have to go for a radical rethink with the feeders, but I like them being there as I can sit in the conservatory and watch the birds antics.

Speaking of which while writing this posting in the fields out the back a huge rook flock and carrion crows have been getting very restless. Can't see why but often if corvids start getting agitated by a hedge, there's possibly an owl roosting there.

But while spending a few hours in the garden it gave me the chance to have a mooch about. It's been a very hectic week and I've not seen much daylight since last Sunday. So it was very welcome to go and see what was happening. And, as many of you have mentioned, it's unseasonably mild and as a consequence, odd things are happening.

I'll begin with the paperwhites. I know these are not early, but they came into bud at the end of October. So I've had them in cold storage for a month but no longer can I keep them cold, as I always love having paperwhites on display at Christmas (alongside daffodils from Jersey - makes me think spring isn't far away). But today finally one pot has flowered, so I've brought it into the conservatory. 2 more pots are not far behind but I'll try and stagger them.

But out in the garden, strange going's on. A pair of great tits were calling their territorial call this morning, and in the plant kingdom.......... I have a honeysuckle out.

And lavender!!

One of the pots containing tere a tete narcissus is showing good growth too

All quite odd for the end of November, especially when one thinks a year ago today Britain was shivering in a very unseasonal snowfall which brought most of the country to a standstill. Personally I like a nice bit of cold winter, but not for too long. Just enough to sit in front of a log fire and while away the long winter nights with a whisky or two ........ mmmmmmmmmm!!

Speaking of winter, my last Living World of the year goes out tomorrow, a surprising take on the holly story. If you miss it at 06.35hrs, you can listen again HERE.

A thought for the Faroes

2011-11-25T07:20:00.004Z

It's just been on the weather that last night a gust of wind hit the Faroe Islands at over 120mph, 126mph I recall being mentioned. That is astonishing. Not unknown in the UK of course but astonishing, nonetheless.

This was all because of a deepening low pressure tracking across the North Atlantic, dropping 50 millibars in 36 hours. But it's better explained here.....

My maternal grandfather was a Master Ticket Sea Captain, which meant amongst other things he could go into any port without a pilot on board, which didn't make him the most popular man at times, as that's how pilots made their money. He plied the seas across the world in his ships, often away from home for up to two years at a time, and he was even seconded to the Royal Navy in the Second World War as an Atlantic Convoy leader (and harrowing that was apparently, as he watched "his" ships go down one by one while trying to maintain the formation and liaise with the Navy support). Bizarrely, when my parents met, Captain Johnson as my mother's father was always known, said to my father, "Dawes, are you related to "Daddy"Dawes..." my father said, "yes he's my grandfather". Captain Johnson then said, finest sea captain and ship owner I've ever served under, and with that nipped upstairs and got his first ever seaman's ticket, issued at the age of 14 when ships in sail were still being used. And there, on that ticket, which we still have, was my paternal great grandfathers signature, signing off the first rung of my maternal grandfather's shipping career. Being brought up in the North East, it was either shipping or mining that ruled the economy. Both sides of my family were shipping; all my paternal grandfathers brothers were sea captains, except him, he stayed on shore, at Readheads Dock in South Shields along with his sisters husband who was managing director at that time. It was my father who broke the mold and became an artist. But the sea is still in me, but from a safe distance of course....

I wish I had known my mothers father better. He was Norwegian and sadly died when I was 6 and although I can remember him, only vaguely. So my knowledge of him is from my mother. He always said respect the sea, the sea is in charge, you are not. And that has come down to me. I'm both fascinated and intimidated by the sea, especially when it is rough. I remember being in a force 10 coming back from the Isle of Arran and the ferry we were on was like matchsticks on a whirlpool. Seeing waves crash right over the ferry was absolutely fascinating, but then one remembers, we're in a fancy tin bath....... I hope the plug is in !

But I digress, this is about wind... I've paraphrased this from a weather facts website, as it is just so fascinating. Or at least I think so.

There is not a linear relationship between wind speed and the damage that is produced. For example, a 150 mph wind would not do twice as much damage as a 75 mph but rather it would produce many times over the damage of the 75 mph wind. When considering wind power alone there is a cubic relationship between wind speed and the power produced by the wind.

For example, suppose the wind speed is 15 mph and produces 3,375 units of power (15^3). If the wind speed is doubled to 30 mph then the power produced by the wind would be 27,000 units (30^3). As the wind speed increases the power produced increases at a rapid rate.

Assuming the cubic relationship mirrors reality which is does not for all wind speeds and situations, if the wind is 100 mph the damage produced will be 1,000,000 units of damage (100^3). If the units of damage are double to 2,000,000 then the wind speed that produced this damaged can be found by taking the cube root of 2,000,000 which has a value of 126 mph.

Thus, the damage produced increases significantly as the wind speed increases, especially as it increases above hurricane force. The 126 mph wind does twice the damage as the 100 mph although the increase in wind speed is about a fourth greater.

Birdwatching across 2 weekends

2011-11-20T13:46:00.007Z

I'm enjoying this. Having slightly, and I emphasise slightly, less on at work at the moment I have time now to go out watching wildlife, though I have to confess to having planned to post last Saturday's birdwatching all week, but completely failed to do so. But better late than never I suppose.

So two brief postings. First an afternoon spent last Saturday walking from East Grafton up onto Wexcombe Down in Wiltshire and back again. The glory of Julie's house being in the middle of nowhere is that the car isn't needed to head off into unspoilt countryside. This part of the Wiltshire / Hampshire / West Berkshire border lands is unspoilt and pretty much unknown, certainly in birding terms very few people venture here, so it is like having my own back garden. So after a lovely relaxing lunch at the Cross Keys in Great Bedwyn, Julie settled down to watch the racing at Cheltenham and I headed off into the hills. Don't get too excited by the photos to follow, you'll see what I mean soon.

First encounter was an obliging pale buzzard on a fence post (honestly there is one there, in the middle)

And the fields around here are covered in mushrooms this year, I think that's because they've been spreading mushroom compost recently.

This is a shooting area so always lots of pheasants and partridge

As well as brown hare.... okay the photos are getting silly, so I've added arrows to them to help spot what I'd seen. This was actually about a quarter of a mile away.

And as everyone knows this November is mild, so here's two hovers on an umbellifer, not sure of the species of hovers.

And this is how far I'd walked up onto the Downs, arrow denotes the hamlet of East Grafton.

But by the time I'd returned I'd seen;

Blue tit 10+, Red kite 1, Buzzard 3, Pheasant numerous, Linnet 20+, Raven 1 + 2 (1 heard), Wood pigeon 100+, Blackbird 6, Red Legged Partridge 3, brown hare 2, Chaffinch 200+, Wren 1, Great Tit 2, Fieldfare 150+ more flying in as dusk gathered, long tailed tit 5+, Skylark 20+, Carrion Crow 20+, Robin 1, Kestrel 1, Greenfinch 1, Golden plover 35-40 overhead, Jay 1 and finally 2 Greater Black Backed Gull overhead which is very unusual for this area.

So all in all a very good 2 hours on the chalk downs. Mind you when I got home, Molly wasn't impressed with the brown hare, she'd seen one anyway (one of my wire sculptures in case you are wondering).

Let us now cast ourselves forward 8 days. It is Sunday November 20th. Still mild and at 8am I found myself at RSPB Greylake in the misty gloom. Julie has put herself forward to be a BTO Wetland Birds Surveyor and was meeting a more experienced surveyor to get herself familiar with what to do. I was going along for the ride (well actually as we had to leave the house at 7am, I was chauffeur and breakfast maker, Julie is not by any means a morning person). So the two of them went off and I, with 3 hours to spare, pootled off on my own to see what was happening.

I've been coming to Greylake ever since it was bought by the RSPB and it's good to see it develop. This is the first time I've been around some of the new walks around the back of the reed beds, which was a good place to put up snipe.

I then ventured into the hide and joined 2 other chaps, who were amused by the strange fauna in the restricted area of the reserve, namely Julie (on right) and her BTO mentor. It was good they were wandering about the restricted area, as they put up a lot of waders for us to see. You can't beat a nice bit of disturbance to get a good birdcount.

But we were soon distracted by another exciting view, a great white egret emerged as if by magic right in front of the hide. No need for arrows with this photo or the one below.

But I definitely need 2 arrows for this next photo taken hand held through my scope... I know, I know, you are astonished at the technical accomplishment. Oh and incase you're wondering, it is 2 peregrines in a dead tree half a mile away. Maybe enlarge the photo for, just for fun and a better look.

And now you know, the enlarged view is just as bad! I But at least these shovler are recognisable.

Bad though these photos are the tally was good, and so as in all good competitions, in ascending order......

.... willow tit 1, great white egret 1, pied wagtail, 1, grey heron 1, male kestrel 1, sub adult male sparrowhawk 1, buzzard 1, cormorant 2, little egret 2, wren, 2, cetti's warbler 2, water rail 2, snipe 3, linnet 3, peregrine 3, chaffinch 10+, shovler 10+, mute swan 15+, golden plover 19 flying over (apparently there were about 500 in the restricted areas), carrion crow 20+, starling 50+, mallard 50+, wigeon and teal combined 1500 +, lapwing flying overhead 2000+

That last lapwing flock was astonishing. I'd seen drifting flocks of 20, 30 but we were back at the car and about to leave when this huge flock circled overhead. Despite the great white egret being scarce, I still love to see so many lapwings.

Ohh yes by the way sorry about not being able to leave comments, I keep being logged out when I post, think its because I'm on Explorer 9 or something, if anyone has any suggestions how to rectify this, let me know (and the blog formatting is double spacing too and doesn't seem to want to change)

11.11.11

2011-11-11T08:06:00.001Z

At last a weekend at home........

2011-11-08T11:16:00.014Z

It's the first weekend in November 2011 and at last I've taken a breath, workload is reducing slightly and I'm taken stock, feel the embryonic energies of blogging coming back to the fold. When I began this blog 4 years or so ago, I had a completely different lifestyle, different job, different places to visit and well looking back it seems like a long time ago, especially as back in those days I seemed to have to a lot more time to go out and watch wildlife. But then again I now get paid to go out and watch wildlife, can't be bad, so I hear you say, "he doth protest too much"

So, now the mood has taken me, let me take you back to last weekend. It began with that dreadful crash on the M5 on Friday, not that far from where I live. I do a lot of driving now for my work, too much really, and what happened then really makes one stop and think of the fragility, the veneer our cosy modern life provides. What happened at Taunton really made me reassess.

So it was with a relish we woke on Saturday for a pre-planned visit to friends in Thornbury, in South Gloucestershire. The weather was fine, so we pootled off for a wonderful 3 hour walk/talk/amble along the Gloucester Canal at Purton (home of the original Bill Oddie programme on starling displays, more on that later).

Not long into our walk, we spied a rambling ivy across a stone wall. Bearing in mind this was November 5th it was covered in insects feeding on the nectar of these late season ivy flowers. A year or so back I made a Living World programme on the importance of Ivy in the winter and ever since then have been fascinated by how important this plant is to insects later in the year.

So important in fact I think a campaign should be started, "leave ivy alone" - keep it bushy, keep it messy, until April at least.

Onwards we strolled to take in the sights and sounds of the canal

Where soon we came across the undisputed highlight of the walk....

I do like gnomes. Maybe not as many as there are here, but every garden should have one. We're all much too sensible these days, and actually the original gnomes were there to bring good luck to the garden.

I'd never been this way before but had heard of the Purton Graveyard. A century or so back the Severn was a shipping highway but by the 1960's this shipping was in decline. As boats became obsolete they were rammed into the river bank to help stop river erosion from the huge tides the Severn experiences. Until recently these hulks were slowly rotting into the silt, but now these fascinating remnants of an industrial past are being preserved, with regular guided walks and information boards on each boat, when it was rammed into the riverbank and so on. Industrial archeology used to bore me rigid, but now, I love it. A sign of getting older I guess.

Not everything is about the boats though, as on the riverbank between a pair of boats this chickory was in flower, with quite a bit of it growing around this area.

This tower gives the names of all the boats lying here...

A concrete lighter

A plaque commemorating the destruction of the Wye Severn bridge when a barge hit a pillar and the whole lot came a-tumbling down.

Not the actual barge, but you get the idea

Amazing so much activity took place in what is now such a peaceful place.

Soon it was journeys end, the entrance to the Gloucester Canal, now blocked off at Sharpness with a lovely waterfall

And an interesting building, which is under threat apparently

It had been a fascinating 'bees knees' of a stroll out to the end of the canal, but now it was time to return.

Which brought about the wildlife spectacle of the day, not one but three peregrines flying about the canal. Two birds were pseudo-food passing so presumably pairing up for next year. Amazing to see,especially thinking back that only a few decades ago, seeing a peregrine was a rarity and usually in very remote places. Good to see them making such a good comeback.

Nearly home now........ but it wasn't far from here we also saw a kingfisher.

That was Saturday, rounded off with a fantastic meal back at my friends and then home to see the fireworks.

Sunday dawned bright and fare. Which was good as it was destined to be make the Christmas cake day, as can be seen by the chef hard at work...... oh dear look at the state of that kitchen!!

It was all too much so we had to escape while the cake was in the oven. And escape we did, to the Somerset Levels, Canada Farm Lake to be exact, just a short drive from me.

Such a glorious late afternoon to be walking up the lane to the bird hide

And so we made ourselves comfortable in the hide and waited to see what happened.... such a wonderful and peaceful place.

We weren't expecting these but all of a sudden thousands of starlings emerged and flew right over our heads to Westhay a few miles away. This is the first winter starling flock I've seen this year and it was such a pleasure to witness it on our own, made more so by the surprise of their passing overhead. It's still early in the season for the big flocks of 1 million + birds , but a sure sign winter is on its way.

And while we waited for more to pass,we could just admire the view.

Again, again and again....

But all too soon it was getting too dark to see any more starlings so off we walked back to the car, observing this moon and sixpence view on the way back. Magical.

Lets leave the last word to the starlings though........

21 Years Ago

2011-09-24T05:49:00.003+01:00

Well well well....... back in the mists of the last Century I began my conservation-cum-wildlife career. In those days I was here there and everywhere in Durham and Northumberland learning my craft. But by 1990, as a lot of my work was voluntary, I'd realised I needed to get a degree to move on, and get paid for doing a job I love.

