Friday 20th November

An interesting few days have elapsed recently.

On Tuesday a friend and I agreed to make the best of limited time by combining a coastal bike ride with a checkup on some birdwatching spots.  The first spot was Seaton Sluice where astonishingly a swift has been sighted.  I arrived with the news that it had supposedly moved on to St Mary's Island and that I hadn't seen anything noticeable while checking the proposed locations en route.

We decided therefore to give Seaton Sluice a miss and head straight for St Mary's, where we didn't see much of note on looking into the nature reserve apart from a few teal and possibly a couple of tufted ducks - albeit more than I saw on the way up.

We rode slowly along the causeway as I was hoping to possibly see some snow buntings but no sign.  There didn't look to be much on the rocks either but when we dismounted to cross over to the island, what should fly straight over our heads but the aforementioned swift!  Heaven knows what it is doing here when it should have flown to Africa two months ago.

Preparing to feed seal pup

As soon as we started to move, some walkers pointed out that the Seal Rescue Service van was trying to get past us and we arrived at the lighthouse in time to see the seal being fed so it could be released back into the sea.  This didn''t look too pleasant as it involved one guy sitting on it while it was effectively force fed by the other.

Meanwhile the story amongst the spectators was that someone had reported it as having been abandoned and injured although the Rescue Service had found nothing wrong with it.

Eventually it was able to flap over the rocks into the water, where we think its mother may have been waiting for it Difficult to say though as seals were popping their heads out all over the place.

After this unexpected excitement we cycled on to Tynemouth but got there too late to see the black redstart that regularly visits as the tide had come in and covered the pierside rocks.  However two out of three ain't bad...

On Thursday I decided on and out an out twitch and made my way again to Morpeth, where, contrary to my last post, hawfinches have been turning up again.

At the time this seemed a frustrating experience.  The birds were definitely there and I could see them moving about with the naked eye but it was obvious that the other twitchers there were much better at picking them out and were getting close-ups in their big telescopes and photographing them.

I ended up taking photos on the off chance, so it was quite fortuitous when I managed to get four of them in the same shot.

Spot the Hawfinches!

They are of course pretty elusive and my attempts to get shots of individual birds fared little better.  As darkness moved in and people started to pack up the large telescopes, I got a clear sighting of one bird in a separate tree but the light was by now too tricky to show up much detail.

Elusive Hawfinch

Hawfinch at dusk

Overall though a much better session than my earlier visit to Sizergh Castle. 

Things have been happening in the garden too.  The coal tits have been visiting the bird table in numbers again, much to the anooyance of the resident robin.

And today there was a visit from a bullfinch to the neighbours' garden in search of berries - the first since early this year.

Bullfinch

Monday 7th August

Red admirals are now appearing regularly in the garden as the buddleia blooms though I think the maximum I've seen at any one time is three.  Last week there was also a nowadays rare appearance from a small tortoiseshell.  Then the same day I found one squashed on the patio step so I just hope it wasn't the same one and that I didn't accidentally stand on it when I took the rubbish out.

Today was also the first appearance of a peacock since early spring.  One thing I haven't noticed for a few days is any swifts chasing each other around the houses.  Surely they can't already have departed for Africa?

Last Friday I took a bike trip to the Birkshaw Forest from Lochmaben, hoping to see a few butterflies during an afternoon that was forecast to be sunny.  Birkshaw is one location where the Essex Skipper can be seen, though I would have settled for a bit of variety including a few blues.

In fact the sun disappeared totally and all I saw was a few peacocks trying to warm themselves up on the stones in an otherwise promising-looking flower meadow.  One of them was particularly large and the markings around the rings seemed to me to be more pronounced than usual.

Peacock on the rock

It was certainly in splendid condition.

Also of some interest was this fly the likes I've never seen before and a a fine maple I noticed on the end of a line of conifers.

Mystery fly

Surprise maple

P.s. A small white just turned up on the lavender.

Tuesday 4th July

Busy, busy lately, so this is just a quick summary of what happened on the nature front.

A fortnight ago swifts were flying around the estate merrily.  One bird seemed to be entering the eaves of a house across the road.  I was starting to have ideas of videoing them but the weather broke at the end of the week and I haven't had even heard them screeching since.

That Thursday I had a meeting in Kendal and was surprised to see a grey wagtail hopping around on the pavement in the town centre.  Fair enough the River Kent was not many yards away but I haven't seen one in an urban environment before and if you see a wagtail on country roads. it's always a pied wagtail.

