As mentioned in yesterday's post, we have plans for the new garden.
The feeders are up and being visited, the next step was to put a couple of bird boxes up this afternoon, with help from Ryan and Grace. Being National Nestbox Week, and also Half Term, the timing was perfect.
Grace already shows an interest in what comes to the garden and I'd like to get them more involved in this kinda stuff, including maybe writing a bit on here. It's all educational after all. I've tried hard to get the kids from work, our own Junior Wardens more interested in their own environment and to appreciate what is out there. I've led Nature Walks and also got them involved in some river conservation work on the River Lambourn in Newbury. My dad and grandparents were in to nature and that's where I caught the bug.
Back to the garden, I already had a Robin box (large open fronted box) and this morning on a trip in to town we also picked up a nest box for smaller birds like Blue Tits & Great Tits.
I'd like to put up something for House Martins or Swifts but not sure the shape and orientation of the house will mean this is possible. To have a couple of occupied Swift boxes would be amazing!!
Anyhoo, as a family we had a chat about what type of nest boxes we were putting up and where. Who might use them, why these would be good locations, but also explained that there is quite a bit of luck involved. There are no guarantees that the birds will nest there etc.
First box to go up was the Robin / Wren box.
A lot of cover is needed for these birds. When I lived at Wash Common a couple of years ago, a pair of Robins nested around a metre or two away from the patio door. I didn't even know the nest was there until the chicks fledged!
We chose to position the box behind one of the bushes that runs along the boundary fence line. Partially hidden by foliage but also currently visible from the conservatory. If it does get used, hopefully we will be able to watch any activity.
The second box for Blue Tits went further up the fence line. I'm not so confident on this one as it is on a fairly exposed panel, around 150 cm off the ground but close to the top of the fence. There really isn't anywhere more suitable for this type of box. I think the location is cat proof, but the lack of foliage around it may mean we'll be unsuccessful. Time will tell.
A couple more feeders placed on the apple tree then sit back and relax in the conservatory and snap a few of the garden visitors. Got some action shots too this time.
The Starlings having a 'stand off' over whose food it is.
Still arguing...
This Blackbird scrapes the suet out of the coconut shell then eating what ever drops on the ground.
Google tells me that both Kevin Costner and the RSPB said that.
Seeing as I don't want to build a baseball stadium, lets go with the RSPB slogan and their 'homes for nature' campaign.
Three weeks ago we moved house. I know, It's like I'm a serial mover.. God knows how many times that is so far this decade! But this new house is good, very good. And so is the garden.
After moving from 'the estate with no trees' as I used to call in on Picket Twenty, (a new development on the edge of town), we are now back in the neighbourhood of Rooksbury, a place that needs no introduction to anyone that knows me.
The four minute walk from door to riverbank is bloody nice. I'm back to losing ridiculous amounts of time looking around the lakes and the river system that is on the doorstep, but the other benefit of this house move is the large mature garden, complete with a large apple tree and mature shrubs and lawn. This place has real potential for wildlife and that 'home for nature'.
On P20 I didn't even bother doing the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch (BGBW) as no birds came. Ok one, randomly a Chiffchaff visited the garden on a few occasions. Other than that it was barren.
The food on the feeders went mouldy and bread uneaten.
Moving in on the 23rd January, I had a week to get the feeders up and try and lure some birds in for the following weekend's BGBW. Midweek I was wondering if anything would come at all! All the neighbouring properties turned out to have feeders up and a steady stream of visitors; why WOULD they come to our garden when they already had an established food source... But come they did and still do. A good variety of garden birds now calling our place home too, or at least a good food stop.
Back to the BGBW and I decided to spend my 'birdwatch hour' watching on the Sunday morning as this gave the birds an extra day to find the feeders and Saturday night was colder than Friday. I was hoping the birds would have been more hungry.
9:30 a.m. Bread out, feeders topped up, cuppa made, sit back and watch and record. Hopefully...
Truthfully I wasn't optimistic. The 'all you can eat' buffet seemed to be next door and the birds need to land in your garden to count... then... BOOM! The first visitor was a male Blackcap in the shrubs. That's a damn good garden tick in my book!
The hour went very quickly, there were peaks and troughs. Absolutely nothing for five minutes at a time, then halfway through we had a very busy five minutes in which we saw Greenfinch, Coal Tit, Wren and Starling.
I was smiling :-)
From no birds the previous year to the following in an hour. (Only birds that landed count and these are the most seen at one time).
