I have been thinking it's about time I got myself round some of the bird hides to see what winter visitors are starting to turn up. However there has been some reasonably mild weather for the past few weeks with a good deal of sunshine despite lower temperatures when the sun did not shine.
On 10th October it was sufficiently warm for me to be sitting out in the garden and I noticed there were a few red admirals showing interest in the ivy that clings to the trees at the back. On closer inspection, it proved that they were nectaring on the wee, greenish flowers it produces. Later a comma landed on the fence and the inevitable speckled wood fluttered by a couple of times. Squirrels have started to show up again in the trees too.
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| Red Admiral |
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| Nectaring on ivy flowers |
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For some while the jackdaws have been totally dominating the peanut feeder and bird table so that I have started to think of ways to discourage them. But nothing seems to be interested in the fat balls at the moment. Perhaps all the birds are totally focussed on seeds and fruit. I can only imagine it will change once the weather turns frosty.
The Monday after the butterflies I got a very good view of a low hovering red kite over the main road in Rowland's Gill on my way to the supermarket.
This Saturday I took a bike ride to Seaton Sluice from Newcastle. Apart from the large numbers of cormorants at the coast, there were a few curlew and lapwing in the stubble field behind the reserve at St. Mary's Island, where I also quickly saw another butterfly on the wing - probably a small tortoiseshell.
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| Nicely marked curlew |
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