2017
January to April:
Again
very mild, no
snow and, by May very little rain.
Was it
the warmer
winter, meaning a gradual awakening, or has there been a terrible
problem, but
NO FROGS this year! Didn't see a single live one migrating to the lake
or the pond.
Saw one mangled dead one, in mid March. No live ones in the water and
no frog
spawn!! Comparing to last year (see the pics and videos) this is a
calamity.
Should we be very worried? Just hope and pray this is a cyclic matter,
and that
the population will recover.
On the
other hand it
is Muntjak paradise! They are nesting (is that the word?) in Mike's
woods and
often shelter the night under the Grandiflora by the pond. Frequently
on our
morning walks, Woody flushes them out - but it doesn't deter them. They
have
been by the lake, in many positions, behind the gate, by the rockery,
in the
spinney and of course, daily trekking across the garden.
2016
Second Half 2016:
Busy,
busy, busy -
problem keeping up with notes, although pictures going up.
Beautiful
summer for
Rhododendrons and young birds, with baby tits shouting in the nesting
box
outside the backdoor, and loads of goldfinches on the feeders. Warm
winter
months devoid of snow, and not much rain.
Real
disappointment
was the Gunnera this year. Grew tall and fast as usual, but whether it
was too
dry or too warm, it outgrew itself with plenty of height, but on very
spindly
stems. As a result, by August the first of the big leaves started
collapsing,
and had a domino effect on others. I couldn't clear the fallen ones
quickly
enough, and within two weeks or so, he whole plant had collapsed. Will
have to
watch it next year.
April 17th: Green
woodpeckers:
Green
woodpeckers in
great abundance this year, and 'sword fighting' for territory. See
video in the
gallery.
April 16th: Coots:
First
baby coots born
today, climbing up in the nest into pouring rain. Then it snowed
briefly in the
afternoon! Fortunately, the next day was nice and sunny, for their
first outing
on the lake. Mother had built a nest in a pretty exposed part of the
lake,
nearest the house, so as soon as the babies were born she started to
build
another nest, in the usual place down the far side in front of the
protecting
gorse hedge. Caught some of the nest building in video. See video in
the
gallery. There are two coots on the pond also - nest started but she is
not on
it yet. Moorhens also co-existing on the pond surprisingly.
Ducks are a
disappointment again. A pair stayed on the pond for several weeks,
whilst Woody
and walked very carefully around them every morning. They also were on
the
grass a lot - even saw them walking across the grass, 11.00pm at night
when
Woody went out for a last water. However, sadly, they seem to have
departed now
April:
Still
waiting for a
show of frogs and toads this year, but slowly fearing the worse!
April
5th: Fox cubs:
Visited
by fox cubs
this month - quite mature so I don't think the set is in our garden, as
it was
in 2011. Quite a good display of rabbit catching and practising hunting
though.
See video in the gallery.
Unseasonably
warm
weather might have meant no snow, but it sure meant a lot of
rain....and wind!
Not seen the ground so wet in the 12 years we have been here. So boggy
behind
the pond, and top of the garden, behind the fruit trees, that at times
it was
impossible to keep standing. Winds were so strong at times, that I was
too
scared to take Woody into the woods. First priority every morning was
stick
picking off the lawns.
Despite that, the
camellia was in bloom before Christmas. However not much else was
advanced, here,
anyway. Snowdrops just beginning before Christmas but full by mid Jan
as usual,
then daffodils quite late, only just in full bloom early April. Barely
a sign
of bluebell leaves beginning to peep through.
And as for
frogs......no sign yet! Seen two very cold stragglers on the path, mid
March,
two in the pond first week of April, and a totally eviscerated one on
the
grass! No mass migration yet.
Christmas Day:
Was it
the continued
warmth, pure joy on Christmas Day, or had they been at the Buck's Fizz
also?
Our three Kites gave us an amazing display all morning, over the lake,
and the
field opposite, spending a lot of time balancing precariously at the
very top
of the spindly willow trees, just behind the lake. They spent a lot of
time
hunting very low in the field opposite, and across the garden. I have
not seen
them in one place, and so low, for such a sustained period before. I am
really not
sure what was the attraction. Got me into a lot of trouble as I
couldn't take
my eyes off them, when I should have been watching the family open
their
presents!
November 16/17/18:
Remarkably
warm Autumn
and early winter continues. So much so that a thrush was encouraged
enough by
the warmth to come out and serenade us, loudly, for these three
mornings.
Wonder if he attracted a mate?
November 5th:
Amazing
sunset
suffused the whole area with a beautiful pinkish hue. Difficult to
catch
faithfully on film, but my attempt is in the Gallery.
October (but throughout the year):
A pair of
young
Muntjaks have taken up residence in the woods behind us, and are
occasionally
caught sheltering in the 'den' by the pond. Autumn saw them scrumping
apples in
the evenings, but with a bountiful crop of chestnuts, they were
emboldened (or
hungry enough) to come close to the house to feast. See Gallery.
September 28th: Blood
Moon:
Rare
confluence of a
total eclipse of the Moon, and the Big Moon, at it's closest to Earth.
3.00am
picture taken of the Blood Moon, but unfortunately without a tripod, so
a bit
blurred. Later that day, trying to capture the beauty of the Big Moon,
and was
lucky enough to catch Easy Jet flight to the moon in the same picture!
See
Gallery.
July:
A
Kestrel, now, has
taken up residence - Kevin kestrel. All day long perches on the very
top of one
of the fir trees in the rockery, occasionally flying down onto the
grass,
sometimes at quite a distance, to pick up something to eat. Often was
joined by
a second bird for longish periods. Not quite sure what they were
eating, unless
it was small dragon flies, of which there were lots about, especially
little
blue darters. Good eyesight what? See picture in gallery.
