What have you seen
Comments
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A few nice bird sightings on a cold autumnal walk today. Oodles os Shoveller ducks, would the collective noun be "A spadeful of Shovellers?"๐ There was also a Male and female Mandarin duck, plus a rarer these days sighting of a Snipe. More interesting was found on the underside of an Oak leaf:
These are first stage Silk Button Gall Wasp eggs. They then turn into Doughnut shaped (with a hole in the middle) on the second stage before the leaf falls to the ground and a Gall Wasp emerges next Spring.
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Whilst out over the fields on our dog walk I turned on my Merlin App as I was unsure of the flock of small birds. It said skylarks and yes when I watched them. Iagreed. I wasn't expecting them in such numbers!
I then wandered along the side of the recently rebuilt barn, not on the footpath of ๐. I glanced back at my App, I'd been looking to see if swallows/swifts had used the barn. Sadly not, must speak to DIL regarding ways to attract them. I've not walked that way because of my foot for a long time. It said Lapland Longspur, beautiful accompanying photo and red dot indicating rare. I've never heard of it. Looked at the description of habitat etc and it said Alaska.......
Was Merlin miles off? I have found it really reliable until now.
@Wherenext good sightings, but do I spy woollen gloves?
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@Bakers2 - I think Merlin might be referring to Lapland Bunting. They are uncommon Winter migrants mostly seen in the East of the country. Habitat seems about right. I would have thought it might be a bit early for them but migration always throws up something unusual either species or time wise.
OH woollen glove holding leaf. I had some gloves on as well. It only managed to get to 11 degrees today.
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@Wherenext thank you. That makes more sense.
Sorry it was chilly for you, @heddlo said they needed them too on the what are you up.to thread.
We had our first non murky day since Friday, it made a nice change. Still in shorts.....
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Before I forget, again, I meant to mention the sighting we had on Wednesday of a small shoal of beautiful Rudd swimming in a lake. I don't often take notice of fish but these caught the eye as they were quite close and their Orange fins and tails stood out. They were only about 6 or 7" long.
Out for a local back lanes walk this afternoon. Some Mica cap Mushrooms growing on a dead tree stump, their favourite place to be seen and a new sighting of a Leopard Caterpillar. This little creature can spend up to 2 years as a caterpillar before pupating into an absolutely georgeous Moth, whence it will spend the next 2 weeks mating and laying eggs before dying. I'll put up a link to the Butterfly Conservation so can see it for yourselves.
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After not seeing much fungi yesterday it has been the opposite today at Wallington! Here are just a few of many different varieties that we saw. I am not totally sure of their identities but this is the best I can manage.
The Blusher, Amanita rubescens, beside a mouse hole!
Trooping Funnel, Clitocybe/Infundibulicybe geotropa
Blushing Bracket, Daedaleopsis confragosa
There were also very many dead tree trunks coated in different fungi, such as below
I also think I saw a Willow Tit, but it was only a fleeting glimpse.
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Just a couple of new fungi today
Common Inkcap, Coprinopsis atramentaria
Shaggy Scalycap, Pholiota squarrosa at the foot of an Ash tree
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Another new "mushroom" found in a field near current site.
Egghead Mottlegill, Panaeolus semiovatus
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Today's fungi, seen on the road verges near our site,
Giant Funnels, Asproxillus giantess
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Two for the price of one today. The fungi in the right background is Smokey Bracket, but I am unsure of the variety in the left front.
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@Bakers2 it took me a while to see what you had seen, you did very well spotting it.
On our morning walk through our local park this cheeky chappy dashed across our path, up the tree, turned round and then posed for it's photo before calmly carrying on up.
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@Bakers2 - I'm sitting here, chuckling to myself - I must be dim or something - but when I looked at the photo originally, I said "so what???" and "what's this all about?" I thought it was something to do with what appears to be a door behind the tree.
Now you've stated what is clearly obvious to everyone but me - it's brilliant - well done for spotting that!
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@richardandros I must see things in a different way to others.my immediate thought was why isn't that fox moving? Please don't be injured as I have no idea how to deal with that on tge middle of nowhere. I still do a double rake when I pass. And it's been months since I spotted it. Too vivid an imagination?
I've shown the photo to others who say I don't get it......
