Long-eared Owl. Moors Pools, WWT Upton Warren....09/05/2010

Great excitement as me and my daughter got out of my car at the carpark at the Moors Pools and were booting up (walking boots on for the uninitiatated.lol!), a gentleman told us that there was a Long-eared Owl perched in the reeds on the Moors Pools and that a warden would direct us to the site to view the Owl! What a treat to see such a stunning Owl! Fortunately it had perched near to the edge of the reeds so good views were had and pics were possible! A lifer for me and a great bird to see, we were well pleased! Other highlights today were Common Tern, Greenshank, Oystercatcher, G C Grebes and L R Plover at the Moors Pools! Over at the Flashes highlights were Greenshank (1), Avocet with 3 chicks, Redshank, L R Plover, Oystercatcher, Shelduck, Common Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, Songthrush, Cetti's warbler, and Reed Warbler that posed very nicely thank you for a couple of pics! One of the photo's attached of the Reed Warbler I have to thank my daughter for lending me the pic as it is a full frontal and better than the one I took of the same bird! The vegetation got in the way in my pic.lol!!! A super day today and a great thrill to see the Owl!

Garden update....29/05/2010

The Spring flowers have now faded and summer bedding plants are now in situ! Summertime is around the corner, better tell the weather that.lol! The birds are feeding like there is no tomorrow though I have only seen in my garden a single fledgling Dunnock and Blackbird, so maybe more fledglings will be arriving soon! The Starlings are daily in the garden eating every last morsel of the suet pellets that I put in the feeder, the pellets are expensive so they are being rationed.lol! The birds arriving on a daily basis are the usual species Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Blue & GreatTits, Starlings, Robin, Woodpigeons, Feral Pigeons and the occasional visit from a Coal Tit and Greenfinches. The Blue Tits have deserted the House Sparrow terrace nesting box sadly, I wonder why this happens?
The Wisteria that has draped around a third of my house is looking beautiful and the fragrance is delightful on a warm day/evening. The Lilac tree is in full flower and also has a divine fragrance. Woodpigeons will no doubt descend on the Lilac tree when the flowers fade, the Woodies eat the spent blossom!

Busy birds in my garden....13/05/2010

Starlings are eating all in their path at present and not fussy with waiting their turn at the feeders. The poor Dunnocks are getting knocked off the feeders as the Starlings descend on them, at least the Dunnocks ground feed afterwards and hoover the dropped seed up. Starling numbers have increased from 2-3 during Winter and now number 8-10 visiting my garden. I am looking forward to seeing and hearing their youngsters when they fledge, a noisy lot but fun to watch. Not much sign of any birds nesting in my garden. The Blue Tits appear to have deserted the nest they had begun in the Sparrow Terrace nest box. Blackbirds are feeding well but no sign of any youngsters yet and a couple of Carrion Crows are stuffing their beaks to full capacity with scones, sultanas and anything else I put down for ground feed, so they have young to feed no doubt. They look quite comical when they have filled their beaks, they look as though they have a mouthful of teeth! A pair of Jackdaws have been in the garden a few times carrying off food for their young, this is the only time I ever see them in my garden, as with the Crows they are very hesitant for such a big bird. Magpies are regulars, just two but no doubt they will have youngsters in tow soon. A male Bullfinch was on the feeders yesterday (12th), a pleasure to see as they rarely hang around for long. A Greenfinch pair have returned yet I hardly saw them through the coldest winter we had for yonks...strange that. A pair of Robins are I believe nesting in a neighbours garden, the cheek of them, eat my food and nest elsewhere.lol! I do believe that if I took the feeders down then I would see more nesting in my garden, I do wonder if it is because my garden is not often devoid of birds, that is unless the Sparrowhawks are about! I almost forgot, the 3-4 Feral Pigeons are still daily visitors. I had expected them to have found another food source while I was away on holiday as the scones etc were not put out daily, but not to be, they are the first to descend as soon as the food is on the ground.lol! Oh well, they are birds and have to eat...all are welcome if they are hungry...even the Sparrowhawks.lol! Swifts are back over the gardens this week, I counted 4 initially but last night (13th) I counted 9! They were flying fairly low enough for me to hear their screaming as they swooped over the gardens! Brill...Summer is almost here!