June through July:
The kites (Kenny Kite and his partner!) entertained us daily. Most mornings and evenings swooping around the garden, sometimes really low over the lake. On one occasion the male (?) attempted to take a young squirrel from under the centre magnolia, in full view of us, whilst we stood on the patio. Missing it the first time, it came round for a second swooping attempt, but failed again. Could be quite scary as they circled low over your head. They were always most inquisitive, coming out to see what was going on whenever I worked in the garden, particularly around the pond.
Frequently, evenings were spent either in the large Christmas tree, centre of garden, or in the fringes of the woods alongside the badger path. Became increasingly certain the nest was in our woods near the badger sets.
In early July, heard typical Kite's call - a sort of cat's meowing - only to be followed by a similar sound, but much higher notes, almost a whistle. Kite young!! There followed frequent sightings of not one, but two, young, perfect images of the parents in miniature - well half the size, so still pretty big.
Sightings reduced, until by mid August, hardly to be seen at all - but weather really bad, cold and windy and wet.
April 20th: Baby fish:
A
beautiful warm sunny
evening rewards us with the sight of a shoal of about 50 baby orange
Koi in the
lake. It must be a very healthy environment. What with the young fish
and the
frogs, a number of herons are very regular visitors now. We have even
seen them
fighting over a favourite pitch on the edge of the lake.
April: Sycamore trees:
Not seen it before, but there must be thousands of germinating Sycamore (or Chestnut) tree shoots growing in the lawn. If we didn't cut the grass soon, would soon have another wood.
Mar/April: The Kite
show:
For three weeks we have been blessed with a Kite show - a pair of Kites who seemed to have adopted us. Not sure what attracted them. It could be nesting hatching baby rooks or the frogs, but the lovely birds have been wheeling and 'mewing' around the garden and in he woods three/four times a day. Frequently attacked by the rooks, they calmly lift and turn to escape, only to return shortly. They are most inquisitive, and as Woody and I walk out into the garden, or emerge from the woods, they arrive, investigating us, from only 20 or so feet above us. They haven't attacked us yet! One of them appeared to have an object protruding from it's legs. Initially I thought it was carrying wood for a nest. When it remained in many of the photos, I realised it might be tied to a leg, and it appears to be a leather thong. Could one of them be an escaped bird form the falconry centre? See photo montage in the Gallery.
March 28th: It's frog-time!
Long
awaited and
anticipated - it suddenly arrives! Home late one Saturday evening to
find two
cold frogs huddled under the light in the porch. Next day, several are
found on
the grass behind the lake, including one female transporting two males.
Two
days later the edges of the lake and the pond are heaving with frogs,
and the
croaking can be heard all over the garden. Included in the pond 'show'
was on
of the 'frog balls' I hadn't seen for a long time - some 20 or so frogs
and
toads twisting and writhing in a solid ball of green, black and brown
frog
flesh. Presumably there is a poor, tired female in the middle
somewhere. See
video in the gallery.
Mid March: Wild
Flowers:
It may be no earlier,
but the profusion of Spring wild flowers is better than we've ever
seen! Aconites
and snowdrops followed by primroses, crocuses, the blue ones (!) and
for the
first time white wild anemones (where did the come from?). A selection
are in
the Gallery, courtesy Luke.
Jan-Mar:
Quiet
start - away a
lot. A pretty warm start to the year, but despite what a lot of people
are
reporting, I do not see activity starting earlier than most years. We
are at
the end of February, and the usual good showing of Snowdrops has just
arrived.
Gallery 2007-2009 shows them in January. Global warming alarmists?
October: Autumn:
Dry and
warm so was
expecting a really golden Autumn as in 2010 (see Gallery 2010). However
the
leaves stayed green for a long time, so there was very little time as
Autumn
passed, before lack of moisture encouraged the trees to shed their
leaves. Some
colour though a mix of greens, browns and reds as shown in the Gallery
July 13: Full Moon:
July 2: Baby Tawny
owls:
We have
had our usual
brood of tawny owls. The young sit high in the trees giving out their
continuous alarm signals, a sort of raspy tsk tsk call - the kewick
call.
Struggled to find them in the foliage with the torch, even with teasing
calls
apparently right overhead and seeming so close. Finally rewarded with a
view of
4 on a branch, side by side but without the camera. Had to settle for a
picture
of one on its own , shown in the gallery.
June 27: Mist over the
lake:
Strange
weather
combining intense rain showers with immediate sunshine. The result one
evening
was a deep evening mist apparently rising out of the ground. It rolled
across
the garden and the lake, giving the beautiful view shown in the gallery.
June: The pond:
It is a beautiful season for the pond, after the clearing out work performed in the winter. The water lillies are magnificent with the James Brydon (deep pink) and the Rene Gerard (pale pink) looking especially lovely. The Gunnera is the star feature this year at over 12 feet tall. See pic in the gallery
May overall:
Fledglings:
It may have been a bad
season for water birds (only 2 baby coots soon reduced to one, and one
bay
moorhen) but it has beena great year for song birds. See pictures in
the
gallery of blue tit and wren fledglings. We had to worl hard to save
them since
their exit was a bit premature!
May 4th: Nature comes
through!
My mid
March fears
about a survival problem for frogs and toads this year, because we just
hadn't
seen the usual mass migration to the lake and pond, nor indeed found
any spawn,
were unfounded! A warm sunny afternoon, and in the shallows of the
lake, was a
writhing black mass of tadpoles fighting for the warmest spot. Should
be a good
year after all. See pic in Gallery.
