Flaming June!

 Well, not so much flaming in the heat sense as flaming June in the cold, annoying, sense!

This month has been a downer after that warmer week at the end of May, so here is a catch up.

In late May a Goldfinch built a nest in the apple tree just outside my home office window. We could watch her weaving the structure together with her finely pointed bill and rounding the cup with her body pushing downwards. By 27th May she was sitting, so we looked forward to the family developing. Sadly, that was not to be because after two or three days she just left the nest never to return. At the same time a poorly looking female Goldfinch was in the garden on the other side of the house. It may have been her, who can say.  

Goldfinch on the nest. Its a shoddy image as it is taken through an old cottage window so as not to disturb her.

  At the beginning of June, small numbers of Painted Lady arrived with half a dozen in a morning passing through the garden and with them a couple of Hummingbird Hawk-moths were seen.

Painted Lady looking a bit dishevelled after its flight from Africa.

Hummer on valerian on our drive.

More unusually, unprecedented in fact, was the arrival of Small Mottled Willow. Before this year I had only seen 3 in my life, but 22 have graced the trap so far in last few weeks. Shame there were no Eastern Bordered Straw that deluged as far north as Tynemouth.

Small Mottled Willow

  Insect migration soon dried up as the wind swung back NW with a colder edge and has been there ever since. Other resident garden and village wildlife included -

 

Large Pine Weevil, a lifer for me and randomly was found in our bathroom. I put it on the valerian before identification so I could get a photo.

 

Pammene aurana on verbascum when it should be on Hogweed...

Nemaphora degeerella seems to be having a good season.

We have 5 Mullein caterpillars across three Verbascums in the garden. This was the biggest of them and its enjoying the plant.

The first of the garden Tree Sparrows are out and about now, with adults taking nest material into boxes to refurbish for a second brood. We also have House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail and Blackbirds all with young. 

Pied Wagtail with fledgling .

Tree Sparrow juvs.

A poor show...

 After 16 years of Blogging this has been my worst January showing of all. One post. Well, two now.

Why is that? I'm not wholly sure, but this winter weather is a big factor. The constant winds, wet weather and named storms have made for a grim landscape with little to encourage optimism. 

Still, despite the doom and gloom the year moves on gradually. I've heard Skylarks, Great Tit and Redwing in full song, Woodpeckers drumming and today, my first Song Thrush chuntering away from a sheltered thicket. Only Chaffinch to go for the early birds singing. Tawny Owls are particularly vocal around the village on calm nights, when we get one that is. 

One of our neighbour's conifers blew over during storm, er, Isha. They all roll into one these days. The tree lay precariously on our greenhouse but the weight was taken by the stone garden wall so only soft branches lay on the roof causing no damage. It seems to be a lucky greenhouse having survived Arwen and now Isha unblemished. Lets hope the lucky spell continues.

On Saturday we did the RSPB Big Garden Bird watch, seeing 15 species, with highlights being 18 Tree Sparrows, a Great spotted Woodpecker, 6 Long tailed Tits and the Goldcrest that has been at the feeders most days since Christmas feeding on tiny bits dropped from the fat balls on to ivy leaves below.

Long tailed Tit, Robin and a pandemonium of Tree Sparrows during the Big Garden Birdwatch.

My first lifer of the year arrived last week when a Common Flower Bug Anthocoris nemorum crawled over my phone in the living room.

On Sunday a few hours inland was less than productive, but a moorland Great black backed Gull, adult, hunting for a carcass to feed on was quite unusual.  

New Year Waxwings remain absent but the Snow Buntings did a lap of the Bathing House field again on Saturday morning, the flock now up to 30+.

Snowdrops, Winter Aconites and Winter Heliotrope are now all in flower, so given a window in the weather, I am looking forward to getting out into the field properly!

Common Flower Bug

A pair of Robins displaying ina roadside wood made a change from them trying to kill each other... 

Big Garden Birdwatch.

 Sunday morning was calm and fine, a pleasing contrast after the blasting we had on Saturday so we did the garden bird count. I watched the kitchen window, Jane from the other side in the bedroom calling out additions.

Totals from 10.50 - 11.50am.

The list is pretty much as last year but without Great Spotted Woodpecker and Sparrowhawk. Both species are around, just not in the hour we counted.

