And The Cold Spell Continues...

Well actually, now I've finally got round to posting this, temperatures have now started to climb and I think we can expect warmer conditions next week. But when I went out for a walk around campus on Saturday it was still only about 4 degrees, and even with plenty of layers on it was pretty chilly. 

Just a standard patch walk really, but saw an interesting range of species along the way including Kestrel, Kingfisher, a Grey Heron flying overhead (which isn't as common as you might think on the lake), a few Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Redwings and Mistle Thrushes, lots of Goldcrests and Nuthatches, Jays and Siskins. The photos below show the view across the lake: 

There wasn't anything particularly out of the ordinary on the lake other than a Kingfisher flying over the water surface, and a couple of Tufted Ducks, which aren't always around on campus. As usual, the lake was pretty much dominated by Black-headed Gulls as seen in the photo below. As you can see, some of the gulls, like the top one in the photo below are starting to show their spring plumage with that dark chocolate brown head beginning to appear. 

Moorhens like the one in the photo below were seen plodding around the edge of the lake too: 

And these Mallards looking who were looking rather smart...

As I was heading over to the woodland, I saw this Jay hopping around on the ground underneath the trees. Please excuse the terrible photo- they're incredibly hard to approach without them flying off. 

The first bird I saw when I walked into the woodland area was a Blue Tit, which is photographed below. This one was perched on a branch just a few metres away and kindly allowed me to take a few pictures:

Quite a few Goldcrests were seen in the woodland although again, I was unable to get anything other than an average record shot. The thing is, when you see them they often stick around for ages and are very happy to forage around in the vegetation in close proximity to you, but they just don't stay still for a second and are constantly shuffling along a branch, hanging upside down or hovering around. The best I managed is the photo below. 

I was constantly looking around, hoping that the next tiny bird I saw would be the Firecrest, but I'm really starting to think it may have moved on now. Haven't seen it in a while and no one seems to be mentioning it anymore. Still, I feel pretty lucky to have seen it, and maybe it'll turn up again next winter, we shall see.  

And one more final record shot for the day, the Nuthatch in the photo below. Despite the fact there are lots of them here on campus, they're really very shy and getting close to them is pretty difficult, similarly to the Jays. Anyway, enough excuses, the photo I managed is below: 

That just about rounds up my walk yesterday, hopefully by next week the temperatures will have risen enough for it to start feeling like spring :D  

Waxwing Wednesday

This morning I decided to head out for a wander around the campus this morning to see what I could see. The weather is slightly better today (it's not raining), so I thought it would be a good opportunity to go out and take a few pictures. It was about 9:30 when I went out, and I stayed out for over two hours looking around. The campus is quite a large area, so it takes a little while to look around all of it. 

I started around the lake area, which I've not really checked out for a couple of weeks. The first sight that greeted me was this Mute Swan: 

I was then pleasantly surprised to come across this Egyptian goose family with goslings. Spring really must be on the way! 

Along with the Swans and Egyptian Geese were Mallards and Canada Geese. The photo below shows a few of those birds together...

Lots more water birds could be seen along the edges of the lake, including Coots and Moorhens. 

Robins, a few Wrens, Blue, Great and Long-Tailed Tits, Blackbirds and a Song Thrush were all seen as I wandered on the path around the lake. As I got nearer to the end of the lake path, I spotted a group of Chaffinches and Goldfinches flitting around in the trees. I watched them for a couple of minutes, and then watched as a group of Siskins joined them at the top of an Alder tree. I had been told that Siskins could be seen around the campus at the moment, so it was good to spot them. We don't usually get too many of them where I live so it was a bonus to see them here. A bad record shot of a Siskin that refused to face the camera is below: 

I saw a couple more Wrens around the last part of the lake path, and a cormorant flying overhead, and then I decided to head to the woodland area of the campus to see what I could see. Blue and Great Tits were the first birds I saw as I started my walk, but I was unable to get any decent photos. It wasn't long before I came across a group of about 5-6 birdwatchers looking at the Firecrest in a tree surrounded by ivy. It seemed as though the bird had already been there for a little while before I got there, and the only view I got of it was a very brief glimpse of the bird as it flew off. It was good to see that the bird is still around though. It was also very pleasing to see that so many people had an interest in this tiny bird. 