May 1st: Visitors for
breakfast:
Geese
frequently
arrive, and stay for short periods on the lake. None stay for long, but
we were
a bit surprised when a group of 3 greylag geese tried to come for
breakfast.
See pic in Gallery.
April 30th: Bluebells:
Finally
bluebells are
everywhere. Pertinent to my earlier musings, things are actually later
this
year in some cases. Some unusual and lovely pink ones in the woods.
April 22nd: A first
for Chestnut Spinney:
This
morning I heard
the first cuckoo I have ever hared in CSH! How uplifting.
March 17/18: It's
beginning:
The
flowers on the
White Magnolia unfolded themselves in a day. Purple one not even
showing
coloured buds yet. Then, few days later, purple one in full bloom. How
quickly
they develop
March 15: At last!
Spotted
the first
female toad of the year labouring across the lawn with her male
passenger. Then
next few days rescued two very cold ones in the morning behind the
lake. All is
not lost
March/April: Is it
early or is it late?
Despite
the 'global
warming' doom-mongers, I am having a hard time deciding if things are
early or
late this year. On balance things are later. It's warm but I haven't
seen a frog
yet (Mid March), daffodils are just appearing, there's little sign of
bluebells
sprouting through.
February 25th: If you
want the rainbow.....
As Dolly Parton said....then
you have to have the rain! A rainbow presented itself today in conditions that combined such bright
sunshine, and a very heavy localised downpour, that the resultant
rainbow
was absolutely dazzling, and in touching distance. A pot of gold must
surely be
just across the lake. The photograph in the gallery, barely does it
justice.
February 22nd:
Snowdrops:
The
upside of a warm
wet January is the best show of snowdrops we have seen for a long time.
Spreading themselves like a blanket, they really cheer up a leaf sodden
landscape, as the gallery shows.
February 10th: Another
casualty:
We were
away and
missed this last really windy day. We didn't escape unscathed, though,
and lost
the second poplar tree. Oh well, couldn't hang my hammock up, anyway,
since we
lost the first one. Made a bit of a mess - see gallery.
January: Wet Wet Wet:
Well
wettest January
since record began - we hardly needed to be told that. Every cloud.....
however. Never seen the lake and the pond so full up. Had a good clear
out of
the pond edges, giving best view of water than I've ever seen and makes
the
pond look larger. See Gallery.
January 26th: Big
Garden Bird Watch:
Oh what a
disaster
this year! A very wet and windy day, both Saturday and Sunday. I kept
putting
off the hour on Sunday afternoon, after filling the feeders, hoping for
better
conditions, which did not appear. Finally started counting as it was
getting dark.
Only seven species, and that included the moorhens and the coots! Of
course
Monday morning, a weak sun was out and the trees and feeders were
filled.
January: Latrines!
Much
badger activity
down by the boat shed, with badgers continually digging fresh 'poo
pits'. I
fill them in so they don't used - hopefully they will find another site!
Jan 5th: Sounds of
Spring?
A cold
cloudy and damp
morning, but how the spirits were lifted by the sound of not one, not
two but
three song thrushes singing their hearts out with their triplet
melodies. Quite
uplifting. The delight continued on and off through January.
Dec
10/11th: Winds:
The gales put paid to
a large sweet chestnut in the woods, and our lovely, healthy plum tree
- trunk
snapped completely in half.
October
28th: Marque:
Luckily both the
marque and the bonfire, erected before our firework party on 2nd Nov
withstood
the strong gales. Lighting the fireworks proved harder!
October
19th: Visitors
Following a noise
reminiscent of the klaxons of a veteran car valley, which Woody quite
excited,
rounded the house to find a large flock of geese were using the lake as
a temporary
refuge. There was about 50 of them, but they only stayed some 30 mins
before equally
noisily taking to the air again. Picture in the Gallery.
Oct
3rd: Funghi:
If only I had the knowledge,
(or courage!) to find the edible ones, since it is turning out to be a
fantastic Autumn for the funghi. We do pick and eat the field
mushrooms, since
they are the ones I can identify with some confidence. I am sure I
found some chanterelle
in the woods, but despite referring to Carluccio's book, could not be
certain
enough. A few varieties shown in the Gallery.
Sep
11th: Preparing
for departure:
Several evenings this
week saw a large flock of nearly 100 house martins, wheeling overhead
the trees
and grass, and swooping low over the pond to feed, gathering energy and
companionship before departing to sunnier climes. Suddenly one day,
there they
were - gone!
Aug
27th: Dragonflies:
It's been a great years
for dragonflies and damselflies. Large and small red and blue-tailed
damselflies, hawkers and many emperors. The emperors, darting backwards
and
forwards, really come up and study you quite closely in the face in a
quite
disconcerting manner. Gives the impression of a semi-autonomous
'sky-bot' from a
Philip K Dick novel. Tough to get on film, but did capture a couple of
pics. See
one in the Gallery.
Aug
6th: RSPB Big Wild
Sleepout:
Graced with another
visit from BBC crews this evening and Tim Muffett to film a family
camping out to observe nocturnal wild
life. An evening
when CSH just would not perform at all - not a thing moved, despite me
accompanying Tim, a camera man and two RSPB folks, and children, into
the
woods, to stand for 20 minutes to try to see badgers! Thank goodness
for the
owl hooting and the moth trap, to inject some 'wild' interest.
Aug
2nd: Sky Rainbow:
On a dry but slightly
cloudy day, saw the unusual phenomenon of a rainbow in the clouds. Not
grounded
at either end, the rainbow appeared to float. The effect of sunlight
through water
droplets in the atmosphere. See Gallery.