Its still great to see my second most numerous species after Jackdaw is Tree Sparrow. I have had up to 32 birds this winter but only the 22 today. The RSPB webpage for recording the count doesnt have Tree Sparrows as a standard garden species so I had to add them as an extra with no number. People are telling me it is possible to add them so I'll see if it can be edited.

Some of the cast as seen from the kitchen window...

  

The path untrodden...

...almost.

There isn't anywhere in this jam packed country of ours that can be classed as truly wild, but on a local patch level I am talking about the bits and corners you never visit. All local patches have these and today I had a couple of hours visiting two areas of mine. It comes as no surprise that these spots were in woodland and well sheltered from the now 3 day gale, we have been getting hammered by.

My first stop was to see if I could get the Spotted Flycatchers in better light, but despite having looked 3 times today, they remain unseen. Gone? Maybe.

From here, I was off to the woods.  This hidden area is a quiet relaxed place and the reason I don't go is not because I don't like it, but it is a deliberate way to leave a quiet undisturbed corner that the wildlife can retreat to in safety. It looks a nice spot for a Roe Doe to leave her fawn and I wouldn't want to frighten them if she did. On today's venture I trod carefully on deer walks and did not step into areas of cover just in case.

The smell of damp vegetation and the sound of the wind high in the trees were a constant companion. Bluebells, now fading and past their previous glory, edged the track. 

As expected, this nice little Roe doe saw me coming. I have seen her before and she is not too afraid. When she saw me, I dropped my gaze and slowly turned to put my full back towards her and softly stepped away while remaining in her view. She followed me a short way to watch, inquisitively, then continued her browsing undisturbed...

Roe Doe

Tawny Owl

In the same spot, the agitation of some small birds drew my attention and as I gazed across the small valley a Tawny Owl was sat fully alert high up in a tree opposite, watching me. Although distant I raised the camera and she was off. This is about the best shot I got...for such a common bird here my sightings are scarce so this was a brief treat.

I left the glade and its inhabitants in peace and moved to a second 'woodlot'. This spot I have never been into in 11 yrs, but I see it regularly. Shooters visit here in the winter but it is still totally undisturbed by the public.

As I wove my way through ferns and across a burn, fauna remained hidden. Back out on the main path and I did a slow return home by a more conventional route..

 
Once back in the village, a Wall Brown flitted fittingly (try saying that after a few sherries) on a stone wall bordering the Old Rectory paddock and in the garden a brood of Tree Sparrows greeted me by peering out of their nestbox. They'll soon be on their way...

A Wall on a wall.

A new generation of Tree Sparrows faces the big bad world...

 

Working from Home...

That was my fist day working in the spare bedroom. By 3 o'clock I felt like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. On the plus side I have not had any social interaction since Jane left for work ( she is in an office alone).

Some garden birding today was generally quiet but 34 Tree Sparrows on the feeders, 2 pairs of Grey Partridge squabbling in the back field, a male Great spotted Woodpecker, 11 Meadow Pipits in the field and a Bullfinch in the cherry tree in a neighbours garden were all nice to see. There was nothing in the way of fly overs, maybe due to the bitterly cold breeze. I'll total my full list as of Saturday and post it later...

Great, Blue and Coal Tits ( not pictured) are always present. 

We have a lot of Jackdaws in the village. They predate my Tree Sparrow chicks when they fledge so I tend to keep them at arms length.

A male Great spotted Woodpecker, one of a couple of pairs here.

Tree Sparrows out number House Sparrows here, but both are the mainstay of my garden birds.

Migrating Spuggies.

Today I took my birding gear to work with the intention of bunking off at 12 to drive the 50 miles to the nether extremes of our county for the long staying Bee-eater at Haltwhistle. I could have gone on Sunday but couldnt be bothered with the drive, so today was the day. Fired on by Mike Carr's superb photos, I WhatsApped John to tell him of my plan and jokingly commented that it would probably do a vanishing act before I got there, as the weather today was mild, calmish and clear, a lovely day.

Well, my prophecy couldnt have been more accurate. The feathered rainbow was still around at 9am, but at 10 it flew up higher and by 11 it had gone. Not to be seen again other than a fleeting report at 4.20. Time will tell if it returns.

The disappearance of the B.Eater at least saved me a half day holiday and some deisel, giving me time to consider my own sighting of the day.