Last Wednesday there was a short bike ride to Ae Forest which I was happy to keep short as I had a heavy cold.  I took my time and looked out for redstarts by the stream just before Amisfield Moor without result in by now downright dreary weather.  On the moor there were a few pipits and a couple of willow warblers to be seen and I also heard a whitethroat on the run down off it.

Just before the crossroads at Ae Forest a large volley of siskins went through the trees, just as a group of fellow cyclists drew up behind.

Yesterday I was at Kingholm Park for other reasons and another mysterious brown butterfly moved away out of the grass just in front of the Pavilion.  That is the third time I've had this experience recently and not been sure what I'd seen, but I'm inwardly convinced it was the same species each time!

Wednesday 24th May

Lesser Redpoll

Last Wednesday I had a lovely short run coming back over Troston from Beeswing.  On the way up the hill in the brief period of reasonable sunshine, there were green-veined whites and orange tips everywhere and on the top I reckoned I'd seen a couple of birds with a bit of white on their tails that I didn't readily recognise.  They flew into some young conifers and started to feed so I hung around and they turned out to be lesser redpolls - the first time I've seen one for four years.

I stopped a bit later to forage for willow warblers but instead there were three cuckoos singing simultaenously from different directions - not something I've ever heard before.

I was so pleased with that run I decided to repeat that part of the route again today.  This time I headed to Beeswing via Kirkconnel Flow and encountered a minor mystery.  Just past Mabie, I glimpsed what looked like a meadow brown over the grasses to my left. There were cars behind me just after a bend so stopping would have been unsafe and I couldn't investigate.  Annoyingly there were a couple of other brief flashes of brown between New Abbey and Beeswing but totally unidentifiable.

The problem about this is that the meadow brown isn't on the wing yet, and neither are the other species that it could possibly be mistaken for.  It wasn't a wall butterfly and too big for a small heath, so I have to record an open verdict.

Then there was a young red deer past Kirkconnel Flow that took a look at me before sprinting 300 yards across the pasture to get away.

The run back over Troston was unluckily during an overcast spell so today only one butterfly on the whole of the run to Whinneyhill. There was a bullfinch and a couple of willow warblers.  But my main hope was to see a cuckoo and, during a brief stop where a walking route crosses the road, I heard one that I managed to trace to a somewhat distant treetop.  So I finally managed to get a photo of a male cuckoo, albeit at a considerable distance.  Lesser redpoll however did not make a reappearance.

Distant cuckoo

Meanwhile I got a pleasant surprise while labouring away in the garden last Thursday, when I heard the first swifts chasing each other around the estate.  It may be my imagination but it struck me that it was early for them to be around - to be precise 18th May.  I must check this out.

Sunday 29th May

A week of contrasts has just elapsed.

I was messing around in the garden on Monday when I was pleased to hear the shrieking of a group of swifts as they skimmed round the rooftops. My first reaction was that it wass early to hear them as I normally think of them as turning up in early June.  Anyway, for the record it was 23rd May.

Wood of Cree

On Tuesday, noting that the weather was starting to break, I decided on a trip to Wood of Cree to check for summer visitors, in particular wood warbler.  Signs were promising at the otter car park where willow warblers were playing by the river and a couple of orange tips drifted by. But on two brief walks I saw neither wood warbler, nor redstart, nor pied flycatcher.  Other birds were calling but not showing and all I could muster in the woods was a wren and, in spite of observing several nesting boxes, one blue tit.

Although the scenery on the way there and in the Wood was beautiful, the only thing I spotted of note was the first small copper butterfly of the summer.  Both Tuesday's walk and the one to Castramon last week were in the mid morning and early pm, so I wonder if my timing wasn't good.  Another notable factor was that on neither walk did I hear a chiffchaff. I am quite surprised not to have seen the pied flycatcher as they would normally be present in some numbers by late May.

Wednesday's bike ride to Dalry brought better fortune.  After an early start I paused briefly to check the sand martins on the River Nith, having forgotten to mention they were already around last Wednesday.

I had decided to go via Loch Urr for the first time and was pleased I did. A strange occurrence just

Suspicious ram with hawthorn attached

before the turn off to the loch was when a small group of sheep were encountered ambling along the road in front of a lady's car coming the other way. I stopped the bike but as they came level with me, the sheep decided to bolt into a big hawthorn bush on the opposite side of the road. One ram, who had managed to get snagged on the bush and a lamb doubled back behind the car and so ended up running down the road for a half a mile in front of me on the bike, as if I was pursuing them, the ram curiously still trailing a large sprig of hawthorn in his wool.

