Holiday-less Holiday - Yet Again

After an awful week at work I was feeling totally frazzled to the point of being burnt out by the time I headed home at 8pm on Sunday 7th February. I was however very pleased that I now had a weeks leave to look forward to even though we had no plans due to the continuing lockdown.

Monday 8th February was sunny but bitterly cold in a biting Easterly wind as the east of the country was getting a deluge of heavy snow.

My Mums Garden in Suffolk, 8th February

I felt washed out but decided to head out to Wembury for a walk to try and clear my head and to see if any birds were on the move in the cold conditions. The footpaths were still very muddy but frozen over in places making it slightly easier to navigate them and there were fewer people around too. 

The only signs of birds on the move were a single Lapwing flying over and heading west and 2 Dunlin and 3 Bar-tailed Godwit along the beach with a Curlew and Oystercatchers (Lapwing is less than annual for me at Wembury, Dunlin are uncommon at Wembury outside of spring and autumn migration time and I have never seen Bar-tailed Godwit at Wembury in February before).

Dunlin

Dunlin

Bar-tailed Godwits

Bar-tailed Godwits

It was also unsurprisingly relatively quiet bird wise along the walk as birds were keeping themselves hunkered down out of the wind but I did see a female Blackcap, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, a Long-tailed Tit, Stonechat, a male Pheasant, a Little Egret out on the rocks and a few Gannets offshore. 

I also spent some time just sitting or standing out of the wind and looking out to sea while listening to the waves lapping the shore and feeling the sun on my face and it was very, very restorative to my battered psyche. A very tame Robin also kept me company as it hopped around my feet looking for any crumbs I may have dropped while I was eating my cereal bar, a gorgeous little bird that made me smile inside.

Tuesday 9th February and the biting East wind was still with us but now the skies were grey and overcast and there were occasional light snow flurries. We had a walk around Plymouth Hoe but it was very quiet with the highlight being 2 Lapwing flying over heading west. 

I kept an eye open for the Chough I saw a few days ago in the very slim hope of seeing it again but there was unsurprisingly no sign of it. However on checking the sightings news on the Internet when I arrived back home I was very pleased to see a Chough had been reported at nearby Noss Mayo just a few miles east of Plymouth, presumably my Plymouth Hoe bird. 

Chough, Noss Mayo (Photo courtesy of Devon Birds website)

Wednesday 10th February and I was feeling more like my usual self, it's amazing what some sleep, not going to work and some wildlife watching can do to me. I decided to walk to TR2 on the River Plym again for a look around in grey skies and freezing temperatures and with the continuing bitter easterly wind.

The tide was low and out on the river I found 2 Little Grebes and 2 Canada Geese with the usual Cormorants and Herring Gulls. 3 Grey Herons were fishing along the shoreline and Oystercatchers were feeding amongst the weed covered rocks.

An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was roosting out on the water amongst the Herring Gulls and a Peregrine was seen briefly flying over as it unsuccessfully stooped at a very lucky Feral Pigeon.

Lesser Black-backed Gull with Herring Gulls

I carried on my walk towards Plymouth Hoe, noting a male Kestrel flying over the quarries at Cattedown and a distant flock of probable Golden Plovers wheeling over the cliffs at Staddiscombe along the way.

From Plymouth Hoe a few Gannets were seen flying around past The Breakwater and a female Sparrowhawk glided overhead. A Great Northern Diver was diving close to shore and the Purple Sandpiper was again feeding on the rocks below the Pier One cafe with 3 Turnstone and giving some lovely views.

Great Northern Diver

Purple Sandpiper with Turnstones

Purple Sandpiper 

Purple Sandpiper - I love their feet!

Purple Sandpiper 

The highlight though was a Red Kite flying over The Hoe being noisily mobbed by Herring Gulls, it was heading east and seen around 10 minutes later over the River Plym by local birder Pete - another excellent sighting for Plymouth Hoe!

Red Kite

And on a more sombre note there were some pom-poms hanging up on the railings overlooking the sea in memory of a young lady named Holly who sadly committed suicide 2 years ago, a reminder to look out for those around us in these continuing difficult times.

