FEBRUARY 2009

This month started with snow and at times for very cold. This of course meant that the birds were continually feeding, especially the Robins and Blackbirds on the mealworms.

Down at Lakeside, the lake froze in places and this is evident as can be seen from the photo I captured of the four Black-headed Gulls standing on the frozen water. Cormorants and Great Crested Grebe were also seen down at the Lakeside this month.
As usual, a great number of Gulls and Mute Swans were present along with a sudden influx of Pochard.

On the local school fields one Sunday, I was treated to a rare sight of a flock of 17 Pied Wagtails roaming en masse across the grass. At the same time, a Kestrel was perched atop the rugby posts, scanning the ground for prey. Every now and then it would swoop down and dig at the ground with its beak, presumably for worms.

On the 27th, three Goldfinches came to the niger feeders. To see three of these birds together is rare for us and our garden. My wife has managed to video this momentous happening!

JANUARY 2009

A solitary visit by a Greenfinch to the seed feeders in the early part of the month was most unusual. The middle of the month saw the continued visits by a Wren. It seems to have taken up residence nearby and is often seen in the garden, rooting about in the leaf-foliage. We captured video footage of the Wren killing a Caterpillar and then devouring the large pupae.

The two male Blackbirds are still around and will perform a ritual scuffle at the back door for mealworms. The two females, tend to stay out of the way but grab a few mealworms when the males are preoccupied with each other!

The Robins are very regular visitors in the kitchen, flying in for a feast of mealworms. There are three of them, though we are unsure of what sex they are – two males, one female – two females, one male – three females or three males? How do you tell the difference? We have noticed that they have distinct shapes and indentations of their red breasts. Taking note of this we have found that one particular Robin will take four mealworms at one ‘sitting’ while another will take four. The third Robin tends to stay out of the kitchen and only eat seed, oats etc.

On the 29th, there was a surprise visit by a female Sparrowhawk to the garden. She landed on top of a garden arch and stayed for about 20 minutes. As you would expect, the resident bird population took to cover for the duration. She departed without catching anything – in fact she didn’t even try!

The Squirrels were always in the garden but the birds seem fairly used to them now. How this will affect egg-laying in the Spring – we shall see? My Wife did manage to tempt one of the Squirrels to the back door for some peanuts. We have remarkable video footage of this!

At Potteric Carr, several Pintails were seen on one of the marshes. This was a FIRST for me. Quite a neat duck! Three Bulfinches were also noted at the Nature Reserve.

DECEMBER 2008 - PNCR

Last visit to PCNR of the year. I was rewarded with my second-ever view of a Bittern! This time it was on the far side of the marsh, a considerable distance! But I managed to get 15 minutes of video. The image at left is a still from that video. The Bittern can just be seen in the centre of the picture amongst the reeds.

Good close views of a Water Rail at Willow Pool feeding station. These birds are very secretive but this one seems to ignore all the Twitchers and Photographers only a few feet away in the Hide!

Below, this Blue Tit was very obliging at the same feeding station.

Below left, again at the same place, two Reed Buntings, female & male were on the bird table.

The immature Pied Wagtail seen on a local Supermarket car park, was frequently seen throughout December - of course there's probably more than one immature Pied Wagtail around and it's unlikely that it is the same one as seen in July.

DECEMBER 2008 - PNCR & Lakeside

Above and to the left are two images of an First-Winter Common Gull. This particular one has been spending most of its time on Lakeside with the Black-headed Gulls and other waterfowl. Being larger than the Black-headed Gull, it frequently will muscle-in and grab bread etc from the other Gulls.

This Blue-Tit posed nicely on the table for me at PCNR.

Below, two Tufted Ducks. On the left, the male (Drake) and to the right, a (Duck), female. During the winter months the numbers of these have been risen on Lakeside.

DECEMBER 2008 - Lakeside

Reed Buntings are a favourite of mine, the male looks resplendent with his black hood and chest colouring. Fairly common around Lakeside and Potteric Carr.

As always, the usual Robin pays another visit to the Mealworm bowel.

DECEMBER 2008 - Robin & Mel

Another picture of the Robin in the Kitchen - he...or she can't get enough of these mealworms! Possibly getting a bit tame? The pot with the grubs is placed well into the kitchen and the Robin flies into the Kitchen through the open door, takes about 4 and either walks out or flies out, only to return about 30 minutes later. This he does through the hours of daylight. In fact the bird is often waiting in a bush at the back door in the morning - waiting for us to open up!!!!!!!!!!

