Wood Mouse

Stumbled across a very tame Wood Mouse at Willington Gravel Pits yesterday (4th January 2015).  Was a very cold morning with very dense mist over the lakes so went for a wonder, well couldn't see anything anyway.  I reckon this particular mouse was a bit cold and was obviously very hungry and was completely oblivious to my presence and allowed me to get to within a few inches whilst scampering along grass stems, bramble stalks and teasels.

'My nose is cold'

Love of Pipits

I have spent the last 10 months or so working on a contract in mid-Wales.  The site is host to a variety of passerine species but one of the most confiding, photogenic and probably my favourite is the humble Meadow Pipit (Anthus pretensis).

Here's a selection of my better pictures taken since Spring 2014.

Another of my favourite 2014 Meadow Pipit photos taken this year - this one is from a Spring trip to Scotland (taken at RSPB Loch Leven)

Its not just Meadows - quite like Rock Pipits too!

Couple of shots taken at Tynemouth in 2013

New Toy and a Bumper June Catch

Inspired by Charlie Hamilton James' use of a light box in the Amazon rain forest for some truly stunning macro-photography I decided to invest in a very basic (and fairly cheap) set-up to hopefully improve my moth pics.  I am still limited slightly in my camera and lens but hopefully the results are passable.

After a full week away working in mid-Wales (will be sorting an end of season 'Best of Pics' blogs later), I was very excited to be back home; firstly to see the wife and kids but secondly to get the moth trap out under pretty perfect conditions and snaffle a few additions to my Garden Moth Challenge List (still being processed! - well to be fair its in a notebook!!!)

Trap set, bed and then trap emptied pre-survey this morning and I wasn't disappointed with the catch.

Scores on the doors -

Total Moths Caught - 257 (including 76 Heart and Dart)
Total Species - 39 (would  be more if I was better at catching and ID'ing micros)
New for the Year - 9

Here's a few pics -

Broad-barred White (NFY)

Buff-tip (NFY)

Brace of Buff-tip

Codling Moth (NFY)

Common Emerald (NFY)

Marbled Beauty (NFY)

Middle-barred Minor (NFY)

Turnip Moth (NFY)

Dusky Brocade

Willow Beauty 

Bright-line Brown-eye

Elephant Hawk-moth (1 of 5 caught)

Elephant Hawk-moth

Dunlins

During a couple of working days down on the Severn I was lucky enough to come across a small flock of 14 very approachable Dunlin which feeding along the shoreline.  With care I managed to creep a little closer without spooking the birds.

The light was pretty harsh as I was looking in to the sun but here's a selection of the better pictures.

All comments gratefully received.

Green-Winged Teal - Willington Access

The Green-winged Teal was present again Sunday 9th February however access remains an issue but the site can be accessed with care.

The Willington LNR site and access track to the viewing platforms are flooded but with wellies and a little care you can get to all platforms.  The track is predominantly flooded from the DWT vehicle post to P1 and a little bit beyond.  After P2 the track is OK with little bits of standing water but nothing too bad.

Parking - at the moment I have been parking in the new Willington surgery car park and continuing on foot through the quarry and on towards the DWT information post / fishing club gates.  From the vehicle post down the lane it is quite deep and will come within mm of the tops of wellies.  I would advise waterproof over trousers over wellies as this may give a little bit more grace.  The water is particularly deep by the gate used to access the cattle / grazing grassland (just before P1) but again with care is passable.

From P1 to P2 it is flooded but fine in wellies and from P2 to the bottom of the track at P4 the path is fine with little in the way of standing water and what is there is only a couple of inches deep.

All the duck on site are very flighty and easily spooked but the GW Teal was again on site.  Today the drake was associating with Eurasian Teal at the back (north) of the lake in the reed / water margins and fairly elusive but views were good on and off to pick him up and confirm ID.

There are also plenty of Shoveler on the lake as well as 3 Pintail (2 males and 1 female) and a single Shelduck.

The GW Teal was seen by two people today.  Good luck to anybody that gives it a go.

Patch Gold and a Lifer to Boot

Decided to go for my now normal Saturday walk to Willington GPs which I have chosen for my 2014 (and beyond) Patchwork Challenge Patch.  Standard routine, dropped off by Mrs G who then goes on to take Master G to his Riding for the Disabled and then I get picked up after a couple of glorious hours stomping around.  Willington is always prone to flood and the last couple of visits have been more a paddle than a walk but today was more a wade.  Lots of water and at points thoughts did cross my mind (more than once) that it would be make more sense to turn around and just go for a stroll along the canal.  

Dogs in tow who were more than happy and made ideal depth gauges so I daftly carried on to the viewing platforms - and boy am I happy that I did.

On arrival at the first platform quick scan revealed few Tufties, couple of coot and I could hear Eurasian Teal calling from the reed / water edge of the lake. 

Scanned through these and sure enough found Eurasian Teal loafing in the reeds but after finding ten or so birds the next one in line jumped out as being distinctly different in fact diagnostically different.  Instead of a nice white horizontal line in the scapulars there was none and this was coupled with a very large, prominent and obvious vertical white stripe on the flank / breast.  Stonker - drake Green-winged Teal.  A new bird for me (a lifer).  I continued to watch for a minute of so, frantically making notes and then went for the scope.  All birds flushed / spooked and off they went.... bugger.

