After reporting that trips out were drying up, a break in the weather made a run out possible. I decided on a rather ambitious uphill bike ride from Lochmaben to Eskdalemuir, hoping perhaps to see one or two interesting things in the forests and moors. In the end I turned back just a mile or two after passing Castle O'er Forest.
In fact all was very quiet up on the moors apart from one red deer crossing the road, but I did spot one or two things on lower ground. While driving to Lochmaben, there was a fluffy looking young buzzard perched very low on a beech hedge, so that I wondered if it was in some distress.
Just past Sibbaldbie, there was a sheep with a magpie on its back and I was just thinking of attempting a photo when a cyclist came from the other direction and scared the magpie away. It turned out my camera battery was completely flat anyway!
On the way back beside the Dryfe Water, bullfinches were about on three occasions and I was pleased to identify the white rump of the first one, which was a rather undersize female.
Right at the end of the trip between Fishbeck and Millhousebridge, a flock of birds flew from the trees and made for the field and as suspected turned out to be the first fieldfares I have seen this winter, though they have been about for several weeks. I soured the field carefully for redwing but could not see any.
There were more just north of Lochmaben an hour before dusk plus one bird that must have been a redwing, though it had so much red and brown around the area of its upper body and head, it looked more like a snipe without the beak or even an out-of season nightjar - but I think we have to put it down to a trick of the light.
Saturday 20 December 2014
Friday 19 December 2014
Friday 19th December
Trips out are drying up in the run-up to Christmas, so not much to report this week.
One untypical visitor to the bird table was a rook, taking advantage of the remains of nan bread from an Indian takeaway. The trees on the way out of the estate produced a flurry of goldcrests on Tuesday - not unknown as I have seen them in the garden before.
I have been looking out for waxwings in St Michael's curchyard and surrounding area but still no sign. It's probably too mild.
One untypical visitor to the bird table was a rook, taking advantage of the remains of nan bread from an Indian takeaway. The trees on the way out of the estate produced a flurry of goldcrests on Tuesday - not unknown as I have seen them in the garden before.
I have been looking out for waxwings in St Michael's curchyard and surrounding area but still no sign. It's probably too mild.
Thursday 11 December 2014
Thursday 11th December
Bad weather has all but put a stop to trips out, gale force winds making cycling dangerous this week.
Did attempt a viewing of the Gretna starling roost yesterday after a matinee cinema visit, but only reached Rigg a half an hour after sunset, not having realised that "Mr Turner" was 150 minutes in length. Apparently Rigg is where they have been settling, although it does seem to vary from time to time.
This morning marked another sporadic appearance of a coal tit around the garden, but more interesting was a strangely marked sparrow I have seen once before. It has two white wing bars and the first time I saw it I thought for a moment it was a chaffinch. Perhaps it is slightly leucistic.
This afternoon, took a walk round the Threave Estate, where I was greeted by a wren that was so light brown that I thought it was a butterfly flying across the path in the cold. Then it sat in the hedge just in front of me like a huge chestnut.
On arriving at Blackpark Marsh lower hide, the whole area was flooded and a first look suggested no birds at all on the total expanse of water. A second look with binoculars confirmed this, but maybe the birds knew what would happen next. Contrary to mild weather forecast, a severe storm blew in from the west, turning to hail that was even accompanied by a couple of thunderclaps and sheet lightning. A flock of barnacles passed by overhead as if disorientated.
As soon as the storm subsided, birds started to appear but the poor light made it hard to distinguish any colours until I managed to pick out a few widgeon and a several lapwings . The next thing there were as many as 200 lapwings circling above the marsh, more than I have seen together since the early sixties, when lapwings commonly follwed the plough at harvest time.
Eventually fleeing the hide as it grew colder, I spotted a bullfinch playing in the undergrowth and four dark-coloured deer on the farm field but not much else beyond a few dunnocks, tits and a couple of geese and swans.
Did attempt a viewing of the Gretna starling roost yesterday after a matinee cinema visit, but only reached Rigg a half an hour after sunset, not having realised that "Mr Turner" was 150 minutes in length. Apparently Rigg is where they have been settling, although it does seem to vary from time to time.
This morning marked another sporadic appearance of a coal tit around the garden, but more interesting was a strangely marked sparrow I have seen once before. It has two white wing bars and the first time I saw it I thought for a moment it was a chaffinch. Perhaps it is slightly leucistic.