After a few minutes of trying and failing to see the Firecrest again in the area, I decided to head off further into the woodland to see what else was around. There was lots more activity to be seen, and I was thrilled to see a Treecreeper again which I've now seen on my last two visits to the woodland. I managed an average photo of the bird as it climbed a tree in its unique fashion. 

I decided to stick around the area which I saw the Treecreeper for a while, as there was lots of activity in this area. I saw another Wren, and lots of other common birds too. I was  very surprised to then see a Pheasant in the distance, a bird I've never seen on campus and didn't really expect to see on campus. I managed a record shot below: 

I came across two or three more people wandering round the woodland with binoculars around this area, including a woman who was watching a Goldcrest flitting through the brambles low to the ground. I was able to get really close to the bird but it just kept moving every time I had it in frame. In the end I only managed this record shot as it hung upside down off a little branch. 

A couple of minutes later, this Song Thrush was seen foraging around on the woodland floor looking for grubs: 

And this Blackbird a bit further on. Near to where I saw this Blackbird, I also saw a Nuthatch on the trunk of a tree in its characteristic pose, which was another good bird to see, and one which I've seen on nearly every outing on the campus.

After some time looking through the woods, I decided to make my way back to my halls. But I had one more bird to look for. Over the last week or so, Waxwings have been seen on campus, and there had been sightings both yesterday, and this morning. They had apparently been seen just outside the Chemistry building on campus, in a tree containing lots of berries. I headed over that way, although to be honest, I went there only on the off chance that I might see them. The fact that they had been seen earlier in the morning while I was looking around the rest of campus made me think that they might have disappeared by the time I got to the area they had been sighted. 

But I was in luck. I walked on the path alongside the Chemistry building and saw a small group of around 10 birds flying from the top of one tree to another. They were very vocal and almost immediately I could see that they were Waxwings, with their distinctive behaviour and appearance. It was fascinating to listen to them as they appeared to be chatting to one another. They are really such striking birds. I had never seen them before, so it was such a nice surprise to see them on the university campus. Whilst they were at the tops of the trees I got a few record shots: 

Even just seeing these birds was enough for me, but I had even more luck, as one or two of the birds flew down to a much smaller tree bearing lots of berries, and allowed me to get a few better photos. These birds seemed remarkably tame and allowed me to get pretty close to them. Only a few of these photos are any good, but I was so glad to get any kind of photo to be honest. The low light meant that I bumped the ISO up to 800 for some shots, and 1600 for others. So the images are a bit grainy but I'm still pleased with them.

The photo below was probably the best of the bunch and shows the bird most clearly:

The tuft on the top of the Waxwing's head is so exxagerated in the photo below, making an otherwise terrible photo of the bird facing away from the camera quite interesting.

The thing that amazed me most about these birds is how opportunistic these birds are. The Chemistry building is relatively close to the centre of campus, and lots of people wander along the paths beside that building, so seeing them there really was a surprise. From what I've been hearing, the Waxwings that have migrated here from Scandinavia have split up into smaller groups than usual, explaining why there were only 10 or so birds here on campus. It's great to think that some of the trees here on campus are supporting such a range of species.  

Overall today I saw a total of 31 species, which is really quite impressive for a couple of hours walking around. The Waxwings truly made my day, and fingers crossed they'll stay around for a little while get so I can get a couple more sightings of these gorgeous birds. 

I'll leave today's post at that I think. I need to make a quick trip into town and get some work done, so lots more stuff to be done today. Thanks for reading and have a great week :D 

Norfolk birds

So, here I am posting about our family holiday to Norfolk which I have just come home from. We stayed in a nice cottage in northern Norfolk (rather near where Springwatch is currently being filmed at Pensthorpe Nature Reserve this week). The variety of wildlife seen around the garden and grounds of the cottage was amazing. I think I will share my Norfolk wildlife and plant sightings over at least 2 posts. The grounds of the cottage were amazing. My favourite part of the grounds was the small lake pictured below.

