An Even Quieter Period

I'm afraid it's gone from not seeing much while out to not being able or wanting to go out because of the weather. I've been keeping an eye open for reports of waxwings and hawfinches but the former have only just started to turn up in small numbers in the last few days and the latter have been restricted to locations further South.

So the focus has again been on the restricted action in the garden.

Last weekend brought some severe frosts and a heavy snowfall followed by an overnight surge in temperature  to 15C!  But the cold weather has at least brought some bird interest and a jay has ventured into the garden a couple of times, very nervily and constantly hopping around the trees at the back fence.

Jay

It was quite lucky to catch it staying still for a couple of instants.

The nuthatch on the other hand has become more confident and quite frequent on the seed feeder.  In fact I should say nuthatches plural, as it one day became apparent that more than one was joining in the fun.

Nuthatches

I wondered about a pair but it looks like they are both males.

I also put out some fat balls for the long-tailed tits but so far no sign of any takers beyond a great tit but something has taken some fair chunks out of them.

One result of the long mild spell has been I suspect an increase in the local mouse population. A somewhat gruesome consequence was that half a dozen have managed to drown themselves in the buckets I use to catch water dropping from the summer house roof.

Not a great way to go...

A Quiet Period

Not much to report at the moment in spite of, or perhaps because of the recent unseasonably mild weather bringing neither sun nor wind.  More significantly, I was ill with a virus so for a couple of days, I couldn't see much more than the trees out the back and the jackdaws reeling around in the sky.

Before that I did get out for one Sunday bike ride and, while the bird life was scarce, I was surprised to catch sight of a red admiral skirting a hedgerow north of Ovington.  It didn't hang around but I stopped to notice some ivy still in flower and took a quick look to see if there were any ivy bees.  There weren't but I did spot a couple of honey bees amongst a number of imitators.  This was on 27th October in a temperature of no more than 11C and is probably as late as I've seen a butterfly that wasn't disturbed from hibernation.  It wouldn't totally surprise me though if one or two turn up later this week if the sun gets out.

The purpose of this trip was actually a visit to Whittle Dene Reservoirs in pursuit of the little owl,  a bird I've still never seen, and a possible chance viewing of an osprey.  It wasn't to be as the conditions at the reservoirs were much windier so it wasn't a day to be hanging around long.  I did have a bit of a look at the ducks etc. on the water and thought I might have spotted a great northern diver at distance.  But when it came nearer it was quite clearly a great crested grebe already pretty much in its winter outfit.

One piece of success was that I finally managed to catch the nuthatch that has been making coy visits to the caged grain feeder.

Nuthatch

I'm a bit surprised to see it there so often as I'm more used to seeing them on peanut feeders.  I thought some of the earlier sightings I had were of a female, but this seems to be a male.

Incidentally I cleaned the peanut feeder last week, since when it has been largely shunned by all birds.

On a darker note five mice have recently managed to commit suicide in the buckets etc. I put out to catch the rainwater from the summerhouse roof.