June
25th: Perigee
Full Moon:
Across these few days
the moon was at the closest point to earth and appearing 10% larger and
30%
brighter than normal. Also helped by the optical illusion as it was
visible low
in the sky. Made for
some good pictures though. See Gallery.
Jun 16/17: Badgers
like peanuts:
Great Badger-Cam shots of 3 badgers snuffling peanuts around the main set. See Trophy Cam Gallery
May6th:
Tadpoles finally:
April
17th:
Butterflies:
Who says butterflies
are rare this year? Just see what we found inside the trunk of a fallen
tree.
See the
April
14th/15th:
Spring!!
After weeks of gloom
and despondency, suddenly a bright sunny (if still very cold) morning.
Suddenly
all seems right with the world. Just this morning I see: Frogs in the
pond, the
swirling sound as countless small fish leave the surface of the pond, I
count
over 30 Koi sunning themselves at the top end of the lake, frogs
swimming
across the lake, I rescue a female frog carrying two males, and help
her to the
lake, the May trees are going green. Oh joy!!
April
12th:
Hooray:
Simply one word (or is
it two?).....Frog Spawn!
Another long period of
deep snow, keeps the pressure on us with the feeders. It's all worth it
when
you see birds as attractive as the Long Tail Tits on the feeder.
Put down peanuts and
carrots to attract badgers to the Trophy Cam. However only succeeded in
attracting the Muntjacs. It did lead to some rather good video, though,
in
singles and as a pair. See the video in the Trophy Cam section.
Jan 11th:
Nuthatch:
The feeders were
empty, so we were rewarded by some good pics of the Nuthatch in the
cherry tree
outside the family room. See the Gallery
2012
Dec 17th:
These red berries are just too big!!
Despite what
I reported in October about the bumper red berry crop, actually the
black birds
are complaining! They are too big to swallow in one go, and too tough
to break
up on the tree. It’s really amusing watching them attack the
berry and then
drop it. They are clearing them up from the floor though. See picture
in gallery.
November 22nd:
Red Carpet:
Autumn
colours on our trees were not so great this year, even though leaves
remained
in place until much later than usual. However the beech trees on the
lower path
did not disappoint and when they fell it gave Chestnut Spinney our very
own ‘Red
Carpet’. I felt like putting on my DJ, and walking along it
looking for the
paparazzi! See picture in the Gallery (of the red carpet but not the
DJ!)
November 20th:
Red Kite:
Today, and
across the next three days it would turn out, not one but two Red Kites
have
been circulating over CSH. It was very windy, and their soaring skills
were in
full display as they balanced beautifully on the fierce air currents.
There was
a shooting Party a couple of fields up, and maybe that had drawn them
to the
area, looking for missed ‘kill’.
Oct 20th:
Autumn Berries:
Beautiful
sunny day with the first really deep frost. It may have been a bad
summer for
fruit, but it’s a great year for berries. (See the picture in the
gallery).
Look out for some really fat blackbirds and blue tits (and wood
pigeons!)
Sep 25th:
Swallows:
A dry but
windy day, so took a long walk across the fields to the steam. Very
surprised
to see quite a large number of swallows, still around, ducking and
diving over
the fields, where late autumn insects were in profusion. The swallows
looked small
and young - this year’s generation I am sure.
EJ reported
extensive lawn damage at her cottage. On inspection it looked like
badgers, but
Badger-Cam did not reveal a suspect, other than MadMax, a cat and a
very large
bird! However, the very next day, patrolling behind the CSH lake
revealed we
had been very extensively ‘badgered’ too. Who sent them
here – EJ says it was a
badger ‘flash-mob’.
Badger-Cam,
deployed the next evening, caught some interesting pictures of the
culprit,
coming back for a second dig.
Sep 3rd:
Frogs:
Strimming
brambles and long grass around the back of the lake, and had to stop
several
times to allow young frogs to get away safely. Hooray!
July/August:
Where has summer gone?
Wet, wet, wet! Several ‘badger watch’ outings with absolutely no luck.
June 25th:
No froglets:
Not seen
any froglets yet – am I panicking too early?
Jun 10th:
Barn Owl:
We were
treated to an astonishing display of the barn owl, circling the lake
and our
lawn, very early in the evening circa 5.30pm! It was not unconnected,
we guess,
to the presence of four baby moorhens and two baby coots on the lake.
June 4-11:
Baby Wrens:
The wren
has once again nested in the hanging basket by the back door. Below the
watering system it was a pretty damp location, but three baby wrens
looked
healthy. Problem was it was time to change to spring planting, so very
carefully the nest was removed and ‘replanted’. Within
minutes the mother was
back feeding again. The feeding didn’t really start until mid
morning. I
guessed she was feeding herself up first. But then the feed rate was an
astonishing once every three/four minutes, until mid afternoon. The
picture in
the gallery shows two of the three babies, pretty close to fledging,
which we
missed over the weekend of Jun 16/17, whilst we were away in
May 8th
and 9th: Fox Family: Meaning of
‘foxhole’:
Another
result of two balmy late spring evenings, a family of fox cubs appears
in the
sunny grassy area in front of the Gorse bushes, behind the lake. In
total five
delightful little cubs appear, and ‘play-fight’ each other
in a pretty
acrobatic manner. If this is practice for hunting, then this family
will not
starve! The vixen has evidently taken over one of the vacated badger
sets,
under the bracken in the hillside behind the gorse. There is a small
hollow in
the grass, where they take turns to lie in, with barely two large ears
visible,
then pounce out onto a passing sibling, or get pounced upon. When the
vixen
appears, she barely looks much bigger, and has quite dark legs, a
characteristic mirrored in just one of the cubs. Two days later, it
pours with
rain all day and evening, prompting us to ask ourselves whatever you do
with
five active fox cubs in the set when it is raining. What is the Reynard
equivalent of colour pencils? See video in the Gallery.
