Local Lock Down Wildlife Walk

The Lock Down of the UK due to the Coronavirus was instigated on March 23rd as expected with the only reasons now to leave your home being to buy food, to go to work if you can't work from home, to care for a vulnerable person and for exercise. I have to buy food and as an NHS keyworker I have to go to work but I am keeping away from helping to care for my vulnerable mother-in-law who is in a high risk group.

My exercise is my wildlife walking but my options are now limited although Plymouth Hoe, The River Plym and Saltram Park are all reachable by foot from my front door and so these places will become my hopefully weekly allowed exercise walks by following these rules - social distancing is to be maintained by keeping 2 metres apart from others when out of the house, not meeting up with friends and family when out and to only walk with members of your household, all of which are fine by me. And so with the settled, dry, sunny but cool and windy weather continuing I needed to get out for a walk on Saturday 28th March and walked from home to Saltram Park and back.

It was a glorious day and especially welcome after what seems to have been 5 months of continuous rain and wind and people were out and about walking or cycling although numbers were much, much lower than would normally be expected.

It was odd to see the roads and paths so quiet and to cross the road or move away from walkers and cyclists in order to keep 2 metres apart and I found myself avoiding eye contact with anyone passing me by instead of offering a greeting as I usually do with everybody else seeming to be doing the same.

It was great to be out and about though and I had a very enjoyable walk with the highlights being a Greenshank and a male Goosander along the River Plym while within Saltram Park Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Nuthatch, 3 Stock Doves, a pair of Mandarin Ducks on a pond in the woods (where dogs are usually disturbing any birds present) and a Mistle Thrush were seen.

 Greenshank, River Plym

 Mandarin Duck, Saltram

Mandarin Duck, Saltram

I didn't hear any Ring-necked Parakeets but a Green Woodpecker constantly yaffled away near Saltram House but kept itself out of sight. I hear Green Woodpeckers regularly but often struggle to see them, their yaffling being almost a mocking laugh aimed at me.

Violets were flowering and Bees and Bee Flys were buzzing and I had a brief view of a tatty Small Tortoiseshell along with better views of a few Peacock and Comma.

 Violets, Saltram

 Bee Sp., Saltram

 Peacock Butterfly, Saltram

 Peacock Butterfly, Saltram 

Comma, Saltram

Roe Deer were feeding out on the grass before retreating to the safety of the nearby hillside to chew the cud and a total of 14 were seen, the highest count I have had for them in Saltram Park.

 Roe Deer, Saltram

A strange walk but very much needed and very restorative in these weird and frankly scary times. My work is stressful and difficult enough on a good day and wildlife watching (and chocolate and alcohol!) gets me through it and with a complete shit storm potentially hitting my work place soon I need even more to loose myself in the natural world.

I have already been lamenting the loss of getting out for the spring migration but am hopeful of catching up with some of the summer migrants as they return south in the autumn, assuming that things may be a little less restrictive then than they are now and assuming I stay well and healthy. And in the bigger scheme of what is going on in the world at the moment there is always (hopefully) next year.

Having the River Plym, Plymouth Hoe and Saltram close by is a big plus and at least I will be able to get out there and find some good stuff - unless the rules change. And it will be good for my waist line too!

River Plym and Wembury Walks

Sunday 22nd March was a gloriously sunny day and despite a biting Easterly wind it was a day just begging to be out and about and walked in. It was also Mother's Day but with the COVID-19 pandemic escalating we are all advised to stay inside and not visit our Mums, easy for me as she is 300 miles away, but I really wanted to get outside before we are placed in total lockdown. And with cryptic news on the Internet of a Stone Curlew found that morning at a private site in Plymouth my mind was made up and I headed out for a walk along the River Plym. We are being advised to maintain social distancing when out and about, keeping at least 2 metres away from others, and this is what I did although there weren't many people about anyway. I also walked there and back, avoiding the bus and saving some money and helping my waist line in the process.

The tide was low when I arrived at Laira Bridge and I watched 3 Little Egrets feeding out on the mudflats, grabbing lugworms out of the mud and snaffling them down while a Chiffchaff sang in the nearby trees.

 Little Egret, River Plym

Little Egret

Skylarks were singing over Chelson Meadow as I walked along The Ride and Greenfinches were songflighting overhead, a lovely sight and sound as they appear to be getting more common again.

