In & Around The Garden.

Coal Tit

We've had some interesting sightings in and around the garden over the last week and with a glimpse of warmer temperatures and perhaps the first signs of Spring bird activity has been very high. After nearly a 3 week absence one of our local Marsh Tits has returned to the feeders, it's great to see they survived the cold weather and snow and I guess they are much tougher than I give them credit for. 2 Coal Tit's and a Nuthatch are also regularly in the garden.

On Wednesday 18th I spotted a large Finch flock in Horse paddocks whilst driving along Parmoor Lane, Frieth (SU793900). Quite a varied selection of species that included Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Linnet, Brambling, Chaffinch and a couple of Pied Wagtails all feeding in the paddock but very mobile. A lone male Kestrel perched on top of a telegraph pole and 7 Red Kites circling over Little Frieth were also seen. Early Thursday brought views of an extremely pale Buzzard perched on the fence posts of a boundary fence outside our cottage, it was so white it was more reminiscent of an Osprey in appearance and although I have seen a couple of pale individuals a few miles away I have never seen one this pale around the cottage before. It was perched hunched up on a fence post looking in to the field which I have never seen them do here before, if there not circling above with Red Kites they can often be seen sat on telephone posts or some of the tall trees that overlook the mass of open fields so I was surprised to say the least. Although I could see it with the naked eye I thought it certainly needed closer inspection and with a number of Rough legged Buzzards turning up in neighbouring counties I rushed off looking for my binoculars, by the time I had found my binoculars it had moved to the next post and was partly obscured behind a small tree. I started to look for some of the key features to separate the Common and Rough-legged Buzzard by firstly looking at the tail which did seem very pale, the Buzzard then tuned side on and I decided to run upstairs and view it from the bedroom window with my scope. I ran upstairs with the elegance of Todd Carty from Dancing on Ice and grabbed my scope and proceeded to put up the tripod, I made my way over to the window and looked out only to find the bird had gone and despite going outside and scanning the skies, hills, fields and woodland it was nowhere to be seen. It hasn't been seen since and I'm kicking myself for not getting a good view of it, with daily sightings of both Red Kite and Common Buzzard I have got a bit used to seeing them and don't always check each individual out, perhaps a valuable lesson. To be honest these days I see more Red Kites on a daily basis than I do House Sparrows!!

I was woken in the early hours of Friday morning, 5am to be precise by the hooting calls of a Tawny Owl perched on the chimney. It continued for over 10 minutes before it fell silent and I drifted back off to sleep. There seems to be at least 3 or 4 calling most nights from the woods in the surrounding valley and due to our remoteness and distinct lack of traffic noise they can be heard clearly as they claim their territories and potential mates.

Our resident Little Owls have also become very vocal calling during both day and night, I was watched sternly by one individual which was sat in a tree overlooking my car in the week and we've also had a few brief sightings of single birds sat on the paddock fence posts overlooking the adjacent fields.

I returned home on Friday evening and was immediately halted in my tracks as I approached the front door, hearing the eerie drawn-out screech of a barn owl nearby I stopped and listened patiently. Within 30 seconds I heard it again but this time it seemed closer but due to the light it was impossible to track it down, being miles from civilisation there are no street lights here and no ambient light so it's dark to say the least, our 500watt security light does light up the area around the cottage but not in to the fields. I tracked it by it's calls to the field next to the cottage and listened next to the fence, it continued calling on and of for about 5 minutes but by this time was moving further away. Barn Owls aren't uncommon in the area and I've seen them in at least 4 nearby locations including a incredible experience I had in our orchard where I managed to film the individual in the films below.

At 4am Saturday morning nature called and I made my way downstairs to take a leak, I always switch on the outside light in the hope that I might catch a glimpse of something interesting, often the early hours give great views of Owls, Deer and other wildlife going about their nocturnal activities. Looking out of the living room window and out in to the paddock I noticed a grey lump hunched over in the long grass, thinking it was a Rabbit I started to pull the curtains but as I did a black and white striped face looked up from the grass and stared back at me. It is my first Badger sighting in the garden this year and I watched intently for 10 minutes as it snuffled it's way through the grass and towards the edge of our garden, it certainly looked like the Brock that visited regularly and brought his family to the garden to feed during 2006-2007

