December part 1

"Holly berries shinning red, mean along winter, ti's said."
 We do have lots of berries in the hedges around here and we have had snow early. The saying seems to be true this year at least.
1st Snowing but not very heavy. Some of the country has had 18 inches of snow and temperatures of -20. So far we have had it mild. Lots of birds coming for food. A thrush is eating a snail, first bashing it on the ground to get it out of it's shell.

2nd More snow and a visit by the great spotted woodpecker. He likes to eat the fat and seed out of the coconut shell on the stem of the bird table.
13th The snow has gone 2 male blackbirds are eating the pyracantha berries and apples I have put out. They have regular fights chasing each other from the garden. Starlings, robins, blue, great and cole tits , sparrows and magpies  and collared doves coming everyday.

Collared Dove ( Streptopelia decaocto) Usually found in towns or on farmland. Nests on buildings or in trees. Lays 2 white eggs and can have 2 broods. Feeds on grain,seed and some fruit.

16th More snow but it didn't stick. 3 male blackbirds in the garden and a female. They are tolerated for a while before 1 of the blackbirds chases the others including the female off.
17th Lot's more snow falling today. A hard frost has created  beautiful scenery this long icicle.

The river where I see the Kingfisher is beautiful.

22nd It's the coldest December in 30 years according to the met office. There has certainly been more snow that I can remember. All the birds are fluffed up against the cold and are visiting regulary.
31st December ends cold and murky, but the snow has gone. It has been the coldest December for 100 years.

                                             Frosty trees, icicles form, and a rose frozen in time.

November part 2

19th Visit to wildlife area in Cambridge to see the starlings unfortunately the weather is foggy. The starling perform beautifully - undulating like a swarm, or like fish in the sea. Suddenly a waterfall of birds as they go to roost. Fab! On the way I saw my first wild barn owl in  Field nearby the roost.

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Hunting silently using sight and sound to locate their prey, shrews, mice, voles and frogs. They lay 4-6 white eggs and may have 2 broods.
"The Owl that watching in the barn ,
sees the mouse creeping in the corn."  ...Samuel Butler
Last week in November and it has turned winter cold. A robin sits a perch fluffed up for ages just watching then defending his territory against the sparrows. A woodpecker appears 3 gardens away.
Snow - the coldest spell in 17 years. Lots of visitors to the garden looking for food including the woodpecker.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
At home in both conifer and broadleaved woodland. Lays 4-7 glossy white eggs. Feeds on larvae. beetles, wasps, moths and sometimes small birds. He lands at the bottom of the bird table and works his way up to the food.
 "Rap, rap, rap, rap. I hear thy knocking bill."  ...Montgomery

November part 1

"Ice in November to bear a duck,
The rest of the year will be slush and muck."
The first week has been a lot milder than expected. Sunny with a nip in the air with no bad frost yet. The amazing autumn colour continues.

The crows and magpies are very noisey at the moment and the gang of sparrows are fighting all the time. More sparrows kill other sparrows than anything else. By the river the himalayan balsam has been cut down and the rubbish has been cleaned up. No sightings of the kingfisher sadly.
The second week has been windy and cold the leaves are mostly gone. Visitors to the garden include starlings, magpies, blue and great tits, collared doves, pigeons, sparrows and a robin.
16th We visit the New Forest. The colours have faded to a general russet brown with braken covering the floor.
The Fallow Deer were in the clearing looking peaceful together as the rutt is over. The stags still look magestic.

Fallow Deer(Cervus dama)
Lots of variation in colours some are chestnut brown other blacker while others are quite pale. The does can have offspring in her second year and will have a foal every year for up to 10 years.

October part 4

We are also visited by a wren.  The Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) is the second smallest bird here. The male will build several nests and may have more than one mate. She will lay white eggs with red/brown spots and may have 2 broods. They eat insects and seeds.
At a local castle a robin and chaffinch come down to share our food.

On the grass a mushroom grew. At the start of the week it looks like this.

By the end of the week it looks like this.

The Shaggy Ink Cap (Coprinus comatus) 6-14cm high it grows in gardens. Named after the shaggy scales on its surface. The cap drips away as an inky fluid that contains the spores.
By the end of the week the autumn colours are even more impressive. Pale yellow leaves in some taller trees show bright green mistletoe in their branches. Other trees are covered in brandy snap colours which looks burnt at the edges with darker reds on the outside of orange. October ends mild for the time of year .

October part 3

15th Lots of activity in he garden - a gang of sparrows, robin, a young pigeon eating berries, 5 blue tits and a cole tit.
The last week of October we return to the cottage in Shropshire. Leading up to the cottage a covering of leaves gives off a bejewelled glow on the ground where the sunlight hits them below the trees canopy. Lots of pheasants around making a commotion. I saw 18 in the field all strutting their stuff while at the same time looking around anxiously. it is hunting season.

 Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus). The Pheasants true home is Asia it was introduced here in the 18th century.It is well established as a wild bird but is also breed for hunting. The hen is less colourful and lays 8-15 pale olive eggs. They feed on fruit, seeds, leaves,  insects, lizards, field voles and small birds.

.The Buzzards also pronounce their ownership of the skies above.

They are majestic and come quite close banking then flying away. One lands in a tree close by.
Rain tracks across the field opposite with the sun shining there is a magical glow. The trees look they are lit with fairy lights.

october part 2

More from Slimbridge.

Golden eye ( Bucephala clangula).
Winter visitors that don't breed here. Feeds on small water animals, mostly shellfish and insects.
"He of white-cheeks, and Golden-eyed,
Of white and black alternate pied.     ... Bishop Mant

We also saw lots of other ducks- I'm not good at identifying ducks but I'm learning. 
However my favourite place was the  kingfisher hide even without a kingfisher. Lots of dragonflies zipped around on the bend of the river while tits and finches came to the bird feeder by the wooded area.

October part 1

"In the old of the moon
A cloudy morning
Bodes a fair afternoon."

1st October has opened with rain, rain and more rain. The sparrowhawk landed on the swingy chair in the corner of the garden but no small birds were to be found.
4th Used a bat detector in the garden - saw and heard 2 bats on 45khz. Pipistrells I think.
7th Saw a "charm" of goldfinch by the river and mallards fighting.
We went to Slimbridge at the weekend (cheating a little I know) but we took lots of pictures.

Eider duck (Somateria mollissima).
Found from the Artic to Britian. Eats mollusc's and crustacea. Lays 4-6 light green eggs in nests on the ground.

Wigeon (Anas penelope). Only breeding in Scotland. Lays 7-8 creamy buff eggs. Feeds on grass and grain