Its no rare vagrant but Tree Sparrows were on the move this morning with two flocks of 9 and 19 at dawn flying S at a height along the coast path. The hard thing with these is to determine were these migrating or just leaving a roost locally as we still have lots of Tree Spugs here. Some discussion on our local bird group pointed me to think they were indeed on the move as large numbers had been through Spurn recently and a few at other headlands in the NE.

So whilst not a pulse racing  rare, its these migrations that are the food of the patch watcher so I am quite happy with that.

A very Good Friday...

What a lovely days its been. All morning there were clear blue skies and only a little breeze with some warm sunshine. As it was a busy bank holiday and our coast roads are heaving with visitors (cheers Robson) we haven't been far. I resurrected the garden table and chairs after the winter sojourn and did some weeding, planting and pruning while keeping an eye open for garden visitors.

First though, a negative record. There are still no Chiffchaffs singing here. This is getting quite late now as last year we had good numbers from 10th March, but I suppose they will be coming to a willow near us very soon.

The moth trap has been ok this week with double figure catches most nights of the usual orthosias etc, and today we saw our first butterfly of 2016, a Small Tortoiseshell on the windowsill. Unfortunately it was on its toes before the camera could get focussed. The flowering currants in the garden are 'pinking up' nicely and were visited by a few Buff tailed Bumblebees with one Early Bumblebee today.

The area around the nestboxes was particularly busy with pairs of Tree Sparrows squabbling for squatters rights, whilst high overhead, a Skylark sang constantly. If only all spring days could be like this....

House Sparrow at the terrace....the opposite end to last year.

Trying to get both birds in the gap between the twigs was tricky. Tree Sparrows.

Twin-spotted Quaker

Red Chestnut

Local Conservation...

A day off today has been spent doing something constructive for the garden wildlife, in particular the Tree Sparrows. All of our nest boxes have had a bit of a spring clean ready for this years breeding season. We now have 8 good, viable Tree Sparrow boxes in pretty close proximity to form a colony, with a 9th box sort of on the periphery that I've left un-numbered as it might not be suitable, we'll see. The three hole terrace is counted as one box not three.

When cleaning out, it was pleasing to see that every single box has been occupied previously so lets hope the same happens this year. I'll be keeping a count of the occupied ones as the season starts. Usually we have about 6 pairs that each have 2 or 3 broods so by September the garden is heaving with Tree Sparrows. Its a bit concerning that this winter despite being mild, numbers at the feeders seem lower with only about a dozen birds present? Maybe they're more spread locally?

We also feed seed all year round for our hungry spuggies. I wonder if a House Sparrow will nest this year? We get as meany as Tree Sparows, but rarely have them nesting....

While doing the boxes I found time to plant three willow rods in the little wood, to fill a gap along the edge....

Spuggy fight!

House Sparrow usurps Tree Sparrow...

Two Tree Sparrows move on two House Sparrows...

No where to land...

House feels Tree has had enough...

'Bugger off, I've just got a seat!'

Some Tree Sparrows...

A few from the garden today....

Sunny Saturday.

What a lovely day its been. The sun has shone all day with a bit of frost first thing and very little wind it was a pleasure to be out. There was even a hint of warmth in the sun, a taste of things to come I hope.

A few wanders around the patch from home added only one new species to the Patch List - Stock Dove. A single bird was in stubble down near the teepee track this morning. Apart from that the other main highlight was a flock of 20 Bullfinches feeding on a lawn in the rear of Howick Hall this afternoon. I cant recall seeing as many all in one view before. I couldn't get a picture due to visitors wandering by flushing the birds as soon as the landed. Maybe next time.  

At the beach along the burn mouth there was no sign of the reported Dunlin and Sanderling there earlier in the week. You know the rules, if you dont see it yourself it has to be stringy!

Other things of note - 30 Curlew, 10+ Skylark including one in full song, 100+ Linnets, Grey Wagtail, Sparrowhawk, 4 Teal, 3 Goldeneye, Goldcrest.

I hope the weather is the same tomorrow, I'm only out for a couple of hours first thing, so its on foot around the patch again. I'm really enjoying the patch work thing at the minute...

Starling

Tree Sparrow

House Sparrow

Blue Tit

91. Stock Dove