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Very mellow and frutiful shots Essex - they take me back Mind you I'm still posting from August

Have a great Solstice/Xmas

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel. And a very happy festive season to one and all!

Our local kestrels and buzzards are now spending most of their time perched. To survive the winter, a buzzard needs to increase its body weight,and they do this in two ways. By keeping active flying to a minimum to conserve energy, and by building a layer of body fat in autumn. This is easy enough to start with. Prey animals are still near their annual peak in September,and days are still fairly long. As autumn progresses though,these animals become harder to find. Coupled with that,the amount of hunting time diminishes as the days grow shorter. Now,in winter,they have a tough time ahead,especially if there is any snow cover, and especially in the bare,almost entirely arable landscape of central and eastern England.

There has been a small invasion of waxwings this winter. Not so many as 2013, but the chance to catch up with these exotic visitors is not to be missed! These were at Pitsea, next to Go Outdoors, where the Rowan trees still have berries.

Hi! essex, I've not seen Wax Wings yet but I'd love to add them to my list. Goldie

Cracking shots Essex - they've only gotten as close to me as Swindon Fingers crossed they work their way south a little more...

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Yes, great shots!

I've once seen waxwings here, but not recently. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open this winter.

Guy

Thanks all. Anywhere with berries,especially rowan,is definitely worth keeping an eye on this winter!

The first couple of weeks of February were cold and cloudy, with mostly overcast,miserable days. The last week has been mild and cloudy,as winds veer southwest. Sunshine had been notable by it's absence,but there was a little bit on Thursday lunchtime, when I saw my first butterfly of the year, a Red Admiral, at work. No picture,but it lifted the gloom, at least briefly.

Just back from a short break in Cornwall. Unfortunately, the gloomy weather that plagued February continued, and in all days combined, the sun shone for probably less than 20 minutes. White mist and drizzle throughout,any thoughts of early insects quickly vanished.

After spending the first day walking the coast path in fog,and not seeing anything, the next day we visited Trengwainton gardens, near Madron. One of the things I look forward to when visiting at this time of year is seeing the splendid Magnolia Campbellii. This,a tree which can grow to 60 feet, 20M., is native to the Himalayas, and can bloom as early as January in Cornwall. The tree is hardy, but the glorious big pink flowers are killed by frost. This,and that it can take 20 years to flower well,makes it unsuitable for most of us, but this makes these big, old Cornish trees even more magnificent.

Camellias and Rhododendrons were also in flower. In this frost-free environment, tree ferns,dripping with moisture, were a splendid sight.

On another day, we did some birdwatching. Unfortunately,we missed a spoonbill that was at Hayle estuary the day before, but several goosanders were seen, with some bar tailed godwits.

Near Marazion,a Hudsonian whimberel that had been present since last year was tracked down. Slightly smaller than our whimberel, but otherwise similar. Several little egrets were on the beach,their peculiar yellow feet showing well.

Next it was off to Jubilee Pool, Penzance, for some purple sandpipers. Also present was a nice group of sanderlings with dunlins and ringed plovers.

At Helston Boating lake, a juvenile Iceland gull has been seen. We failed to find it but,a nice surprise, we saw a couple of friends of ours, who were also looking for it, we first met then in Svalbard a few years ago.

Our last stop of the day was to Looe Bar, where a roost of cattle egrets has been present. On this dull day, the pictures weren't great, but we saw then. I've seen cattle egrets in Provence, but these were my first in Britain.

On our last day in Cornwall,the car had a problem and had to go to the garage,so we got a bus to Penzance, and then we went to Trewidden gardens. The marvellous Campbell's magnolia was here again,in all its glory, but an even greater treasure at Trewidden is their very own Magnolia Trewidden Belle, a hybrid of garden origin. With Campbellii as one of it's parents, the large blooms appear early,, even before Campbellii, with darker purple pink flowers.

Tree ferns are a feature at Trewidden,and the best ones, some over 100 years old,are in an old open cast tin mine known as the Dell.

Camellias are another feature, with 300 different types here. They make a splendid sight in winter and early spring both in the gardens and along the entrance road.

Some cracking bird shots there Essex - especially the Hudsonian Whimberel

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Some fantastic colours to be seen down there, Mark. Hard to believe it's the UK in a few of those images.

Hard to believe so many flowers are out essex, nothing here as colourful yet, lovely shots Goldie

Thanks everyone, yes spring usually comes earlier to Cornwall than anywhere else, though a bit of sunshine wouldn't go amiss!

One of the treasures of the Essex coast in winter is the return of the Brent geese. Flocks of over a thousand are commonplace and swarms of 3000 are frequently reported. The sight and sound of such numbers is wonderful, but they have their tragic side too. Brent geese are shot,and the keepers were out yesterday, waiting for the flocks to fly over. I personally saw two fall out of the sky, I'm sure others were killed. This is hard for me to take-we do not own these birds,they only migrate here, from the arctic, and we are very privileged to have these lovely geese come to us.

The final photo is a much more welcome one than one of the earlier ones When you say 'keepers' do you mean the local Gamekeepers or landowners? I take it they have to have a licence and have a 'quota'? One of the biggest flocks near me is down on the Fleet (sometimes with three varieties of Brent) and I'm not aware of anyone shooting there?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I think it's gamekeepers employed by land owners, though I'm not certain. Trouble is, it is legal to shoot wild ducks, so I suppose you can shoot geese too? There is a nature reserve right next door, where they are safe, but they leave the reserve to feed on the arable fields, where they are vulnerable.

Hi Essex,
Interesting pictures, concerning the Brent geese,i had a quick look on the BASC website which gives a list of all Game species that can be shot
legally ,in season ,and Brent goose doesn't appear to be one of them ! (but curiously Pink footed goose is ),so don't quite know about the legality in
shooting the Brents,seems a bit dodgy to me ( but i'm happy to be corrected ). regards . Allan.W.

looks to be legal under strictly controlled conditions

http://adlib.everysite.co.uk/adlib/defr ... 4PITS7OA5L

There is no suggestion they have done anything wrong,legally. Morally,on the other hand...

Much is said about hunters in Southern Europe killing our migrant birds,such as turtle doves, which we rightly deplore. But these geese are someone else's migrants,so is it really any different? Really?