L-R John Middlemiss (Head warden), Dave Edwards (Warden), Damian Rana (Warden), Me (Volunteer), Julie Rana (wife of Damian and wardened at weekends)

Sorting out the office tonight I came across this photo. Not that I'd lost it, just I didn't know where it was these days. This photograph was my last day as "official" voluntary warden at Cragside in Northumberland, hence why we're all standing like lemons in front of a sign I'd quickly written at the end of the day. I was at Cragside last week and mentioned this photograph to Julie, strange then to see it again so soon after that conversation. Strange too to see the ramshackled uniforms. These were the days before corporate identity came to the fore. We just wore whatever we worked in.

I began there in 1986 and clocked up over 1500 hours of voluntary wardening experience there in the 4 years before this photograph was taken. Not a bad achievement considering I had a full time job too. I was also working as co-ordinator for the North Northumberland Otter Project, conducting various surveys for NGO's as well as Nature Conservancy, working for and on behalf of the National Trust's Northumbrian HQ of anything which needed doing in the Durham area, as at that time there was no NT staff down there, such as NT rep on members groups, involved with the Neptune 500 project, and heavily involved during for the hand over of Souter Lighthouse from Trinity House to the National Trust.

This latter work was fascinating as I was invited into the lighthouse by Trinity House 2 weeks before it was handed over and shown round to make notes for the National Trust's land agent, prior to being myself the NT rep on site after handover. What was lovely was that the keepers lit the lamp for me and I was allowed into the lamp room while the huge lens floated past me on a mercury bath. Something the public were banned from doing. But as I was representing the new owners, it was an absolute privilege to be in a lighthouse in those days when still an operational building run by 2 keepers. An experience no one will ever be able to get again now that lighthouses are unmanned and fully automated.

Although I kept going back to Cragside as a volunteer warden on an ad-hoc basis until 1994, it was never the same. So this photo marks both the end and the beginning of an era. It was the end of my time at Cragside, but six weeks later I started my Countryside Management degree at Newcastle. Graduating from there in 1993, I applied for and got a job with the BBC's Natural History Unit in Bristol, moved south and 18 years this November, I'm still there making wildlife programmes on the radio.

But seeing this photo brings it all back to me, that excitement of developing a career in wildlife conservation in my early twenties. If I had my time all over again, I'd do exactly the same. But where did I have the energy to do all of that work and have a full time job.....and where has the time gone!!

Great Days, great days indeed.

The twilight of a summer sun

2011-09-04T12:22:00.013+01:00

I guess the embryonic development of this post began in high summer, although for many years I have watched the phenomenon of sunsets and developing twilight from my house with never ending fascination.

Back in mid June I was up in Northumberland for work. After a busy day on the Farne Islands I took 3 colleagues up to Lindisfarne, to show them the Cradle of Christianity (or as they all thought culture ended at the Watford Gap - the Cradle of Culture). They were bowled over by the fantastic scenery of the Northumberland coast and the island itself. But after a rather terrific supper at the Manor House Hotel, we had to drive back to Bamburgh. The time, 20.45 hours.

As we drove down to the causeway, the view above literally stopped us in our tracks. And so the seeds of this post were sown. What is it about sunsets in particular which ignite something both artistic but also primeval in us all? We'll all happily watch a sunset develop for hours, while exploding into explosive irritation at being forced to stand in a queue for 1 minute. Is it that timelessness which makes sunsets so all absorbing to the viewer? Or maybe something else related to our hectic modern life. As you read this, I wonder what it is you yourself gain from watching a sunset?

Holy Island 20.55 hours

Two emotions ripple through me. Firstly I love the developing colours and cloud combinations a sunset brings to a sky. That ever changing kaleidoscope of colours often associated with vanishing clouds as the energy in the atmosphere subsides with the diminishing rays of the sun. but secondly it is that calm end of a day feeling that I love. The day draws to a close, I muse on the waking hours just passed and think ahead to the new day dawning. On many occasions I've sat in the garden with a nourishing glass of wine watching a sunset develop and fade, only to realise it was dark, so full of empty thought I'd been for that hour or so.

Budle Bay 21.15 hours

And so it was on that June evening with my work colleagues. We could have stood there for hours watching the sun set, but an early start the following day brought us back to earth, until that is we drove past Budle Bay, between Bamburgh and the A1. Yet again we were literally stopped in our tracks by the two images here.

Looking at these photographs in early September, I can recall every detail of this view. It also makes me realise that now, sunset is about 7.45pm. In Northumberland in mid June it was 21.45pm. Celestial motion stops for no man.

By the time the above and next two photographs below were taken on Bamburgh beach, it was well after 10pm. The colours intensified with the passing minutes. In all it had taken us nearly 2 hours to drive the 20 or so miles back to Bamburgh. The four of us were reluctant to head back to the hotel, and even at 11.30pm I looked out of the bedroom window and an orange glow still emanated from the north. I do miss the long day length Northumbrian summers.

So what is a sunset? Well I'm sure most of you know, but in essence as a ray of white sunlight travels through the atmosphere to be viewed by us, some of the spectrum of colours are scattered by particulates in the atmosphere. Blues and greens being of shorter wavelength than other colours scatter quite strongly and are in effect removed further from the visible light spectrum than say the warmer red colours. Along comes a sunset when the distance the white lite has to travel to your eye is longer than at mid day. The short wavelength blues and greens are scattered almost completely, leaving the warmer long wavelength warmer hues to dominate the sky. This warm red light is then further dissipated by clouds (which also have additional atmospheric effects) and dust particles allowing the intensity of the light to, well, intensify. It is these latter dust particles which generally make sunsets more dramatic and longer lasting than sunrises, as usually more dust is in the atmosphere in the evening than in the morning. and of course once the sun sets, what we are viewing then technically becomes a twilight.

Back to my sunset images from this summer.

I'm not sure whether it has been the unseasonal nature of this summer's weather but I feel I have witnessed some dramatic skies after what appeared to be inauspicious days.

From the house. July 1st 20.39 hrs

I've mentioned before that my house looks west towards the Black Mountains of Wales. To get to the horizon, in the middle distance is the estuarine Bristol Channel. Ever since moving down to Somerset, I've been aware of sunsets of staggering magnitude and proportions, often after a wet day. The light intensity in this part of the world is very strong, with the prevailing wind straight off the Atlantic. However the Channel itself is muddy in colour, I've often wondered therefore whether this brown sea adds something to the atmospheric colouration. After all the sea does reflect blue light back to the atmosphere, making the sky blue, or at least that's what my grandmother told me!!

From the house. 17th August 19.39hrs

Being on the west, sunrises of note are few and far between, however sometimes just before sunrise produces fantastic cloud formations for a few minutes, until like a magician with an illusionary trick, the clouds dissipate and the sun rises again.

It is as I've said, sunrises which fascinate me. and so the following photographs have all been taken from my house in the last month. I've added the date and time just for interest.

20th August 19.11 hours

20th August 19.12 hours

20th August 19.30 hours

20th August 19.37 hours

The next two photographs illustrate what is a regular occurrence here. This was August 26th. It had rained all day, not just any old rain, but a torrential downpour, which finally ended about 6.30 in the evening. I was in the office working away when all of a sudden a shaft of bright light illuminated the room, such brilliance after a wet, dark and quite frankly depressing August day.

26th August 19.41 hours

As often happened after a wet day, just before sunset the clouds seem to lift up from the horizon, just enough for the sun to almost say, well that's your lot for today, see you tomorrow. Which in turn provides some dramatic and as in this case Apocalyptic skies.

26th August 19.42 hours

This final raft of sunsets have been taken this week. I'm on holiday and this week at home with my parents visiting me. After a hard day chatting and catching up, what better way to relax than watch a sunset develop over the Bristol Channel.

