Meltdown

As expected, today dawned bright and clear without a cloud in sight. It was cold enough overnight that the snow was going nowhere, but by mid-morning with full sun and temperatures rising to single digits above zero, the thaw was in full swing. Aside from working from home quite productively for a couple of hours early this morning, I had to make a trip into Blaby to sort out a prescription with the GP surgery and the pharmacy. As seems reasonable to me, I tied this in with a short foray into somewhere different for a change of scene.

In the aerial shot below, the three red dots are my GP surgery, carry on north to the pharmacy, and then take a different route back so I could stop at Bouskell Park.

Bouskell Park is not within my Soar Valley South patch boundary, but it is within the 3km on foot from home area that I set a few years ago. I only visited it a couple of times then, and don't think I've been there since 2013. It's not a massive park, but there are some decent mature oaks and - although I'd forgotten - there is a small pond (cyan dot) which sits immediately behind a listed Victorian ice house that I can't show you as it was boarded up for some restoration work. The accessible parkland is about half of the area that is tied in with Blaby Hall. Leading out from the park (yellow dot) there is a pathway through a conifer plantation that turns c90 degrees south.

There were plenty of people in the middle of the park with small kids on mini sledges sliding down the most pathetic hill you can imagine, and overall the park looked like it must have been awash with kids yesterday making snowmen (or in one case rolling a huge ball of what was clearly more mud than snow). As ever I avoided the people present by walking around the edges, avoiding main paths etc. Where passing at a particular passing point is unavoidable (like the bridge over a small stream from the car park into the park) I make a point of standing aside. So far since we learnt to live under pandemic conditions, I roughly estimate (in a biased and non-scientific way) that 50% of people are courteous and appreciative of such a move [and 80% of those appear younger than me], whilst 50% are ignorant cunts [and 80% of those appear older than me].

I was impressed by the Mallards gathered on the very small bit of water in the otherwise icy pond - at least six pairs, not a single one made a move to come toward me for bread. I had nice views of a perched Buzzard, but unfortunately it was mobbed by Crows as I got the camera fired up. Plenty of tits, but nothing following them around, and again no sight or sound of Nuthatch or any woodpeckers.

This Dunnock was virtually hopping around my feet, and every time the shutter opened it had moved. This was the best shot of the bird, but it is completely wrongly framed hence the shoddy cropping.

The pond I'd forgotten about - almost completely frozen over, which of course was the whole point of it being next to an ice house.

A small group of Black-headed Gulls were raucously making their presence known but only one bothered to land on the ice.

I was surprised to see a nailed on Fairy Tern though ....

Seriously, when was the last time you saw a Black-headed Gull perched in a tree - I can't recall seeing one!

The thaw was particularly evident underneath the branches and canopy of every tree. I was planning to walk the whole length of the conifer plantation, but although you can't really see it here it was like walking in heavy rain so I sacked it off.

Later in the day, I had to go back to the surgery again for a late afternoon appointment with the nurse. I came home via the lane, and stopped to take a snap ....

About 30 seconds after this photo, a Great Spotted Woodpecker silently bounced out of the obvious tree in the middle of the shot and across the lane ....

I'm now on a week off of chemo tablets and I'm feeling a bit perkier than I was last week; weather permitting I'll try and get out and about doing something useful (like actually making an effort to find invertebrates).

Here, blast this out loud and gurn nostalgically. You're welcome.

Aphid munchers

Superb warm sunny weather yesterday had me sitting around in the garden drinking tea and watching the world go by. In between cups of tea I pointed the camera at a few of the visitors. We've had constant squawking from up to three Starling broods just lately, with the recently fledged young chasing their parents and constantly begging for food.

 juv Starling

I've carried on topping up the feeders through the spring this year for a change, thinking it might help the parents, and it's worked to some extent. 

Goldfinch looking smart, but .....

 

... Great Tit and ...

... Blue Tit, both looking haggard from the effort of rearing young.

Robin going for a traditional caterpillar and ignoring the feeders, ...

... and Dunnock foraging around the lawn as usual.

Whilst pottering about the garden I also found two hoverfly maggots muching their way through aphids. And there are lots of aphids this year so good luck to the various larvae that will feed on them - should be good for ladybirds and lacewings too.

Probably Meliscaeva auricollis, living on aphids on Wood Avens

A Syrphus sp., living on aphids on a viburnum bush

I also found this tiny jumper in the house - new for the house and garden list, but hard to get a decent snap!

Euophrys frontalis

Home and Away

With Nichola working today, I was constrained for the morning and early afternoon so no birding - though I managed yet more Waxwings on the way into town. Otherwise there were a few bits from the garden during a very entertaining half hour or so. We had some bright sunshine and blue skies, and whilst venting some frustration by whacking the kids new drums (rhythmically) I noticed a couple of Long-tailed Tits drop onto my fat balls. I grabbed the camera to try and get a few shots and vid ...

.. however whilst doing this I noticed that a single Coal Tit was milling about. Remember how this was a garden tick a few weeks ago - well this was the first sighting since. I moved my attention to it and grabbed some stunning video - a full one second of it ....