1 blackcap 3 house sparrow 3 blue tit 5 Starling 1 woodpigeon 1 coal tit 2 chaffinch 2 Long Tailed Tit 1 Greenfinch (possibly 4) 1 carrion crow 2 wren 1 blackbird 1 Robin 1 magpie.
A lot of those were first time visitors to the garden., I had good vibes for this place!
Since then it seems that I am back to the days of Holtwood, sitting in the conservatory, busy watching what ever is visiting. Since the BGBW we've added Goldcrest, Rook, Goldfinch and Jackdaw to the list. Heron and Buzzard over and lots of gulls.
Going forward I want to create our own little backyard wildlife haven, with the kids help we'll put the bat box up and a few bird boxes. Build a bug hotel and put up a few solitary bee pipes on the apple tree etc. A few Buddliea at the top of the garden. I'm gonna explore the possibility of a Nestcam too.
I may be getting a bit carried away here!
Here's a pic of the garden to show what we have to play with.
The feeders are currently seed, fatballs, peanut and suet block,
plus more seed on the bird table and occasional bread thrown out.
They seem to be doing the job.
A few shots of the visitors.
Statler and Waldorf, the Collared Dove
Jackdaw and Magpie, there already seems to be a 'pecking' order on the feeders.
For my birthday I treated myself to a new piece of kit for my camera. A converter for my lens that turns a 300 mm lens into a 420 mm lens. Basically it gives me a lot more zoom for not much outlay. New lenses are very expensive so I thought Id try this option first.
Having the converter and not being able to get out was massively frustrating. In short, I needed an adventure. But where???
According to the local birding websites, Titchfield Haven was the place to go.. A Greater Yellowlegs had been resident for a couple of weeks, and according to their twitter feed they had Avocet chicks too! I've been lucky enough to see Avocet at Brownsea Island and from the sea wall at Farlington Marshes too, but to see chicks would be quite special. Springwatch was covering them and I quite fancied the chance to see them too. A Curlew Sandpiper had been listed in the week and it looked a cracker, in its red breeding plumage. Satnav loaded. Off we go.
40 miles away.. And just a few miles from my ex work colleague (Jenni's) too. Killing two birds with one stone curlew?
I've driven past Titchfield before (or Joe did), on the day we picked up the Chilling waxwing (previous post from a couple of years ago). From the road, you'd hardly know it was there, but as you look at the map you can see it extends up the estuary, with lots of pools off it.
Again referring to twitter, the Yellowlegs is reported as being visible from the Suffern hide. Off I go.
Rammed!! The hide is full of older males in khaki! You can hardly enter the hide without tripping over tripod legs. The bird is there, but some distance off. I get a few snaps and get out of there. If only all birders did that. Let everyone else see!!
Figuring that the start of the day will be the busiest and the bird will move about, I headed back, along the sea wall to the other, and hopefully quieter side of the reserve.
A quick look for Bearded Tit in the reedbeds, sadly none, and a wander down to the Meon Shore Hide. Will the Curlew Sand be there?
Nope. But didn't matter, I'd snapped one a few weeks before at Normandy. Que cera.
From here I could actually swing a cat, the hide was quiet, and sat watching a couple of young avocet chicks. Pretty cool how they were sifting through the water, from side to side, like their parents.
A check on the other hides offered better views of the Black Tailed Godwits, and many Cetti's along the pathways between, but other than a gazillion Black Headed Gull chicks, there wasn't much else on show today. Thoughts returned to the Yellowlegs. Could I be arsed with going back into the Hide of Khaki??
Thankfully I didn't need to. Walking along the sea front (nothing out to sea other than boats and kite surfers) and I see the Khaki Clan stood overlooking a pool by the road. Gotta be Old Yeller! And it was.
A BH Gull decided to chase it for a while, but generally it stayed put, obliging for the photographers.
And then off to Jenni's for a cuppa and a natter. A good sunburnt day.
An advantage of not cycling so much any more is all the extra free time.
I have yet to fully utilise this, but yesterday morning, before my late shift at work I went for a walk over Bransbury Common.
Bransbury is a large open plain of grassland, bordered on both sides by the River Test. A vast expanse that could possibly be described as a large island? You decide.
Previous visits have led to great views of Barn and Short Eared Owls. One of the best (luckiest) shots I've ever taken was of a Barn Owl at Bransbury.. A Barn Owl flying off with a vole, over a deer's head. (right)
So, speaking of luck, yesterday offered a couple of 'firsts' for me.
