Christmas Blogging-Bird Competition

I wonder if any of you bloggers out there fancy an informal, not for profit, just for the fun of taking part, birdwatching competition over the festive period? I could collate the entries and publish in January. I'd prefer this not to be an out and out competition so there will be no winners or losers, just a list of those taking part (should you decide to take part). Read more here...........

In the meantime, may I wish all the bloggers out there who read and comment on my postings, a very Merry Christmas with this image above from a photo I took 2 years ago. Lets hope we can all do it again in 2011, when I'll be back to post some more, Tales of a Wessex Reiver

............. now where are those waxwings???

Solstice Lunar Eclipse

Well I know this has been all over the news today, but for me it is a significant day. The Winter Solstice is THE most important day in my year. I celebrate the summer solstice when I can, but always celebrate the Winter Solstice with some quiet reflection by candlelight. As from today the sun begins to climb ever so slightly higher, the days get longer and the optimism for the year ahead mounts. And I get excited for the arrival of spring, snowdrops, daffodils and a bit of warmth in the sun, especially on days like this where I have hours of walking in snow to catch the train.

Linked to that with today's lunar eclipse being at around 8am (we thought 8.18 the media said 7.40) this morning it all boded well for the future. Well I think so anyway. Having the first lunar eclipse during the Winter Solstice since 1638 is absolutely mind blowing, especially as on June 25th of that year, the first ever lunar eclipse was recorded in America, and in 1638 the Scottish National Covenant was signed on February 28th which ultimately led to the wars between England and Scotland, then the English Civil War. Lets hope that doesn't happen again in 2011.

Somerset, deep and crisp and even

Well I know everyone is posting about the snow, but here along the normally sub-tropical always warm Somerset coast we've now had our share of snow. Last month when my parents had 2 feet in the North East, down here we had a dusting, it melted, but remained below freezing. Thankfully we escaped the worst of it.

Not by yesterday morning!!! It was forecast of course but at 5.30am when I got up and took this picture out the bedroom window we had about 2 inches, on sheet ice as it had been raining until about 4pm on Thursday. Anyway it didn't look too deep or bad so off I went to work, only to return 15 minutes later, limping the car home after failing to turn a corner on sheet ice, careering into a kerb and denting my tyre and wheel along the way. Given my Suzuki has a naff space saver spare I decided driving in ice and snow on one 15 inch 285mm wide and one 13 inch 80mm wide tyre on the front may not be a good option. Especially after what had just happened....so an enforced day off work then. And boy am I glad I did.

Bizarrely the snow was only really along the Somerset coast. Bristol had none, and Julie in Wiltshire had none. However, Weston super Mare, 6 miles from me had 5 inches by 10am and Wales 10 miles as the crow flies had chaos.

So I made the most of my day off, and decorated the dining room, with the odd visit to the garden to watch the birds who were now being fed industrial quantities of feed. And it was all quite pretty really, even the birds seemed to be taking it in their stride. But this photo of the wagtail was at 11am Friday. Not 10 minutes after this shot was taken, a humdinger of a blizzard came in off the Welsh mountains, across the Bristol Channel and my house was in the firing line. We hunkered down for the day and watched the blizzard rage....

........ to then awoke this morning to a real winter wonderland, Narnia had nothing on this part of Somerset on the last Saturday before Christmas.

First job then to clear the decking for the birds

And marvel at the scene in my back garden.

Next years Christmas card?

Or maybe this one....?

Stop taking photos..... we're getting hungry

But I have to say the view from my office window across to the Welsh mountains in the distance was absolutely breathtaking.

I've got my parents with me for Christmas, so had to go and pop to the supermarket for additional sprouts. Normally a 5 minute drive, but there was no way I'd drive today, especially with a dodgy wheel, so I walked with my backpack and wearing stout wellies; this meant I saw this view 20 feet from my front door, and.............

.... this one as I crossed onto the castle mound. Considering both these 2 photos were taken on my blackberry, I'm quite impressed how it coped with the exposure in the snow.