Carried on with the walk to the bottom platforms checking on P2 and P3 on the way to P4 but alas no further sightings.

View From P2 

The Trudge to P4!

Arrived P4 and found some Pintail (3 birds 2 male and 1 female), lots of Eurasian Teal and Wigeon plus Lapwing and the odd goose.  Scope out again and started to scan through a large flock of Eurasian Teal at the back of the lake and bingo picked out the Green-winger!  









Scope on, notes made and 100% sure of ID.  Stunning find, great moment and some nice points for the Patchwork Challenge (6 in fact, 3 for the bird and a bonus of 3 for self-found!).  Proper result, although chickens (or in fact GW Teals) not being counted until the DoS rarity committee accept the rarity report which has already been submitted.  Fingers very crossed!

Thanks must go to my faithful depth gauges without whom I would have turned round and headed off somewhere else.

Blind stupidity of wading through a very flooded access track paid off.  For once it paid off ignoring  discretion being the better part of valor!

Foot It ends for Another Year

Managed my final visit to the Foot It patch today and that's it for January 2014 and added a meagre two additional species to this years efforts which can be harshly but very fairly summed up  abjectly poor.

 

BH Gull - on the rare occasion the sun came out!

 

I failed and my efforts were pretty much ruined by the weather.  Far too wet, river ridiculously high and exceedingly mild.

 

 

 

 

I had predicted what I thought was a fairly respectable and highly achievable target of 69 species however have fallen someway sort of that mark although have picked up four bonus species; Sparrowhawk (which was somehow missed off my predicted target), Yellowhammer, Snipe and Jack Snipe.  Neither of the latter species were found by me - thanks go to my terrific Clumber Spaniel - Luna.

 

Last year was a much better winter for the patch with cold weather, snow, lots of Waxwings (including in the garden) and all my wildfowl predictions picked up pretty much in the first couple of days.  Woodcock were also pretty easy (again found by Luna) with many found along the River Derwent and one in a ditch on the local rough grassland fields.

 

With time spent working away from home as well as on the PatchWork Challenge patch have both limited the number of Foot It visits to 5 in January.

 

 

Final scores are  53/69 predicted species plus the aforementioned four bonuses.

List is shown below:

	Species	Date		Species	Date
1	Mute Swan	01/01	26	Jay	03/01
2	Greylag Goose	19/01	27	Jackdaw	01/01
3	Canada Goose	01/01	28	Rook	03/01
	Gadwall	NR	29	Carrion Crow	01/01
4	Teal	19/01	30	Goldcrest	01/01
5	Mallard	01/01	31	Blue Tit	01/01
6	Pochard	01/01	32	Great Tit	01/01
7	Tufted Duck	01/01	33	Coal Tit	01/01
8	Goosander	01/01		Skylark	NR
	Red-legged Partridge	NR	34	Long-tailed Tit	01/01
9	Pheasant	03/01		Waxwing	NR
10	Cormorant	01/01		Nuthatch	NR
11	Grey Heron	01/01	35	Treecreeper	01/01
	Little Grebe	NR	36	Wren	01/01
12	Great Crested Grebe	11/01	37	Starling	01/01
13	Buzzard	11/01	38	Blackbird	01/01
14	Kestrel	27/01	39	Fieldfare	01/01
	Peregrine	NR	40	Song Thrush	01/01
	Water Rail	NR	41	Redwing	01/01
15	Moorhen	01/01	42	Mistle Thrush	01/01
16	Coot	01/01	43	Robin	01/01
	Woodcock	NR	44	Dunnock	01/01
17	Black-headed Gull	01/01	45	House Sparrow	01/01
18	Common Gull	01/01		Grey Wagtail	NR
	Lesser Black-backed Gull	NR	46	Pied Wagtail	01/01
19	Herring Gull	01/01		Meadow Pipit	NR
20	Feral Pigeon	01/01	47	Chaffinch	03/01
21	Stock Dove	03/01	48	Greenfinch	01/01
22	Woodpigeon	01/01	49	Goldfinch	01/01
23	Collared Dove	01/01		Siskin	NR
	Little Owl	NR	50	Linnet	01/01
	Kingfisher	NR	51	Lesser Redpoll	19/01
	Green Woodpecker	NR	52	Bullfinch	01/01
24	Great Spotted Woodpecker	11/01	53	Reed Bunting	11/01
25	Magpie	01/01
	Additional Species
	Sparrowhawk	01/01		Jack Snipe	19/01
	Snipe	11/01		Yelllowhammer	27/01

            NR – Not Recorded

Notable absentees included Gadwall - usually up to 20 on my patch of the Derwent in January, Waxwing (although pretty much absent from most of the UK this winter).  Siskin - again usually guaranteed in the Alders on the river but alas not this year.  No Green Woodpeckers, LBB Gull or Grey Wagtail - suspect the latter due to high river levels and the one that was in the garden last year.  I could go on but its pretty obvious from the list above.

 

This is not the end for the Foot It walks so the list will continue to be kept over the course of the year and I will update / post pics here and on Twitter and here's hoping to a proper January next year (cold and snowy and a few more birds). 

 

Other option is to set my targets much lower for 2015!!