Pretty much as soon as we went into the back garden of the cottage for the first time, we saw Blue Tits were nesting in a small hole in a wall. The adults were seen flying in and out of the hole with insects all the time and it was difficult to follow. This activity was constant until later on in the week when the Blue Tits stopped feeding the young. We think that they must have fledged, although we have not seen any fledglings around. Of course it is possible that the nest was predated but the hole was too small for anything large to get in and take the young. The picture below shows the hole.

Also nesting nearby, but in the grounds of the cottage rather than the back garden were Goldcrests. In a conifer tree, a pair of Goldcrests were rearing young in a tiny nest on the end of the branch. The young looked very close to fledgling when I saw them on the first day of the holiday. It looked like there were 2 or 3 chicks crowded inside the nest. One of them decided to exercise his/her wings outside the nest, before returning to the nest cup. I just managed to get a picture before it hopped back inside the nest, which is seen in the top left image of the photo montage below. The nest was empty the next day so I am assuming they have fledged.

Other fledglings that were seen around were Great Tit (main picture in montage) and Coal Tit (bottom left photo in montage).

Also nesting in the garden of the cottage were Blackbirds who had built a nest high up in a shrub. Unfortunately, while the male was around, it only appeared to be the female who was feeding the chicks. Nevertheless, the female came in frequently with mouthfulls of insects.

The first picture below is of the female perched on the garden wall about to fly into the nest. The second photo is of the nest, which I managed to take a quickly and quietly. If you look carefully, you should be able to see the beaks of a couple of chicks. Maybe they will fledge next week. The photos were taken this morning before we left.

A flock of 15-20 Long-tailed Tits visited the garden twice and were very entertaining. They always look busy and never seem to stop. These little birds were flitting around the branches of a tree in the garden. I love the way they follow each other around. The biggest flock we have seen in our garden at home was made up of around 10 or 11 birds, so I was impressed to see such large numbers in Norfolk. I got a few photos of the tiny birds in action.

In the lake in the grounds of the cottage were Mute Swan cygnets and Egyptian Goose goslings. The cygnets were very closely watched by the adults and any threats to the cygnets were scared away very quickly. Also on the lake were Tufted Ducks and Mallards. The Egyptian Geese were often seen sat on the edge of the lake in the sun. The goslings were still quite small and were seen huddled together looking like a pile of feathers.

My highlight bird-wise in the grounds has to be the Barn and Tawny Owls that were seen flying around in the evening. A few evenings during the week, we walked to the barn near the lake to watch the Barn Owls. I think the Barn Owl must be roosting in the barn at the moment. We have seen it come out of the barn in the evening to hunt over the surrounding fields. I don't think they have young yet as they didn't return to the barn with any food.

Barn Owls are such incredible creatures and it was fantastic to see such good views of them as they hunted silently in the dark. We only saw the Tawny Owl once, but heard it much more often. They could well be roosting or nesting nearby too. Also seen near the barn were bats in large numbers. We also saw a Treecreeper one evening just as it was going dark on a tree near the barn.

Away from the cottage, we saw plenty of other birds. National Trust properties often have gardens that are fantastic for birds. We went to Felbrigg Hall, a National Trust property near the cottage. Click here for the link to the website. As I was looking around the gardens, I came across a House Sparrow terrace nestbox in use by a Great Tit. It was seen bringing food into one of the holes.

A Chaffinch was seen singing on a tree.

And Jackdaws were seen at another NT property, Blickling Hall. Click here for more information on the property.

Many other birds were seen on various walks throughout the week. On the beach near a town called Sheringham, Little Tern were seen at the shore. I had to check the bird book to make sure they weren't Common or Sandwich Tern. They certainly were little and were struggling to fly against the wind. Just slightly further along the coast near some cliffs, I saw a species of pipit. This bird, I was unable to identify even with the bird book. I am guessing it was either a Rock Pipit, or more likely due to its brighter outer tail feathers, a Meadow Pipit.

