Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Cheers for your empathy David. I’ve decided now to just get out there and see what I can see because otherwise I feel like I’d have a long wait ahead of me .

Pairs

After a morning outing where I finally cracked and started going slightly mad I had a cuppa at home and calmed down a bit. However I remembered what my old PE teacher Mr Hall used to say; “You only get out what you put in” so I decided that I should put some more in now so that eventually I’ll get more out when (if ) the butterflies appear.

As I started out for my stroll around the local park I noticed a pair of Grey Wagtail but they were on the wrong side of the river. However I didn’t have to wait long as something small and brownish flitted by and landed flat against the trunk of a small tree. It was a Treecreeper and promptly shot up the trunk and out of sight. It was very quickly joined by a second and this one hung around a bit longer working its way along and under one of the lateral branches before coming back to the main trunk along the top. It then displayed classic “jizz” by flying to the next tree along, landing near the bottom of the trunk and working its way up and around. I was always taught that Nuthatches behave in the opposite fashion – landing at the top of the tree and working their way down.

After leaving the Treecreepers in peace I carried on round the path to the corner where the two rivers meet. Here there were a pair of Black Headed Gulls and a pair of Moorhens. Some loud piping calls had me scanning the surface of the water before a saw the blue flash that had been making the noise. There wasn’t just one Kingfisher but two another pair. I thought that my touch of mania was returning as every species of bird I was seeing were in pairs. As I followed the Kingfishers up river I passed a pair of Coots and a pair of Blackbirds and when I got to the Wooden bridge these pairs were joined by a pair of Long-tailed Tits and a pair of Goldcrests. I focused instead on the Kingfishers as they seemed to be courting with lots of piping calls and “quick follow me” bursts of flying before settling back to the same perch. I always feel that Kingfishers are out of place here in Britain their gaudy colouration would seem more at home in the tropics in some seething Jungle.

Luckily a solitary Chiff-Chaff put in a brief appearance breaking the “pairs magic”. So it seems that the birds at least are confident that we really are in spring despite the arctic conditions it must end soon surely – else we won’t have time to fit Spring in before Summer is supposed to arrive?
Have a goodun

Wurzel

[essexbuzzard]

Great stuff,Wurzel!
Kingfishers have the wow factor,of course,but also Treecreepers,they are super little birds!
Never managed to photograph one,though...

[David M]

Lovely images of the kingfisher, Wurzel. They stick out like a sore thumb right now what with the colour still mainly drained from the landscape due to the wintry conditions.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Essex Treecreepers are little brown jobs but they do have a certain je ne c'est quois.
Cheers David Kingfishers do indeed stick out like a sore thumb but in a good way brightening up the day.

April - here's hoping!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[philm63]

Nice shots Wurzel
Kingfishers seldom seem show me photo opportunities and Treecrepers can be difficult to get pictures of as good as yours
Phil

[Neil Freeman]

Hi Wurzel,

Great Kingfisher shots

Neil F.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Phila and Neil

Five Rivers return visit

Just about a month ago I was here and photographing my first Small Tortoiseshells of the year in balmy 11°C heat! Today was slightly different and I didn’t actually hold out much hope of seeing a butterfly but thought “what the hell”! So there I was with three layers plus a coat, gloves and neck warmer patrolling the banks in vain for a butterfly. The wind was bitter and when the sun nipped behind the cloud it was proper brass monkey weather. During these times I’d hunch up and look for birds to photograph. Everything was pretty intent on feeding and seemed to spend most of the time deep in the bushes where they were a bugger see let alone to focus on . I managed to pick out Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Redwing and the usual tits by their calls as well as hearing my first proper Chiff Chaff-ing of the year. Eventually a Long Tailed Tit decided to head away from the main feeding flock and so I finally got a photo.