May 8th:
Tadpoles by the billion!
After having
been worried about the frog population seeming rather scarce this year,
and the
weather not being conducive to a warm mass migration, I get a lesson in
how
nature can compensate with margins of security. There may only have
been a few
frogs that I saw made it to the lake, but this morning, a sunny day, in
the
shallow margins of the lake, there are billions of tadpoles, a literal
black
cloud some six feet wide by twenty feet long. Should keep the
population going.
Family room
watching the Grand Prix, when catch sight of a buzzard, wheeling and
wheeling
over the garden, and doing low level swoops. I assume it is after frogs
(or
baby rabbits). At one moment, lands on the grass, and appears to eat
something
– it’s a big bird. Just manage to get a bit of video before
it swings away over
the trees. It’s only when I come to view the video, and see the
distinctive
concave tail, that I realise it was the red kite! (See video).
March17th:
Lucky survivors:
Finally can
see upwards of 50 frogs cavorting in the margins of the lake, with some
low
level croaking including beleaguered females, entrapped by 5 or 6
males, trying
vainly to escape their clutches. Unfortunately, no signs of frog life
in the
pond, but sunny/cold night weather continuing, so we may still be too
early for
the mass migration.
March 14:
Frogs or no frogs:
This time
of year, that is the big question! We are experiencing unseasonably
warm and
dry weather, but despite day time sunshine, the really cold nights are
inhibiting the wakening process. Occasionally find one or two at night,
frozen
into still life by the cold. Over the next few days, countless half
eaten
bodies are found, captured I assume ‘en route’.
Feb 23rd:
Valuable Snowdrops:
I have been
reading about the snowdrop corms, from a rare variety, that were valued
at £700.
The distinguishing features appeared to be a green ‘face
like’ image on the
white flower, so I went out and looked at mine. Lo and behold, some of
my flowers,
the larger ones, exhibited just such a feature, and I have got loads!
Am I a
snowdrop millionaire? Judge for yourself in the gallery picture.
Feb 11th/12th:
Brambling:
On several
occasions a large (greater than 50) flock of birds sat high in the
trees in the
spinney, or in the poplars, on sunny occasions. I had to photograph and
zoom
heavily to identify them, I believe it to be a flock of brambling. They
sung so
extensively and prettily, with a kind of tuneless twittering. It was
such a
lovely spring like sound that so loudly filled the air, that it was
quite
uplifting. (See picture and video in gallery)
Feb 4th
to 10th: Cold:
Across this
period we saw some 5 inches of snow that lingered for 4 to 5 days.
Bewildered
Herons drifted across the icy lake, wondering where the fish had gone.
Feb 2:
Visitors:
Today a
visit from five little partridges, dressed up for the occasion. They
took a
long time to meander around the garden, pecking juicy bits from under
each of
the trees in turn.
December 25th:
Trophy
Watch out
for Trophy Cam Gallery!
Dec 5th:
Redwing:
Always when the camera is not to hand! View from the bathroom window, was a large flock of redwing, beautifully coloured, as though in full military uniform, they just lacked the medals. The flock numbering some 20 to30 birds was avidly feeding on the very large red berries in the tree by the playground.
Oct 27th:
Bees nest:
Whilst
shooting to keep the rabbit population under control, our gardeners
spotted a
wild bee’s nest some 15 feet up in the trunk of a chestnut tree,
at the back of
the garden at the edge of Mike’s wood. There were four very clear
‘squared off’
honeycombs clearly visible, with lots of bee activity, adding to them.
Good to
see it all looking so healthy, as the picture in the gallery shows.
Last two
weeks of September and on into October: Warm and dry:
A period of
warm, dry, balmy Indian summer, just wonderful to witness and be out
in. Plant
life totally confused with all the Yuccas presenting their third set of
flowers
for the season, and fresh blooms on the rosebushes, peonies, penstemon
and
crocosmia. (After note: we witnessed flowers on the Gorse and
blackberry bushes
in mid November – although the blackberry crop was exceedingly
poor this year).
Sep 13th:
Fledgling Goldfinch:
Extensive
application of the
August 30th:
A good year for the Koi:
A shoal of
baby Koi, with upwards of 30 fish, has been seen on the surface of the
lake
recently. This is the largest quantity of young I have witnessed.
Conditions
must have been good, despite record low water levels. (Shallows are
completely
dry, showing level down some 24 inches from the peak!). I need to keep
the
cormorant (and heron) away! Picture in Gallery.
August 17th: Alien life form in the loft!
Midday I
went to retrieve a box from the far end of the loft (‘it’s
well boarded and
high enough for me to walk upright in the centre). Turned around with
my box,
and looked up, to receive the shock of my life – one that
literally made hairs
stand up on the back of one’s neck! There on the chimney breast,
just below
roof level was an enormous alien life form, clinging to wall. It was
white,
round and lumpy, nearly a yard deep, and two yards long, with a longer
thinner
region (it’s neck, I immediately thought) protruding from it. It
was only the
presence of some 50 wasps, crawling over the surface that bought me
back to
earth, with the realisation I was looking at a giant wasps nest. To see
why I
was so scared, just view the picture in the gallery.
August 14th:
Heron’s viewpoint:
Just
recently the heron has taken to surveying the lake from the top of the
birch
tree behind it (picture in gallery). Wasn’t sure why, until the
entry for
August 30th!