Julie was meant to be over here this weekend as we planned to go to the village carols by candlelight service tomorrow. She e-mailed me at 5.45am this morning to say the snow hadn't arrived. By 7.30 there was 6 inches in rural Wiltshire. Where she lives is high up, almost into Hampshire and very isolated. There was no way she'd get to me, or me to her. So to give herself something to do as the planned Christmas shopping was out of the question, she walked an 8 mile round trip to Great Bedwyn to get a morning paper (at the same time I was walking to the supermarket). Along her walk she sent me these 2 mobile phone images.

.....even if I say so myself, not a bad dump of snow in 2 hours!!!

Stay warm everyone

RSPB support number 1 and Somerset Arts

Here's a bit of festive cheer. The RSPB are joining into a campaign to get The Trashmen's 'Surfin' Bird' track to the number one spot this Christmas.

Staff at the RSPB's HQ have made a video, which is you would like some festive cheer, is well worth watching here.

On another note, TakeArt the Somerset arts website has set up a petition to send to Somerset Country Council after they have pulled the Arts Week funding following recent cuts. The petition has topped 6,000 signatures, but if you would like to support this, a link to the website is here.

Is Monty Don the right choice?

I've just been reading the barrage of comments on various websites related to the return of Monty Don to Gardener's world in the spring. Comments seem to be 50:50 wanting him back, and outrage that Toby Buckland is being dropped.

I'm not a fan of Monty Don's style of presenting, but can see the value of having him return. It is a shame he and Toby couldn't have fronted the show together, as with Toby we have real credibility based on vast experience, and with Monty a presenter who can deliver the "twiddly bits" as I like to call them.

What I do love though is that any change to Gardener's World offers up real debate and chattering from the back borders. And that can only be a good thing. Roll on the spring and the return of GW!!

2010 Christmas Birdwatching Event - any takes?

Every year in the NHU we have a NHU Christmas Birding Cup and it is great fun and a good excuse to get out of the house. 6 different categories from supreme champion (usually 100+ species seen) to most birds seen by a complete beginner. In 2008/9 I ran something similar, an informal birdwatching blog competition which was well received, I think.

So in 2010 I wonder if any of you bloggers out there fancy an informal, not for profit, just for the fun of taking part, birdwatching competition over the festive period? I could collate the entries and publish in January. I'd prefer this not to be an out and out competition so there will be no winners or losers, just a list of those taking part (should you decide to take part).

I'm keen that those new to birdwatching feel they have reason to take part, so even someone seeing 3 species in their garden will get an honourable mention. So I thought to make it simple, just 2 categories;

1) Highest garden list (that is, perched in, flying over or seen from a garden or urban park if you don't have a garden)

2) Total number of bird species seen over the Christmas period anywhere

Rules are simple too:

Count the number of different wild bird species you see or hear, between 00.00 on 25th December (i.e. midnight on Christmas Eve) and 24.00 on 1st January (i.e midnight at the end of New Year's Day). Escapes, cagebirds, birds in a zoo, the Christmas turkey, do not count – everything else does, so that would include for example free living pheasants or mandarin ducks.

If you'd like to take part, just leave a comment on this posting to say you'll have a go, then in early January send me numbers etc and I'll compile a list. Above all this is just a bit of fun so I'm sure we'll be interested in any anecdotes to freshen the list.

Mystery solved....

In my last posting on Wednesday (here) I posted a mystery photograph, something I found in Savernake Forest in Wiltshire on Monday.

Some good suggestions from other bloggers, but this morning I had confirmation from Professor Lynne Boddy at Cardiff University that it is a slime mould. Slime moulds were once thought to be thought fungi, but are now known to be not even closely related. Professor Boddy suggested I contact a colleague of hers for positive identification, but I'll leave it with just the general identification. Mystery solved.

And the thaw has set in in Somerset. Noticable how many birds were singing today, makes me realise that when the temperature is below freezing continuously, birds are just concentrating on feeding.