I wandered around Saltram and managed to find a flyby Brimstone while at least 4 Peacocks and 3 Commas gave some good on the deck views.

 Peacock, Saltram

 Comma

Comma

A Mistle Thrush, at least 4 mobile and flighty Stock Doves and 7 flyover Redwings were also seen and it was lovely to hear and see my first Willow Warblers of the year with 2 individuals feeding on insects in amongst the catkins. 3 Wheatears were also good to find but they were mobile and flighty and soon disappeared from sight.

I met local birder Chris and he had seen the Stone Curlew a few minutes earlier but had lost track of it when some dog walkers had walked past and despite us both scanning around we couldn't refind it. Chris eventually had to leave (we maintained social distancing the whole time), and I wandered around a bit more but just as I was about to give up and head off home I found it, unfortunately a bit distant as it walked around in the long grass. I walked closer towards it but I lost sight of it in the grass until it eventually flew off as I approached. I followed its flight path and eventually found it again and managed to get some great views of it although I really wished I had taken my telescope out with me as it was still distant. It was attracting some unwelcome interest from the nearby Carrion Crows and Jackdaws and eventually was chased off by them, flying off and out of sight again but after having had such good views of it it was time to head home.

 Stone Curlew 

 Stone Curlew 

Stone Curlew

As I was walking back I heard a Peregrine calling and on scanning around I found it as it stooped at the Stone Curlew which was flying over the nearby hillside - what! The Stone Curlew pitched down into the vegetation but the Peregrine kept flying around, calling and stooping at the ground in an attempt to flush the Stone Curlew but as I approached it gave up and flew off. The Stone Curlew then flew off too and out of sight, having had a lucky escape thank goodness.

A great bird to see, my first in Devon and probably some of the best views I have had of one. And thanks to local birder Martin for getting the cryptic news out so promptly although I guess only 3 of us managed to actually see it.

Monday 23rd March was another sunny but windy day and with the lockdown of the UK imminent and my going back to work tomorrow I wanted one last wildlife walk and so I caught the bus to Wembury. There were only 4 of us on the bus and we all spaced ourselves out in seats away from each other but it felt very strange.

At Wembury Sloe was in full blossom and it was a relief to find the Sea Kale along the beach beginning to emerge from the sand after all the damage to the beach from the winter storms.

 Sloe Blossom, Wembury

Sea Kale

It was quiet on the bird front but it was great to see and hear Chiffchaffs, Skylarks and Cirl Buntings singing.

 Cirl Bunting

Cirl Bunting

A female Kestrel was nice to see hovering over the hillside and Stonechats, Dunnocks and Linnets were noticeable along the coastal footpath. 2 Canada Geese were noisily resting on the rocks at the low tide and Gannet and Fulmar were seen offshore. 2 Mistle Thrush in the horse field were a surprise find.

3 Common Lizards, 6 Oil Beetles, Bee Fly, Bloody-nosed Beetles and a Peacock butterfly were also seen before David met me for a lunch of sandwiches and Pepsi Max sat out on a bench along the footpath (the cafe, as are all cafes, was closed) before we drove home in the car - a nice but breezy walk and maybe my last wildlife walk for some time to come.

 Common Lizard

 Oil Beetle

 Oil Beetle 

 Oil Beetle

 Bee Fly

 Bee Fly

Shield Bug

Enoplops scapha

A Strange Trip to Suffolk

With nearly 2 weeks of annual leave from work booked for March of this year I had originally planned to head off abroad somewhere but decided instead to visit family in Suffolk - very fortunate really as we would probably have ended up stuck somewhere unable to get back to the UK with transport systems crashing due to the Corona virus shutdown.

We travelled up to Ipswich by train on Monday 16th March and it was a strange experience with the trains, underground and London being eerily empty and quiet. The lock down of the UK began that night with Boris Johnson beginning his daily news conferences and as the week progressed the restrictions grew but we were fortunately able to get back to Plymouth on the train on Friday 20th March with the trains, underground and London being even more deserted.

The weather while we were in Suffolk was mostly grey and dull but fortunately dry and with people being asked to self isolate and socially distance themselves we decided to get out into the countryside to enjoy the fresh air while avoiding people and crowds.

Our train journey to London on Monday 16th March provided the usual sightings of Red Kites between Swindon and Paddington and Herbert the Slavonian Grebe was seen off Cockwood on the River Exe.