Late August
up to Mid September: One swallow may not make a summer….but:
July 3:
Poppies:
Jun 11th:
Skylarks and a Black Squirrel:
Walking
Woody down by the stream, bottom of the field, serenaded by a couple of
Skylarks, just the other side of the stream, barely 10 feet off the
ground,
hovering and singing their beautiful lilting song. Did more to attract
my
attention to where they were nesting, than the intended distraction. I
had
heard a lot about Black Squirrel sightings in Hitchin, and as close as
Appley
Woods, and finally today, in the Spinney, caught the first glimpse of
one CSH.
Picture in the gallery.
Jun 4/5:
Bold Baby Badger:
May 12th:
‘Long Tail Tits fan club’ continued:
I was
blessed today with the sight of three baby badgers, so young they were
not
black and white, but dark grey and light grey. Woody and I were walking
back
through Mike’s woods along the lower path, at approximately 4
o’clock in the
afternoon. It had been warm and sunny – like everyday right now.
Woody ran
ahead to sniff something small and grey on the path, which at first I
took to
be a dead pigeon. When I got closer, it was not dead, but moving slowly
and
very much alive, and not a pigeon but a baby badger! Furthermore, in
the low
bracken there were two more. They did not seem stressed, but very
leisurely
shuffled away into the undergrowth, and down separate set entrances. I
got some
rather poor photos, since I had only the telephoto lens with me. Try
and try
again, I never was able to repeat the sighting, although, later that
evening,
spurred by the experience, we did see a big badger in the set in our
woods.
Through
Mike’s woods, to the edge of the field, the morning walk, on a
lovely sunny
morning, my attention was grabbed by a whole tree of lively chattering
birds,
just on the edge of the Pheasant Spinney. Still not completely sure
what they
were, but my favourite theory with the creamy orange breast was
brambling. Took
my camera for the rest of the week, but didn’t get another
sighting.
February
2/3rd: Long Tailed Tits:
Are these
birds the prettiest, most beautifully balanced and designed song birds
ever?
They make all other birds appear clumsy. Certainly the
‘super-models’ of the
bird world – without the tantrums! Caught some lovely pictures on
the feeders.
January 18th:
One of those magical moments:
Making an
early start (for me anyway: 7.45) to get the train to London, just
pulled left
out of the drive to see the magnificent sight of a mature barn owl
quartering
up and down the ‘Rhubarb patch’. I risked missing the train
as I just had to
stop and watch, as it finally flew the length into Mike’s woods.
Could it
possibly be roosting there?
January 14th:
The first thrush:
Not all is
gloomy though! Despite a cold drizzly morning, the thrush was at the
top of the
spruce, singing loudly of spring. An event more significant, to me,
than the
first cuckoo!
January 14th:
RIP!
Netted
hundreds of dead Rudd, out of the pond margins today, including two
fine specimens
of 8-10 ounces each – obviously the parents. I am now quite sure
I have lost
the lot. I took a picture of a significant group of them. I was also
concerned
that the dead Gunnera leaves might also be to blame, several having
collapsed
well into the pond, I was not able to clear until last week, because of
the
weather. I believe the leaves are toxic, but must do further research.
Interestingly, a test with the pool equipment showed the pH was a
perfect
balanced neutral 7.
These fish
have given me lots of pleasure, both just visually, and as a bit of
light
summer sport, so it’s very sad occurrence, but I will have to
restock.
January 11th and 12th: Apocalypse in plural:
In a week of news of natural disasters; Red winged Blackbirds (not thrushes as reported) falling from the sky in Arkansas, jackdaws in Sweden, doves in Italy and frogs in Australia; I am sad to report Chestnut Spinney had its own Armageddon this week. Tuesday I noticed a few dead Rudd floating in the margins of the pond. By Wednesday there were many, many more. Rushed to put the hose in the pond for a while, suspecting low oxygen levels were to blame. There has been a very late and unusual leaf fall this year. Firstly the oaks from the woods behind, unusually, shed in this direction, onto the pond. Second the frozen pond held onto the leaves, ensuring maximum ‘capture’ when the snow finally melted.
December
26th: Hunger causes risky practice:
Boxing Day
breakfast in full swim, and why shouldn’t the fox eat too?
However, taking a
walk across the centre of the frozen lake could have been a step too
far! The
fox safely made it across, though, as the picture shows, we were all
glad to
see.
December 19th:
Deep and crisp and even!
Thankfully we are home this Christmas, with all the family, because it is going to be very ‘White’ one around here. Some eight or nine inches that looks set to last a while. [Post note: and it really did last – enabling a beautiful walk in crisp white snow on Boxing Day. The snow, in fact, stayed with us until the 29th]
December 6th:
A deep frosting:
Such a deep
frost this morning, that the photographs that I was compelled to take,
early in
the morning, almost appear in black and white.
December 5th: Attack squad:
A lot of
snow, still around after a whole week. Food at a premium I assume,
hence a
rather unusual sight of no less than four Jays, hunting in a pack, and
attacking a lonely sparrow hawk, which appeared a bit shocked at the
whole
situation. The sparrow hawk tried to shelter in the vines on the
pergola, but
was soon bullied out and finally took off.
November 13th:
Visitors:
Returned to
the house today mid-afternoon to see visitors on the pond, a pair of
mute
swans. They looked exhausted; I guess having just flown in on a
migration path.
Heads deeply buried under wings, they just drifted around in the
centre,
sleeping soundly. Even Woody couldn’t trouble them. They seemed
to sleep for
24hours, after which, disappointingly to us, they took off to resume
their
journey.
November 8th:
A Baby:
Great
excitement today, as the Muntjacs took their morning stroll, to see a
kitten
sized baby closely following. Glimpsed us and tore back into the
Spinney.