However “one photo does not a post make” so I headed back to the banks which now were sheltered from the wind and the sun shone down surprisingly strong. In fact dare I say it, it almost felt like spring! And just as I was thinking this something flew up from the path in front of me – a Small Tortoiseshell. I managed to follow it and it came down again so I took a few shots before a large dog upset it . As it wasn’t me that disturbed it I decided to try and follow it for a few more shots and I noticed that used a similar flight plan. It would loop around me twice and then it would take a longer and higher flight disappearing from view to then reappear further along the path. Once I’d gotten a few closer shots I left it in peace as it was looking decidedly tired.

A small Moth caught me unawares on the way back home but I was luckier with a nice view of a small bee which didn’t look like the usual Honey Bees? Could it be a mining bee?

Tomorrow promises more of the same so hopefully I might get to head out again or failing that Saturday is shaping up to be warm (well 8°C) and much less windy so fingers, toes, legs and arms crossed – it would be nice to add to the 2013 tally as I’m still on 2!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Unfortunately I didn't get back out to Five Rivers but it would have been pointless anyway as yesterday the wind was strong and bitter (like a good pint really - and that's what it's come too! ). Then today much colder again with a bitter wind and even snow flurries. Because of this I have managed to get a lot of work done but I've also had to resort back to birds and when it gets too cold even for that I'm reduced to trawling through files on the hard drive and reminiscing
I was looking through some quite old shots from a camping trip to Thistledown Farm, Gloucester in July 2011 when I came across a moth shot that I hadn't picked up on at the time. Looking at it now and comparing it to my Moths UK app I feel pretty confident that it's a Common Carpet but I've made ID mistakes with moths before so any help is greatly appreciated. Cheers in advance...hopefully Saturday might produce some more butterfly friendly conditions?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Goldie M]

At least you've seen a butterfly this year Wurzal, that's a start. Goldie

[David M]

At least you've seen a butterfly this year Wurzal, that's a start. Goldie

...along with a few moths and bees!!

...not to mention the birds...

I'm so glad Wurzel's a member, otherwise this abominable start to the year would have seemed even worse!

[Wurzel]

Cheers Goldie, you're right and I should be happy to have seen butteflies but I can't help thinking back to this time last year when I'd seen Speckled Wood, Holly Blue, Orange -tip etc

Cheers David for your very kind comment, I'm almost lost for words trying to reply (this is a blush emoticon not an oops one)

Old Sarum

I had a feeling that today was going to be a good day. When I got up and took the girls swimming the sun was shining and it kept on all morning. Finally after lunch I took the initiative and headed out. At first I was going to stick to the tried and tested Five Rivers but every now and again the wind would whip up and I’d be reminded how cold it could be – so to compensate I headed to Old Sarum where the rings should offer shelter from the gusts.

On the way there, a four minute car journey I saw three Brimstones almost lighting up the path! Once there however it was a different story and the first thing I noticed was a complete lack of any nectar sources. I pressed on worried that perhaps I had made the wrong choice until I’d gotten half way round. Here there are more trees and it seems that they have cleared a lot of the scrub back but there were still very few nectar sources. However as I was trying to follow a Bumble Bee a Brimstone flitted by, swiftly joined by another. I was just enjoying watching these beauties when one doubled back and landed very briefly. The shot I managed to get was from quite a distance as they are very flighty at this time of year but it’s a hell of a lot closer than the last shots that I got of Brimstone back at the start of March – so maybe by June or July I’ll be right up in their grills!

Now I carried on round the rings down between the outer and inner rings. It’s a relief to get that first shot as then you’re not going home empty handed and so I carried on in much higher spirits dodging the Meadow Pipits and a couple of White-arses. As I neared the castle entrance I caught of glimpse of orange about half way up the outer ring. So I scrambled up and hanging on by the finger nails of one hand I did my best to steady my other hand and got a few shots away. A lovely fresh looking Small Tortoiseshell.

After that I spent about half an hour trying to get some shots of the White-arses. I would get to within about 5 metres of them and then they would fly 10 metres away. So I’d creep slowly towards them, get to about 5 metres away and then, yep you’ve guessed it, they’d fly 10 metres further along the ditch. They frustrated me so much that I needed to chill out...as good a reason as any to head over to Five Rivers...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Good to see you have been out Wurzal, and three Brimstones took me ages to see one last year.