On reaching the turn off, they decided on the Loch Urr route too, so in the end I must have followed them for over a mile before the ram saw sense and lead the lamb off onto the moor, where he continued to eye me with considerable suspicion.

The moor on the way up to Loch Urr was a bit of a revelation as I have never seen as many meadow pipits in an area before, many of them calling and parachuting away in display. Loch Urr itself was a bit bleak and I got pretty chilly in the east wind when stopping for a break. There was however a field full of greylag geese in the field before it.

On the A702 towards Dalry a cuckoos was audible and a couple of red kites were wheeling around. I have never explored this road and there are a lot of attractive niches.

On the way back from Dalry and struggling increasingly against the wind, I made a break up the hill from Bogle Bridge where there is a bit of an unofficial feeding station.  Nothing happened for ten minutes but in the end a female nuthatch and a some coal and blue tits turned up and poked around the leaves a few feet from where I was sitting.  Just as I made ready to get moving, a squirrel ran down the tree next to me before scurrying off.  I noticed it was interestingly coloured, top half red and bottom half maroon.

On the way past Craigadam Woodlands another cuckoo was audible and I saw a quick flash of a siskin flying out of a tree on the outskirts of Dumfries.

Thursday 3rd September

In the garden butterflies have at last been visiting some numbers, mainly peacocks, all of which continue to be fine fellows of good size, but also red admirals plus the odd small white and small tortoiseshell.

I have been out a couple of times on the bike without noticing much, beyond that the coutryside has been looking great and the weather is a bit brighter.

Purple-leaved Elder

Yesterday I did spot this rather interesting bush some way past Terregles Village on the edge of some estate land.  At first mystified, I could see that it had some of the characteristics of an elder but with strikingly dark leaves - somewhat darker actually than shows up in the photograph. It is mentioned in the index of the Book of Trees although with no further text detail, but a little internet research suggests that it is in fact a purple-leaved elder.

Meanwhile the swallows are starting their autumn habit of perching on telegraph wires in some numbers.  I fancifully like to imagine that they are having a chat about when to return to Africa this year. Swifts incidentally haven't been heard or seen around the estate for a few weeks.

Stopped again at the place near Bogle Bridge where people must put bird food out.  Lots of tits were soon lingering with intent a few minutes after I sat on the moss-covered wall but of course, I didn't have anything for them.

Sunday 10th May

Last week's weather was very mixed, but managed to sneak in a bike ride and walk around Caerlaverock Nature Reserve on Thursday morning, and even then conditions were a bit mixed.

It was quite rewarding however as apart from many skylarks a good number of willow warblers were about in Castle Wood as well as chaffinches and several reed buntings, though they stayed mainly out of site.  On the way to the hide I saw what I thought was a rook carrying nesting material but as it approached closer I realised it was in fact a buzzard - which was confirmed when a crow came and mobbed it.  I haven't seen a buzzard collect nesting material before.

From the hide I chanced to see a pair of lapwings caught at distance in the binoculars and still indulging in display behaviour.

On the way back there was a possible (not more than 50%) sighting of a whitethroat and a definite though brief view of a linnet close up in increasing rain.  Otherwise one white butterfly and a peacock

Carron Lynns

butterfly on the way back - but still no wheatear.

Also managed a quick run out past Carronbridge nominally looking for tree pippets, but in spite of a pretty walk only saw one dipper on the Lynn plus a curlew at the start of the moor - disregarding a number of swallows, which are now becoming more frequent.

The swifts have arrived back on the estate over the past few days and are already shrieking above the housetops.

Wednesday 27th August

Bike ride from Seaward round coast to Gatehouse and back in similar fine weather, but paradoxically no interesting sightings beyond a couple of kites and buzzards, swallows and finches and sundry butterflies.

Around the house coal tit has revisited, swifts definitely no longer present and a hope that the buddleia may just last into September this year, which is a bit of an ambition.

Thursday 21st August

Following outburst of sporting activity last weekend and resulting knee problems have not been out this week.

In spite of nor painted ladies, buddleia has done tremendously attracting other species this year, Some of the specimens of red admiral and peacock have been oustanding, beautifully marked and strikingly large.