30th August 18.55 hours

30th August 19.16 hours

30th August 19.19 hours

1st September 18.13 hours

1st September 18.43 hours

And so as we head into autumn and then winter we will of course experience more sunsets, but I do feel the summer of 2011 has been an exceptional sunset year, for me at least.

~~~~ POSTSCRIPT ~~~~~

As if to prove my point in the above post, this afternoon it began to rain, torrential rain (why I came indoors to blog). But just now at 19.45 the clouds parted near the horizon as they often do in bad weather and this was the view out the back of the house just a few minutes ago, yet it was still raining on the house. Another magical sunset on a wet evening in September. So I'll let the photograph I've just taken below end the post..............

4th September 19.45 hours

Empty Nest Syndrome

2011-08-25T14:32:00.007+01:00

Today is a mixed feeling day as I'm suffering from empty nest syndrome. As I mentioned in my last post, my house is home to a house martin nest, sadly just the one, but being colonial nesters, all the houses around me with suitable eves also have a nest. It was quite sad this spring because in the middle of that very dry spell between March and May they arrived back and attempted to build another nest on my house but there just wasn't enough mud about to build one. The solitary dawbs of mud now splattering my wall are all that is left of their gargantuan attempt to beat the unpredictable British weather.

Most mornings (and evenings) I'm serenaded by the squabbling and activity of my martins. This morning though it was especially noisy. From the bedroom window, constant sleek bird shaped shadows darted hither and yon to the nest. Sounds of increasing activity drove me outside to have a look at what was happening, or at least what I thought was happening. And I was right.

The fledgelings were leaving the nest, with encouragement from the adults and already emerged young birds. House martins when fledging strictly speaking don't permanently leave the nest, they vacate it and can come back at night to roost, or in bad weather can seek shelter there. But this morning, I think was the second brood's first foray into the wide open skies of Somerset. And a good morning too, blue skies after a night of deluging rain of Biblical proportions.

It's always difficult knowing how many house martins are fledging. Normal brood size is 4-5 eggs and generally mortality of chicks is quite low. Today I think 5 fledged as at one time there were 7 birds around the nest, both flying and clinging to the wall. It was absolutely fantastic watching them as individual birds flew to the nest, around the nest, went into the nest and emerged out of the nest in very rapid succession. Occasionally a head would be seen at the nest entrance and another bird would fly up to it, chattering away, before both birds flew off in a wide downward arc and away, only for the whole process to be repeated again.

Last year my pair managed to raise 3 broods, they finally left in early October. I don't think this year is suitable for three broods, and in a way I hope they don't lay again because if the weather deteriorates they'll just abandon the chicks and head south to Africa. I will have a think over the winter whether there's a way of providing ledges of something on the house to help more nest be built next year, as I'd love to have half a dozen on the house, no matter how messy they make the windows.

It's a worrying time for lovers of house martins. Although there are about 3-400,000 pairs in the UK at the moment, this is actually a 60% or more drop in population from the 1980's and why the bird has been amber listed in the IUCN system since 2002. No one really knows why they are declining so fast, but as they are intricately linked to human habitation (even their scientific name urbica and colloquial name refer to dwellings) there may be a link to modern houses being less suitable, having fewer eves and overhangs. Certainly fledging data suggests pairs of adults are raising chicks with no change in mortality. But then again, insect numbers are fluctuating, and with climate change the Sahara is expanding. Is it just too far now to fly south to their wintering grounds. However on the plus side if winters continue to warm in Europe, which after the last 2 winters seems astonishing, potentially martins may follow a small percentage of their swallow cousins who increasingly seem to be able to overwinter in north Africa rather than fly across the Sahara.

Originally martins were cliff dwellers much like their cousins the sand martin, although the latter make nest holes in soft sediment and not nests. At some point now lost in the depths of history, they took to nesting on buildings, attaching their mud nest cup under eaves, presumably when houses began to be stable enough to replace the rigidity of rock. If you think about it the first solid houses built were castles and they were built often on rocky outcrops. So did the martins just make an obvious leap, when natural nest sites were exhausted. The nest is just fabulous and takes up to 10 days to build, and over 1000 beak sized pellets of mud. So that is 2000 flights from and to a nest in 10 days. An enormous effort. And that's possibly why this year other birds failed to make new nests on my walls. My theory is as everywhere nearby was parched earth, the nearest mud is the river, a quarter of a mile away, just too far to be worth while. But it is worth it as if a new nest successfully fledges chicks, the adults will return each year to re use it with just a light renovation each spring.

The other interesting thing with the martins around me is there are a lot of nests around my house but few elsewhere in the estate. The house and a few others around me were built in 1997 and half a dozen used to be the show houses. Show houses tend to be built literally in a building site. My theory is then that the martins again spotted an opportunity and built on these new show house cliffs surrounded by the mud of a building site. A perfect habitat and they have kept coming back ever since. Whereas in other parts of the estate they never got established and as the mud was built over, they could not colonise beyond this initial colony. I don't know either why martins never seem to build nests on dark eves, always one painted white. Most of the houses here have dark eves.

References to house martins in literature and folklaw are surprisingly few and far between. Which I find odd given that the swallow has been a writers muse for generations. but I think we should change that because they are such beautiful birds. Christians think the bird is lucky, possibly as it has connections as a servant of god, and in olden days it was thought lucky to live in a house with a martins nest if the young fledged successfully.

I'd agree with that, I'm a very lucky man to share a house with such wonderful birds of the air.

Solitude of an Autumn Fire

2011-08-23T17:37:00.005+01:00

I always think there's something magical about heading into Autumn. At the weekend dew covered lawns shrouded in dawn's rolling mists, gave way to clear blue afternoon skies, rising from the landscape like a Phoenix to create a hot and yet quiet day. Only in Autumn do these days occur, when by mid afternoon everything is quiet, sounds travel for great distances producing that special stillness Autumn provides. It is hard to believe it will become cool again by nightfall. But it does.

I had a weekend on my own this weekend, and decided by choice not to leave the house. I occasionally do this when feeling jaded with the modern world, or exhausted. By nature I'm quite a solitary person, but also love being part of a social group, often found holding court in the midst of a gathering. But growing up an only child, spending time on my own and not having to perform the mental agility of genteel conversation with friends or family is a real joy for me.

And so it was this weekend. I spent a lot of time just relaxing, thinking, emptying my mind of all thought. Avoiding the news both broadcast and printed helped, best of all though, not driving for a whole 3 days. We all rush and bustle about too much and never take time to stop and stare. Sometimes in this mood I will wander the countryside by myself, often heading to West Dorset or down into Devon, but this weekend with the warm weather I just sat and read, sat and thought, relaxed outdoors in the sun, generally doing absolutely nothing. I know I'm lucky being able to do this, when many other people have family responsibilities or work commitments, but then again why not enjoy being able to do this. One day I will not be able to.

My job is fantastic, but can be exhausting. On Thursday I spent a most enjoyable day watching stone curlews at a secret location in Wessex, a busy 15 hour working day. But to hear those thick-knee birds calling in the night as they woke from their day-roost was worth all the planning and the miles. Even the creeping tiredness as I drove back down the M4 at 1am on Friday morning, failed to dampen my mood. But even when I arrived at home, the wildlife thrill hadn't stopped. Unpacking the car at the dead of night, the second brood nestlings in my house martin nest were twittering. I stood in front of my house. No other sound could be heard in the area except the gentle squabbling of baby house martins, fidgeting in the nest. Young birds that in a few short weeks will head a long way south on their first migration, much as the stone curlews, I'd seen earlier in the evening. Wildlife encounters never ever make me feel other that uplifted.

On Saturday, for once I had time to idly scan across long forgotten books in the office and by chance pulled out a book by Ralph Wightman, called Watching the Certain Things. This book had been withdrawn from a library years ago and I bought it for the lino cut images but then, had never read it. Opening the book idly the penultimate chapter was entitled "Solitude". I love these coincidences when a feeling in the hear and now often manifests itself as an action or deed which exactly mimics the beholders view or thoughts at that time. I read this chapter; he lived in Dorset and described wonderfully the area of West Dorset I go to for solitude at times of worry. So 50, 60 years before I read this book, he too had the feelings I, and many others have had, in that part of Wessex. Small fields, high views and a feeling no one lives here. I love it.

But for me this weekend the absolute treat was having an outdoor fire in the evening, from which these photos came from. I lay there letting half of my body roast slowly like a chicken, the other half bathed in luxurious coolness as the night became darker. By 10pm the stars were out and I lay back in a reclining chair in the middle of the garden, watching a satellite pass overhead. Just the one shooting star made its appearance tonight, but that's enough for me. My wish? Well to be bathed in the scent of woodsmoke, watching bats as they hunt, stars as they shine, and to witness the simple pleasure of gazing at shapes made by the dying embers of a fire on a cool Autumn night, for a very long time to come.

And the harvest comes in

2011-08-14T19:26:00.005+01:00

This afternoon Julie and I went for a walk around the lanes and fields of her village. A glorious afternoon walk of about 5 miles made all the better for being adjacent to a field as the combines came in. I love watching combines, takes me back 30 years to when I used to work in the fields at this time, both as a schoolboy and later as an agricultural journeyman.

Wilton Windmill from East Grafton

I didn't have my camera with me but the following images were taken on my Blackberry. I'd never used the black and white or sepia settings before, not bad for a mobile phone. Shame I hadn't my camera though as these would have made super subjects for black and white images.

Up the hill they go

Disgorging their work ready for the mill

Apart from the fact these are modern combines, black and white works for farming shots I feel, makes them seem timeless.

The same in sepia

And 2 colour ones, just for the record.

Wish I could drive one of these, looks like fun.......!!

New Research on young puffins

2011-08-08T13:32:00.002+01:00

I've just read a fascinating new piece of research on the movements of Puffins after fledging.

In an article published on 2 August 2011, by Tamera Jones, young Atlantic puffins migrating for the first time scout out their own routes, rather than relying on genetic programming or help from their parents, the latest study reveals. Studies in Skomer reveal some birds go to waters off Greenland or Iceland for the winter, while others stay closer to home or head out in the opposite direction into the Mediterranean.

I love the way new ways of carrying out research are helping discover more and more about the birds we know and love.

If you'd like to read the whole article, then click here : NERC On-Line

Blimey.........it's August already......gulp !!!

2011-08-03T18:37:00.007+01:00

Well I notice it has been months and months since I have daned to post on the blog.....time and tide has no respect for a blogger. But today, I have time for a photo journey over the last few weeks as I have crossed England in the pursuit of the mighty airwaves.

June saw me on the Farne Islands. A fabulous day although we had to get off pretty sharpish as the wind picked up and we were in for a choppy return to the mainland.

The view from the hotel in Bamburgh wasn't bad either!

Nor the sunset on the causeway at Holy Island

And apparently there is a roseate turn in the middle of the arctic terns at the Long Nanny site up there.

further south I popped into Weardale for a botanical foray into the vampires of that dale

Later in June I popped up to Ingleborough to run about on slippy clints and deep grykes in limestone pavement country.

While in mid June we both managed to snatch a long weekend in Boscastle in Cornwall

The famous Valency river which although tranquil this visit, flooded Boscastle in 2004

The beaches of St Ives were stunning in 50mph winds but blue blue skies

The waves were therefore quite impressive around St Ives and seem to have washed up this mermaid cum seal on the rocks..........

July saw me back in Yorkshire, this time on Malham Tarn taking part in a research project to find Britain's rarest caddisfly, which is only found here.

Being given permission to be out in the Tarn at night with a light trap was just magical, as thousands and thousands of grouse wing caddisfly emerged from the lake all around us.

And I even managed to get to Newcastle to record the kittiwakes on the Tyne Bridge, or as our lovely Geordie contributor said.... kitti waaaaarks

Well just a flavour of where I've been, and why sadly the blog took second place to being out there and doing it as they say.

And so, if you want to hear more; the following Living Worlds are coming up on Radio 4;

Puffin - Broadcast last Sunday

Limestone Pavements - 07.08.11

Vampire Plants - 14.08.11

Caddisfly - 21.08.11

Go on......have a peek................ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007qyz3

Gardening for Wildlife

2011-06-03T11:17:00.003+01:00

Having been absent from the blog for a month now due to a hectic schedule, a quick update as I'm still hectic, but with work I went to see a very interesting trial at RHS Wisley last week. This went out as an item on Radio 4's Saving Species, but Helen Bostock of the RHS has just updated her blog. I thought you wildlife gardeners out there may be interested in this.

Plants for Bugs blog

More soon, I hope, after a mad dash to the Farnes, Wearside, Cornwall and then back to Yorkshire before the end of June..... keeps me off the streets I suppose :-)

Its a date with Dolomedes fimbriatus

2011-05-06T13:41:00.005+01:00

Yesterday I had a hot date with a rare and exotic female, no not Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, but the beautiful raft spider, Dolomedes fimbriatus.

We travelled up to the Shropshire Mosses and Meres to see this beauty. There are two raft spiders in the UK, the very rare Fen Raft Spider, Dolomedes plantarius which is only found at a handful of sites in East Anglia and the South East and the widespread but very localised in distribution raft spider. Bizarrely the rarer of these two is quite well studied, however the ecology of fimbriatus is hardly understood at all. And they're not easy to find either in boggy landscapes, unless that is the big females are on water. And when I say big, I mean big.... they'd give the canny lasses in Newcassel on a Friday night a run for their money. Yep that big.

But before I allow you to see this big lady, let's have a crafty peek at the weedy, pale wimpish male raft spider above. There were quite a few scuttling about in their meek lily livered way, but even these had a style of their own, so well camouflaged too. But then we found a female, well camouflaged too but absolutely stunning.........

These are just stunning arachnids. And yes the female is huge, the biggest spider in Europe. The one below was about 7-8cm long from leg tip to opposite leg tip, the body about 3cm.

These photographs don't do this spider justice as the body was like chocolate brown velvet with a lemon curd go-faster stripe down each lateral side. As hunting spiders they spend a lot of time waiting for prey on water, using water tension to support their weight. However they are attached to a piece of vegetation using their hind legs and a tiny thread of silk.

One curious piece of this species ecology is that if a male approaches to breed and she thinks, nahh far too weedy, she just eats him. Not after mating as many spiders do, but before mating. Now that does have a slight ecological problem in that if the last female was on the planet, would she eat all the males and become extinct?

I'm glad we found some spiders as with this very dry spring we're currently experiencing the Moss we were visiting was almost dry. The two females we found were actually in puddles around an ancient tree stump, this was the only open water we found. We need rain, and lots of it soon.

If you want to find out more about these fascinating beasties, I'd recomment the Dolomedes website http://www.dolomedes.org.uk/

Seawatching at Severn Beach

2011-05-04T06:43:00.005+01:00

Yesterday evening after work I headed over to Severn Beach in South Gloucestershire following a call at lunchtime by Bristol naturalist Ed Drewitt that the evening before hundreds of terns, godwits and other waders had flooded the sky en-route to their breeding grounds further north.

We had all been reading for the last few days amazing reports of 1500 'commic' terns, 4-500 godwit flocks, whimbrel, dunlin and even 40 dotterel in summer plumage passing through. In recent days strong easterly winds had blown many migrants westwards, rather than following their usual route along the English Channel. This spring has been a fantastic time for sea watching up the River Severn. So after work, I joined Ed and another colleague and we sat down in the shingle awaiting the arrival of high tide, and the birds of course, while admiring the charming view of the massive Avonmouth industrial complex a few miles down the coast. Lovely. But the birds don't mind.