Also seen in Sheringham were Starling:

And finally, on a sunny walk in the countryside, a female sparrow on the roof of a house. It's great to see the declining House Sparrow in its well-known habitat.


Other bird highlights were: Nuthatch, Marsh Harrier (seen at Blakeney Point), Reed Bunting, Whitethroat, Meadow Pipit, Yellowhammer, Chiffchaff, Cuckoo and Great Spotted Woodpecker. Blimey, isn't it amazing what you can see in a week!

Finally this posting comes to an end. I did chatter a bit didn't I?

South coast birds

Yesterday we drove down to my Grandma's house near Portsmouth. Today we went to Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve and the sea front. Its amazing how much wildlife I saw in the hour or so I was there. The reserve is very near the sea, so the sea birds and the birds in the reserve mix. Gulls of various types are seen overhead in the reserve. And the best thing about today's birdwatching was the fact that the sun was shining!

The water was sparkling with the sun shining on it. The water was clear and it was calm too. It was the perfect day for spotting a few birds. Shame it wasn't like this yesterday for my birdwatch post. The birds were certainly happy to be out and about, and I saw a wide variety of interesting birds. Firstly, we went down to the sea front. I took some pictures of the sea, and you could see the Isle of Wight quite clearly.

After admiring the sea, I saw a group of small wading birds along the shoreline. I watched them intently, and at first I thought they were a group of juveniles of some sort. How wrong I was. I am most unsure about sea bird ID's than any other birds, so a quick look in the bird book told me that the birds in question were infact adult Turnstones. There was quite a large group of them too. While it was a sunny day, it wasn't warm, so these Turnstones were always moving about.

After watching these birds, I simply crossed the quiet road and had a look over the nature reserve. The first thing I noticed was a Cormorant/Shag on a wooden pole sticking out of the water. The reserve is made up mostly of reeds as you can tell from the picture below. My camera is great for what I need it for but it doesn't have zoom good enough to give some very good close-ups of the birds. I didn't however want to edit it to give a closer view because I didn't want to reduce any quality.

I find that some birds are sometimes forgotton by birdwatchers. The Cormorant is (in my opinion) one of these birds. While their colour is at first look quite dull, a closer look will show that they are in fact quite beautiful in their own right. I was struggling to work out if the one in the picture is a Cormorant or a Shag. Please comment if you can tell. Either way, this bird is one that I have never photographed before and actually have never really thought about before either.

After seeing this bird, I moved on and watched some of the ducks of the reserve. I watched them from the bridge where I saw the Grass Snake last time I visited. Click here for the post on that. This time I saw some very different ducks, and one caused quite a bit of trouble when I was trying to work out its ID. This one at first seemed quite timid, but eventually came closer to the bridge where I was watching. It seemed quite happy to be with the Coots.

I really was unsure about this one, so I brought up the topic on Birdforum. I must admit that it is a great service. I have used it before and was very impressed. Before I started using it, I thought the responses would be slow and inaccurate. I was mistaken however, and it is completely the opposite. I would really reccommend that you use it at some point if you are unsure about an ID. I now know that it is a Fulvous Whistling Duck. Now this is surprising. These aren't found in this country so its a real surprise to have seen one. The reply I got on Birdforum was "Looks like a Fulvous Whistling-Duck. Seems a bit far from home"! I looked its picture up on Wikipedia and its exactly right.

Picture of Fulvous Whistling Duck from Wikipedia.

Picture of Fulvous Whistling Duck taken by me.While I was watching some of the gulls at the reserve, I saw a tiny bird flutter out of the corner of my eye. I turned around and the bird was a Goldcrest. It got quite close, but even with my zoomed in camera, it turned out small in the picture. While I was watching it, I lost sight of it several times. They really are tiny. The picture I took isn't great but I was still pleased that I saw it.
We have seen this tiny bird in our garden recently, but I have struggled to get any photos. They generally don't use garden feeding stations so I guess it is mostly luck that I have seen one at home. I will have some more use for Birdforum soon as I check out an ID for another duck I have seen recently. I will post about this soon, and I should have some other photos to show to you as well. An out of season Swan Cygnet was seen too, so I have some interesting stuff to show you.