Above, the Robin making friends with my wife. I'm sure that if we persist, we would be able to get the Robin to take Mealworms from the palm of the hand!

NOVEMBER 2008 - A Chaffinch!

We have had a couple of visits to the garden by Chaffinches. This photo shows the male. Like the Goldfinch...yes one solitary Goldfinch to date, they only visit very rarely to our garden!

I have noticed that there is a difference in colouring of Chaffinches according to the area they populate. Around here they are overall darker, whereas at Potteric Carr NR, they tend to be of a more brighter set of colours! So if you get varied shades of Chaffinches in your garden, then in all likelihood they will be coming from different areas of the country. I would appreciate any comments on this please.

NOVEMBER 2008 - The Goldfinch returns!

Back in September, we included mealworms on the menu. Not the dried husk rubbish, these are a con and don't provide any nutrients for the bird life. But live moving mealworms! A Robin took special interest in these to the extent where it was coming into the kitchen to feast! Robins have always been close to man in the garden and can be frequently seen when you dig and turn the soil over to revel juicy tidbits! This Robin is just taking it a stage further. Well it comes into the kitchen several times a day and as you can see from the photo at top left, the Robin is standing on the side and has even made a little deposit!!

A Blue-Tit is one of three that nest nearby but spend a lot of time in the garden at the feeders and amongst the plants looking for insects.

A Blackbird has been watching the Robin and also takes mealworms, but only from the back door step. We now have a total of 5 Blackbirds that visit for the juicy grubs. They also spend most of the time squabbling amongst each other!

The Goldfinch returned to our garden again. Well it could the same bird as last month! Just the one. You would think that it would tell its mates and get them over for lunch.....

We have a fairly healthy House Sparrow population. Numbers did peak at 96 in the Spring. The resident population that nests in the Conifers numbers about 30+.

OCTOBER 2008 - First Goldfinch in the garden!

Another photo of the Squirrel. We suspect that it is the same individual that has visited before. Just shows what acrobats they truly are!

Snapped this Great Tit at PCNR. It was from the Willow Pool Hide where close-ups of a variety of birds can be seen.

At last! A Goldfinch has visited the garden! Only the one....but at least it's a start! Magnificent looking birds. We have a friend who lives about 200 yards away as the Goldfinch flies, who gets multiple Goldfinches in her garden most days! In fact we often see them flying over to her garden!!!! What is wrong with what we offer? Could it be that there are many more deciduous trees where she lives? Comments please.

SEPTEMBER 2008 - Lakeside & S.Wales Dipper

A A Grey Squirrel is a regular visitor to our garden. It has been to the bird table so many times that the birds just accept it and don't seem to be too bothered about its presence. It spends most of its time trying and succeeding at getting sunflower husks etc from the bird-feeders!

During one of our many trips to feed the waterfowl at Lakeside, the Mute Swans are ever present. My wife will stand on the shingle beach and get surrounded by hungry Swans, Geese and other assorted waterfowl.This Ruddy Darter was very obliging during one of the warmer days at Lakeside.

While on a short break to South Wales, I chanced upon this Dipper. Can you see it in the lower right corner of the photo? This is a first for me and I was treated to a spectacular show as the bird repeatedly dived into the fast-flowing stream!

AUGUST 2008 - Lakeside & BoatTrip

Top left is a Juvenile Great Crested Grebe. This is the survivor of two hatched in April. I had been observing this youngster on and off from it's early days in April and it's two parents since early March when they set up a nest in the marina area of Lakeside.

Top right is a gaggle of geese, Greylag Geese. These were imaged on a river bank while on a river cruise with my buddies of the Astronomical Society. Also on the same boat trip, I saw many Swallows and House Martins along the river bank.

Middle right is a 'First Winter' Black-Headed Gull. Imaged at Lakeside where there is always large numbers of Gulls.

Lastly, another picture of the sole Black Swan on Lakeside. Still only the one.

JULY 2008 - Sparrowhawk kill.

July sees most of the surviving bird life that has hatched that Spring will have fledged. During this time of year, the Raptors come to the fore and are more readily seen. Our garden had many visits from both Sparrowhawk and Kestrel. We think that these are the same two individuals who have made our garden part of their patch. Back in 2004/05, from late December to February, a Sparrowhawk visited every day come snow, rain or shine and would stay for up to 45 minutes at a time watching the House Sparrows. Occasionally it would make a kill. But mostly the Raptor would move to another site without having made the kill. It was strange that it just stopped coming in the Spring but then only made occasional visits in the Summer.

