Catch-up 2016 & 2017 (part 1)

February 2018 - Catch-up review of 2016 & 2017

Apologies to you all out there. I have neglected this blog over the past two years or so. Since my last update in March 2016, I have taken a few snaps of critters, both small and not so small. So let's begin!

"Waggy", the Grey Wagtail that has been spending the Winters since 2010 in our garden, vacated the garden for her breeding grounds by mid-April 2016. The male Wagtail that had appeared the previous two Winters, failed to arrive for whatever reason. Will "Waggy" return for a sixth Winter? Who knows? But as this author blogs (February 2018), "Waggy" has not yet returned. I would suspect that the Wagtail had reached the end of her life-cycle. It was fun when she returned each winter and spent the days on our pond, coming to the door to be fed live meal worms. Having duels with the resident Robin and tussles with the female Blackbird. I find it very intriguing that this small bird would return to our garden each year, at more or less the same month and depart each April.

Where did she go? Did she raise offspring each year? We know that she hooked-up with a male for two consecutive seasons. This was the definitely the same bird returning each year. My wife or myself would call "waggy" and she would appear at the door to be fed. She wasn't scared at all by us. A different bird would be wary of coming to the door to be fed. Goodbye Waggy.

Siskins arrived arrived in the garden during January and February 2016. They regularly stopped-off at the feeders on they're way to somewhere else.

On and off throughout 2016 and 2017, we have been getting the odd visit from Goldfinches. These colourful birds always add colour to the garden. They tend to spend time on the feeders eating sunflower hearts. Normally we only get flocks of House Sparrows and Starlings together with Wood Pigeons. speaking of which, the numbers of House Sparrows and Starlings that we used to get in the garden have dropped dramatically. This I would say reflects the national decline of these once common birds.

In March 2016, I got to talking with a work-colleague. Simon told me that  he would  go to Hatfield Moor to photograph Adders in the Spring and Summer. Well, in all the visits I had made, I never saw one. So, we agreed one Sunday to go early in the morning.  Unfortunately, this trip we didn't see any but Simon spotted a "reddish duck" sailing on the still water. I only managed to get one shot! A Mandarin Duck and a male at that! The image below shows the bright colour of a Mandarin Duck, classified by the Birding Authorities as an "Escapee". That is, not native to this country.

May, and we went again. A warm sunny morning. This time we glimpsed a Lizard, a juvenile adder and around lunchtime on our way back to the cars I saw an adult Adder coiled as a circular-pyramid! It was large snake of at least a metre with a thick girth! I called to Simon who was further down the path. Turning to take a photo, I just got the rear of it as it quietly slide into the hedgerow!

The photos below show the Lizard and an Owl Pellet (the excreted remains of a meal).

And while there, we stepped into a bird hide to get some close views of the Mandarin Duck.

Also while there I snapped this shot of a Speckled-Wood Butterfly.

Meanwhile back in the garden, the familiar sight of a Sparrowhawk  had arrived. This was to be the first of many visits made by the raptor in the coming weeks. The Sparrowhawk has been a regular visitor to the garden these past years due to the feeder tables and abundance of Starlings and House Sparrows in past years.

A creature that looks like something from another world was also found in our garden... a so-called May Bug or Common Cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha). This one is a male, he has seven 'leaves' on his antennae. They spend 3 to 5 years buried in the ground as grubs. When they pupate and emerge as an adult beetle, they will only live for another 6 weeks.

November 2012 - Sparrowhawk in the garden!

Wednesday 27th: For the last few weeks, the garden has been empty of the usual squadron of House Sparrows and Starlings have been almost nonexistent, except for the odd one or two. On talking to others, this could be due to the time of year. But the upside of this is that we are seeing more Coal, Blue and Great Tits visiting the feeders. Even the Grey Wagtail has been hanging around the garden and taking live mealworms. Of course there could be another reason why the garden is quiet: regular visits by the local Sparrowhawk. We don't always see her, but she is around. Today I came home from running an errand at lunchtime and Mel called down; "the Sparrowhawk is here!". Looking out the window, there she was on her usual perch over the pond, with a fresh kill. We couldn't tell for sure what it was but it may have been a House Sparrow. The raptor didn't even seem too bothered that we were at the back door with binoculars and camera. She continued to feed on the carcass, and staying to digest her meal for some 15 minutes.