This afternoon, took a walk round the Threave Estate, where I was greeted by a wren that was so light brown that I thought it was a butterfly flying across the path in the cold. Then it sat in the hedge just in front of me like a huge chestnut.
On arriving at Blackpark Marsh lower hide, the whole area was flooded and a first look suggested no birds at all on the total expanse of water. A second look with binoculars confirmed this, but maybe the birds knew what would happen next. Contrary to mild weather forecast, a severe storm blew in from the west, turning to hail that was even accompanied by a couple of thunderclaps and sheet lightning. A flock of barnacles passed by overhead as if disorientated.
 |
| Spot the bullfinch |
As soon as the storm subsided, birds started to appear but the poor light made it hard to distinguish any colours until I managed to pick out a few widgeon and a several lapwings . The next thing there were as many as 200 lapwings circling above the marsh, more than I have seen together since the early sixties, when lapwings commonly follwed the plough at harvest time.
Eventually fleeing the hide as it grew colder, I spotted a bullfinch playing in the undergrowth and four dark-coloured deer on the farm field but not much else beyond a few dunnocks, tits and a couple of geese and swans.
Wednesday 3 December 2014
Wednesday 3rd December
Two week holiday based in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria where the temperatures (around 25 degrees) were well above average although overall weather untypically stormy at times.
Early appearances at the hotel pool were the Canary Islands chiffchaff and hoopoe, the latter in silhouette only as it landed occasionally on the railings at sunset. There were also several blackbirds, whose song patterns were different to the UK version.
After a couple of days I got a good sighting of a couple of serins on the way to Amadores beach, although not at all sure where the second one went in the photo I managed to take. This is a pity, as there is a serin called the atlantic canary and it would have been nice to check.
I didn't spent much time walking in the hills - all rock and rubble - but a brief stint above roque de l'este produced good views of bertholet's pipits anongst the cacti and a number of painted lady butterflies. However I did attempt an ambitious bike ride up the Barranco valley towards Soria and, before it got stupidly steep, fleetingly saw the one bird I was keenest to spot. A blue chaffinch that was singing in a low tree flew on to the next tree, providing an unmistakeable inflight profile. I didn't manage to see it after that.
Increasingly visible en route were more painted ladies, plus a couple of milkweed-type butterflies that are apparently known as the monarch, and a few blue dragonflies. There was also a bird that looked like a wood warbler but didn't sing like one, and up in the heights another small finch I couldn't identify.
A fishing trip out of Puerto Mogan was disappointing, as all I caught were a couple of small fish known as loreto though others did better and a few rays were taken. More interesting were the fish visible in the harbour at Mogan including many mullet, some of which looked over 4lb,, colourful wrasse, white sea bream, two lurking parrotfish and a wahoo-like effort that was probably a yellowmouth barracuda.
But the greatest mystery was the large, multicoloured bird of prey we saw from the transfer bus as we passed by Maspalomas on the way in, flapping and guiding like a harrier over the coastline. There was no time to observe closely, and another example never appeared.
 |
| Spot The Serin (hard) |
After a couple of days I got a good sighting of a couple of serins on the way to Amadores beach, although not at all sure where the second one went in the photo I managed to take. This is a pity, as there is a serin called the atlantic canary and it would have been nice to check.
I didn't spent much time walking in the hills - all rock and rubble - but a brief stint above roque de l'este produced good views of bertholet's pipits anongst the cacti and a number of painted lady butterflies. However I did attempt an ambitious bike ride up the Barranco valley towards Soria and, before it got stupidly steep, fleetingly saw the one bird I was keenest to spot. A blue chaffinch that was singing in a low tree flew on to the next tree, providing an unmistakeable inflight profile. I didn't manage to see it after that.
Increasingly visible en route were more painted ladies, plus a couple of milkweed-type butterflies that are apparently known as the monarch, and a few blue dragonflies. There was also a bird that looked like a wood warbler but didn't sing like one, and up in the heights another small finch I couldn't identify.
 |
| Spot the parrotfish (one - easy; two - less so) |
But the greatest mystery was the large, multicoloured bird of prey we saw from the transfer bus as we passed by Maspalomas on the way in, flapping and guiding like a harrier over the coastline. There was no time to observe closely, and another example never appeared.
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