Neil F.

[Wurzel]

Cheers Neil Brimstones are right pains at this time of year, so flighty they're a bu#%€r to approach and get shots off!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[David M]

That's a good spring Brimstone shot that, Wurzel. The males normally only alight for a millisecond at this time of year. By contrast, females are far more prone to stay put.

As regards nectar sources, I've found at this time of year the adult overwinterers (except Brimstones) tend to seek out scrubby areas where there is significant nettle growth emerging underneath. They don't seem unduly concerned with hunting for flowers.

[philm63]

Glad to hear things are picking up where you are Wurzel, a Brimstone at any time here would be nice. Hope the promises of thing to come come to fruition

Phil

[Goldie M]

What can I say Wurzal, I'm with envey I did see STS on Sat , didn't get a shot, to quick for me. It took me until August last year just to get a few shots of Brimstones so well done, you got them. Goldie

[Wurzel]

Cheers David - I'm slowly going to get closer and closer to those Brimstone! Cheers for the info about the scrub - thinking back my experiences parry with yours in that they seem to love the nettles at this time of year.

I hope things will be up to speed in your area soon Phil

Cheers Goldie I was due some butterflies after the hours put in over the last month - anyone would think this was "UKBirds" from seeing my recent postings

Five Rivers 06-04-2013 – “I’ve got Nettle stings on me fingers!”

So having had a fair bit of luck at Old Sarum I decided to see if how far I could push it and so I made my way over to Five Rivers. I had a hunch that the banks area would be good again, the lower side closer to the river in particular so that’s where I headed first. I worked my way along the narrow path amongst the new growth of and in the same place as earlier in the week I found a Small Tortoiseshell. It was looking less damaged than the one I encountered here earlier in the week and was so intent on basking that when I walked round it rather than flitting off it stayed put.

It was soon joined by another, much fresher individual; in fact it was basking on the same stretch of path only 6 or 7 steps away. I’ve been lucky enough this year to see Small Torts in a range of livery from fresh to faded, brand new to battered, so I tried to get some different shots and I started with this one – elbow crawling up to it to get right up in its grill.

Leaving it in peace I started doing a few circuits along the stretch of this path including a small copse as well and things really started happening. The two Smalls were joined by at least another two, a couple of Brimstone did fly-bys not stopping but adding some vibrant colour to the proceedings. At one point a pair Small Torts started rising and entwining before swooping low to land on a small branch. One seemed to be displaying, rapidly vibrating its wings but the other wasn’t interested and walked away along the branch in apparent disgust! At one point I forgot about trying to get some different shots as I was confronted with a stunning looking Small Tort. Finally I noticed a smaller butterfly buzzing a larger more orange coloured one so I followed the larger back to where I first started at the banks. It’s more dappled shade here and the scrub is slightly longer and thicker and there it was hiding amongst the nettles – my first Comma of 2013

Comma!

After that I took a few more circuits in and just drank in the sights, felt the sun warming my back for the first time in what feels like an age and nursed my nettle stings, of which I had plenty (that’s the drawback to the elbow crawling technique). After the winter that we’ve had (and are possibly still having) it was nice to see a range and numbers of butterflies again – 3 species with possibly 7 or 8 individuals. As I wandered back homewards the Comma gave me a few more fly-bys, following me back to the car but stopping every now and again so I could just get a few more shots. One shot even has a blade of grass pointing to the feature which gives it its name...

Another Small Tort?

"And the indicated white mark is how it got its name"...

Even though I’d been lucky enough to photograph my first butterflies back in March today felt like the proper day as I went out not “hoping to see” but “expecting”. Let’s hope that as the end of the winter is now in sight it turns into a nice spring and summer rather than the wash-out of 2012. I can already feel a touch of “METitis” coming on...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

[Wurzel]

I meant to post this earlier in the week as I was hoping that the weather was going to have improved and I would have been able to have made my first “stop-off” on the way home from work. However that didn’t happen and it stayed quite cool and today we had torrential showers and hail! Plus my work load went from middle weight to super heavy weight so it’s taken until now to collect my thoughts and write...