Common Gull

Saturday was a glorious day weather wise, finally the grey cloudy skies made way for blue skies with outbreaks of warm sunshine and the first signs that Spring is on it's way. A Red Kite perched outside the cottage was whistling away from the top of a telephone pole and with the weather being so nice I decided to have a good look around the garden to see what was about. I watched the feeders from the bedroom window and spotted Great, Blue, Coal and Long Tailed Tit, only 3 Chaffinches feeding beneath the feeders, a Robin and 2 Blackbirds occasionally popped in and out of the garden and a Dunnock which continually broke in to it's sweet warbling song from the edge of the bushes in the garden. Walking out in to the garden I could soon see 2 Common Buzzards and 5 Red Kites circling above and from the surrounding fields the squabbling Corvids could be heard as they searched the fields for food. No sign of any Black-headed gulls today but 12 Common Gulls were joining a small flock of Jackdaws that were feeding in one of the Sheep fields off Shogmoor Lane. After viewing the surrounding fields I made my way back towards home hearing a small flock of Long-tailed Tits as I walked, they soon flitted overhead and into the hedgerow next to me and as I watched them I soon heard the contact calls of 2 Goldcrest that were in the hedgerow as well. As I was watching them I began to hear a Bullfinch calling nearby and leaving the Tit flock I carried on further along the hedgerow and towards the calling Bullfinch, it didn't take long to see both male and female Bullfinches feeding in the hedgerow but they soon noticed me and flew further along the path and back in to the hedge. I slowly approached where they were feeding and this time inched myself into a good viewing position and watched as they ate new shoots and buds in the hedgerow, they stayed for a good ten minutes mostly deep in the hedge but now and again came to the top to clean their beaks on a number of thicker branches giving exceptional views of this normally shy species. I wandered back to the cottage and immediately picked up on 2 large black birds flying south-east towards Hatchet wood, they soon called and before I had time to look at them through my binoculars I knew they were Ravens. They continued flying over without stopping but I could still hear "Kronking" even with them out of sight. I'm certain that there is at least one pair in the area and with fairly regular sightings over the cottage there's a good chance that they are resident and possible breeders.

Bullfinch

A Red Kite returned to the top of the telegraph pole near the garden and from the bedroom window I could see it was eating something, being curious I headed outside again . I managed to hide behind a large Laurel bush which meant I could get relatively close view without flushing it, I was a bit taken back when I saw what it was eating as I had at first thought that it would be probably feeding on a dead Rabbit or some other road kill. After doing a double take I realised that I wasn't going mad and that the Kite was eating what looked like a sponge cake(make and origin unknown!), I have often had them swooping into the garden after I have put bread out for the birds but never seen them take anything so this came as a bit of a surprise. It finished everything and then took off and began circling the fields with 3 other Kites and a Common Buzzard. It had a metal leg ring on it's left leg but it wasn't possible to read it.

The Cake Eating Kite

Red Kite

August Garden Sightings.

The Badgers have finally returned and have been seen late at night searching for food around the gardens, they haven't been seen for nearly a year and I was worried that something had happened to them. We had 6 visiting the garden on a regular basis during the winter of 2005 and I managed to film them through the living room window, it was truly an incredible experience to be able to watch them so close, sadly most sightings these days are of dead Badgers on the roadside.


Badger

A few deer have passed through with very young fawns, stopping to feed on the grass in the paddock outside our house, a common sighting throughout the year sometimes in numbers of 40+ but seldom seen with their young.

On the feeders have been Nuthatch, regular visits from 2 Marsh Tits, Long-tailed Tits have been passing through in family groups, no sign of the usual Goldcrest's that are often in the conifers. Both male and female Bullfinches have been seen regularly along the hedgerows nearby although not it the garden. Red-legged Partridge can often be seen and heard crossing the gardens and out in to the surrounding fields, no sign of any young or family parties.

Great-spotted Woodpeckers have raised 2 young and are occasionally on the feeders and bird bath during the day, the Green Woodpeckers on the other hand have raised 3 young and are regularly feeding on Ants on the lawns and paddocks around the cottage, they seem to favour the freshly cut lawns to feed on. A single juvenile Green Woodpecker is often found in our garden searching for food on our lawn which gave me the opportunity to film it while it fed.


Juvenile Green Woodpecker

One of the highlights of the month is certainly the regular sightings of both Little and Tawny Owls, the resident Little Owls have raised 2 young and can often been seen together in their favored perching places.They have often been sat out sunning themselves when the weathers been good, I watched all 4 or them sat in the orchard in the afternoon sun,the young were perched quietly whilst the adults searched for worms and beetles to feed them. They seem to be in and around the garden most nights often sat on the bird bath calling to each other.


Little Owl

Tawny Owls have been heard and seen over the last month on a regularly basis with calling birds being heard most nights in the area, one seems to favour the top of our cottage and is often "hooting" in the early hours. Mid-August brought a great view of a Tawny Owl hunting outside our cottage window late one evening, my girlfriend and I both watched as an adult Tawny perched quietly on the paddock fence searching for prey, it made 5 attempts to catch food from the long grass beneath it and was successful at least 3 times, the prey swallowed whole in one go leads me to believe they were probably voles rather than mice although both seem to be present in good numbers. It flew to each post in turn and remained transfixed searching the ground below, I continued watching it for at least 10 minutes with the aid of the outside light before it disappeared into the darkness. An hour later it could be heard calling from the trees nearby. Views like that are truly priceless and I was extremely lucky to film it from the front door without disturbing it.


Tawny Owl

A small Bat keeps doing flybys over the garden, At the beginning of August it was often flying while it was still light, I tried to film it but it's much too quick for me.

A Stoat was seen "dancing" around one of the gardens in mid-August but remains very elusive, I had a very brief view as one darted across the garden in October 2005 but didn't hold out much hope of seeing it again. That soon changed when I walked out to my car on Friday 24th and came face to face with a Stoat, it took both of us by surprise and we both froze checking each other out, it soon turned and headed off towards the orchard and I watched as he headed off into the long grass. My closest view previously being at Hambleden Lock when one ran out of the undergrowth next to the backwater and continued towards me, it stopped 10ft away sniffed the air then disappeared in to the undergrowth.

August Highlights

Badger

Stoat

Tawny Owl

Little Owl