February 2009 Archives

With the rise in temperatures since last weekend, the Quickening has started.
The Snowdrops are now out in force, the yellow Winter Aconites are out in a few shady corners, and my back lawn is now a picture: about 800 Early Purple Crocuses.
They have been coming up steadily for two weeks now, but only with the sunshine today have any opened properly, just in time for the first Bumble-Bee. There is another insect which also pollinates them, something small, black and wasp-like, but so far I have failed to catch one to find out what it is: there are so many crocuses that I don't have room to move quick enough!

You may have noticed that we now have something approaching a Dawn Chorus, and chasing and singing amongst the birds is very noticeable as territories are established.
The Goosanders are still with us on the river, but the Golden Plovers are gone, presumably to somewhere up on the moors.

A most spectacular sunset this evening:
 

A very bright afternoon : at around 4.30 , walking along the cycle track to the SW of the village, towards the Old Bridge, my attention was caught by a flock of birds on a grass field to the south. My first impression was that they were fieldfares, but they rarely gather in such numbers in a field like these.
Fortunately my fieldglasses were round my neck , so I sat and watched for 20 minutes: 46 Golden Plover !

Not a familiar bird to me at all , but I took mental notes at the time, and everything fits. They are rather dull at this season, brown above and paler below at a distance.
The behaviour is a giveaway. Run , stop dead. Run , stop. When the starlings in the same field were spooked by something , and flew up , the Plovers all ducked down and froze to the ground.

This will be an occasional blog about items of wildlife interest around the village.

I walk around the village for exercise every day, and although I am far from being an expert biologist I have a general interest in whatever grows, crawls, or flies in the area.
There will be much I shall miss, so if anyone has anything of particular note please feel free to add comments here, or write to me at tony@bishopthorpe.net 

As we go along, it might be interesting to start compiling a list of Species. I'm sure this has probably been done before, but no harm in starting again.
Anything known to grow or breed in the area, or visit in the case of birds. (I've already done most of the obvious ones, so don't feel the need to tell me about those). I might need the help of an expert botanist, if there is one amongst us, as the growing season starts in earnest.

Early February

This is the absolute nadir of the growing year: vegetation seems utterly dead, and even the early spring bulbs are late coming up.
The only activity is among the birds: some singing is now noticeable, and there is a certain amount of territorial chasing going on.
The snow seems to be bringing interesting birds into the garden this week: if you are putting out food for them yourself you may have noticed some new faces.
I've had Reed Buntings and Tree Creepers, both normally strangers to my bird table.
The scrum for food is always won by the Woodpigeons.

Down on the river some winter visitors: a party of four female Goosanders and five Tufted ducks.
I've seen both of these before at this time of the year: I recall two male Goosanders about three years ago.

Goosander

If you walk down from the Old Railway Bridge to opposite the Marina entrance you may well see the three Great Crested Grebes that seem to be resident in that stretch.
They bred last year, and I believe one of them is the grown chick.

Well I think that's enough for my first entry. There'll be more to follow - and please do tell me about the wildlife you've see or heard of in the area.