A couple of ambles.

Saturday the 13th of August found me on a quest to see if I could catch sight of the Tawny Owls I had seen on the 30th July, not surprisingly I didn't even hear a hoot.lol! I did however have great views of a flock of c40 Goldfinches feeding on Thistle seed heads.A Blackcap (f), Great and Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Robin, Blackbird, Magpie, Woodpigeon, a Green Woodpecker heard and great views of a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Plenty of House Martins were hunting over nearby paddocks along with a few Barn Swallows.

Goldfinch.


Great Spotted Woodpecker.


Goldfinch.




Sunday the 14th August and a local(ish) wood was visited for the first time. The wood is in an area that has residential and Industrial properties alongside it. The woodland has I believe been reduced in size over the years but still has plenty of habitat left for wildlife. The River Stour runs alongside this small wood, sadly the invasive plant Himalayan Balsam is prolific and screens long stretches of the river in this area, better views will be had of the river once this plant has died back in Autumn
Talking to a few friendly dog walkers I was told that a Buzzard frequents the area and it's favoured perching tree was pointed out to me, also Kingfishers have been sighted (albeit quickly) as they fly along this stretch of the River Stour and that Sparrowhawks have nested and raised 3 young! This area has great potential and is worth checking out from time to time. There are plenty of berry trees so the possibility of seeing Fieldfare, Redwing and with a bit of luck a few Waxwings here this coming winter.

A few images of the pathway on the edge of the wood and River Stour.

Sunset....11/8/11

Thank you for your kind comments Ruth, they are very much appreciated.
Blogger is once again playing up when I try and reply to comments!!


There have not been many good sunrises or sunsets this summer worthy of note but last night there was a good sunset though a little messy!

7.56pm




8.23pm

Falco peregrinus! 7/08/2011.

Great excitement late yesterday afternoon seeing a Peregrine Falcon circling high over the gardens! It soared around for a good couple of minutes but much too high to get a good photo but record photo's were taken. My Daughter was viewing it with her bins when she also saw it 'poop'...not an everyday sighting with a bird so high. Luckily it was out of our range.lol! We were 99.9% sure it was a Peregrine but had it ID'd to be sure. Apparently it is an adult in active wing and tail moult!
A great 'over the garden' tick!
I also had my first 'in the garden' Meadow Brown butterfly, albeit a rather worn one!

Recent bits and bobs!

Worcs Wildlife Trust Upton Warren. 5th August.
Warm/hot sunshine for the most part of this afternoon visit to Upton Warren.
Highlight birds at the Flashes were Little Owl, Green Sandpiper (9), Common Sandpiper (1), Curlew, Lapwing, Little-ringed Plover, Common Tern and a Buzzard.
The Moors highlights were Green Woodpecker (heard), Great Crested Grebe, Teal, lapwing, Greylag and Canada Geese, numerous of the latter!

Moors Pool.

Green Sandpiper.






Common Darter.


Purple-loosestrife.


Teasel.







Burdock sp

Bittersweet.




Garden images!


Topsy-turvy!


Sunflower in the sunshine!




Taking photo's of Hoverflies passed a quiet few minutes.

UFO!

Tasty!


Where to start.... at the very beginning!


Pirouetting.


Nearly there!

Missed again!


Meditating.

Sleepy time!

Belly-flop!

Uffmoor Wood. 31st July.

Very quiet in the wood today with the highlight being the Flora! The only bird species seen were Blackbird, Blue Tit, Nuthatch, Green Woodpecker (juv) and a Raven. Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard only.



Common Carpet.


Water Mint

Tufted Vetch.

Ragged Robin.


Common Valerian.


Common Knapweed.

Birdsfoot Trefoil.

A 'hoot' of a walk! 30/07/2011.

Butterflies and Wildflowers were my targets on my walk this sunny Saturday morning as I was not expecting to see many birds, little did I know then!
Speckled Wood and Meadow brown were plentiful along with the Whites, good to see so many. Common Mallow is always a joy to see in bloom and the Hedge Bindweeds are looking delightful as they entwine into the hedgerow vegetation.

On the birding front I had great views of a family of Goldfinch, with the young pestering the adults for food. A flock of Goldfinch were also busy feeding on thistles. Swifts, Swallows and House Martins swooped overhead almost continuosly on my walk, I feel sad when I think that the Swifts will soon be on their way! Canada Geese fed in a field and 3 Buzzards circled overhead with one possibly being a juvenile, they were too high on the thermals for me to see clearly. Blue Tit, Linnet, Greenfinch (family), Blackcap (f), Bullfinch (m) with a juvenile, Blackbird, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a delightful Goldcrest made up the remaining bird species seen. No I tell a fib....there were 2 birds waiting at almost the end of my walk to surprise me.lol!! Two Tawny Owls were perched on a low branch of a pine tree just 25-30 yards away fom me!!! Wow.....what a delightful surprise! They were quite content to watch me watching them and I had what seemed almost five minutes viewing of them. I took a few photo's after having good bin views of them and as I looked down at one point to check a photo I looked up again and they had gone! I never heard a sound as they left....splendid birds! I have been informed that they are sub-adult birds and will soon be chased off the territory. I felt very honoured to have seen these two fabulous Tawny Owls.

I really enjoyed the walk and returned to my car smiling and feeling very happy.


Meadow Brown.

Comma.
Gatekeeper.


Speckled Wood.
Common Mallow.

Hedge Bindweed (pink striped)
Hedge Bindweed

Two Tu-whit tu-whoo's!