Several sightings across next two weeks, but never able to get a
picture. [Post
note: by the end of the year, the baby was seen to be developing well
– more
competition for the lower magnolia buds!]
November 7th: Autumn Gold:
Much delayed, but a beautiful golden autumn, with most of the chestnuts and oaks still in full leaf. Makes a beautiful picture.
October 24th
and 25th:
October 23rd,
24th and 25th: Lapwings and Plovers:
A spell of
beautiful crisp sunny days, made longer walks with Woody essential.
Rewarded on
the 23rd with a heart warming sight of a large flock of
lapwings
accompanied by the mandatory plovers feeding on the young cereal shoots
and on
the fallow field areas. Then, suddenly disturbed, they took off, a
flock of
lapwing, with their stroboscopic, light/dark visual effects, a loose
grouping,
but flocking together. Much more exciting was the little cloud of
plovers, very
tightly knit, in a spherical cluster, wheeling in the sun, alternately
as a
white cloud and then one of puregold! It was like a continuous aerial
firework
display. Back the next two days with the video, which enabled some
great shots
on the ground, and of the lapwing in the air, but did not succeed in
catching
the plovers in the air. Video in the Gallery
July 23rd:
Humming Bird Hawk Moth:
Obviously these are good weather conditions for rare visitors – that and the bright colour delights of the hanging baskets now the watering system is installed! We had seen one once before about two years ago, now this one is paying us daily visits whilst the sun is out. Long may it continue.
July 22nd: ‘Stoatally’ Fun:A damp day after a long dry spell, obviously sent this visiting stoat into paroxysms of delight! For about two hours, on and off, it ran round in circles, performed somersaults and gyrations in the air, dashed about in and out of the reeds, ran along the wooden ridge adjoining the ‘beach’ and altogether had a thoroughly good time! Catch the video in the Gallery.
July 12th:
It’s been a good summer with baby coots and moorhens on the lake, and baby moorhens on the pond, which appear to have had a reasonable survival rate, despite every sparrow hawk, fox and fox-cub, cat and jay, for miles around constantly stalking the young birds. It’s unusual, though, to report on a new arrival, so it was really exciting to see a parent with three baby chicks, moving across the centre of the lake. The parent was dark brown with bright yellow eyes, and with RSPB expert confirmation, it was identified as a tufted duck – an indication of deep healthy water.
July 3rd: Cherries
and Squirrels:
April 27th:
April 26th:
Very warm sunny day. Garden is invaded by a flock of Fieldfare. I easily counted 50, probably the total could have been nearer 80! They all descended on the grass at the side of the house, mid afternoon, and then moved around to the back on the lawn and by the lake. They stayed for about 15 minutes before something scared them.
Feb 18th:
First spring birds:
January 28th:
Big Garden Bird Watch:
BBC filmed
a piece for the RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch in our garden, with two
granddaughters as hastily convened ‘twitchers’, supported
by intellectual Mum holding
forth on the delights of bird watching! Resulted in a good piece on BBC
Breakfast with Tim Muffet and RSPB’s Richard Bashford interviewed
with a
Chestnut Spinney backdrop. Oh yes, and Chestnut Spinney participation
in the
Bird Watch recorded 11 varieties, in the hour allowed, with two on the
‘scarce’
list.
Mid October
to Mid December: The Lake in transition:
Hobby,
Buzzard, Sparrow hawk: Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Bullfinch, Goldfinch,
Nuthatch,
Robin, Spotted fly catcher, Tree creeper,
September 1st:
New visitors:
Tried a different feed in the birdfeeders consisting of a heavy Nyjer seed mix. Well rewarded on this distinctly autumnal day with a Nuthatch, in his foppish blue greatcoat overtop a golden waistcoat. Then, not one, but a pair of Goldfinches. Their aggressive, possessive behaviour on the birdfeeder, rather belied their clown like appearance.
August 10th:
Swallows:
A late evening walk across the freshly mown fields. Overcast and humid, with a distant light on the horizon casting a rather eerie glow all around and a feint drizzle in the air. Suddenly we were surrounded by a flight of swallows, all engaged in their dare-devilishly discontinuous jig-jag flight, like a sort of Brownian motion in the sky. There must have been some 200, young and old, feeding on insects just above the cropped fields, filling the air with their apparently joyful in-flight chirruping.
July 13th:
Buzzard Alarms:
Not convinced the buzzards bred in this nest, this year, since there has been no sign of babies ‘mewling’ for food. However, this morning, the woods were full of buzzard cries, as an adult flew from tree to tree all around me, trying to attract my attention. As it was quite low, and bold, I got the best photos I’d ever achieved. I am convinced it was drawing my attention from something. This was repeated across the next few days.
April 26th:
Badger watching:
A beautiful
day, dry and sunny with light westerly wind, so a perfect evening to be
ensconced
on the ‘seat’ for a badger watch! Treated to a lovely
display, starting with
the adults, quite early, whilst the sun was still quite high. This was
followed
with lots of activity, including as dusk fell around us, two youngsters
playing
in front of the set.
At least someone detects the onset of spring. The Buzzard is on the nest.
April 16th:
Where are they?
After two weeks of snow – white roads and drive for a whole week, I measured eight inches - a warmer day at 45 deg F, but overcast. Nevertheless, after two weeks of eerie silence, as much as a sign of optimism as anything, on my morning walk the birds have woken up! Two thrushes, numerous finches, robins and a drumming woodpecker. How uplifting!
Then the call of the horn, and all is order again.
January 16th:
December 9th: A visitor
October 13th: House
building
September 28th: Autumn
Sun:
After a wet summer, a weekend respite! A most beautiful autumn, misty yet sunny morning. You could smell the ‘mellow fruitfulness’.