The first part of Bransbury, as I walked from the road out to the grass Savannah was quiet.. A few Bullfinch (my nemesis), Blackcap and my first Whitethroat of the year were well hidden in treetops and bushes. A Green Woodpecker could be heard in the distance, as could a Cuckoo somewhere towards the Wherwell to Longparish road. I was walking in to a strong headwind, so I had hoped to get quite close to whatever was on the common.
Pretty empty! Couldn't even see a Stonechat on the bushes. It was a cloudy day so the pictures wouldn't have been great, but where were they? The winter hasn't been too harsh!
Sat on a stile next to the river, scanning the grass land for anything - I notice that the old shed where the Barn Owl used to cache food has now been replaced with a new one, with doors. Disappointing as I had hoped to hook up a camera there and snap the owl as it flew in with its catch.
Out the corner of my eye I see a brown flash of something next to the river. Not a clue what it was, but definitely worth investigating. I couldn't exactly creep up on it, walking on dead grass, and the noise was enough for whatever it was to hear me.
A STOAT lifts its head and looks at me. Today's first 'first'!
I've seen a couple of stoats, or weasels in my time (very hard to tell the difference) but never this close and actually having a camera!! How many times do we say 'if only I had a camera' in every day life...
Happy with that!
I decided to continue walking on the common and managed to snap a Whitethroat but it was way off.. Even with the best crop it still looked like a blob in a tree.
A couple of Buzzards being mobbed by some crows next to the river and then a Sedge Warbler thinking about singing in the reed beds. I got an ok shot from the other side of the river, and then it rained which stopped both of us. Me trying to keep the bins and camera dry as I didn't wear a coat.
Walking back to the car I saw a male and female Sparrowhawk separately flying low over the grassland and a Green Woodpecker from close quarters as it flew off. No deer on today's visit.
Home to get ready for work.
At work and another Sparrowhawk encounter. In The Nightingales I hear some Starlings going mad overhead and notice them mobbing the bird as it cruised over the estate. #birdingwhilstworking
Anything can almost pop up anywhere, so much nature on the doorstep - I've even seen Waxwing on that estate in the winter.
I had a plan for the evening but whilst we were waiting for dusk we checked the Bird Hide at Lower Farm. Another first was a Swift that was flying over the hide. A year tick and very pleased to see them back. They nest in Curling Way and I love the sound of them as they scream over the estate.
It was hard to see what was on the lake due to the low sun, but it did provide an excellent photo opportunity. Only on my camera phone now, but even they are pretty good these days.
And then on to a woodland in Cold Ash.
One large badger sett here has seen a lot of use recently, judging by the amount of earth that is being moved. I wondered if we were gonna get lucky and see one. We were working so didn't have time to do it properly (arrive early before dusk and settle down, down wind and be quiet etc.)
To our surprise the woods were stunning.. So many bluebells, a true carpet of blue! The light conditions weren't great so a return trip will happen next week.
The wood was a real network of tracks, badger, so we knew they were in one of the two setts. We made our way to the number of entrances and decided to lean against a tree and see if there was any activity. Not a cat in hells chance, we thought.. There must be at least a dozen entrances amongst the trees and bushes on the hillside.
Wrong..
With no exaggeration, not 10 minutes had passed and all of a sudden one, then two and a third nose came out from one of the holes. No more that 10 metres from us!!
At this point the hairs on the back of my neck stood up..
1, because it was badgers!!
2, because the tracks I've described were about 2 foot away from our feet!!
What if they walked past, didn't see us and panicked!
Thankfully they just decided to sniff the air, listen to the noises coming from the nearby estate, and have a good scratch. This lasted a few minutes then the noise got too loud and they disappeared back in to the sett. They appeared under a tree / bush and it was pretty dusky, but we managed to snap them with our phones.
And some videos
Goosebumps!
Both my work colleague Jim and I just looked at each other with open mouths. That was AMAZING! A first for him too!
Ok, so I am one to boast...
I'm very lucky in my job, I get to explore a lot of countryside and see it change on a daily basis. What ever the weather - there is always something to see and more importantly, appreciate.
Gravel pits, woodland, heathland, rivers and streams. I am paid to walk or cycle around it all. That said, even the estates have there own special moments. I've seen Waxwings in The Nightingales, Kingfisher on the River Lambourn, Woodpecker nests in Pigeons Farm and Swifts nest in a house in Turnpike. Only a month until we hear them screaming around the estates again. Can't wait!
