A Walk In The Sunshine

Just lately we haven’t had many sunny days but yesterday, after an early morning frost, the sun rose into a clear blue sky. So I decided that it was an opportunity that was too good to miss and set off for a walk around one of my local nature reserves.



I spooked a large flock of Yellowhammers that were feeding on the set aside ground by the footpath, fortunately they didn’t go far and settled high in the trees where they appeared like jewels sparkling in the sunshine.




A small party of Reed Buntings were making their way along the hedgerow and not giving too many photo opportunities as they kept low down amongst the branches. Eventually curiosity must have gotten the better of this female as she popped up for a quick and nervous look, maybe to see what the strange creature following along behind them was!




There were also quite a few Fieldfare and Redwing (and Blackbirds) feeding on the abundant berries along the hedgerow, unfortunately, they are so wary and skittish birds, they always managed to stay safely out of camera range. (After many attempts I’ve still not got any decent images of either Fieldfares or Redwings…one day!!)

Further on around the reserve and I came across a pair of Stonechats using a fence line as a lookout perch to spot and dive down onto any unsuspecting insects. They managed to keep, what they decided was, a safe distance ahead of me by moving along one post at a time. The male did sit still for long enough and allow me to fire off a couple of shots.




As well as the birds mentioned I also saw (unfortunately no decent photographs!) a large flock (50+) of Goldfinch feeding on Teasel heads, a Kestrel perched in a distant tree, an overflying and very vocal Buzzard also numbers of Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow,Blue Tit, Woodpigeon and singles of Wren, Robin and a Great Spotted Woodpecker ‘tapping’ away high up in a dead tree.

And finally… I was treated to a flyby by a fast moving green missile…or maybe it was a Green Woodpecker? I managed to fire off a quick burst of shots and this, massively cropped, is the best one.



If you look closely it appears to have it’s eyes closed…maybe it was scared at the speed it was going or perhaps it was just having a nap with the auto pilot turned on?!!

I was pleased that I made the effort and had a good three hour plus walk in the sunshine (although the breeze was a bit nippy at times) and got to see a good selection of birds. I also didn’t see another human being!!
Oh yeh!…I also saw and photographed quite a few different species of Fungi (wet and dirty knees and elbows time again!) which I’ve yet to properly sort ID’s for…I sometimes wish that I didn’t take so many photographs!

YELLOW IS THE COLOUR

I've finally found the time to sort through some(!) of the images that I've taken while I've been out and about over the last couple of weeks.

When looking at the images it suddenly occurred to me that Yellow featured prominently in a lot of them..... Ah Ha! I thought, an excellent theme for a post!

Primroses (primula vulgaris) are usually one of the first to put on an early springtime show.

Gorse (ulex europaeus) can flower any time throughout the year but it's main flowering time is between February and May. 

Quite a few Yellowhammers were in evidence, some proclaiming 'a little bit of bread and no cheese' from their lofty perches!

 Colt's-foot (tussilago farfara) was showing well in a number of places, preferring damp and heavy soil.

Lesser Celandine (ranunculus ficaria) showing that the weather can't be all that bad as the flowers only open when the sun shines!! 

One of the earliest butterflies to take to the wing is the Brimstone, the male emerging from hibernation from about mid March (if the weather is suitable!), about two weeks before the female. This female settled for just long enough to allow me to take a snap. 

 
 One or two Cowslips (primula veris) are just beginning to come into flower. When I was a kid (yes, I can remember that far back!) my father always referred to these as Cow Peggles, a much better name when you realise that the name 'cowslip' comes from the fact that in times gone by this plant thrived in cattle meadows in amongst the cow pats!!

 By far the highlight of my recent outings was seeing (at a distance!) three Yellow Wagtails together with a Blue-headed Wagtail, a rare but not uncommon visitor at this time of year. Resigning myself to the fact that they were too far away for any decent photographs I decided to sit on a nearby bench and have a well earned(!) rest.  Not two minutes had passed when this stunning male Yellow Wagtail plonked itself on the grass no more than twenty feet in front of me, where it stayed chasing around after insects for the next three or four minutes. It was eventually frightened off by an approaching dog walker, but not before I'd managed to get a few (okay, lots!) photographs. Sadly it's Blue-headed  companion stayed elusive.

 

BIRDING FROM MY CAR

A couple of days ago I decided to see if I could find the Corn Buntings that had been reported as showing well  about ten miles from my house. I arrived at the location, a small car park,  around mid morning. The weather was quite windy and overcast with just a few brief glimpses of the sun (so what's new!!).

I positioned the car so that I had a good view over the car park and almost immediately I saw that a few birds, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch, Meadow Pipit and Linnet  were coming down to bathe in the puddles left by the recent rain. Unfortunately they were frequently spooked by walkers crossing the car park and also by other cars arriving and leaving making photography rather difficult!

Linnet

Yellowhammer

 

It wasn't long before I heard the "little bit of bread and no cheeeese" song of a Yellowhammer coming from the overhead power lines, closely followed by a singing Corn Bunting (another tick for the list!) and after a few minutes a Dunnock started to serenade me from the bushes close by.

Corn Bunting

Dunnock

 

I also had a fascinating few minutes watching two Magpies (juveniles, I think!) as they explored, constantly chattering to each other,  all around the car park  with one spending some time interacting with a discarded yogurt pot.

 

So, without leaving the car, I'd had a couple of hours of good birding and had noted sixteen different species, apart from the above I'd also seen Jackdaw and Carrion Crows in the adjacent fields, Starling, Goldfinch and Great Tit in the bushes, a hovering Kestrel, two soaring Buzzards, as well  as overflying  Woodpigeons and Swifts.

The Videos...

 

This weekend and next week promises to be warm and sunny here (Summer at last!!) and I'm looking forwards to getting out and about in some descend weather for a change. Wherever you are I wish you all a great weekend and upcoming week.

Stars of the week

A selection of photographs taken whilst out and about making the most of the beautiful early spring weather in various locations across the Three Counties during the early part of this week.

Chaffinch

Dunnock

House Sparrow

Nuthatch

Treecreeper

Treecreeper

Yellowhammer