The Sparrowhawk above had caught and killed a wild Mouse.

JUNE 2008 - Grebe & Coot chicks.

When the weather is decidedly wet, the snails come out. Whilst I know that a lot of people dislike these creatures because of the harm they can do in the garden, I think they are fascinating! If you spend time watching them, they can move fairly long distances (for a snail) during the course of a couple of hours or so. This one was in the garden and just one photo of several is shown here.

Over at Lakeside, the Great Crested Grebe pair hatched two chicks. Unfortunately one was larger than the other and from my observations over a couple of days, it looks like the parent disowned the smaller chick as can be seen by my short video. In any case, the smaller chick was not with its parent after this, though I did see it on its own a day later. After that... nothing. So I suspect that it perished from hunger or was predated.



On a brighter note, the Coot nest had hatched 3 chicks. The family consists of 3 adults; a mating pair and possibly an immature related female. They were amusing to watch but tended to be rough with the chicks at times.



There was also a Mute Swan with a family of 4 chicks at Lakeside. The parent, as you would expect was very protective towards the chicks and would make her presence felt if Canada Geese, Mallards or anything else came too close to the chicks. I even saw a large fish stalk the chicks. The adult immediately rushed to the scene and submerged her long neck under the water to warn off the fish.

MAY 2008 - Grebe and Coot nesting.

Lakeside is home to several Great Crested Grebes. This pair eventually hatched at least 2 chicks. One grew faster than the other and consequently bigger and stronger. The parents disowned the smaller fledgling and would continually chase it away. I was witness to this on a couple of visits - thereafter, I never saw the smaller fledgling again. I guess it must have perished through cold and hunger, but... that is the way of Mother Nature!!

On a happier note, a family of Coots were also nesting. Well the female Coot was on the nest with at least 3 eggs, attended by two other Coots. One will have been the male parent while the other could have been a family member that has not paired-off and so is helping out.

While at PCNR, I came across this Orange-Tip Butterfly (top). A male, was a marvelous sight on the Bluebells.

March 2008

A couple more from PCNR in March 2008 - A male Great Spotted Woodpecker was not shy performing for the assembled mass in Willow Pool Hide. Nor were the Male Chaffinches and Reed Bunting! In fact there seemed to be quite a flock of Greenfinches grazing both male and female, on the ground.

This Black Swan was seen on Lakeside. Only the one was there but in 2007 I saw 6 together during the Summer. Slightly smaller than the gregarious Mute Swan with usually keeps a steady number of 30+ at the Lakeside.

FEBRUARY 2008 - Garden

My wife came across this colourful Caterpillar...a Grey-Dagger. Amazing colours and body markings!


The Great Tit was seen at one of the feeding stations at Potteric Carr Nature Reserve (PCNR), in March 2008.

JANUARY 2008 - Garden.

The moth below is unknown to us. Again photographed in our garden in January 2006. We don't seem to be able to match it to any reference in books or on the Internet. If you are able to help with identification the please drop me an email.

Right....Let's get this blog under-way! Here are a selection of photos that I captured while out and about at my local Nature Reserve and in my garden.......

New Feeders in the Garden - more variety!

Well...we've now got the new bird feeders planted in the lawn, in the hope of attracting different types to the usual Starlings, Sparrows, etc. Don't get me wrong, Starlings and Sparrows are just as important to the to the ecological well-being of nature as are more colourful and less gregarious birds. It's just that the former tend to dominate our garden!

As you can see from the picture, we have really "gone to town" on this and tried to include as many different varieties of bird food as possible. Our main target is to attract the evasive Goldfinches to the feeders. We know that a friend who lives nearby get several Goldfinches in her garden most days of the week...we have even seen them flying over, twittering as they fly to her feeders!!

This is the first full week of having the feeder in the garden and the new types of bird attracted to the garden are; Goldfinch and Chaffinch. For the past couple of weeks both the Blue Tits and Coal Tits have become regulars to the garden.

The Blue Tits and Coal Tit seem to be very active and are non-stop in their endeavours to get food. Currently there are 3 Blue Tits that visit the garden on a regular basis, but only one Coal Tit (see above). The later has been looking around for some nesting material and may even nest in the garden if we're lucky!