Soon the rising tide pushed up a smallish flock of bar tailed godwits who began feeding just in front of where we sat, joined by a lone knot (centre of picture). I've never seen these birds in summer plumage and they were stunning with their brick red bellies. What is amazing is that only 3 days or so these godwits would have been feeding in West Africa and in a few more days will be in the Arctic tundra. Bird migration is amazing.

We then had some whimbrel who warbled their wonderful flutey call as they restlessly skipped about in the rising water, followed by 12 black headed gulls on migration, quite a few swallows and house martins flying through, a sanderling, a couple of ringed plover and a few dunlin in their fantastic summer plumage with golden top and black bib belly.

But sadly nothing like the numbers Ed had experienced the evening before where the Severn Bridge, a well know barrier to bird migration had stopped 500 terns in their tracks and they then wheeled round to gain height right over Ed's head. We did however really enjoy the 2 hours out there on a glorious spring evening, such a nice thing to do after work, and we did have the godwits above fly low over our head calling.

And so as the sun set, the temperature dropped quickly. It was therefore time to go home from this wild feeling place, just on the outskirts of Bristol, and have a cup of tea.

I'll finish though with one amusing thought. As we sat there Ed's phone rang, another birder he knew was a mile or so down the coast and sending reports. Ed's phone rang a second time, another group of birders further north reporting sightings. Through binoculars we could see most of these birders from our vantage point, which added to the excitement having these updates from north and south of us. Mobile phone reports of those wild birds being very mobile themselves on migration.

Broad Bodied Chaser

2011-05-01T07:47:00.007+01:00

I spent yesterday catching up on gardening and housework duties, and was very happy to see this female broad bodied chaser resting herself on the willows at the back of the border.

These may be one of the most abundant dragonflies in Europe, but they're still wonderful. And emerging in April is quite early.

A holly blue butterfly also entertained for a while as did a willow warbler. Above my head swallows and house martins prospected for nesting sites. Not a bad wildlife tally, just working and relaxing at home.

Are you a guest at the Royal Wedding?

2011-04-28T07:36:00.003+01:00

Here's something it might be fun to pass around the blogging world..... In honour of the big wedding on Friday, use your royal wedding guest name.

Start with either Lord or Lady.

Your first name is one of your grandparents' names.

Your surname is the name of your first pet, double-barreled with the name of the street you grew up on.

Best Regards, Lord Claus Avril-Dipe Lane (gosh!!)

I wonder if I'll get any comments allowing me to know who the wedding guests are going to be from the blogging community? :-)

2 Easter bluebell woods and a walk to the church

2011-04-25T17:06:00.011+01:00

What a fabulous Easter weekend. I only had Saturday and Sunday off as the wheels of industry continue to turn in the working world I inhabit. But two days is more than long enough to demolish an Easter egg or two.

Time allowed over the weekend, apart from eating Easter eggs, gardening and sleeping, to visit 2 bluebell woods in Wiltshire. The first was a private woodland I actually stumbled across near Ramsbury in the East of the county on Good Friday. Driving along a single track road, I literally stopped in my tracks as a flash of blue emanated from the trees. It is so much more thrilling to find something unexpected as I drove around the lanes.

This woodland was a mix of coppiced hazel, ash and other native species and riddled with badger setts so I will not give the exact location away. The woods themselves were about 2 miles long but only a few hundred meters wide as they skirted the ridge of the hill. Just stunning seeing the bluebells in the evening sunshine.

Then on Saturday evening Julie and I went to West Woods just outside Marlborough. Actually we had a little bit of a drive out as it had been such a hot afternoon, pootling about the glorious Wiltshire countryside in the cooler evening was a treat. Given I had seen the wonderful bluebell wood above the day before, I had mixed feelings when Julie suggested we go to West Woods as I'm often disappointed going to well known wildlife spots, in my experience they never quite live up to expectations.

On Saturday evening I was proved absolutely wrong with that thought. These beech woods not 4 miles from Marlborough has a dozen or more cars parked in the carpark. I thought, humm, there'll be a few bluebells and an awful lot people. But no, so vast were the woods that even though there were a lot of people there, it felt like we were alone.

And they were stunning. I've visited a lot of bluebell woods over my time but I have to say this is by far the best one I have visited in 30 years of wildlife watching. It was hard to know what to photograph, where or how, given that there was just a sea of blue, as all the bluebells were in perfect condition all at the same time.

One nice find by Julie was this dor beetle geotrupes stercorarius scuttling along the path. These are fun little beetles who do good work hovering up all that manure left by other animals. I never used to be interested in insect or creepy crawlies until recent years and now the more I found out about their fascinating life cycles and adaptions to their environment, the more I'm fascinated by them. Just wish I knew more about them.

So lets head back into the sunlit West Woods, one more time....

....but not before this most peculiar bit of wildlife spotting, a holly in full berry mode. Now what I want to know is why is it in berry in late April? The berries were fresh too, not dried and remnants from the winter, they looked very fresh indeed.

Just so atmospheric

On the way back home I took Julie to see the woods I'd visited on Good Friday. I'm glad we went that way as we stumbled across 3 red kites. In fact in one small area of Ramsbury, as we stood next to the car, we saw 3 the kites, 1 buzzard, 2 muntjac, a brown hare, 3 grey partridge and a magpie. Can't be bad.

And neither was the sunset...!!

Earlier on Saturday I'd popped over to Ham Hill near the Hampshire border to see if any Duke of Burgundy butterflies were about.

The reserve has changed dramatically since I last visited a few weeks ago. Partly I guess because of the hot dry weather recently but it was alive with insects. Masses upon masses of St Mark's flies, and many brimstone and orange tip butterflies. Sadly no Duke of Burgundy butterflies this visit. But a lovely Dark-bordered Bee-fly, Bombylius major, diverted my attention for a while.

This tiny linear reserve is well known for its wild flowers, with this germander speedwell Veronica chamaedrys showing well against the cow slips.

As was this newly emerging common twayblade, Listera ovata below.

...and the masses of willow down blowing in the hot breeze. Was this really only April 23rd? Felt a lot more like July up there on the chalk downland.

Finally for this posting, yesterday evening when it became cooler, Julie and I had a gentle stroll up to the village church in East Grafton. It was a super evening and lovely to be out for just half an hour as the shadows lenghtened.

Inside the church was an Easter garden made on the Saturday by the village children. I thought this was absolutely charming.

And so Easter Sunday drew a-close and we wandered back round the village green to take in the air, the many thatched cottages and then home for a well earned shandy while watching Julie's favourite film, Seabiscuit.

I know where I'll be on May 7th!!!!!

Home Pleasures

2011-04-22T08:21:00.003+01:00

I spend a lot of my working time visiting fantastic locations across the UK to see rare and fascinating wildlife, but this last couple of days as I've been working flat out and not getting home until 8pm. To relax therefore, in the evening, and morning for that matter, I've just been relaxing at home. And in doing so, appreciating the wildlife my garden has to offer. It may not be exotic, but we often overlook the common place and after all these are "my" birds.

I'm fortunate in that my house backs onto farmland which then becomes the North Somerset Levels before falling into the sea at Sand Bay on the Bristol Channel. From the spare bedroom window, where this view was taken, I can see the Black Mountains in Wales on a good day, but often foxes padding about the field.

But ever since moving here 2 years ago, I've loved the fact the house is actually a home to a myriad of birds. Although it is a modern house, in the eves as I write this posting there are at least 3 starling nests. How do I know this, well apart from seeing half eggshells on the path, or watching the adults zooming in and out, I can hear the chicks chirruping. In fact if I gently tap my bedroom ceiling off they start clammering for food. Don't try this at home, as the chicks use up energy chirruping so if the adults aren't feeding they'll not replace that effort.

Soon the house martins will be back. I have 2 old nests at the moment on the front of the house. Last year 3 broods fledged which was fabulous, if not a little messy on my window sills.

Back to the present then. Last night I sat outside for an hour as the night faded. Joining me was the resident collared dove who is becoming more sociable. There is a nest in the conifer just outside the garden, hopefully then there will be a family of dove-ttes in the garden soon.

Around the small pond a female blackbird hunted for titbits and all around the large number of sparrows here squabbled and chirruped. What is lovely of course is that just sitting and observing the familiar wildlife in the garden for an hour, makes me realise that I don't spend enough time these days just sitting, observing. Good field biologists will tell you, the only way to really understand and observe wildlife is to spend hours and hours just quietly watching behaviour. And by sitting quietly, wildlife always comes to you, there really is no need to go and find the wildlife in any situation, just sit still for a while and they'll all come closer.

An example of this is that yesterday morning I stood at the kitchen window for 20 minutes (while washing up) watching a blue tit pulling moss from the lawn, presumably to line the nest. Frustratingly although it returned 9 times to collect moss, each time I tried to take a photograph, it flew off. The resident sparrows were of course more obliging.

In the same area recently I watched a wren systematically picking off insects from the two climbing roses I have, fascinating to watch as it went up and down every branch. And this is what is fascinating about watching wildlife at home in the garden. We all think, oh yes there's a lot of birds in the garden, but how many of us actually watch what they're doing, how often, why and when? I know you bloggers will, but the general public probably miss a lot of free entertainment by not taking time to observe for prolonged periods.

Such as this morning. I made a cup of tea and sat for 30 minutes watching what was in or flying over my garden. House sparrows were in evidence of course (I always scan every bird looking for tree sparrows, which while very rare in this area are nonetheless here in single numbers - I'm still waiting, ever hopefull). Blackbird and starling, collared dove too. But then I noticed beyond the garden line with the aid of binoculars, herring gull, magpie, rook, carrion crow, buzzard, 3 goldfinch, a green finch and finally a swallow, first I've seen here this year

So this weekend, maybe instead of joining the massed crowds heading to the sea or spending a lot of money at an event, why not stay at home, unpack a deck chair, sit in the garden and just quietly watch, observe and see what is actually happening "at home". I know I will with my binoculars and camera close by.

Just a final notice as I know some of you like to listen. On Sunday 1st May my next radio programme will be airing, Living World on the birds of Islay, on the 8th is a programme about the daffodils of Dymock produced by a colleague, then 2 more from me, on the 15th will be oil beetles and the 22nd May, raft spider. This latter one I'm off to record on Wednesday in Shropshire, here's hoping the weather remains warm and settled. I can't wait.

HAPPY EASTER!

Reeve's Pheasant's are naughty

2011-04-11T10:41:00.004+01:00

After Saturday's wonderful walk across Ham Hill in east Wiltshire, yesterday in the fabulous spring sunshine we spent 3 hours walking across Fyfield Down near Marlborough. We met friends of Julie's at the Polly Tearoom's in Marlborough to discuss where to go for a walk, while having a coffee. Such a civilised start to a day.

Mentioning that Fyfield Down was just a stone's throw away brought favourable comment from the massed ranks and so the scene was set for our walk, and a picnic. I did however also mention to those who'd listen that it was a good spot to see migrating ring ouzel as they passed through on migration. Of course that wasn't my motive for going there, honest, it wasn't. Thus, armed with a picnic from Waitrose (sandwiches and chocolate), we headed off in the hot spring sunshine.

Fyfield Down is a National Nature Reserve, primarily due to thousands of sarcen stones littering the grassland, a result of the last glacial period. In the past the whole area looked like the photo above, but in the middle of the 20th Century scrub clearance opened up the site as a high plateau grass chalk downland. And very nice it is too.

At the top of the Down is a small wood, which yesterday offered some shade and respite from the sun, though the sun did allow the ride we walked along to be awash with brimstone and peacock butterflies.

In the middle of the wood we encountered some Reeve's pheasants. This is the first time I've seen these native game birds from China, they have stunning plumage and the male of the species holds the world record for the longest tail of any bird. However what we didn't realise are they are very aggressive towards humans.

As we walked through the wood they repeatedly ran towards us pecking our legs and boots, any effort to out pace them was matched by the birds doubling their efforts and attacking us even harder. It could have been quite intimidating if you were a small child or nervous but yesterday they were just a flippin nuisance.

Eventually though we escaped a little flustered but otherwise unhurt from the wood, but I have to say being attacked by such an impressive bird is a pleasure.

Sadly we never saw any ring ouzels, but a pair of ravens, green woodpecker and many other birds made this a day to remember.

A busy wildlife week

2011-04-08T17:52:00.013+01:00

Spring is always like this. We go through winter longing for something different to happen each week, then spring arrives and it's 0 to 100mph in a few days. New species coming in as migrants, everything is emerging faster than it can be counted and this week as many of you bloggers also know, soft southerly winds have made the days feel like summer, at last.

I have been all over the place for work and pleasure, so a busy time, but never too busy not to be thinking about a blog posting or two. So herewith a short synopsis of the wildlife this week (Even Milton Keynes on Monday produced a few birds on the journey, red kite was good - but that's the last I'll mention that town here).

This morning, after a well earned farmhouse breakfast at Cobb's Farm Shop near Hungerford, I headed off to Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's Ham Hill.

This is a small linear reserve on the Berkshire / Hampshire / Wiltshire border. I'd read about it a while back and one evening a week or so back located it. Its main attraction is that it is a Saxon sunken walkway through chalk downland. Absolutely fascinating to think people have walked this way since Saxon times.

The site is well known for orchids later in the season, including the rare musk orchid and the Duke of Burgundy butterfly. It isn't too bad in early April. I watched a male and female blackcap singing their wonderfully melodious song, other passerines were about and on the downland next to the scrub skylarks serenaded newly arrived swallows.

Not bad views either back towards Wilton and Marlborough

Quite a few plants were on the move in the warmer weather including this unusual Moschatel (Adoxa moschatellina). Nothing else looks like this, as when in flower, there are 4 tiny flowers in a square and a fifth on top.

Quite a few cowslips and violets in flower too, although the latter were starting to turn. Sadly I didn't seen any Duke of Burgundy caterpillars feeding on this host plant. I'll make sure though to return soon and attempt to see the butterfly itself.

At a separate location in Wiltshire I came across a Raven nest this week. I'll not say exactly where it is, but I was sitting in the car planning to leave another area of chalk downland when the familiar cronk of a raven alerted me to its presence, then the calls changed and I realised it was the male call as it came in to the female on the nest. This nest was on a clump of Scots pine and with a bit of searching through the binoculars I found the nest (the dark mass in the middle of this photo)

The male spent a lot of time flying between this clump of Scots pine and another about 300 meters away.........

..........from where on the latter tree he set up a continuous cronking (can you see him on the tree below?), probably because I was there, so after a few minutes I made my retreat to leave them to it and then watched them for a while longer from within the car.

Earlier this week I was in Devon looking for oil beetles. And what a glorious day it was too. There is something fantastic about standing on a Devonian cliff and watching swallows fly in over the sea and over one's head. They must have got a shock seeing me as their first piece of England at the end of their migration. But I was happy. It was so special to witness their arrival, as well as painted ladies as they came in over the English Channel on a soft warm breeze.

Back to the oil beetles. We'd set ourselves a task of seeing all 4 oil beetle species in the UK in a day, the black, violet, short necked and rugged. The short necked is very rare and indeed only found in one location on mainland Britain. And the rugged is unlike the other 3 in that it is an adult in the winter between October and late March, but we thought we'd give it a go. However I was optimistic as with me was one of the UK's best field biologist, John Walters who is studying the ecology of these beetles for Buglife.

We began in unimproved meadows near Dartmoor, where almost immediately we saw a male violet oil beetle (poor photo from my blackberry) - males have kinked antennae, though not 100% diagnostic. The host plant of these is celandine where the complicated life cycle involving celandine's, solitary mining bees and hitching a lift take place.