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Not so much what I've seen, but what I've heard!
Yesterday I was doing one of my walks when I heard "small sounding" bird noise I didn't recognise. Popped on my Merlin App, and it gave me 2 birds, goldcrest and a common firecrest. Both very new to me. No way could I see them, not even fly away! They just went quiet.
Today one another of our walks, a couple of miles from yesterdays, Dora was attracted by scents and dropped her ball along the green lane. As I bent to pick it up, there was a tiny bird on the ground. My immediate reaction was sad, and it's a baby blue tit. On closer examination, I did take a photo, and a bit more thought I realised it wasn't a blue tit. (Far too late!) I gently moved it to under the scrub. It was so tiny not even the size of my actual palm.
On looking at imagines later, don't know why I didn't at the time! I'm unsure if its goldcrest or firecrest.
I've heard redwing and fieldfare for last week or so but today I got to see some.
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What sort of tree was it under @Bakers2? Goldcrests are far more common than Firecrests but either are around at the moment. Firecrests are aptly named so did it have a blazing yellow crest? As it was on the ground its quite possibly a youngster. Have a look where you left it if walking that way again tomorrow. If its still there it will undoubtedly be dead but you may be able to identify it.
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@Wherenext it was already dead ๐ข. It was so tiny, bright crest on its head. I went to look this morning, no sign. I presume it fed something else. I cursed myself for not turning it over properly yesterday, but that felt disrespectful for some reason.... Yet I took a photograph. I didn't look at the trees, just scrub type - there are ash and oak along there. I'll check it out when I'm next that way.
Meanwhile I'll add the photo I took,you may well be able go identify it. It was so tiny.
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It looks like a young Blue Tit to me. Such a shame!๐ช
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@nelliethehooker it has the bright top crest, almost orange, very bright. Hard to see amid the leaf litter.
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@Bakers2 On further consideration I think that it was a Goldcrest, as suggested by @Wherenext, as it's beak appears longer and finer and the leg isn't blue like that of a Blue Tit.
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@Wherenext checked today on trees where Merlin said I heard a gold crest and common firecrest. Hawthorn, 2 old established trees rather than hedge/bush and the other side of the green lane, a bridle path, a copse with hawthorn and field elm on the fringe. I suspect these will be the same where I found the dead one a couple of miles away.
Does that ring true?
I so wish I'd been more proactive and collected the dead one. After all I do have poo bags ๐๐ซฃ๐คฃ.
I really hope it wasn't bird flu......
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I do suspect it was a Goldcrest merely by dint of excluding most other contenders. It's pretty amazing that we don't find more dead birds when you consider their relatively short life span. They, in general, must literally fall off their perch on a consistent basis but obviously the bugs and other ground feeders do a good job of cleaning up. It's death could have been as a result of anything so I wouldn't be too worried about it.
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Good days birdwatching on the Dee estuary today. Raptors were out in force with multiple Marsh Harriers and singles of Hen Harrier, Peregrine and Kestrel.
We also noticed some Hawthorn in blossom and some Mirabelle Plums still attached to a tree.
Also had 2 Bullfinches in our garden this morning. Made a nice accompaniment to breakfast.
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@Wherenext By pure coincidence "our" pair of bullfinches have returned to the garden just this last week. I only said about a week ago that we hadn't seen them for months, and a few days later there they were ๐ since then we've seen them every day.
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They'll be around for a week or so then we won't see them for a while. Always brighten my day up, suppose you feel the same @InaD.
A very tired Winter Moth took refuge on our kitchen window. Too difficult to photo there so he hopped onto my hand. I put him back in a shrub afterwards.
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We have a Blackbird that keeps attacking himself or trying to in the reflection of the kitchen windows. He's not in our good books as he insists on leaving his calling card on the window sills and door handle.๐
We've not had the normal amount of Blackbirds this Summer. Don't know why that should be so he's still welcome.
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In the last week I have seen 3 Black Shoulder Kites 2 on the way back from our local small town and 1 coming back home from Caussade also a huge numbers of Cattle Egrets never seen so many of them in about 4 different fields possible 100 to 200.
Blackbirds busy here eating the berries off the Pyracantha Bush 1 all berries gone and the big bush nearly all gone great fun watching them trying to get to the berries.
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