Holly's Pombombs

Holly's Story

Butterfly Trip to Oxford, Part I

Monday 17th June and we headed off to Oxford for a few days away to do some sight seeing and some wildlife watching and to hopefully see black hairstreak butterflies which are found in the area.

It was cool and grey as we hit the road and remained so all the way to Oxford. We made a brief stop at Stonehenge for a coffee and a sausage roll before continuing on to Silsbury Hill which disappointingly is no longer accessible to the public. We carried onwards to Avebury and had a walk around the stones and a look around Avebury Manor which was very interesting and with a stunning garden which provided the one and only butterfly sighting of the day, a holly blue which flitted briefly over a yew hedge and out of sight. Better views were had of a young rabbit busily munching the plants and escaping the clutches of the gardeners who were trying to catch it.

Rabbit, Avebury Manor Gardens

Nearing Oxford and red kites began to appear soaring in the skies overhead, a nice sight and a change from buzzards here in the south west, and we arrived safely at our hotel near the centre of Oxford to begin our stay just before the rush hour traffic began.

The weather forecast for the week ahead wasn't looking great with cloud, showers and cool temperatures, not great for butterflying, and despite a favourable forecast for the morning of Tuesday 18th June we decided to head off to Blenheim Palace for the day due to rain being forecast for the afternoon.

Arriving at the Palace and the sun was shining so we had a walk around the Lake first and watched 3 red kites soaring overhead and calling. Sand martins, swifts, swallows and house martins were hawking for insects overhead and tufted ducks and great crested grebes were out on the lake amongst the mallard, coot, Canada geese and greylag geese.

Red Kite, Blenheim Palace

We then had a look around the Palace itself which was very interesting and by the time we had completed the tour of the rooms the clouds had arrived along with the showers and so after some refreshments we had a wander around the formal gardens. I was hoping to find some spotted flycatchers but was out of luck although I am sure I did hear some hidden in the trees. I did however get some good views of 3 treecreepers, some very tame and beautifully patterned male pheasents, blue tailed damselflies, bee orchids, pyramidal orchids and the one and only butterfly sighting of the day, this time a small tortoiseshell feeding on flowers before flying off.

 Pheasent, Blenheim Palace

 Bee Orchid, Blenheim Palace

Small Tortoiseshell, Blenheim Palace

After a wander around the maze we had a look around the butterfly house nearby and had some great views of some beautiful and exotic butterflies although not the native and wild ones I was hoping for.

 Butterfly Sp.

 Butterfly Sp.

 Butterfly Sp.

Butterfly Sp.

The rain duly arrived as we walked back to the car for the drive back to Oxford but it had been a very enjoyable day out.

Wednesday 19th June was cloudy and cool but humid and we decided to have a day in Oxford to see the sights. From our hotel we walked along the footpath by the River Thames into the city centre and started off with a visit to the botanic gardens which were beautifully laid out and with some lovely glasshouses and I managed a brief sighting of again the only butterfly of the day, a small tortoiseshell, along with a newt species in a pond and a beautiful demoiselle flying over the bushes.

We carried on to the Natural History Museum (free) which was very good with some interesting dinosaur finds from the local area on display and a swift nest cam with 3 chicks in a nest in the museums tower. The adjoining Pitt Rivers Collection (again free) was very good too with a massive collection of anthropomorphic items from all over the world with a focus on the art, design and development of these everyday items.

The final visit of the day was to The Ashmolean Musueum (also free) which was also very interesting and with an amazing Egyptian shrine on display, the only pharaonic building in the UK.

 Shrine of Taharqa, Ashmolean Museum 

 Shrine of Taharqa 

 Shrine of Taharqa 

After dinner and a few drinks in a pub we walked back to the hotel along the River Thames footpath again and the highlights were 2 common terns flying upriver towards the city centre, my first of the year, along with a flyover kestrel, mistle thrushes feeding on a cricket pitch, a large mayfly resting in the hedge and a yaffling green woodpecker heard only.