In a simplistic way, oil beetles have a very complex life cycle. The emergent female after mating lays thousands of eggs in an underground chamber. These hatch as minute larval clones of the adult. They then climb onto celandine flowers and wait for a passing insect. Any flying insect can be the vector, but only certain solitary mining bees can play host to the next stage of its life cycle. Anyway a flying insect lands on the flower, the larvae climb on board and are carried away.

If the flying insect is a solitary mining bee, they are taken into the bee's burrow where the larvae detach themselves, eat all the eggs of the bee, pupate and then emerge in a few weeks or the next spring, depending on the species. So a true parasitoid. This is a very simplistic synopsis as the life cycle is under researched, so John is learning as he studies them.

Eventually we found a black oil beetle too, which was fabulous as this meant 2 down 2 to go.

John has also been trying to discover the mating of these beetles and to do so has been collecting females and then introducing a male to them in a Tupperware box. All a little bit too voyeuristic really. But it is all legal as he's working on a research site and the beetles come from and are returned to the same area, hopefully to lay eggs successfully. The male in this photo (on right) grabs hold of the female by her antennae (which is why his are kinked so he can get a good hold), they have a tussle and then mate. The photo below was just after mating.

So after that excitement we headed down to the coast where at a secret location we found the short necked oil beetle, which for some reason I didn't photograph. That was three species found, just the rugged to go, which is known to be in this dry stone wall.

We looked and we searched but there wasn't any rugged oil beetles to be seen. Just too late in the year we think. We did however see a lot of common lizards which were taking advantage of the warm spring sunshine. Just goes to show if you stand still long enough, and look long enough, wildlife comes to you.

But the best was left to last. We'd been in the field for 7 hours and just about had enough energy to head back to the car. However John thought he'd seen some violet oil beetles making holes in a pathway last week and wanted to check if any were being used for egg laying. We hunted for about 20 minutes and then lo and behold, a female violet oil beetle was in the actual process of laying eggs. Just her head and one antennae were visible out of the soil, with her body completely buried. Absolutely fantastic to see this happening there and then. A great way to end an fabulous day in Devon.

Sadly not great photos as I still can't get my new Lumix to be pin sharp on the macro setting. I think it needs to be on a tripod. But there she is, egg laying with abandon.

Excellent Birthday presents for a 47 year old!

2011-04-02T08:55:00.005+01:00

Well I thought I'd briefly share with the blogging community 3 of the fabulous presents I received yesterday. It amazes me that at 47 I can still be like an excitable child.

First up this fantastic mug from a good friend of mine. He knows how much the music of Jethro Tull means to me, and had this mug ordered from a firm called rockpots. Absolutely fabulous. Heavy Horses from 1978 was such an iconic album from 'THE MIGHTY TULL' as Steve Cogans's weirdly watchable character Saxondale called them. I remember the first time I heard this as a teenager and it just blew me away with its mix of rock, folk-roots and a flute thrown in for good measure. But for me apart from amazingly complex music, Ian Anderson's lyrics are more poetry than score. One track on this album is called 'Acres Wild' and I love the first chorus;

Come with me to the Winged Isle...

northern father's western child

Where the dance of ages is playing still

through far marches of acres wild

Next up was a DVD of the fantastic Jaques Tati masterpiece 'Mr Hulot's Holiday'. I'd mentioned this to Julie a month or so back and she'd not heard of it. So a wonderful surprise to see she'd bought it for me. I've seen it many times before, but can not wait to see it tonight with Julie. Tennis has never been played with such panache.

And finally, the very best present any 47 year old sophisticated male could want.....

... a tractor and trailer. Luckily in the Jethro Tull mug above, some smarties had been included. I therefore had a load to play with after supper. Julie's face was a picture as I loaded up the smarties, and practiced long forgotten reversing techniques. Best of all the trailer tipped too, so out poured the smarties..... I spend a wonderful half hour doing this.

Thanks Julie, this is the best Birthday present I've had in decades....!

2 Birthdays and a Funeral - what a week

2011-03-31T10:41:00.011+01:00

A week of many contrasts is coming to a close. Maybe as today, being the very last day I'll be 46 on this earth, I'm reminiscing, or is it because it has been a surreal week.

It all began last Sunday. Julie had her Birthday, she's a fellow Aries. Though as she says to me she has some non fire signs in her birth chart so this makes her a well rounded and likable person, whereas I am fire signs throughout my birth chart, which makes me an intimidating uncontrollable Aries man apparently (my interpretation of her explanation of my birthchart). I can agree with the former, she is a wonderfully well rounded person, especially after agreeing to the surprise birthday treat I'd planned for her on Sunday...........

..... no not the opening of a bottle of fizzy alcoholic beverage.... complete with artistically framed washing billowing in the background....... no..........

............. helping me build a shed I'd had delivered during the week (that's me by the way, not George Clooney, an easy enough mistake I know)

So after a hearty Birthday breakfast of 1 and a half slices of toast, marmalade and a coffee, we set to. First of all we needed to clear the area the shed was going to be erected on......

........... then we set to with a vigour and a vengeance positioning the base. This was crucial. Should the doors face east, west, north, south. Discussions emanated from the garden and eventually a decision was reached, south..... which was good as north or west would mean looking at a wall or a fence.

There you go, the fruits of an hour's work, one shed base in-situ

Needing a rest after all that activity and brain work, I went for a lie down and left Julie to make a start of the building. Within an hour, after I'd had my nap and a cup of tea, I popped out to see her and she did seem to be enjoying her birthday enormously... and doing well, a bit too well with that drill I think..... should I be worried?

So I thought I'd better come out and lend a hand with my trusty hammer............. mind you I wouldn't like to meet this chap in a darkened alley would you!

....... but soon then it was on with the roofing felt, job almost done .........

........ before a well earned cup of tea in our new shed cum summer house!!

Which was immediately inspected by my resident Collared Dove, who is very tame and wandered about the roof while I was still faffing about fitting locks and bolts. They may be common, but I do like these birds, good fun to watch.

So that was Sunday. Tuesday saw me at Yeovil Crematorium for Thelma's funeral. Quite a traumatic day for me but I'm glad I made the effort to go, it's always good to say goodbye in such circumstances. I hope now after her 7 years of suffering with horrid cancer, she is finally resting, and probably laughing too, as I was when I entered the Crematorium and they were playing 'Hot Legs' by Rod Stewart, that really summed up Thelma wonderfully well. Life, Vitality and Fun.

After the funeral I made my excuses and was going to come home but we never know how we react to such things after the event, suddenly I needed someone to be with, so in the late afternoon I drove over to Julies. She said, you need a treat so I'm going to take you out for a meal and off we pootled to The Seven Stars in a tiny hamlet in the Vale of Pewsey called Bottlesford.

We had a fabulous meal there prepared specially by Mr Regan the chef in charge. Apparently the menu was changing the next day and his vegetarian options were limited, so for Julie he prepared a lovely leek and goats cheese gratin. And for me? bangers and mash, which was a great end to a difficult day.

And tomorrow it is my Birthday, yes an April Fool. I've nothing planned, but looking forward to being 47!

Jones's Mill, Wiltshire

2011-03-24T16:19:00.007Z

Events after last weekend stopped me writing about my first visit to a wildlife reserve near Pewsey in Wiltshire. Wiltshire is still a new county for me to explore and so after 5 and a half hours pruning a gargantuan rose pergola for one of Julie's clients on the Wiltshire / Berkshire border, on Saturday evening I needed a bit of relaxation and to stretch the legs after all that time standing up on a ladder.

I also fancied a cider. So as the nearest shop to us is the co-op, 7 miles away in Pewsey, the town which gives its name to the Pewsey Downs, off I pootled in the old Suzuki. To get to the co-op I have to pass Jones's Mill, one of Wiltshire Wildlife Trusts reserves. I'd not been before and although the sun was setting, it seemed as good a place as any to walk the legs back into action.

Interestingly no one really knows why it has this name (I read the notice board). But back in the 1500's there was a mention of a house by the River Avon, but since then this has been agricultural land. This reserve wasn't at its best in mid March as it is being managed for flora and invertebrates, with many areas being grazed by Galloway cows.

I did though see a couple of early marsh marigolds in flower

and the alder carr and oak woodland is covered in lichens, such as this Evernia prunastri

Anyway it was a very pleasant half an hour stroll by the River Avon, a few birds about, a green woodpecker and a wonderfully clear song thrush singing it's double phrases into the dusk, but not much else. I'll leave it a few months and return in May or June to see how it has changed. I enjoyed the cider later as well.

On Sunday we were doing some more gardening for Julie, this time for a wonderful old lady near Wooton Bassett who has basically a field to cut every 2 weeks

But in a corner of the field is an ancient plum tree, which had just come into blossom. The whole tree was buzzing with solitary bees visiting the flowers. A wonderful reminder that even after a worst winter for 100 years, insects and invertebrates just emerge as normal and begin their life cycle once again. Sadly my rushed photos of the bees were all blurred.

However one person who is not emerging yet is Molly. As she seems to be developing a bit of a fan club on this blog, here's another picture of what Molly does best. Basically hogging the radiator (it is on by the way) and not moving too far, maybe as far as her food and back again but that's all. Warmer temperatures will need to be in the offing before she goes very far.

Retrospective.....

2011-03-23T11:12:00.005Z

It's a funny thing, but a death of someone we were close, either at the time of death or in my case in the recent past, brings out all sorts of emotions. With me this week, one emotion, has been searching through old photographs. Not for anything or anyone in particular, I'm just in a bit of a retrospective mood and its comforting to sift through some history. I came across these two today and thought I'd share them with you.

This is my father playing his banjo in the back garden of his favourite aunt in Essex. I'm not sure of the exact date but my guess is late 1940's or very early 1950's as he still has some hair remaining on his head, but, like me, was bald by 21. He's sitting under an apple tree in her garden which every member of the family had their photograph taken, next to, sitting on or climbing on, from the 1930's until the tree died in the 1970's (I think). My family have lots of photographs from her cottage called "Hopecrag" in Rickling Green as it was a favourite summer destination for the family from the North East of England before and after the Second world War. My father loved it there and remembers watching the 1000 bomber raids taking off during the war, and walking the fields with his uncle Bob, a real countryman who was born and died in the village. 4 years ago the house was demolished and now a new house sits in the garden and no longer will the family go there.

This photograph is much more recent. This is apt as it it the Avondale Garden's Silver Jubilee Street Party in 1977. I was brought up surrounded by fields, a golf course and market gardens in a tiny hamlet called South Boldon in County Durham. In fact very few maps actually show South Boldon, but it does exist and was formerly the houses along a private and gated road. My bedroom overlooked the first green of the golf course, we were that close to it. The next village was the much larger West Boldon (famous for the Boldon Book - the Durham Prince Bishops version of the Domesday Book ordered in 1183). In 1963 a cul de sac of 18 houses was built in West Boldon on what had been Harry the farmer's dairy farm fields, and named Avondale Gardens. Being new houses, they were bought by newlyweds, and as a result this was where a lot of my school friends came from.

Avondale Gardens decided (like many villages will do this year) to hold a street party, and I and my parents were invited as honorary Avondale-ites. This was possibly a ruse, as my father had a commercial printing business and so for 6 months before the big day the whole community descended to his printing works in the evening to design and print, tee shirts, banners, stickers, make bunting and so on. It was a fabulous time and I can still remember every moment of the day. And there I am as a 13 year old in the photo above, back left by the shrub (click to enlarge) next to my father in a fetching blue woolly hat. Looking towards the camera is Mrs Holcroft, and to her left her husband. They were honorary guests as they were both in their late nineties, and lived in the cottages which had once been surrounded by fields.

My parents still live in another village, East Boldon, but these days the whole area is surrounded by and being slowly consumed by the massive Tyneside conurbation. All of the market gardens have now been built on and many of the fields. The golf course is still there, but that's about it. I left that area at the age of 16 and have never returned, save to visit my parents, it is hardly recognisable now.

In both these photos, there is, I feel, a simple message; The physical aspect of life always fades, but the memory lives on.

RIP Thelma

2011-03-21T10:28:00.003Z

Just a short posting today. For those of you who read my early blog postings, will know that at that time my partner was Thelma and I spent my days down in Dorset. We met in 2000 on a holiday in Italy and despite the age difference, she was 17 years older than me, in many many ways she was a lot younger than me. Back in 2004 she contracted small cell Lymphoma and was given a good chance of recovery. Sadly this wasn't to be and on Friday 19th March she passed away peacefully I'm told by her daughter. Thelma and I spilt up in 2009 and while we weren't together we still kept in touch occasionally.

She was a wonderfully up beat person who had had a lot of disastrous things happen to her over the years, but each time she came through smiling and laughing, laughing her infectious laugh. The last time I spoke to her she was more worried about the snow and getting to hospital than her treatment, which summed up Thelma up so well.

RIP Thelma, you were one of life's gems.

World Sparrow Day : March 20

2011-03-17T11:19:00.004Z

This Sunday is World Sparrow Day, organised by Nature Forever Society who are one of the partners in this event along with the RSPB and the BTO. Link to the event can be found here World Sparrow Day.

Ahead of that the BTO have released new and exciting results from the last world Sparrow Day, which I'm posting in it's entirety here from a BTO press release.

World Sparrow Day: new results The British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO’s) Garden BirdWatch survey has provided exciting new results for World Sparrow Day. House Sparrows are increasingly being lost from gardens between summer and autumn. However, House Sparrows have only really struggled in English, not Welsh or Scottish, gardens.

House Sparrow populations are no longer considered to be secure across Europe and, on the 20th March 2011, World Sparrow Day will highlight the plight of this charismatic and confiding bird. To coincide with the big day, BTO’s year-round Garden BirdWatch has provided illuminating new results, charting the House Sparrow’s decline.The results, which have been welcomed by wildlife expert Chris Packham, show big seasonal and geographical differences in the downward trend of this species. Overall, however, almost one in four British and Irish gardens that hosted a House Sparrow in 1995 no longer have any visiting. Summer and autumn: critical times.

The number of householders who have lost their House Sparrows between summer and autumn has doubled since 1995, supporting the theory that this is the crunch period. The BTO’s Nest Record Scheme shows that brood sizes of House Sparrows have declined steadily since the 1960s, with a shortage of invertebrate food with which to feed young in urban areas thought to be an important factor. Food scarcity can also cause chicks to fledge in poorer condition, thereby reducing their survival prospects. With increased demand for off-street parking and so called ‘garden grabbing’ (development of gardens for housing), feeding areas for urban sparrows have been reduced. Moreover, use of pesticides and planting of non-native evergreen vegetation are likely to have diminished invertebrate availability for these birds further. Regional differences.

The House Sparrow’s demise has been most marked in England, with an average of 86% of gardens visited between 1995 and 1998, down to 66% over the past four years. Over the same period, however, only around one in 20 Scottish and Welsh householders have lost their House Sparrows, with 74% and 78% of gardens still occupied in each country, respectively. Preliminary results from gardens in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland suggest that House Sparrows may be faring quite well here too.

Having read this I can't see much of a decline in my own garden which is visited by 20 - 30 house sparrows each day (as witnessed by my vanishing seed and peanut stocks). I long to see a tree sparrow at home but while they are in the area, they are only in single figures, sadly. But both species of UK sparrow are delightful to look at, with their chestnut backs.

House Sparrow above, Tree Sparrow below

In response to Shysongbirds comment, here is a link to a DIY sparrow terrace nest box

Memory like a sieve..

2011-03-11T13:42:00.007Z