Middle Street -7-04

I decided that after the success on Saturday I ought to check out my “new” local patch so I grabbed my camera and headed off to Middle Street. I stopped whilst crossing the path to get a few shots of the Black Headed Gulls that were hanging around the bridge. Typical teenagers really, hanging around making a racket and a nuisance of themselves!

I then strolled across the wooden bridge but there were no “pairs” to greet me today – neither Goldcrest nor Kingfisher so I moved on eagerly scanning the sparse reeds for any migrants. Once at the entrance to the reserve things didn’t feel particularly warm and the wind was prone to gust and then it would be bitter. I was just thinking “I doubt if I’ll see anything” when a Small Tortoiseshell defiantly plonked down in the beige grass to prove me wrong.

After I’d gotten a few shots I moved on round reminding myself that I shouldn’t really try and make predictions when it comes to the natural world. There didn’t seem to be much else around when another or possibly the same Tortoiseshell settled briefly. After watching it for a bit I decided that would really be it for the day so I took a recce at the far end of the reserve behind the football pitch. This was roughly mown last year and looks promising for Skippers and possibly (un)Common Blues. I was just looking over to plan how to approach if when the grass has grown higher, marking out the trails and paths in my mind, when I was disturbed by another Tortoiseshell. It flew along the path and then did a few loops around me before striking out to the middle of the rough grass in the “field”. I managed to keep it in sight and then started the tricky task of approaching it. Through a combination of stooping, crawling and then pulling myself along on my elbows I managed to get close enough and what I was most chuffed about was that I managed to reverse away without disturbing it!

As I was making my way back the cloud cover thickened and the insects seemed to drop from the sky to shelter almost. One such insect was the cracking little bee that allowed me to get in really close. My first A.plumipes of the year.

The weather looks all right for the S.East on Sunday but surprise, surprise there will be strong winds and rain here...still you never know you’ve got to keep trying: “you only get out what you put in”

Have a goodun
Wurzel

[Wurzel]

The last week has been all over the place; colder than usual and now as the temperatures are rising it’s getting wetter. Still I’ve seen Water Voles recently and my first Bees (Buff Tailed, Mining and Hairy Footed) and Butterflies of the year and I’m starting to see more and more migrants birds – including my second Swallow of the year (so that was summer then! ). Plus the natives are singing – on the journey to work this morning I was stopped at traffic lights so I wound down my window and heard Skylarks, a Corn Bunting and a Yellow Hammer singing accompanied by the drone of the A303.

I had to pop to town to pick up some salad tonight so I grabbed my camera just in case as it was still sunny and reasonably warm and also I’m starting to get itchy feet. I saw two male Hairy Footed Bees but they were in someone else’s garden and I haven’t been here long enough yet for the neighbours to accept me poking my camera lens through their hedges . The walk along the river was delightful with Blue Tits flitting by, various songbirds singing, Grey Wagtails “Chis-icking” and I tried to get some shots of fly-catching Chiff-Chaffs. They were really tricky to focus on as they moved so rapidly in and out of the branches at quite a height. In the end I just watched and settled for playing around with the shutter speed at the Mill Race.

I then remembered that I was actually on an errand and so hurried to the supermarket – luckily I wasn’t missed as the whole outing only took 8 or 9 minutes more than usual. So it’s starting to feel like Spring is actually here – whether I get to get out and enjoy it this weekend remains to be seen with rain forecast pretty much wall to wall here. Still there’s always next weekend...
Have a goodun
Wurzel

[Wurzel]

Burnt out now from posting so much on other peoples diaries so I'll leave off my proper one for today - but for the "diary" first Peacock of 2013 for me at Mottisfont. It was a day of firsts - but more of that tomorrow when I'm rested

Have a goodun

Wurzel