Springtime in my garden continued!

I took a few photo's of some of the Spring flowers in my garden this morning whilst the sun was still shining as rain was forecast for later. The rain arrived and hasn't stopped since.lol!

The blue Forget Me Not's make a welcome contrast to the predominantly yellow colour of the main spring flowers in my garden.

Springtime in my garden.

At long last Spring has arrived and brought with it beautiful fresh, sharp colours making the cold Winter that we endured seem a long time ago! The Tulips, Daffodils, Forget-me-knots, Primulas and Cowslips are all in flower and looking a picture! Birds are gathering nesting material and I feel sure that Robins are feeding chicks as they are busily flying to and fro the feeders throughout the day. A female Blackbird has been very busy gathering nesting material today and taking it in to the conifer hedge while the male perched in several places around the garden like a sentry, lazy wotsit why don't they help the female!!!! Coal Tits have been frequent visitors to the feeders also this week so perhaps they are feeding chicks. A pair of Blue Tits have taken up residence in a House Sparrow terrace nest box, I can watch them from a kitchen window which the nest box is above, they are very busy especially first thing in the mornings! The nest boxes in trees are not to my knowledge being used, they have been inspected by Blue & Great Tits but as far as I can tell they are empty of birds! Still time for them to be used though! The trees and shrubs are leafing and budding up well now, lovely to see the freshness of the leaves when they unfurl. Plenty of insects around especially Bumble bees but I have only had a few sightings of butterflies and they are too quick for me to ID, I would guess at them being Peacocks though! The sunset this evening was a beauty, the best I have seen for a long time with such striking colours!

I cannot end my Springtime writing without a few photo's and a poem that is the epitome of Spring thoughts.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
a poem by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Hurcott Pools & Wood Nature Reserve.... 18/04/10

About time I played catch up on my blog!

Hurcott Pools & Wood Nature Reserve is roughly a ten minute drive from my home. It is an area that I really should visit more often as the Woodland birds found on this walk were a joy to see and hear. It was a lovely warm sunny day, perfect for a pasture land and woodland walk.
Highlight birds on the pasture walk were Green Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush, Long-tailed Tit, Kestrel, along with Chiffchaff and Blackcap heard only.

The Pool was very quiet with just a single Great Crested Grebe, Canada Goose and Heron, Coot x4, Moorhen x3, Mallards and a couple of Swallows that skimmed the water for a drink late in the afternoon. It will be interesting to see if numbers on the pool increase as the seasons change. A Bittern was seen at these pools last winter so hopefully it may return but I do not want to think of Autumn/Winter just yet after such a bitterly cold Winter...let's have Spring and a hot Summer first.lol!

The woods were alive with pairs of Nuthatch and Blackcap, great views were had of each species. Other birds seen were Chiffchaff, Greenfinch, Robin, Blackbird, Wren, Coal, Blue & Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Song Thrush, Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw and Magpie. No doubt that since my walk the Bluebells are in full bloom now, there were just the odd one's starting to open when I visited.

A funny sight was the Owl perched in a tree! From a distance it looked real...well I thought it did anyway.lol!!

My Saturday solitude morning!....17/04/2010

Driving to the Fisheries in glorious sunshine a Song Thrush was seen as it flew in to a hedgerow and a couple of Swallows were seen around the paddocks. Two Chiffchaffs were continually singing, no doubt after a mate or being territorial, for whichever reason neither bird seemed to want to stop singing or give in to the other.lol Their song rang out the whole time I was on my walk. A Blackcap and Chaffinch were also in full song other than these birds the area was quiet. I did spot a Green Woodpecker as it flew the length of a field to a tree. The usual suspects Woodpigeon, Magpie, Blackbird and Blue & Great Tits were seen regularly. As I made for home I spotted a Skylark fly down in to a field so I parked along the track and tried for a photo! Well I tried very hard, not easy in a large field and managed a couple of ropey photo's so I am adding them to my blog, my first of the year Skylark pics and I tried too hard for them not to add them.lol!! Lesser Celandine, Horsetail and Dandelion were growing well, also the Brambles now have fresh green shoots and the trees are leafing up well in this relatively mild weather. Good to see some colour coming back to the countryside!