Back in the dark days of February, I posted a visit to see brown hares in Hertfordshire and I promised to let everyone know when it was to be broadcast. Well I forgot didn't I, and it went out on February 27th, at a time when I know you'll all be up and about, 06.35hrs on a Sunday.

Well all is not lost, as this programme, and others from the series, is available on the BBC i-player - Living World Hares, made by my colleague.

I only say this as I'm now enmeshed in the research for the next round of The Living World and it is the part of the job I love, hunting down new stories and new species which would make a good programme. I can't divulge obviously what is in the pipeline for the next 18 programmes but we'll be recording again soon, hopefully with some blog postings if I can, depending on the sensitivity of the location or subject.

I hope in the meantime you'll enjoy this photo of Molly the cat, which has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with this posting, but this morning I picked up a new cat flap for her at Argos. It's a rock and roll life in the media, I tell you!

Stop the cull of crows petition

2011-03-09T11:19:00.005Z

I don't often get onto my soap box for a petition, but this one I feel is a just cause. There is a group called the Songbird Survival Trust which purports to be a legitimate wildlife conservation organisation, but in fact has hidden agenda's. That's fine, all organisations have hidden agendas. It's part of life. However under the auspices of research, they are organising a culling programme of corvids, in the belief that this will prevent further songbird decline. Is it me, but if we decide that in our countryside, one group of animals should prosper at the expense of eradicating another, then we're on a slippery slope back 100 years, especially when in this case all the evidence suggests that while crows has some impact, farmland practices, human development, disturbance and habitat loss are the biggests problem facing songbirds.

I fully understand the need to regulate corvids in some circumstances, and have no problem with landowners controlling their numbers. After all the whole of the UK is managed to a greater or lesser extent. However... for a so called wildlife group to plan and execute this cull seems very dubious to me. So a petition has been set up to try and stop this. I have no involvement with any of this, just want to spread the word. A link to the petition is here.

Sums up life wonderfully....

2011-03-08T12:57:00.004Z

I was sent an amusing e-mail today which included this representation of life, something I've long thought of being intriguing, we start and end life being wheeled about. Well it amused me anyway.

Ahh now then Mr Herriot....

2011-03-04T13:12:00.010Z

Well here's a thing. We've been to Yorkshire for a mini break. And a wonderful break it was too, because Yorkshire has 2 things (amongst others) to recommend it - sunshine and proper cups of tea.

Last Saturday we drove up from Wiltshire (bathed in a monsoon of biblical proportions) to arrive at Harrogate in sun kissed February sunshine. Here we 'supped lad' at Bettys in Harlow Carr Gardens, 'eee it were reet grand' not least as my parents travelled down from Tyneside so we all met up for the day.

Harlow Carr for those interested in gardening is the RHS's northern climate garden, and even at the end of February, its winter interest was fantastic.

This winter glade was absolutely stuffed full of cornus, cornus of many colours.

Cornus 'midwinter fire' was especially vibrant

And then there were more........

......so much to see and well worth a visit if you're up that way. Especially as it gave us a goodly thirst for another cup of tea, mmmm delicious....

My parents then trundled off home leaving myself and herself to enjoy the delights of the Cedar Court Hotel in the centre of Harrogate, for 3 nights. I like hotels, they're anonymous and one can wander about at will, so we nipped out to a tapas bar in town and fed handsomly.

Sunday after a mighty Yorkshire breakfast we pootled off to York and did the tourist trail, coffee, then Yorvik centre (no queues), coffee, York Museum, coffee, York Art Gallery. By complete chance I discovered one of David Hockney's 'Trees' paintings was at the York Art gallery, namely 'Bigger Trees Near Warter'. I'd read about this change in direction by David Hockney, in that he's begun to paint landscapes of his home turf, the East Riding of Yorkshire. So it was a must to see these 50, 3foot x 4 foot canvasses on a single wall. Absolutely stunning and if you are up that way, make a detour to see this free exhibit which is on until June.... details here. When we returned from our visit to York, we rounded off the day with a trip to see the Kings Speech in Harrogate. A great film, and even better as the cinema was behind the hotel, such a treat just to walk to and from the cinema through the deserted streets late at night. We liked Harrogate very much.

Monday was a special day for me too; and Julie. We went to the World of James Herriot museum in Thirsk. I've loved the James Herriot's stories ever since they were published in the 1970's, they still make me laugh out loud now. Some reports had it that the museum had closed, but I'm glad to say nowt was further from the truth. And what an excellent 3 hours we spent in there.

The real Alf Wight (aka James Herriot) - copyright James Herriot Museum

And the real Quicksilvercountry at the same door... copyright, Yorkshire Probation Service.

What I loved about this museum was it covered not only the fictional character of James Herriot, but the real vet, a load of social history, actual sets used in the making of the TV series, and a veterinary museum. Best of all it was a hand on museum..........

........... what Julie had her hands on in this photo is anyone's guess!!!!

Yes well, err, this goat was quite obliging.... full of good health after I'd given it a thorough examination.

Exhausting work being a veterinary..... this was one of the TV sets......

....... as was this, with Julie about to dispense a potion in my direction.

I could even sit in the car used in the series, still in working condition (the car, not me) and if I could have done, I'd have smuggled it out. I've always fancied an Austin 7 to drive around in. Please go if you are in North Yorkshire, it would be a real shame to see this fantastic museum close down. Mind you it's thirsty work this museum visiting ..............

.............. time for another cup of tea then.

Tuesday dawned fair of face, which was good, as this was Yorkshire Dales day. After a bit of a drive around, and a coffee at Kilnsey near Bolton Abbey we headed to Malham to visit the Cove. I last came to the Cove on a school trip in 1977 or 78. A long long time ago. Strange how the mind plays tricks, as I remembered it as a long walk from the village to the Cove. In fact it is no walk at all, and these days on a gravel footpath. I must have had shorter legs as a child.

The weather was perfect, warm for the time of year, blue skies and we both loved the fresh pure air, clear water in the river and given this is out of the main tourist season, empty landscape.

We only saw about 10 people on the walk, possibly as they avoided the area following reports of a strange man loitering with intent.............

..........no wonder Julie had to have a sit down to recover!

One thing that was not in our favour was that I'd forgotten to bring the battery charger for the camera, so the photo above was the last one I could take, which left me with no option other than to use the Blackberry.

I left Julie to sit in the sun on a rock and walked to the source of the river at the base of the Cove. 2 rock climbers were on the face of the Cove, all I can say is better them than me, because when I stood under the overhang of the cove, it is quite intimidating. Any loose rock and I'd have been a gonner......

................ which would have prevented me from completing the walk with a coffee and a celebratory mint choc chip ice cream.

REET CHAMPION LASS!!

Unearthing black gold

2011-02-23T18:40:00.004Z

When oh when will this dull, wet and miserable weather end. I'm on holiday for a fortnight and have picked by far the worst week of the year. But lets not complain too much, on with the wellies and tackle a job that is long overdue - the clearing out of the compost bin.

I suppose strictly speaking this should have happened in the autumn, the compost spread onto the garden and lightly forked in, awaiting the frost and winter weather to break it down further. But we didn't. Speaking of frost, in all that severe weather during November and December, frost heave happened a-plenty in the compost bin, causing it to erupt from all sides, causing a right old mess, like scree scrambling down the mountain.

So there was nothing for it, off with the front and lets see what was in there. Ohh that does look good, well apart from the detritus on the top.

Oh and it was good stuff, once I'd removed the top 6 inches or so it was just perfect. I had made a DIY sieve out of a plastic trug to riddle out the worst of the lumps, but that didn't work (the compost was too wet - my failure will remain forever unseen on the blog) so in the end ingenuity prevailed and I used a wire hanging basket. Perfect.

Ohh you can just feel the goodness oozing out of this. Absolute black gold. It was packed with millipedes, a good sign, and an abandoned rodent nest. Later a frog bobbled along, so that's my first spring frog of the year.

So after about 2 hours hard graft, I had the compost all lined up against the veg plot. This is about 2/3rds of it, and sieving some through a 6mm mesh to plant a few bulbs, it was just perfect when mixed 50:50 with multipurpose compost. It's not sterile so weeds may be an issue, but unleashing home made compost into the garden must be one of a gardeners biggest joys. However I did find 3 spoons and a pair of socks about half way down. Best not to ask anything further about those.

Next job sorting and cleaning the greenhouse for the impending arrival of hundreds of plug plants herself has just ordered. If it's anything like last year there will be a triffid-like maelstrom of foliage in here in about a month - shudder!!

Up and down the Chutes

2011-02-20T18:19:00.011Z

Its a good job we don't let the weather spoil the day. February may be turning out to be one of the mildest on record with average temperatures 3 degrees above the norm (Philip Eden in the Telegraph on Saturday) but with pretty much continuous dull, wet and miserable days, it still feels like the dark days of December to me. So much so in fact that on Saturday we popped over to Stow in the Wold and with all the shop lights blazing across the streets, people bustling about shopping, and it feeling cold, it really did feel like the run up to Christmas.

So yesterday, undeterred by the cold grey start to the day, herself and I pootled off to do a 2 hour walk around the Chutes. The Chutes are a collection of villages on the Wiltshire/Hampshire border and a favourite area of mine. Back in 1983, when I still lived in the North East, we had a holiday at Hurstbourne Tarrant and stumbled across the Chutes by accident. I find it strange these days that from Julie's home they are just 8 miles away.

I digress. So armed with a book of walks, we arrived at Lower Chute. The walk we were going to follow began at Upper Chute, but Lower Chute has a fabulous pub, more of that later, so I felt it was a good start and more importantly end to the walk.

So off we started. Now because we began the walk mid flow, so to speak, trying to work out exactly where we were on the planned route in the book was a lot more problematic than we envisaged. However after a couple of false starts, we headed past the war memorial above and turned right up a hill and onto the open landscape.

The soil here is amazing, it is nearly 50% flint shards, very heavy soil but very productive. Must be a nightmare to work though. There was little wildlife of note here but a Jay held our attention for a while crarrcking in a tree, and a lone buzzard. Interesting too how once one stops looking at the miserable weather from inside and actually goes outside, it seems much more cheerful.

Even these snowdrops just by the side of the road we'd now turned onto were cheery. Mind you herself eclipses the snowdrops, especially in that hat.

Eventually we arrived in Upper Chute where the churchyard of St Nicholas was awash with snowdrops. Not far from here is the settlement of Chute Forest. Now here's a thing. The word Chute dates back to Norman times and means forest or wood, and in those days this area was an extensive forest, which joined up with the huge hunting forest of Savernake, also owned by the Crown, just a few miles away to the north, and to the south the Salisbury Forest which then joined onto the New Forest. Deforestation began in the reign of Charles 1st when he granted parcels of the forest to favoured noblemen. So here's my conundrum. The hamlet of Chute Forest actually translates as Forest Forest. A bit more imagination was needed back then I feel, in hamlet nomenclature.

Continuing through Upper Chute we then headed down a wonderful track, which dipped and weaved through the landscape. There were more birds here, flitting about, mainly the common species, but a welcome diversion.

But I love these ancient tracks for the history they bring to the present. How many people and for how long have been using these tracks? My guess is they're at least 500 years old and probably a lot older, as this area was inhabited in the iron age. We often take landscape at face value, but what we see today is a result of centuries of management and change. This wood by the track is a good example of this. Those trees by the fence were coppiced at some point, but are now at least 100 years old mature trees, albeit with multiple trunks. Beyond these bluebell foliage was beginning to show, again indicating an ancient woodland. We made a note to return when the bluebells are in flower.

Further along the track we turned uphill and began walking along a muddy track called Breach Lane, alongside which we came across this ancient hazel coppice stool. Still healthy on the outside but completely hollow in the middle. Looking around there were other ancient hazel stools, in a line. Presumably then a boundary hedge along the track. I'm no expert in dating such features, but I'd guess about 200+ years old as the hollow area was at least 18 inches across. I find such permanent reminders of our past in the landscape inspiring. As for whatever happens, wars, famines, economic growth and decline, these sentinels to permanency bring me back to earth and make me realise there are bigger and longer lasting forces at work than me. Nature will always be supreme.

Further along the lane a sight not often associated with mid February, windfall apples. I love the fact that this apple tree was possibly the result of some passing wayfarer tossing his apple core into the hedge, from where it then germinated and grew. There's a rising phenomenon along trunk roads in Britain in that apple cores thrown from cars as they speed past, now mean there are a lot of apple trees growing alongside our roads. Over in Dorset a viewpoint in Duncliffe Wood now has an orchard around it, just from the discarded apple cores of walkers after the climb. Next autumn keep a look out for apple laden trees in our hedgerows and you will be surprised how many there are.

Not far from the apple tree we spied a group of deer, miles away across a field but at least I managed a record shot photo.

Eventually we joined the so named Chute Causeway. Today it is a country lane, but originally it was a Roman road connecting Winchester with Mildenhall, near Marlborough. On our walk it was quiet, so quiet in fact we disturbed 2 roe deer, one a stag in full antler, which was surprising but not unusual. We watched these for a while before they bounded over a fence. The photo above shows a well used deer jump over the fence. I know deer are becoming a bit of a problem at the moment as their populations are expanding rapidly, but no matter what damage they cause to wildlife sites, farmland and gardens, they're still magnificent to see. As was the marsh tit pchew pchewing in a tree beside us.

We'd been walking nearly 2 hours now so it was time to head back to the pub, via Conholt Park, which I later discovered has an interesting past, and is one of the most important conservation estates in southern Britain as they marry conservation (the biggest downland restoration project in England), farming and shooting in a very profitable way. The house also has a fabulous garden apparently, open occasionally to the public. Our main concern however was would we make it through the Park........ mmmmm worrying sign that!

All was well though, phew! We then passed by a small woodland. I'd love to know the history of this. Its marked on the Ordnance Survey map as Mafeking Clump. The name suggests it was planted in response to the Mafeking Siege at the turn of the 19th Century, but why here? Its difficult to see in the photo, but the periphery of the clump is delineated by regular spaced conifers, almost like soldiers in a circle laying siege to the broadleaved trees inside. A flyte of fancy or a meaningful memorial to a fallen soldier. I must investigate further.

One last hamlet to walk through, Chute Cadley, who's entire woodland seemed to be taken over by snowdrops. This is a wonderful area for snowdrops, every village is just a sea of white at the moment

And then we were back to the car which we'd left at the Hacket Arms, Lower Chute. Its nearly 30 years since I first visited this pub and it has never changed. Still tucked away and hard to find, inside is all beams, open fires and relaxed. A welcome end to a walk, as was the cider and cheese and onion crisps. Never let it be said a dull day is wasted in the country.

An unexpected find in the garden

2011-02-18T13:20:00.003Z

Gardening is a bit like life. One never knows what on earth will happen next. Last weekend having a garden tidy up, I came across many plant pots with "something" in them. I blame moving house for this lack of knowledge of what lay within the compost, my chaotic incompetence had no bearing on the matter. Some had been labeled, now lost, some had labels and now illegible and most were just long forgotten pots covered in weeds. Pots which as some point in time had been filled with seeds, bulbs, who knows what. I always seem to have a collection of unknown pots at the back of the greenhouse or somewhere. Anyway not having time to look at these properly, I moved them all to another part of the garden for future inspection.

This I did. And two of the pots show signs of life. And not just life but snowdrops. But where on earth did they come from? It is just possible these are snowdrops from Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire. No, I didn't dig them up, but we went there last February and someone had a stall. However they may also be from East Lambrook Manor in Somerset, as I bought snowdrops from there too the year before.

One of the snowdrops was in flower and it is a double flowering one. So my guess is this is more likely to have come from East Lambrook, as they have a national collection there. Oh how I wish I'd labeled them. Hopeless!!!