Mayfly, River Thames, Oxford

And so an enjoyable and interesting start to our trip away but not quite the butterfly-fest I was hoping for (so far).

Grenofen Bliss and Waders in the Rain at Wembury

Easter 2019 has been a hot and sunny affair, very unusual for Easter but more likely when Easter is late in the month of April as it has been this year.

Good Friday April 19th was spent in bed between 2 dreaded night shifts and so I missed a hoopoe found just across the River Tamar in Saltash and which was never seen again.

I had Easter Monday April 21st off and with the good weather continuing I headed off to Grenofen Woods on Dartmoor for a walk, figuring that this was probably the best place to go to avoid the crowds. I wasn't sure what to expect as this has been the earliest date I have visited the Woods in the Spring but I wasn't disappointed.

The first bus of the day saw me arriving at the Woods just before 10am and bird song was filling the air along with the sounds of children and dogs but once I had walked across the car park and up the hillside to the open rough grassland above the Woods there were very few people to be seen and I had a lovely wander around in peace.

Willow Warblers and Blackcaps were singing away and I quickly heard a Garden Warbler singing in the usual area which eventually gave some lovely views as it fed in the tree tops for brief spells before disappearing back into cover. Onwards and I heard a Redstart singing away but it proved to be very mobile and elusive in the tree tops and I only caught a few brief views and mostly in flight.

A male Yellowhammer, a male stonechat and 2 songflighting Tree Pipits showed well on the usual hillside but the highlight was a high and distant red kite which drifted off east and easily overlooked, I just happened to be looking in the right place at the right time.

Yellowhammer, Grenofen

 Tree Pipit, Grenofen

Red Kite, Grenofen

A Cuckoo was heard distantly on West Down with a green woodpecker also heard yaffling and other birds of note were 2 jay, 2 great spotted woodpeckers, a Raven flying over being mobbed by 2 carrion crows, a grey Wagtail along the river, 3 buzzards soaring over the trees together and 5 swallows chittering and chasing each other overhead.

Great-spotted Woodpecker, Grenofen

A holly blue, a green-veined white, speckled woods and peacocks were flitting about but the most noticeable butterflys were brimstones which seemed to be everywhere including many females busily laying eggs.

 Brimstone, Grenofen

Brimstone, Grenofen

The sunshine became increasingly hazy and by the time I caught the bus home it had clouded over but it had been a great walk as usual with some good birds and stunning views and without too many people around.

Wednesday April 24th and with another dreaded night shift looming I headed out to Wembury for a quick mornings walk but the weather had turned and it was cool and breezy and mizzly. I wasn't expecting much but things started nicely with a foxglove pug and a water carpet found in the toilet block and caught and released outside.

 Foxglove Pug, Wembury

Water Carpet, Wembury

Lackey Caterpillars, Wembury

The tide was high and along the beach at The Point there were 26 oystercatchers on the rocks with 7 mallards and 5 flighty and mobile shelducks but the best birds were a curlew, a winter plumaged and vocal grey plover, 3 bar-tailed godwits including a summer plumaged bird and 9 vocal whimbrels. The waders were all flighty due to the usual dog walkers along the beach but I managed to get some good views of them in the wet conditions.

 Bar-tailed Godwit, Wembury

 Bar-tailed Godwit, Wembury 

 Bar-tailed Godwit, Wembury

 Bar-tailed Godwit, Wembury

 Bar-tailed Godwits, Wembury

 Grey Plover and Bar-tailed Godwit, Wembury

 Grey Plover, Wembury

 Whimbrel, Wembury

Sea Kale, Wembury

Whitethroats. chiffchaffs and blackcaps were singing away despite the rain along with 2 cirl buntings and I also saw stonechats, a song thrush, a flyover kestrel and a fulmar flying low over the coastal footpath before I gave up and caught the bus back to Plymouth (although it stopped raining not long after I arrived home!).