August 21st: ‘Aerial’
feeding.
A damp and drizzly morning, walking around the top of the lake, my eye is caught by movement, movement everywhere. Everywhere is moving! The ground is moving. The grass is creeping. It starts in the periphery of one’s vision, and like a nightmare seems to stop when you dare look at it. A slight turn of the head and the movement begins again. It’s like an episode of Dr Who. But it’s harmless, this alien manifestation. It’s millions of froglets, barely a quarter inch long, migrating from the lake, across the grass, to the bushes. Good luck froglets!
June 16th: What do
badgers have for pudding?
June 7th: Where do they come from?
June 3rd: There’s more!
May 31st: New
arrivals
A busy week! A moorhen family on the pond, I estimate born yesterday, and then today I heard loud, noisy, trilling, chattering alarm calls on the far edge of the lake. There deep in the bog bean was a muddy nest, with a pretty deep red breasted, black headed small duck with a white false mouth. Then I saw the babies, no bigger than a man’s thumb. The mate was trying to call us away, so we obliged, but the three babies had already developed the art of disappearing under water and surfacing a long way away. Later as we identified them from the photographs as Little Grebe, we saw one of the parents actually carried a baby on its back!
May 12th: New collective noun - A
‘contamination’ of tadpoles
To a day, on the exact date as last
year (remembered, as it has a certain significance to a member of the
family!)
the baby coots appear! This year, again, there are seven, red billed,
whiskered
little creatures, full of curiosity and adventure.
No ‘risk-averse’ parents these,
either. First day they are taken on a feeding tour of the lake; by day
three
the family is out feeding on the grass in the spring sunshine.
Already, a sparrow hawk is taking an
unhealthy interest from a distance.
April 15th: Interlopers
Currently engaged in our annual
battle to discourage a pair of Canada Geese from nesting on the lake.
Majestic,
proud, lovely-looking birds, but who between them turn out more raw
sewage, on
the lawn, than a farmer’s slurry sprayer!
This pair are persistent, so I have
to row out across the lake towards them, trying to look menacing, with
Maureen
guarding the pond against unauthorised refuelling stops, until they
take to the
air noisily complaining, execute a couple of ‘holding
pattern’ circles, and
then fly off, temporarily defeated.
April 5th: Life Happens
I have realised that nature does not
always operate with a precisely co-ordinated 'big
bang', but rather by stealth.
So it has been with the frogs and
toads this year. Apart from the prior entry, with mostly cold days
– and indeed
3 inches of snow on April 6th – although there has
been no mass
migration, day by day frogs and toads are appearing in the pond and
lake.
Today the first ‘dusty’ strings of
toad spawn appear in the bog-bean in the pond. Worryingly, no sign of
frog
spawn yet.
That clockwork machine back in
evidence again, briefly this evening. An abrupt tick up in temperature,
and a
stiff downpour, woke up every frog and toad for miles around to
commence the
annual migration to the lake.
Slow motoring down the drive necessitated
a leading ‘red-flag’ person on foot, carefully lifting the
proud-headed but
semi-motionless creatures onto the verge.
Then, by midnight, a sudden drop in temperature told everyone it was a false alarm, and by morning there was not one to be seen!
March 11th: More uniforms
I have mentioned uniforms a couple
of times in the prior entries, but today I saw the ultimate, a
veritable
commissionaire’s attire with a flamboyant bright blue and pink,
with flashings
of shaded braid.
Of course I mean the Jays, a pair of
which was bullying its way through the woods.
Actually less like doormen at a hotel and more like ‘bouncers’ at a night club with a belligerent alternating ‘scout’ and ‘follower’ approach to patrolling.
March 6th: More helpers
Ever wondered where all the fallen
leaves and twigs go?
Leaves are still a mystery, but I’ve
solved the problem about the twigs!
As the sun begins to warm us up, an army of black-coated, efficient stick collectors sets to work. Not a crow flies past, at the moment, without a twig in its mouth!
February 16th: Inspections
Whilst standing in the Spinney,
heard the drilling of a woodpecker very close by.
Looked up, and there was not one, but two Great Spotted Woodpeckers, hopping from tree to tree, at the very tops, like two fussy, red-coated health and safety inspectors, testing my trees with their drumming tools.
January 27th: Two visitors, a surprise and a right
angle
Two garden entrants nearly collided
with much surprise today.
The first was me, tumbling out the
back door onto the grass, on a sunny morning – eyes
‘early-morning closed’ –
mind not quite engaged.
The second was the sparrow hawk –
contrastingly awake – flying arrow fast, straight towards,
unusually low at head
height.
The result was the most dramatic
right-angled turn, a microsecond of wings all in the wrong place,
skewed
upright, forcing feathers out of place
Feathers more red than brown – more
red than, afterwards you dared remember.
I was awake!
January 23rd
Nature, at
times, acts with the co-ordinated consistency of a precision engineered
machine,
in response to the environment!
Today, it
is still warm, but also bright and sunny, bringing forward perceived
daylight
by almost an hour. As a result, life just ‘switches on’
- The first thrush singing its heart
out
- A woodpecker banging its head up
against a tree
- The smaller birds song turned up
several decibels from the piping bullfinch, to the flashing wren and the tits scrambling in the trees
-Koi carp attempting
early spawning in the
lake with surface flashes of yellow, pink and orange
- Even Mr Robin, having fed happily by 8.30 in the morning, astride the very top of the tree, thrusting out a bright red breast full of song
January 16th
Beautifully
sunny but very cold. Snow drops littering the woods and the aconites
asserting
their yellow presence. Daffodil green spears already up three inches
and the
first blue-bell shoots just appearing. Where have all the leaves gone?