Does anyone know what species this is? Or even get close (click for a closer image)?

The other pot is equally exciting, as these snowdrops seem to be emerging but struggling to get above the level of the compost. Are these the same ones as in the pot above, or different ones? I know what you're thinking, the long winter nights must just fly by in my house if this is the only thing to excites me in February. It takes all sorts.

Speaking of snowdrops, last weekend I read about the Scottish Snowdrop Festival which is run by the Scottish Garden Scheme (the yellow book's Celtic cousin, north of the border). I love the idea that some gardens open in February in Scotland to herald the arrival of spring and it all goes to charity. Well done Scotland. The article in the Daily Telegraph is here.

Wholemeal kneading to pot up

2011-02-12T18:54:00.006Z

Oh dear this is very worrying. I decided today to make some bread. I've made bread before, but that was back in the mid 1980's when I had loads of time on my hands and began experimenting on foodstuffs. What on earth possessed me to become a bread maker now? Okay I'm on a health kick after being a bit under the weather at Christmas, but why not buy a loaf and relax. I lay there this morning listening to the birds, willing myself to pop to Sainsbury's to buy a loaf, but no. I'd said I was going to make bread today and come hell or high water it was going to happen. Aries men, when they get an idea in their thick heads, are neigh on unstoppable.

So I was off. Armed with a recipe for a 2 hour loaf I battened down the hatches and set forth on my voyage of yeast based foodstuffs. The recipe I had was for a wholemeal loaf. However I'm always worried about Julie, being a vegetarian, and whether she gets enough protein. I'm sure she does, but I still worry. So I adapted the formula to include quinoa flour to a ratio of 4:1 wholemeal : quinoa.

Now I know a lot of you out there knit yoghurt with abandon, I've seen the fabulous jams and bread stuffs emanating from the pages of your blogs. But this is exciting. I had no idea what I was doing, but worked out if I can mix a 4:1 cement based mortar, I can make bread. Ingredients measured, mix in the bowl, and hey presto a dome of pre-bread emerged which just, note the word, just, needed 5 minutes kneading. Nothing to it.

Blimey!! Who invented kneading bread? Not only did I require the power of a weightlifter, but 3/4 of the flourey-dough stuck to my hands and no amount of persuasion, cursing or brute force would get it to return to the work surface. Apparently dusting with flour helps, but I just turned white and sneezed a lot. Slight communication failure there. I take my hat off to you competent bread makers, you're geniuses, or is that genii?

Eventually though brute force and perspiration won the day and the now well pummelled mound was placed in a tin, plastic bag over, and leave for an hour to rise, or prove or something. I needed soothing so we headed off to the local tack shop where herself bought a natty little Toggi riding jacket and I tickled a Jack Russel's tummy.

We were actually out nearly 2 hours and I had visions of returning home to some form of Quatermass experiment. The bread would have risen out of the tin, and be now engulfing large swathes of the Somerset coastline. But no all was calm, and so in the oven it went.

Just half an hour later the oven went into labour, and being the proud expectant father I am, I delivered the baby myself.

And I have to admit, it is rather delicious. Slightly on the robust side of heavy, much like its father, but the texture was just the gnats pyjamas. Julie insisted we cut into the loaf immediately it emerged from the oven, so what you can not see here is all the steam. Anyway I enjoyed the experience so much, as I write this blog in the evening, there is another loaf, a platted loaf and 3 buns proving downstairs. I feel a business opportunity developing.

As if that wasn't excitement enough today, being a fabulous day weather wise, we spent 2 hours in the garden. It is always fab to get out into the garden after winter and start the process of replanting, and of course clearing up the mess after 3 months neglect.

Earlier in the week I had purchased 2 new terracotta pots and some spring bulbs. Like many I guess, my pots had suffered badly in the bad weather, with only the Yorkshire Pot company's frost proof ones surviving. Two new Yorkshire pots were therefore added to the collection, plus dwarf narcissus February Gold and dwarf tulip, Red Riding Hood. The plan for the two pots are a permanent shrub with under planting of spring bulbs. One pot will have a rhododendron I was given my a work colleague as a thank you many years ago, that had out grown its barrel, and the other will have a standard bay. Eventually. My father had grown a bay from a cutting, which while only 6 inches high when he brought it at Christmas, has obviously sentimental value beyond its size.

One pot down, and one pot to go, while all the time being watched by this cheeky chappy on the fence, keeping a close eye on the mound of compost in the wheelbarrow.

Water Wars, will humans win?

2011-02-11T14:28:00.007Z

Life if interesting. I was going to write about Alan Titchmarsh's return to ITV, but something else caught my eye.

A large part of my week is spent researching conservation stories, not only here in the UK, but across the globe. And every now and again I come across a story which makes me stop and think, such as the one below.

There are huge pressures coming towards Mankind in the next 50 to 100 years, Climate Change, electricity shutdowns and dwindling oil resources are mere drops in the ocean of concern compared to running out of water and food. The World at 6.5 billion people is almost at capacity for fresh water, but with the Global population set to rise to 9 billion by the end of the century, what happens then?

We've heard this many times before, and I'm okay, I'll not be about to see it. But should I think like that? Of course I shouldn't. But knowing what is around the corner was one of the reasons I made a conscious decision not to have children. I didn't want my grandchildren facing what we know is coming. Unless Mankind does something drastic soon, wars won't be started for land, or gold, or religion, they'll begin for food and more importantly water, the so called Water Wars which are increasingly being discussed.

And it is the prospect of Water Wars which made me sit up and think while reading this article from the on-line news service, Wildlife Extra . We are both equally right to conserve wildlife, our landscape and the natural world, as we are to conserve water, conserve food, provide hydro energy and so on. But a tipping point is nearing. I do my bit of course, haven't washed my car for over a year, (its filthy but so what), I don't have a hosepipe, never have baths, just quick shower (no comments please??), have eco-washing machine and so on and have water bills of £35 a half year. But that's not enough really as the Western World consumes vast water resources in it's commodity buying. But that's how it is. Going back to a pre-industrial World is not a possibility.

Is there a solution? Is there a way forward, I just don't know. It is a rock and a hard place scenario. Better minds than me will work out what to do, but one thing is for sure, being able to turn on the tap and have fresh drinkable water, even in the maritime wet UK may, in the not too distant future, be a luxury. And that is a sobering thought.

Below is the article from wildlife Extra which made me think :

February 2011. Forest & Bird have launched a campaign to give New Zealanders the chance to urge Meridian Energy to withdraw its proposal to build an 85-metre-high dam on the pristine Mokihinui River on the West Coast.

Forest & Bird is asking New Zealanders to send a Forest & Bird e-card to publicly-owned Meridian, asking the company to live up to its stated environmentally-friendly ideals by leaving the Mokihinui alone.

Join the campaignA giant-sized postcard was delivered by Forest & Bird representatives to Meridian's Wellington head office to kick off the campaign. The public can send their message via the Forest & Bird website or Facebook page.

Forest & Bird was joined by MPs, including Chris Hipkins, Peter Dunne and Kevin Hague, and representatives of organisations representing kayakers, rafters and trampers, who also want the river to remain in its natural state.

"We are asking Meridian to do the right thing and enhance its reputation as a generator of renewable energy by leaving this non-renewable river in its wild state. This e-card campaign is an opportunity for New Zealanders to join with us in showing Meridian how much this beautiful river means to us." Forest & Bird General Manager Mike Britton said.

Forest & Bird Conservation Advocate Quentin Duthie said: "Destructive dams are old technology and are no longer acceptable on our irreplaceable wild rivers."

330 hectares of rainforest and riverbed to disappearMeridian's proposed dam would create a 14-kilometre-long reservoir covering 330 hectares of rainforest and riverbed along the Mokihinui River gorge in New Zealand's largest ever drowning of conservation land by a hydro project.Until recently Meridian was the primary sponsor of Project Crimson, a programme to protect and regenerate rata and pohutukawa throughout New Zealand. Along the Mokihinui there is a profusion of rata that would be submerged by the hydro lake.

16 Endangered species threatened including Critically Endangered Long tailed batThe dam would threaten 16 endangered bird species, including the blue duck or whio, as well as at least two unique species of giant land snails and the critically endangered long-tailed bat.

A dam would disrupt the breeding migration of an estimated quarter of a million endangered longfin eels and destroy important habitat for other native fish, including the giant and short-jawed kokopu.

Forest & Bird, the Department of Conservation and others are appealing the resource consent Meridian received last year. But the company also requires the permission of DOC as landowner to drown public conservation land, or to privatise the gorge by swapping it for other land.

Documents obtained under the Official Information Act have revealed that DOC intended to decline Meridian. After receiving the draft responses from DOC, the company withdrew its applications but it remains committed to the dam and presumably intends to reapply.

"Forest & Bird urges Meridian to accept DOC's decision that this dam is completely unacceptable, and focus on environmentally-friendly projects," Quentin Duthie said.

The hare and the raven...

2011-02-09T11:06:00.011Z

Well I'm back from my little subjoin to Hertfordshire now and what a cracking day was had by all yesterday. We couldn't have picked better weather if we had tried. In the middle of an unsettled grey, wet and blustery week, we had sun, clear blue skies, hardly a breeze and after a light frosting, warmth on the winter ravished skin. It really did feel like spring was in the air. I even heard skylark song ascending, the first of the season while sitting quietly watching the wildlife I'd come to see, the Brown Hare. (click on an image to enlarge - they spot humans well before we can get close to them)

I don't know Hertfordshire very well, although I did spend a lot of time as a child not far away in Essex, a place called Rickling Green if any of you know that area. I have to say though, being so close to London, apart from the traffic on the main roads, this area was very rural. I liked it, as I'm fond of farmland landscapes and the wildlife they contain. Such a glorious morning, as witnessed by the view as we began our day (above).

So off we went, in search of the hares. Our guide has been studying hares on this farm for a few years now and can count up to 100 individuals, all was excitement. No sooner had we emerged from the woodland edge, but there in front of us was a hare, in its form (below)

From this vantage point our guide then spotted 10 hares around us, all lying in their forms, resting, and easy to overlook if just out for a stroll. We had to plod on though, and so as we did they began to move away from us, not too far though, just enough to see them on the skyline. Sadly, this being open arable farmland, getting close to the hares was impossible, and my camera will not zoom that much, but what you see here is pretty much what I saw. Through binoculars fantastic.

But the best action apparently was to be found further on, this part of the farm being just the warm up act. However moving further on had some risk taking involved - take a peek at the sign (and there was me thinking hare watching wasn't risky)

But the risk taking was worth it, despite the risk of being shot. Mating hares, boxing hares, running hares, as far as the eye could see there were brown objects dotted about the winter cereals.

The farm also has a wild herd of fallow deer, including a white individual. The herd are truly wild arriving in the winter to munch through the farm before dispersing in the spring. I liked this farm, which has to remain secret, for obvious reasons. This farmer is just keen on wildlife. He doesn't get any subsidies, or ask for help in conserving nature, he just loves wildlife. No shooting is allowed on his farm, unusual around these parts, and possibly this is why hare numbers are high. All very good news, as even with the hares and the fallow deer rampaging through his land he still makes a profit. An enlightened hero, who avoids publicity or acknowledgement, as do many other farmers across the UK. They're not all bad.

Above is a view of the fallow deer and infront of them a little group of hares, and if I turned 180 degrees behind me (photo below) more hares. I guess in total we must have seen 25 - 30. Just brilliant.

But that wasn't the only wildlife. Sitting still in the lee of a hedge is the only way to observe wildlife in the wild; in my book anyway (a long way off from being written) which would also include a flask of tea, a groundsheet, and a good pair of binoculars. Skylarks were just everywhere, singing and ascending. Buzzards, linnets, corn bunting, and even a few buzzy wuzzies making the warmth on my face feel like later in the year with their drone like buzzing. As I sat, I heard a cronk. And another. 4 ravens, 2 pairs actually flew over and in front of me for a good 15 minutes. They were sky pairing in a synchronised silhouette flight, tumbling, barrel rolling and a few times flying in formation as a foursome. I never ever tire of ravens in flight.

Can you imaging how I felt sitting there on a warm spring day, hares everywhere, ravens above, peace and quiet, not a soul around us, just magical. I'd forgotten I was there to work, well almost. Oh nearly forgot, one mammal we didn't see, but very common on the farm is a fox. Funny that, a predator of hares in a place full of hares, I wonder why? I did see signs of a fox though, marking its territory.

All too soon I had to pack up and we headed back to Bristol, but just time for one more hare, if you can spot it........

...... and this view of the copse area of the farm, just because I loved the composition of the fields, hedges and trees.

The Hare and the Crow.... oh dear!

2011-02-03T15:26:00.005Z

Oh dear the credit card has taken another bashing and the profits of a well known Internet bookstore named after an area of South America have risen again. I'm meant to be on an economy drive and well the body is willing but the mind is weak.

I've had my eye on these species related tomes for a while now, as I'd come across the 'Crow' volume while researching corvids in the autumn. These species led monographs are part of the Animal series of books, published by Reaktion Books. They are not a field guide. In fact if you were to use them as a field guide, you'd be sadly disappointed.

Illustration from the Crow

What they are is a veritable smorgasbord of exploration into the historical significance and impact on humans of a wide range of animals, everything from mythology to religion and science, alongside the trade in that animal, art and culture and their roles in literary imagination.

Anyway on Monday evening I was chatting to a colleague and we discussed these books. In a flash I had produced my flexible friend, fired up the laptop, and in less time than it takes to boil and egg, purchased 5 books. 2 for me, the Hare and the Crow and three for my colleague, Snail, Snake and Spider. I'll say nothing about his choice of species other than, he lives alone!

Illustration from the Hare

This afternoon these books arrived and having a bit of a flick through they're fabulous. The Hare book is particularly apt, as next Tuesday I'm off to a secret location in East Anglia to visit a wonderful woman who has been studying hares on a farm for decades. Weather permitting, guaranteed sightings and guaranteed a wonderful day as the individual hares are known to her by name.

I wonder if they (the females) will be boxing yet? A bit early but you never know. I feel a photo opportunity coming on.

Waterperry Gardens

2011-01-30T18:15:00.011Z

After yesterday's bitterly cold and gloomy day, today dawned fair of face. Cold yes, a heavy frost, yes, but blue skies and sunshine. Lovely. I had a choice for entertainment this morning. Install a built in oven (well replace a like for like) or go out. Given the weather we went out.

First of all to get the blood circulating we went for a perambulation around the field at the back of the house. This is the first real walk I've been able to do since being ill over Christmas, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However it may have been sunny, but that wind whipping off the fields nearly cut us in two. I took this photo to remind myself, and any of you who remember, the last time I walked up this treeline, back in December, when it was way way below zero and all what white with hoar frost. A link to that blog posting here:

Blood now pumping with abandon, we set off for Waterperry Gardens just outside Oxford. Now I have to admit, this garden had passed me by. I had stumbled across it reading the English Garden magazine last week. Julie knew of it, and said it had a good reputation, but had never been. So armed with a 2 for 1 Gardener's World voucher and some breadsticks as emergency rations (we know how to party) I pointed the car east and headed through Hungerford, up the A34 and bypassing Oxford (Red kite flying over the by-pass) breezed into the carpark just over an hour later. Time for a coffee and a cheese scone.

I knew going this weekend we'd be really early for the snowdrops, as they have snowdrop weekends in a fortnight, but there's something lovely about mooching around a garden in winter. It's quiet for one thing, and the bare bones of the garden are laid out for all to see. If a garden is worth visiting in the depths of winter, it will be a cracker later in the season. On this my first visit, I was impressed. I have to say, and Julie said the same, this is a lovely garden, and well worth a visit. It was laid out in the 1930s by a Beatrix Havergall as a school of horticulture for ladies, but apart from that I'll not waffle on about the background as the website can do this better than I ever can.