Tuesday 17th March and we visited the Beth Chatto Gardens near Colchester, somewhere we haven't been before, and we had a pleasant wander around listening to a singing Chiffchaff and I finally saw my first butterflies of the year - Peacock and Brimstone - flitting about.

Peacock, Beth Chatto Garden, Essex

Wednesday 18th March and we visited Ampton where the Tree Sparrows were easily found around the bird feeders although they were very nervy and skittish. A couple of Red-legged Partridges were seen in the fields with lots of Pheasents but the highlight were 3 Grey Partridge feeding in a stubble field.

Tree Sparrows, Ampton, Suffolk

Tree Sparrows

Grey Partridge, Ampton

Onwards to Risby Barns and 3 Red Kites were seen soaring overhead along with numerous Buzzards while in the fields  more Red-legged Partridges were seen along with Hares and Muntjac Deer.

After a quick look around the antiques centre and lunch at Mums cousins cafe we drove to Lackford Lakes for a walk, only my second visit here. Chiffchaffs were singing away despite the cool breeze and grey skies but a Kingfisher showed very well right in front of the hide along with Snipe, Shoveler, Teal, Pochard, a Little Egret, Greylag Geese and Reed Buntings.

Kingfisher, Lackford Lakes, Suffolk

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Snipe, Lackford Lakes

Thursday 19th March and Mum decided to head to Sainsburys to do some food shopping as it was over 70's only from 8am to 9am, a move instigated by Sainsburys due to the stripping of food from the shelfs in supermarkets, something we had experienced already on a brief look in both Tescos and Sainsburys on out travels the previous few days. Mum managed to buy what she needed including toilet rolls which bizarrely are like gold dust at the moment but there were apparently some ugly scenes in the aisles and Mum was harrassed and harangued by a belligerent old lady who didn't believe she was over 70 and felt she should be kicked out of the store (my Mum is nearly 74!).

After Mums shopping adventure we headed off to Minsmere where I had 3 hours to myself - the visitors centre and cafe had been closed but the nature trails were open and I made full use of my limited time there.

Bitterns were booming, Bearded Tits were pinging, Green Woodpeckers were yaffling and Water Rails were squealing but I didn't see any of them. Marsh Harriers showed very well quartering over the reed beds and I did get a brief view of a Cettis Warbler singing in the undergrowth. 2 Red Deer were a surprise sighting out in the open before they entered the water and disappeared into the reeds.

Marsh Harrier, Minsmere 

Red Deer, Minsmere

Red Deer

The Scrape held the usual birds - Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Lapwing, Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Shoveler were all seen along with a flock of (feral) Barnacle Geese and lots of Gulls - Great Black-backed, Herring, Common, Black-headed and Mediterranean. I also found a 3rd Calendar year Yellow-legged Gull preening away which was briefly joined by a 3rd calendar year Caspian Gull which it took great umbrage to and attacked causing it to fly off.

Yellow-legged Gull, Minsmere

Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull - yellow tinged legs

Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Yellow-legged Gull

Herring Gull and Yellow-legged Gull

Herring Gull and Yellow-legged Gull

Herring Gull and Yellow-legged Gull

Herring, Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls

H, C and YL Gulls

Herring, Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls

YLGull sees Caspian Gull

YLGull attacks Caspian Gull! 

The sea was quiet but the dunes held a pair of Stonechat and Linnets and I almost stepped on 2 Adders curled up together out of the wind before they slithered off into the gorse.

Adders, Minsmere

Adder, Minsmere

On the journey back to Ipswich we stopped off briefly at Snape Maltings where I had a quick look along the river and was very pleased to find a very lovely looking Spotted Redshank along with 4 Avocet and quite a few Black-tailed Godwits including a bird with coloured leg rings.

Spotted Redshank, Snape Maltings, Suffolk

Spotted Redshank

Spotted Redshank

Black-tailed Godwit, Snape Maltings

Black-tailed Godwit with leg rings

The train journey back to Plymouth on Friday March 20th was uneventful with more Red Kites seen between Paddington and Swindon and I also saw quite a few Roe Deer out in the fields and a Snow Goose with Canada Geese at Powderham along the River Exe.

And so a great time away in what is fast becoming a very strange time. Next week I return to work, entering the lions mouth of Derriford Hospital and who knows what which will mean my wildlife watching choices will likely become much more limited.