Lakenheath Fen and Fowlmere

Wednesday 16th May and after visiting antiques shops and meeting up with my Aunty Maureen for a coffee we headed off to RSPB Lakenheath Fen for a walk. On the drive there I saw a brief flyby turtle dove which was a nice surprise and 2 red legged partridge crossing the road in front of us but unfortunately the weather was grey and cold with a strong breeze and so Mum and David stayed in the visitors centre while I headed off for a quick whizz around the reserve.

I walked out to the Joist Fen Viewpoint where common cranes are often seen but I was out of luck today but I did see a pair of tufted duck, 2 pairs of marsh harriers, 2 oystercatchers, chuntering reed warblers, swifts, swallows, house martins and 6 distant common terns. At least 5 hobbies were dashing around the reed beds catching insects despite the chilly breeze with 1 bird perching up in a tree right by the footpath and making sorties right over my head - I thought it may have been curious about me but more likely it was catching insects I was disturbing from the footpath as I was walking along but I had some amazing views of it.

 Hobby, Lakenheath Fen

 Hobby

 Hobby

 Hobby

 Hobby

Back at the visitors centre I had a closer view of a common tern flying over a lake and a flyby cuckoo along with a kingfisher and a stoat, both of which Mum and David had been watching while drinking hot chocolates.

Kingfisher

Thursday 17th May and it was time to head off to Aylesbury for the night. Along the way David visited the Imperial War Museum at Duxford for a few hours after dropping me off first at nearby RSPB Fowlmere, somewhere I haven't visited before. Fowlmere was originally a water cress farm centred on a natural spring but was taken over by the RSPB and made into a reed bed. A footpath through woodland circled the reed bed with 2 hides giving views over the reeds and another hide overlooking a tree lined pool and it was a very pleasant walk in sunny but breezy conditions.

Warblers were seen and heard - willow, Cettis, reed and sedge warblers and whitethroat, chiffchaff and blackcap - with greylag goose, a spotted flycatcher, a little grebe with a chick, 2 hobbies dashing around over the reeds, a male marsh harrier quartering over the reed bed ( a pair are nesting here this year) and a red kite flying over being mobbed by a carrion crow also being seen. There was no sight or sound of any turtle doves despite 2 pairs breeding here this year but I did flush a red legged partridge from the surrounding fields as well as startling a muntjac deer and a small herd of fallow deer. A burnet companion was a surprise find and holly blue, orange tip, brimstone, peacock, speckled wood and green veined white were also noted along with a male broad bodied chased, hairy dragonfly, large red damselfly and blue damselfly species.

 Muntjac Deer, Fowlmere

 Burnet Companion

 Large Red Damselfly

 Blue Damselfly

Hairy Dragonfly

While waiting for David to come and pick me up I wandered along the reserve entrance road and spooked a pair of red legged partridge which flew off over the fields. Even better was a male corn bunting which flew in and landed on a bush very close by, singing for a short time before flying off - I had seen 2 birds perched on telegraph wires on the drive to the reserve but was very pleased to get a much better view of one.

Corn Bunting

David duly arrived and had found an angleshades in the back of the car which I photographed before releasing into the hedgerow and we drove on to Aylesbury, seeing red kites soaring over the town buildings as we arrived at our hotel.

Angleshades

We stayed at The Bell, a Wetherspoons hotel which was actually very nice but it was a little strange eating breakfast by the bar while various assorted gentleman knocked back pints at 9 o'clock in the morning. After breakfast we drove to Waddeson Manor, a National Trust house and estate once owned by the Rothschilds that David wanted to visit. The grounds and gardens and house looked stunning in the beautiful sunshine but the house interior, while interesting, was for me a little soulless and staged. 

Waddeson Manor

Red kites were regularly seen soaring overhead as we wandered around the garden and I also saw holly blues, mistle thrushes and a "singing" spotted flycatcher high in a copper beech tree.

 Red Kite

 Red Kite

Red Kite

The drive back to Devon was ok with a traffic snarl around Oxford made more bearable by watching red kites flying over and 2 hares in a field and we eventually arrived back in Plymouth having had a great time away.