Coal tit and blue tit have visited along with many juvenile sparrows.  Notably I have not heard any swifts for some time.  Perhaps they have returned early this year as temperatures are below average since July heatwave.

Wednesday 14th May

Rode out over the moors road to Corsock, an area I have often thought should produce bird sightings, but doesn't.  Today however got a second cuckoo sighting.  This bird was visibly calling from the top of an old tree in a deforested area and was being mobbed by a smaller bird.  Moreover, saw a whinchat on two separate occasions, only my second and third sightings.  Both were females.  Added to a jay messing around in the scrubland, you could say the area has at last produced.  Also two roe deer in Cairn Valley and numerous orange tip butterflies (first this year), but still no good pipit views. Did not hear skylark today.

At home swifts made their first appearance yesterday.

Monday 26th August

I haven't been able to maintain this diary over the past five weeks due to various personal matters, so this is by way of a summary entry to catch up.

Bike rides to Palnackie and Kirdubright on 24th and 31st July showed that there are still red admirals around, plus a large number of whites on pussy willow on 24th while hot weather still predominated.
Early in August experimented with swimfeedered prawn in the spawning swim on Bruce's Acre, which worked well for seven carp up to 4.5lb and a couple of bream, plus three snap-offs to good fish.  Unfortunately, same approach did not work on the Canal left end on 15th, when I got nuisance bites all day and just four small fish after a promising run.  I think this indicates a stronger population of larger fish in Bruce's Acre with resulting competition for food, as they all came to strong runs and small fish bites were eliminated - although possibly not visible as there was a fair wind moving the quiver tip.

A walk at Lochdougan Forest on 18th was very pleasant but overcast weather meant few dragonflies and just one red admiral. One large red deer did not see me until I got quite close, indicating that not many people go there - as did the length of undergrowth on one of the tracks.  Looked quite a good area for willow tits. Saw two sexton beetles trying to bury a shrew on the road as I returned to the car.

A bike ride around Loch Ken area on the 21st showed up a lot of red kites looking for road kill near Crocketford.  On the road from RSPB car park to Laurieston found myself pursuing a host of baby pheasants along the road.  Eventually they panicked and tried to fly off one by one but kept crashing clumsily into trees and bushes.  Also saw swallows feeding  immature birds on the telegraph wires, which I've never witnessed before.

Meanwhile in the garden, another first was a willow warbler visiting the buddleia bush, which is now in bloom.  Again this year, peacock butterflies have predominated, with red admirals back in about equal numbers with small tortoiseshells.  Years ago there would always have been more red admirals than peacocks.  Not many painted ladies however - just two separate sightings on buddleia and next door's lilac.  Also absent for about a week or so have been the swifts. They must have returned to Africa earlier than last year.

5th - 12th September

Holiday in Corfu, where there were still plenty of swallows and, if I am not mistaken, some of the red-rumped variety.  Also a number of very large birds of prey gliding at high altitude that I could not identify.  They weren't buzzards.

A couple of light-hearted attempts to catch fish off the rocks on sweetcorn (!), the second of which was looking promising as I could see the fish scouring around the bottom and taking the free offerings - until a huge wave from an ocean liner introduced storm conditions into the microcosm. Once they had subsided and the bottom cleared again, the fish had moved on.

Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to fish for the large numbers of mullet hanging around an outlet from the nature reserve next to St Spyridon Beach, as a sign in Greek and Italian said no fishing.  No rule against feeding them though and I could conclusively prove that mullet will eat sweetcorn, making it to my mind a better potential bait than bread, which they just knock to pieces most of the time.  On Rhodes, I saw the Greeks catching them on houmos paste, float fished at distance, and was duly impressed.

Previously had been watching out at home to see if my theory that swifts will not be sighted or heard after the end of August is true. I think I did hear a couple yesterday, so perhaps sighting a swift in September is just about possible. Swallows are also suddenly scarce around the estate, although tonight I was out with some people who live in farming areas and tell me there are still plenty around.

13th July

Brief walk at Knowetop Lochs where saw several jays. Bike ride from New Galloway down Loch Ken and back via Bellymack/Laurieston. Swift flew out of an eve and almost crashed into me on New Galloway High Street! Siskin by Black Water of Dee and many red kites on way back. Goldfinches, ringlet butterflies. Stopped at Ken Dee Marshes to look out for wood warbler, but no sign.