October 2012 - Grey Wagtail returns while Sparrowhawk kills Starling in the garden.

Saturday 27th: Yesterday, the Grey Wagtail returned to our garden on the first cold day of this autumn. Last night or very early this morning, we had a light dusting of snow. Though it was here a couple of weeks ago for one day, it had not stayed.

Today, it is back for a second day on and around the pond. The Wagtail will still come to the back door for live mealworms, still being harassed by the local Robin. After extensive research, Mel and I think that this Wagtail is a second-year bird. Last autumn from the photos we took at the time, it is quite clearly a juvenile bird.

But now, it has moulted and has more distinctive yellow feathers on its underparts. A male, it does not have the distinctive black bib until next spring and the breeding season. That's of course, if it makes it to Spring! Though it has gained more experience of the dangers in the natural world (it now freezes when an alarm call goes out by the Blackbirds or Sparrows) the Wagtail still has to contend with the daily danger from the local Sparrowhawk!

And this was readily apparent this morning. The Wagtail was on the pond wall when the Sparrowhawk grabbed a Starling from within the conifers. The photos and especially the movie below show the graphic detail of a Sparrowhawk kill. The original commentary by us (as it happened and the sound of the distressed Starling has been replaced by classical music so as not to offend or upset anyone. If you think the video would disturb you, don't watch it!

As I write this at 11:30am, the Sparrowhawk is still here in the back garden, on the arch (its favourite plucking post) still plucking and eating the Starling. We did hear the Grey Wagtail flyover some minutes ago but I shouldn't think it will return until the danger has gone. Apart from the Sparrowhawk, the garden is, as you would expect, deserted of wildlife.

Footnote:The Grey Wagtail, I should say, like other birds, vacated the area and didn't return for the rest of the day. Though on Sunday 28th, the Wagtail spent most of the day here!

November 2011 - Grey Wagtail in the Pond Waterfall

Monday 28th: This afternoon there was visitor to the garden that, to our recollection, we have never seen before. Unusual in that this bird, a Grey Wagtail, is generally associated with rivers, fast flowing streams and the countryside. To see one padding about in your back garden... a small back garden in the middle of an estate must be very rare indeed. The Grey Wagtail was seen by Mel to be walking and bobbing on the fallen reeds and then standing in the waterfall against the flow looking for water-borne insects. This first video shows the Grey Wagtail amongst the reeds of the pond.

This next video shows the Grey Wagtail standing in the waterfall, against the flow, poking around for tasty insects.

Earlier in the day, 10:50am, Mel spied a Sparrowhawk hiding amongst the conifers, waiting to ambush anything that came her way. This is a different Sparrowhawk to the last one that visited a few weeks ago. That afternoon it was a male, today... a female. This raises the questions; are two rival Sparrowhawks overlapping territories? Are these a pair looking to establish a territory for the winter? Or are they siblings, learning to hunt in a secure environment?

May 2011 - Sparrowhawk season!

Thursday 5th: Sparrowhawk visits to the garden, and I suspect other gardens, are becoming more frequent now. Today at 2pm, a male Sparrowhawk perched on the arch in the garden as can be seen above. From the study window, holding the camera outside, I snapped a succession of photos as Melanie stood motionless not 10 feet away. This is the time of the season when the female Sparrowhawk will be sitting on a clutch of eggs and the male will need to find and catch small birds, mammals etc in order to keep her well nourished. On this occasion, he nipped into and through the conifers to grab a small bird. Promptly he took off back towards the nest clutching the live bird in his talons and the waiting female.

April 2011 - Easter Waxwings!

Saturday 23rd: After the success of seeing the Waxwings yesterday, I had arranged to re-visit Sandra's garden and this time take my scope and video camera. So at 7:15am, I drove the 300 yards to Sandra's house with a plethora of equipment. "Why drive?" I hear you say. Well, my back has been plaguing me these past few months and lugging all this equipment 300 yards would just aggravate it more! Having set up the scope and video camera on tripods...pikelets were kindly served by Sandra...that's crumpets to you and me! Indeed, as the minutes passed and an hour with no sign of them...Waxwings, that is, we were beginning to feel that they had finally departed back to their native country!





