Tuesday 27th October

Heavy rain forecast for tomorrow, so decided to set off cycling on my own, this time not in the full biking clobber, so a bit more camouflaged than usual in the hope of seeing more birdlife.

It was pretty sparse over Amisfield Moor as just one or two pipits were around.  However it was soon apparent that the crow family had decided that this is 'mob a buzzard' week and there were several such displays during the day, including one on a smaller bird of prey.

Theft by Squirrel

Very quiet through the edge of Ae Forest but the bird feeders at Castle Loch are already getting filled, so there were several tits around, at least when the feeders were not being robbed by a pair of marauding red squirrels. Nuthatch and woodpecker duly made an appearance but there was no sign of willow tit.  Nearby a female bullfinch spent a lot of time gnawing the white berries on a separate tree that, in retrospect, I should have tried to identify. The whole lot dispersed just before a left when a medium sized bird of prey (presumably sparrowhawk) swooped in in high-speed pursuit..

All quiet again until the Brow Well, where a stray greenfinch turned up in the hedgerow.  So I scanned more carefully suspecting redwing plundering the hawthorns in the distance, but I think they were actually fieldfares (see below).

Probably Fieldfares
note the grey head on the right-hand bird

On the way back a kestrel on the telegraph wires appeared not to notice the tit sitting on the same wire close by. Disturbed by me and a lady cyclist passing in opposite directions, it wheeled off.  Must have been intent on looking for voles.

Overall I saw 18 different species of bird today and heard four or five more. An additional bonus were three red admirals and two small tortoiseshells, testament to the fact that there has been no frost yet.

Thursday 22nd October

Nearly the end of British summertime and the sunny days are subsiding to wind and showers.  Again not much to report this week apart from a large flock of starlings at a farm near Milton, a couple of volleys of goldfinches and a couple of buzzards. The one redwing suspect I saw turned out to be a thrush. The coal tit is still visiting the bird table when I manage to replenish it.

Meanwhile I am wondering about learning to fly fish, assuming there's at least some fly fishing gear to be found in the garage. The thinking seems clear enough.  I'm growing a bit tired carting large amounts of coarse gear around and fishing in a pretty much stereotyped fashion. Flyfishing means a lighter apprach, more roaming around and spotting or sensing a quarry to cast to.

So I am reading this introductory book by John Bailey.  I remember being impressed by one of his coarse fishing books, particularly a chapter where he talked of systematically tracking down and snaring some huge roach on the River Wensum.

Up to now it's a bit inconclusive. Fly fishing is about the sort of things I think I want but there are an awful lot of subtleties to it and a lot of jargon, some of which Bailey for all his enthusiasm does not always explain well. So much stuff about different kinds of flies, leaders, and lines. It will need a lot of time and effort to get anywhere with it.

Obviously the first thing I would need to do is learn to cast. So the plan is to try some practice casting on the field at the top of the street.

15 October 2015

Events to report in the way of direct sightings have calmed down considerably.

There was photo last week on Dumfries and Galloway Wildlife and Birding of a redwing arriving in the Caerlaverock area, so I turned my attention away from trees and plants and took the binoculars on yesterday's bike ride for the first time in a month.

The result was yeat another lovely Autumn run in steady sunshine once the chill South East wind had died down, but absolutely nothing of major interest sighted apart from a small flock of curlews by the Nith.

Other subscribers to Dumfries and Galloway Wildlife and Birding have also seen green woodpeckers and, more impressively a turtle dove down by the seashore somewhere. Here green woodpeckers are on the edge of their range and I shared my theory that they move around a good deal, making them hard to tie to a location. But I did not know we even have turtle doves.

In the garden, a coal tit has been appearing on the bird table, which I at first attributed to a change in feed to include sunflower hearts.  But in fact I think one often turns up at this time of year.

Birds often take a tour of the silver birch in the front garden looking for aphids and other insects. This year I have on at least three occasions seen a red admiral settling on the leaves of the silver birch. I don't recall this happening before and so can't help wondering why they are doing it. Are they taking sap off the leaves?

2nd October 2015

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy, so I am playing catch-up.

Little Egret

Last Wednesday (26/09) I was in the North East again for non-nature reasons, so it was quite fortuitous that I happened to see a white shape in the tree line at the back of the wetland by Warkworth Beach.  Wasn't sure at first if it was a bird or a plastic bag and with no binoculars I couldn't check. But I think this distance shot enables us to make out that it was in fact a little egret clinging to the bush.

Indeed a bit of research proves that little egrets have been visiting the area for a good while now.

This Wednesday I had the pleasure of yet another sunny September bike ride up to Moniaive. Bird behaviour seems to have changed since my last run out and it as if they are needing to get nearer civilisation to find food and are therefore becoming more visible.

Cherry Tree?

Just past Skinford Bridge, a nuthatch was on the edge of the road dissecting a peanut. I've only seen them in trees before.

A while later a jay showed well by the edge of a farmyard, flying back and forth rather than just making straight for tree cover with immense squawkings like they usually do. It seemed a little less colourful than other jays, so I wondered if it was perhaps a juvenile of female.

Then just before Moniaive a couple of bullfinches showed briefly, so a good day for reddish birds.

Also very red and sighted while I was looking at the nuthatch was this tree, which I couldn't immediately identify but it looks like it may be some sort of cherry.

Stopping at another bridge on the way back, a dipper made a fairly prolonged experience, the first one I've seen for a little while.