The Long-taileds showed again in better light a few minutes later.

Not long after the Coal Tit departed, a Great Spotted Woodpecker dropped into the tree but it flatly refused to show well or come to the feeder. You can clearly see it in this shot .....

Otherwise it was standard garden fare, though a couple of Bullfinches on the embankment and Goldfinches on the feeders joined the Coal Tit as additions to the OFFH year list. A few smartly lit Starlings were constantly around - I'll post a series of shots separately.

Wall Accentor

Brownbird

Later this afternoon, I headed to Aylestone Meadows again. I'd picked up news of a Short-eared Owl earlier in the week and decided to have a look - more in hope than expectation.

You could imagine a Shortie knocking about in this rough grassland - more surprising that this habitat is within Leicester City. Despite giving a good hour and a half until it was more dark than dusk, no sign of any owls. Not sure exactly where it was seen on Thursday, or whether it was hunting or just passing through. The visit was not entirely fruitless though, as I added Kestrel, Pheasant and Green Woodpecker to the City yearlist. Also five flyover Goosanders - seem to be almost obligatory along the soar in winter.

Coming home, as I pulled into my Close I saw a Fox milling about in a neighbours front garden. I got out of the car with the camera - fully expecting the Fox to scarper - however it carried on its business. As I approached, taking a few poor shots on the way, it tried to hide by lying flat on a front lawn before ambling off to another garden. Another couple of shots and it seemed to head off - however as I walked up my driveway I saw it was c3 meters away from me on my front garden staring right at me ....

Not once did it bite my leg off or enter the house to terrorise the kids. I even got Josh and Alex out of the house to noisily have a look and it was not bothered. After a few minutes it did head off up the embankment. This is only the second one I've seen in the Close/garden.

Back to Basics

Today was a gloriously sunny, but crisp cold day. This morning we had to get the boys sorted before off-loading them onto my Mum for the weekend - no chance of getting off out for some early morning birding. So I decided that instead this morning would be the ideal time to participate in the RSPB Garden Watch. I'd already loaded the main feeders and distributed plenty of mealworms and fruit in readiness - all I needed now was the peace and quiet after the boys left and a bit of luck with the local birds.

As it turned out, the garden and feeders did okay for species but numbers of individuals were down on previous weekends (obviously I don't get to see much coming and going in the week whilst at work). The total (excluding flyovers) was 41 individuals of 17 species:

6 Blackbird
2 Blue Tit
4 Bullfinch
1 Carrion Crow
2 Chaffinch
2 Dunnock
4 Goldfinch
1 Great Tit
4 Greenfinch
2 House Sparrow
2 Long-tailed Tit
3 Magpie
3 Robin
1 Song Thrush
2 Starling
1 Woodpigeon
1 Wren

I was disappointed at the low numbers of tits, Greenfinches, Goldfinches and Chaffinches, and no idea where the usual Collared Doves have got to. Really pleased though with 2 pairs of Bullfinches, and nice to see a Wren pop up at just the right time. Watching the garden birds is something I still thoroughly enjoy even after all these years of birding - something therapeutic about it. After the counting I grabbed a few photos of a few of the visitors.










I ate the Collared Doves

Later this afternoon, I went over to Sence Valley Forest Park with Nichola for a walk around. Haven't been here for years, so I was interested to see how much it had grown up. Quite a lot as it happens. It was pretty busy with casual visitors and dog walkers, but I was only there for the fresh air and a bit of pseudo-birding (albeit with non-birding wife rather than kids). Click all images for a closer view.


Looking down onto Horseshoe Lake


Stonebridge Pool (looking into strong sunlight) (obviously)




Horseshoe Lake


Reedy predator


Stonebridge Pool was partially iced over

I really enjoyed the walk, despite nothing too exciting birdwise. Plenty of Wigeon, Teal and Mallard around, with fewer Gadwall, Tufted and Pochard and a Little Grebe on Stonebridge Pool. Good numbers of gulls on Horseshoe Lake - almost all Black-headed with a handful of Common.

Tits & Breeding

Emptying the moth traps in the mornings will be all the more enjoyable for a few weeks; in one of the adjacent gardens there is a big bush which has attracted Long-tailed Tits to build their fantastically elaborate nest. They've been at it for a week or so now, and are probably about ready to lay and incubate their only clutch. You can just about make out the nest. Just a big oval cup at this stage, it now has the top half complete aswell. We've also had Starlings detroying the mesh in the vents in the underhang below the roof tiles on both ours and our neighbours house for the first time. They've made an access just above our bathroom but I haven't seen any activity, unlike our neighbours who have a pair on the front and at the rear. This is the same neighbour who has the now resident continuously brooding Collared Doves. Resident egg laying machine, you can also see where Starlings have destroyed the vent mesh. Robins, Sparrows, Blackbirds and Woodpigeons have all been collecting nesting material from in and around the garden in the last week aswell, and there was some fervent cloaca pecking going on with the local Dunnocks! Imagine how interesting clubbing would be if prospective partners showed you theirs like this first!