There are multiple Badger setts in Greenham, Cold Ash and Speen.
Muntjac and some urban Roe deer are common sight in and around West wood, Greenham.
On one walk in Greenham we saw three different foxes before 9 a.m.
And then there is the Red Kite. So common are they here, that it's hard to believe they haven't spread to the whole of the UK yet. They can be a rare sight in places as close as Southampton.
I could probably retire if I had a pound for every time we said 'if only we had a camera'. Usually after a Red Kite had drifted over our heads or a badger scuttled past on a night time patrol. Us, not the badger.
So, today, I decided I'd take my camera with me. The weather was stunning and migration is in full swing. Yesterday we heard the first cuckoo and reed warbler of the year at Lower Farm trout lake.. So a return visit was made today.
First up was a Reed Warbler and a Cetti's. Singing in the reedbed, too covered to snap.
A Green Woodpecker then flew off in front of us and disappeared down the track. Yesterday two of them gave better views, but that's how it goes!
The trees are full of Chiffchaff and Blackcap at the moment. Last week it was the Nuthatch that were in full voice. The leaves are about to burst open, so for a little while longer it is possible to get good views. If they stay still long enough.
A nice male in the sprouting willow.
Lower Farm trout lake is the place where first Heron and now Cormorant nest. The trees look like a scene from City of Angels, with all the black shapes in them. But then white with all the poop that gets 'ejected' over the side. They are a bit of a way off, so the pictures are considerably cropped, but you get the idea.
It seems most of the young are already fully grown. Surprising considering one pair of our swans are only just thinking about nest building.
And the heron looked almost ready to fledge too.
A female Gadwall with 10 ducklings, only a few days old. No sign of the pair of Shelduck today.
Orange tip butterflys were out in good numbers today. Both at the GP and in Speen. Wouldn't stay still long enough for a good pic though.
Next stop was Nalderhill Lane in Speen Parish. Target - Red Kite.
This area, on the hill side and next to a busy road is always good for Kite. All that road kill from the B4000 or A4, and so many fields to scour over. The skies are always full.
Except today.
We saw a few, in the distance, being mobbed by crows, but quite quiet otherwise.
To be fair we didn't stay too long, work to be done and all that.
The sheep were happy in the sunshine and some male pheasants were scrapping nearby.
Nipping down Rookwood we saw a female Kestrel on the telegraph wire. We did notice that a large field in the distance had been recently 'topped'. Could explain why the Kites were elsewhere. making the most of all the recently disturbed small mammals?
Snake Lane and Bagnor were surprisingly quite. Little Egret elsewhere it seems today. A bit of a flying visit, so maybe next time.
I used to update this fairly regularly with day trips and local sightings, but its all gone a bit Pete Tong.
Having moved back to the lakes last year, i thought this blog would be updated regularly, but truth is, it ain't happened.
The lakes have offered a few sights, but generally have been very quiet.. There are a few theories about this, but as much as anything I haven't been around the lakes much as I've finally got my arse back on the bike this year. It's not been easy, getting used to doing 10 hrs a week on the bike - the result is a lot less free time to stroll around the countryside.
Anyway, this weekend I'm moving again. Away from the lakes and on to a new estate! Zoiks! So maybe that will lead to a few more days out, back down to Lymington or to see Joe at Portland.. From seeing the sea at least once a month during the previous winters and migrations, I've only been to the coast once this year!
We'll see.. In the meantime, here are a few snaps from my year on the lakes.. I got lucky once or twice :o)
These pics were taken through the slats of one of the wooden footbridges. A perfect hide..
Spent 30 minutes watching this otter search the river for food. Turning every stone for small invertebrates?
And then, as it moved downstream and being in wellies, I got in the river and hid in the river bank foliage.. The otter kept coming closer and closer. Down to around 5 metres, then I got scared and ran...
Been lucky with a few water vole shots too.. Most of the pics I've shared on twitter or facebook, but with wi-fi in the new house, I do need to start this up again.
Water Voles in good numbers at Rooksbury..
The water levels got high in the Spring floods, but pleased to see they did well.
Every now and then you take a picture that you are really proud of.. Finally a sharp picture from my camera.
And a Kestrel below.
A few foggy morning shots..
More when I have wi-fi. Mobile broadband takes too long.
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