No; I shall let the photos below (oh dear quite a few) do the talking with a caption or two as they unfurl the wonderful few hours we spent in the rolling Oxfordshire countryside. It fair put a spring in our step, so much so Julie bought me 2 pots of snowdrops grown from the garden. These can be added to snowdrops she bought me last year from a visit to Lacock in Wiltshire.

In the garden centre this strange looking chap is as good a place as any to begin the visit (I mean the one below)

Still a week or so from opening properly, but lovely to see.

These "snowflakes" Leucojum vernum were just coming into flower too. These are quite difficult to establish (almost impossible if not in the green) but I have foolishly given myself a task to grow some at home. To that end I've ordered 3 bulbs for a princely sum from a specialist in Somerset. They're due to arrive any day soon. I can't wait.

Winter aconites were a welcome splash of yellow

But I still love my snowdrops. Nothing in my mind speaks of a positive year ahead as the emergence of these hardy bulbs.

One side of the garden is bordered by the River Thame

But let's return to snowdrops for a final time.....

But the garden is so much more. This is the entrance to the yew henge. Mind you that obelisk looks as though it had a good night last night.

It contained a friend too, sunning itself in the now warm (for January) sunshine

Inside the "henge" it is quite structured and formal. I love these obelisks against the clipped yew. In a few months they'll be obliterated by verdant foliage, but now they stand proud in the watery sun.

Viewed from a distance it is hard to believe this was January 30th. The strong structure of the garden made every nook and cranny worth a second look ....

... such as through this yew window

And being a quiet time of year with no one else around, wildlife came and played, like this chaffinch foraging in and out of this conifer.

Just a short walk from the yew henge is this, well in my mind anyway, a wonderful mix of formal topiary and unkempt. I love it.

I wonder what is through the gate?

The most glorious and tranquil garden room. This is, as its composition may suggest, the Formal Garden. I was bowled over by it. The clipped box, a central parterre, the statue, and at the end 2 heavily clipped beech trees. Fabulous.

I couldn't find out anything about this column. I wonder if it is a very recent addition. On the opposite side is Arabic script. But the sentiments match the garden, peace and tranquility to all.

This view just encapsulated to the two of us, symmetry of garden design, the curve of the heather, the perpendicular of the conifers, and beyond the linear of the hedge.

Just a flight of fancy at the Waterlily Canal

This photo was taken from the Alpine Garden but I loved the presumably accidental reference to the skeletal tree in winter by the skeletal espalier trained fruit trees in winter.

Oops sorry more snowdrops I'm afraid, this time in amongst Cornus spp

Just perfect on a winter's day: bold structures to enhance the passage of the winter months

Last photo, of the Classical Herbaceous Border. I took this because of something Julie said. What she loves about gardening, and after all it's her profession, is that the border above is pretty much empty of any activity. Just the odd shoot poking through. But as Julie said, below the surface of the soil, there is activity, and soon that activity will bust through and give yet another dazzling display in the warmer months. Gardening is about cycles, the yearly and seasonal cycle and that's what makes it so exciting at this time of the year, it's like being at the start of a big adventure. Roll on the spring.

Anyway just to finish the day off, we got home and it was still light. Wonderful. One job I had to do was decant half of the industrial-sized quantity of peanuts I'd bought off the Internet. We'll have birds who can't fly at this rate. Anyway Molly is preparing herself by the looks of it for these non flying birds. But best of all Julie did some gardening for the first time this year at home and at 5.20pm the evening sky was still light enough to see. February next week.

What is it about Geology which interests me?

2011-01-28T13:04:00.004Z

Last night on the gogglebox I stumbled across the last episode of a series called Men of Rock on BBC2. I'm sad to have missed the other episodes, but will catch them on the BBC i-player. What a wonderfully easy way into the often complex study of Geology. Professor Iain Stewart brings a freshness of presenting mixed with authority. In this programme he looked at the maverick early pioneers of glacial landscape creation theory. We forget, or I do, that just 200 years ago, sceptics poo-pooed a lot of the scientific theories we now take as granted, for mainly religious reasons. One of the mavericks who fascinated me was James Croll, who discovered the whole glacial cylclicic phenomenon. Sadly being a janitor, his theories were accepted but not taken that seriously. These were further developed by Milankovitch as Milankivitch cycles. You can read more about James Croll here:

Above is a geological map of Great Britain and as a child I used to be fascinated by the bandings and the colours, without really knowing what these colours meant. And in that map is basically the history of Britain going back 350 million years as we travel north and west. I think what it is that fascinates me is that geology in a way is the powerhouse of nature. As rocks erode and decay they form soils and growing substrates which are then inhabited by micro-organisms, or pioneering plants, ecosystem then development and eventually habitats. Link all this into aspect, elevation and the chemical composition of the rock and Bob's your uncle we have all the wildlife we all love in our countryside. Understanding the geology and soils in an area improves any wildlife experience as the vegetation will influence the wildlife and vice versa.

I've studied geology (and geomorphology) off and on since schooldays. In my first year at University we spent 10 weeks cutting microscope slides of various rocks and under high magnification, the minute minerals are just superb to look at, like jewels in a sea of crystals. Better than any artwork. It was worth going to University just for that.

So next time you are wandering over fields or through woods, remember what you are walking on in millions of years old, and will be vital to what you can see around you.

An unexpected find

2011-01-25T11:04:00.007Z

It's always good keeping an eagle eye out for books by favourite authors. As some of you may know, my all time favourite author is BB (the pen name of Denys Watkins-Pitchford), who while being possibly best known as a naturalist writer, also wrote a number of well known children's books. Brendon Chase is a famous one of his, but one I'd been after for a while is The Little Grey Men which was published in 1942.

This book tells the exploits of four gnomes, named after the flowers Baldmoney, Sneezewort, Dodder and Cloudberry. The plot is that Cloudberry heads off down the Brook and fails to return. The remaining trio decide to head off down the Folly Brook to hunt for their long lost friend and the story unfolds against a background of the English countryside throughout the seasons. This book was so well received when it was published, due to it's detailed descriptions of the natural world, it received the Carnegie medal for the best children's book of 1942.

But you're probably wondering why I'm rambling on telling you all this. Well yesterday lunchtime I popped out for a bit of fresh air at lunchtime. Just behind work is an Oxfam bookshop. I've bought quite a few books here so I thought I'd have 5 minutes for a bit of a rummage as I passed. Imagine my surprise to find The Little Grey Men in the children's section. It's a 3rd edition from 1957, but in remarkably good condition with a near perfect dust jacket. I bought it on the spot, despite the comment from the Oxfam employee who took my money, and said "you do realise this is £7.99" in a manner which spoke volumes - do you really want to pay this much for an old children's book. Maybe I should have come clean, but this book in this condition is worth about 4 times what I paid for it.

Not that I'm selling it. It will be added to the burgeoning BB library on my shelves. If you have never read a BB book, I'd recommend it, not least for the fantastic lino-cut drawings by the author.

Speaking of unexpected finds, and changing the subject completely, a North American purple gallinule has been found, sadly dead, in a Devon garden. Only the third record for the UK (if accepted) but fascinating. Details here:

Dancing with the Devil

2011-01-21T14:24:00.008Z

I have to admit today's posting is not what I'd call an original idea. I was reading Moonlight and Hares lovely artwork blog and she recalled how a painting which she began in 2009, had finally been completed. Her study of a woman had radically changed into one with a marine feel with the woman being possibly a selkie (a seal which can shed its skin and become a human).

And this got me thinking of why and more importantly how paintings happen. I just don't know. I don't paint as much as I did since moving house as I had to leave my outside studio (okay shed) there, which seemed to be a very creative place for me to work. My current workspace is the third bedroom, which while okay isn't such a creative force. But I used to go into the old studio, pull out a canvass and quietly sit. I'd then suddenly begin working. I never planned anything or spent weeks researching. I just let my mind unburden itself. Psychiatrists take note ha ha ! I have never understood where my ideas come from, they just arrive and I have to work at breakneck speed to get the creative idea out on the canvass before it disappeared.

Reading Moonlight and Hares blog took me back to 4 years or so when I found I became obsessed with the lyrics of a Jethro Tull song, Kelpie. The lyrics are here.

There was a warm wind with the high tide
On the south of the hill.
When a young girl went a-walking
And I followed with a will.
``good day to you, my fine young lady
With your lips so sweetly full.
May I help you comb your long hair ---
Sweep it from that brow so cool? ’’
Up, ride with the kelpie.
I’ll steal your soul to the deep.
If you don’t ride with me while the devil’s free
I’ll ride with somebody else.
Well I’m a man when I’m feeling
The urge to step ashore.
So I may charm you --- not alarm you.
Tell you all fine things, and more.
Up, ride with the kelpie.
I’ll steal your soul to the deep.
If you don’t ride with me while the devil’s free
I’ll ride with somebody else.
Say goodbye to all your dear kin ---
For they hate to see you go
In your young prime, to this place of mine
In the still loch far below.
Up, ride with the kelpie.
I’ll steal your soul to the deep.
If you don’t ride with me while the devil’s free
I’ll ride with somebody else.

In particular it was chorus line "If you don’t ride with me while the devil’s free, I’ll ride with somebody else." This lyric went round and round my head for days and days. I kept playing the tune over and over again. I had become obsessed with it. Then one day I got down a 4 foot x 3 foot canvass, put the CD on repeat and began. Using acrylic paint squirted directly onto the canvass and using only rubber rollers to mix and apply the medium, I ended up with this painting, which was completed in about 20 minutes (sadly this old photo doesn't do it justice, I may try and take new photos over the weekend).

It's called "Dance with the Devil" and I still absolutely love it. I have no idea what it is all about, what its meaning is and I don't mind that. It can be anything it wants to be as it was just the outpourings of a manic 20 minute creative outburst. I often get this painting out and look at it, close to the lovely marbling of the paint is a joy to view (something that mixing paint on a canvass with rollers can do) and to be honest I have absolutely no recollection of how I painted it, or why.

I appreciate everyone may not like it. All I know is I painted it, it recorded a moment in time and and I'm glad I did as it gives me great pleasure.

FINALLY !!! The first signs of spring

2011-01-20T14:06:00.007Z

Wonderful. Feeling a bit more alive today than I have done for nearly a month, I decided to venture outside the office this lunchtime and have a bit of a soft shoe pootle around Clifton, where I work. My walking pace wouldn't have won any triathlons, but it was fabulous to be out in the cold, still frosty, sun washed air. Mind you I did have an ulterior motive as walking in to work today I spotted my first snowdrop of the year. Which was just so inspiring.

And so as a record, I took this atrocious photo (the one below is even worse). This is the problem with having an idea but only having my Blackberry with me. These snowdrops, and other bulbs, are in a private garden, and under a magnificent magnolia. They give a riot of colour each year and it always lifts my spirits to walk past as the snowdrops give way to daffodils, which give way to tulips and bluebells and all under a crown of magnolia blossom.

But today it was snowdrop day. That photo above really is awful, I must apologise. But it's proof if proof were needed. The trouble is it was taken through a metal fence and the snowdrops were 20 feet away - that's my excuse anyway. But note to self. Carry a proper camera with me at all times, spring isn't far away!

Anyway after this I pootled up to the Catholic Cathedral where there are early flowering daffodils planted around a horse chestnut tree. I have written about these daffodils before, and looking back on the 10th December 2007, they were just as high. That's when we had warm winters and by mid January I'd have whipped my vest off and unleashed the sandals. The winter of 2010/11 is a bit too much like proper winter for sandal wearing in January. Not without thick grey knee socks at least!!

But what a treat to see them poking through. For Christmas this year Julie bought me 2 big pots of paperwhites which when they arrived were about an inch high. A few weeks in the house and they're a foot high and flowering profusely. The scent they exude in the kitchen is wonderful.

Speaking of scents, on my way back to the office I inhaled an elixir draft of honey walking past a garden. A Christmas box was in full flower. This one I believe is Sarcococca hookerana var humilis (feel free to correct me). But, boy what a scent. Pushing my nose deep into the flowers it was really like being bathed in honey. Early spring flowering plants and shrubs are one of my favourite things in gardens. So unobtrusive, but they quietly go about making a big statement on sunny days. A perfect end to the walk.

Time for a cuppa I think............

I must be getting old

2011-01-18T13:35:00.005Z

Today the sun is shining. Nothing surprising about that of course, but after what seems months and months of snow, ice and sub zero temperatures, then my "man flu"; then as I recovered the weather gave way to rain, rain, rain and more rain and although the temperatures rose into double figures, the days were dark and depressing, everything was sodden, we had the inside lights on all day, something I hate, and although usually I love the coolness and clarity of winter air, for the first time in my life I've longed for some warm winter sunshine. In fact I've longed for any sunshine at all. I must be getting old, ha ha!

Well today my prayers were answered. The clouds parted and the sun came out. Brilliant blue skies and so what if its turned colder, this lunchtime I wrapped up warm, got myself a cup of tea and stood in the carpark at work, much to the amusement of passing colleagues; I stood back against a tall stone wall and just had 10 minutes of sunshine on my face. It felt good. It felt very good. So I took these 2 poor quality photos with my blackberry as a record of the feeling that spring is just nudging it's nose out the door and wondering whether to come out. Certainly in the last week snowdrops and daffodils have begun to push through.

We've a long way to go until spring proper arrives of course, but today, I'm a happy man.... all is right with the world when the sun shines.

Christmas results.....

2011-01-16T18:16:00.005Z

Hello all. At last I'm back on line. Phew, that was an illness and a half and I only really began to feel like a human being again a couple of days ago. I know a few of you have had flu and infections too over Christmas so you have my sympathies, and hope you are on the mend. Bring on the warm spring days.

A big thank you to those of you who took the time to do a bit of garden watching over the Christmas period. In the end even though I wasn't really with it, I managed 5 species, mainly house sparrow, starling, blue tit, dunnock and magpie. There may have been other species out there but I just didn't fancy sitting in the cold conservatory watching them.

This was all meant to be a bit of fun, but I shall make special mention to ST who managed a fabulous 27 species in his garden. By a long chalk ST is the winner of the competition. Well done.

But the competition was fun and just a way of getting through the dark days of winter, thus here are the equally credible entries in no particular order;

Caroline at Ragged Robin notched up a very credible 19 and also made mention of wrens roosting in old hanging baskets. Given the cold weather it would be interesting to know how many wrens in each basket each night.

Shirl at Shirl's Gardenwatch managed 12 species on Christmas Day and 18 in total, including brambling which is a nice garden tick. Sadly like many she recorded no greenfinches, sadly in a downward population dive. Outside the time frame she also had a reed bunting.

Frank the Early Birder, had a very good species count of 19, including the exotic ring necked parakeet and bucking the trend 12 greenfinches. Hold onto those Frank.

Sian way up in the Orkneys on her Small Island blog had 13 garden birds, but I think we'd all be so excited to include fulmar and hooded crow. As she said she only has one shrubby tree in her garden so not much cover.

Sadly Cindy at Cindy's Snaps sent me her list but I unfortunately never received it. If i get it after posting this I'll amend this post. Thankfully Cindy has now put through her score, a goodly 16, including a black headed gull with a taste for garlic bread. It all happens in Suffolk

It was great to have you posting your results especially given the weather across the UK, it wasn't the best of birding conditions. But thank you.

Finally some of you who left post comments to the original posting but never submitted your bird count also should have mention. I'm not sure if you took part of not. But that doesn't matter, we're all a big friendly blogging community out there so its good to promote each others work, so thank you for your comments to......

Lisa at Greenbow

Bluebird

Chris from Notes from a Somerset Garden

Goosey

Dartford Warbler

Yoke

A Happy New Year to you all!