We sat in the garden and were soon rewarded with the local bird life. Amazingly, a Nuthatch visited the sunflower-heart feeder just 5 feet away! I couldn't move to get my camera but Sandra quietly snapped a photo. A pair of Great Tits kept visiting the nest box, two Goldfinches drank water on this warm morning, the odd Collard Dove and Wood Pigeon pecked at the ground and a pair of Robins were constantly around our feet. Yes, both Robins were very trusting and one even perched on one of my tripods not two feet away! But it got better...one of the Robins landed on my knee as I sat in the sun-chair! Sandra grabbed a photo and I hope to show it here soon! With time, I suspect that Sandra would be able to get at least one of the pair to eat from her hand, but it would require enormous patience. A Sparrowhawk slowly circled overhead against the blue sky and headed towards my garden.

Finally at 9:30am the Waxwings flew over and moments later came back and alighted in the same sycamore tree as yesterday. Now we would get much more detailed views and wow, what a view! Looking through the scope showed the pinkish colouring and yellow flashes of the birds' markings. I counted thirteen individuals, Sandra, fifteen. These must've been the same individuals as yesterday. The Waxwings stayed for around 20 minutes and then at some unknown signal they took to the air and away. Well that was well worth the time spent waiting.

What a great time to spend an Easter weekend, in the Sun watching the birds!

Postscript: That morning was the last that the Waxwings were seen in that sycamore or anywhere else around here. It is now about the time of the season that they should return to Scandinavia, maybe these have. But there are still plenty being seen around the country.

Friday 22nd: For the past few days, Sandra had noticed that Waxwings were flocking to a distant sycamore tree. Using binoculars from her kitchen/back garden, she can see these birds amongst the blossoming and unfolding leaves. So this morning at 8:30am, I joined her in the Waxwing-watch and I wasn't disappointed! For twenty minutes we watched as the birds, 15 of them ate the buds. Amazing, but I should've fetched my scope! After the show we walked over to Sandra's local patch; Church Wood Plantation. Quite a few Wrens were about calling, Robins and Blue/Great Tits. The Bluebells were also out and look like they had been for the past few days.

We wandered back down the road towards my local patch; Kirk Moor Plantation Wood. Here we saw my first Black Cap of the year - a male. A pair of mating Wrens were active with, I presume the male holding a small white ball of fluff or wool in it's beak. An unidentified warbler was flying around and harassing the Wrens. It kept flying to the undergrowth were we believe it had or was making a nest. Chiffchaffs were abundant, at least four and we even managed to see one after some astute tracking by Sandra! Like Church Wood, the Bluebells were out in here too but not as many as in previous years. I also managed to glimpse a couple of Jays amongst the blossoming leaves! That was a first in this wood for a few years for me!

Monday 11th: The two Blackbird chicks that hatched a few days ago, appear to be doing well thanks to the constant feeding by both the male and female adult Blackbirds. Unfortunately the third egg has failed to hatch. We left it in the nest for a few days to make sure it was an unfertilised egg and then removed it.

February 2011 - Sparrowhawk comes a calling!

Tuesday 1st: A sunny and balmy day for the beginning of February, perfect weather for the Sparrowhawk to call. Melanie took these shots while this male perched on the broken arches. He didn't stay for long, maybe 10 minutes and then he was off, without a kill, probably to another of his hunting territories.

News on the Hedgehogs: Well they are still inside and semi-hibernating. They are still spending around 20 hours asleep but do tend to get up to eat and toilet! When in their card-board boxes (they each have their own), we have found on a couple of occasions that all three are sleeping in one box together. This is unusual as Hedgehogs are solitary animals but these three do spend a lot of time together, even when they were outside in the garden. We are still looking at an March release back into the garden for a couple of weeks or so and then hopefully into the big wide world. Still looking at locations for release. So if you know of anywhere that is devoid of Badgers then we would be interested in hearing from you.