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.

Wednesday 16th September

An excellent cycling day today - plenty of sun and, for the first time for ages little wind.

My theory that swallows may have disappeared early this year was put to rest as there was a healthy cluster on the telegraph wires just north of Newbridge, and a single one doing the same on the approach to Glenmidge.  Here there was also a pale looking slim item that kept landing and flicking its tail in a chat-like manner, but without binoculars and in full fluorecent gear, it was never likely to settle long enough to allow identification.  I wondered about a whinchat, but not really convinced.

On the way to the pharmacy yesterday, a large number of house martins were also in evidence so it clearly isn't quite the end of the summer for the hirundines, though no sign of sand martins over the Nith.

There were also a couple of buzzards and a single magpie north of Keir Mill.  Magpies are definitely spreading into the area.

However the main spot of the day was a small field of what I believe to be a purple leaved norway maples between Holywood and Portrack Estate. Unfortunately the plentiful sun has affected the photograph below. On a non-nature note, my friend Tony suggested a quick visit to see the gravestone of Kirkpatrick MacMillan, the inventor of the pedal cycle, just past Keir.  Interestingly, his achievement does not rate a headline mention on the family gravestone, more a footnote.  Yet without him I possibly wouldn't have been there today!

Purple leaved Norway Maple

At Kirkpatrick MacMillan's Gravestone

Thursday 10th September

Just back from a few days in Spain, where I remarkably sighted not a single butterfly and very few notable birds apart from an azure-winged magpie and one large looking lark that was hanging around the scrub in the storage area at Faro airport.

There were a lot of fantastic South American trees in the Alcazar Gardens at Seville that I wouldn't seek to identify but there was quite an interesting example of a feeding frenzy of hungry carp.

The day after however my attention was drawn to one particular tree that I instinctively thought I would be able to identify, and unless I'm much mistaken it's a young Montpellier Maple:

Montpellier Maple

Returning to normality, did the bike ride to New Abbey yesterday in very overcast conditions.  There was a healthy gathering of house martins hunting flies over Lochrutton Loch, but no longer any signs of swallows though it seems a little early for them to return home to Africa.

On the way back past Kirkconnel Flow, I noticed a large amount of a pink flowering plant that I'm sure i have seen many times, but could not put a name to. It doesn't warrant it's own mention in my Book of Wildflowers, so again it was thanks to the folk at Dumfries and Galloway Wildlife and Birding that I can tell you (if you didn't already know) that it's Himalayan Balsam.

Himalayan Balsam

Around the garden, peacocks but only peacocks are still enjoying the remaining buddleia.

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.