Wildlife in a Suburban Garden

A great day!

July 30th, my birthday as it happens was a great day. Firstly the weather was great at last. Pretty much sunny the whole day and I took advantage and went out to the marsh to get some real wildlife watching and photography in at last. There was a magical 30 minutes around lunchtime when I saw and/or photographed 7 butterfly species. I watched Labrynth Spiders - Agelena labyrinthica, (photos to follow, check back) various hoverflies and 3 species of Dragonflies. With my Bat Detector which is basically a gadget for detecting High Frequency sounds, I discovered a lovely large black cricket. This was fun because even though I couldn't hear it with my "naked" ear it made a noise through the gadget like a Chinook helicopter and you were able to home in on it, it is real fun and I am looking forward to doing it again. 

The first insect of interest was this pretty . 

Small Copper

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Then  again, a Wall Brown  this time the underwing.

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One of my favourite little Butterflies is the Common Blue, I find them very attractive.

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I took a magnificent photo of a two Common Darters - Sympetrum striolatum

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Daily update

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Today has been, in spite of the awful weather yet again, quite interesting and I have made the best of it. 

Things to report: 

The first Chaffinch in the garden since spring, a sign of changing seasons already perhaps? A Wren was heard singing, again the first since late winter. This time last year almost to the day a Jersey Tiger Moth was recorded in the garden and photographed. Read last years entry here. This year I spotted two in the garden at lunchtime.

One of the most attractive of the Tiger moths, this species is however restricted in distribution to the Channel Islands and parts of the south coast . On the mainland it is commonest in South Devon, and apparently Exeter!  Colonies have recently appeared in Dorset and the Isle of Wight, and it has also been found in Somerset.
There is also a thriving population in central London, but whether this is due to range expansion or the result of accidental introduction is still unclear.
It flies both in the daytime, when it can be found feeding on various flowers, as well as at night, when it is attracted to light. The main flight period is July to September.
The hairy larvae feed on a range of herbaceous plants including nettle . So you can see that this visitor is quite celebrity and perhaps one of the most National rare species that we have in the garden and one that is well worth looking out for.

We have had an interesting bird calling in the garden for most of the morning but try as I might, I just could not locate it but it was not a bird I had heard before and I have no idea what it was/is. 

Later in the afternoon I went to try and get closer to, and consequently get a better photo of, the Linnets that I mentioned yesterday. See the photo above.  My plan was to sit in the hide, close to the brambles and wait for them to come to their favourite perch and then get a good image. The plan worked quite well and both birds,  male and female, after just a short wait, appeared in the bush. Unfortunately, it started to rain and both, in spite of them being only 10 foot or so away, failed to pose nicely and in the clear. But knowing that my plan will work gave me a lot of satisfaction and pleasure.One of the nice things about being so close to them was having the chance to listen to their very musical calls and songs. Surprisingly, the female makes a very pretty sound. I can now see why this bird suffered so much at the hands of Victorian bird catchers who would trade them as singing birds in the markets of London. There is that famous song "My old man" which follows on with the line " ........... and I followed on with my old cock Linnet". As a child of the 1950's I can well remember that they were much more common and one of those species taken a bit for granted. Not by my dad though who loved a Linnet and the Canary keepers of the Midlands would use a Linnet to cross with a Canary to produce a lovely singing bird. 

 At one time, the pair of Linnets in the bush  were joined by an adult Reed Bunting and I took her picture. She also remained behind leaves though, making a really good picture impossible.

As soon as the weather gets better and we have some good bright sun, I am sure I will get a good clear photo of these Linnets. I can appreciate that they are not considered particularly rare, but I always enjoy setting myself a challenge and getting the very best photo I can of my chosen quarry.

Linnets at Exminster

Linnet - Carduelis cannabina are a bird that I have had a very limited amount of luck with over the last few years. I am pretty certain that they are not nearly as common as they were formally and when I see one they usually leave the scene immediately as well. I notice that the RSPB agrees that they are declining and for that reason are on the RED List. So yesterday when I happened upon a pair quite happily perched on a brambles in the middle of the marsh I was pleased to take the opportunity for some photographs. Females can be hard to identify, they are in fact, quite nondescript but as you can see from the picture above, males have this rosy hue with patches of almost red on the breast and forehead. I really "cocked-up" these photos and over exposed the images and in-spite of a great opportunity for good artistic shots I failed miserably. At best they are "aright" so I suppose that is a measure of what I am trying to acheive.... perfection and that is never easy. This is the female.

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You might be interested to know that this exact bramble bush is a good spot. I have taken good photos of Stonechat and reed Bunting all in this very spot. It is a good look out and surrounded by marshy ground and an obvious place for a bird to perch. .

I am so disappointed in these images which could have been really good! 

The next good observation yesterday was a   Wall brown -Lasiommata megera

A widespread butterfly species that are found in  large variety of habitats. There are a number of generations a year so you can see them throughtout spring and summer.They are  common in the south and particularly Devon.

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This one was flying along a back track on Exminster Marsh, other Butterflies included Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small White.

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Today in the garden we have had a visit from a Dragonfly species, probably a Southern Hawker. It didn't settle or stay around for more than 10 seconds and it is the second time that I have seen this species in my small garden.

Collared Dove-Streptopelia decaocto

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It is very easy to take the things you see regularly, for granted. This is certainly the case with Collared Doves who are pretty much a daily bird in the garden. They were the first bird to be seen on January 1st and I have seen them on every day since. However, it wasn't until 1955 that they were first seen in the UK and they bred in that year as well. Since then they have continued to colonise the country and now are perhaps one of the UK's most noticeable birds and certainly doing very well. This is in it's self a trend breaking fact, why are they doing so well when other birds are in decline. well, they certainly make the best of the bird table offerings and also are prepared to nest in gardens. Collared Doves though, are quite wary and will fly away strongly to a safe distance at the first sign of danger and perhaps this has helped the species to do so well. Breeding birds interestingly, lay a small clutch of just two eggs, but will then go on to have as many as 4 rounds, another interesting fact. I did read today that they will breed all year round but this is one of those internet "un-truths" that is proliferated with no basis of truth but accepted as fact by readers who trust everything they read.

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These photographs were taken this morning just before the showers turned in to constant rain. Have a close look and see how the beak is black and then compare it to the Juvenile bird from my last post. This is an interesting observation because having researched and read as much as I can, I can't find any reference to Juveniles having a horn coloured beak. In addition, I have read that Juveniles have no black neck ring which is simply not true. Look at today's photo and notice how this bird is in a post breeding moult. I t is also interesting to observe the noticeable ear coverts.

Slavonian Grebe - Cockwood....... update.

I always try and improve my photos, there is always room for improvement! With this in mind, I went out to Cockwood on the lower Exe late afternoon to try for a good shot, but more of that later. First, this morning I was greeted by the sight of no less than 10 Collared Doves in the garden. I am amazed that there are so many. Is it the parents and 7 youngsters? I am pretty certain that Collared Doves, in common with all other Dove and Pigeon species lay two eggs in a clutch and the squabs are male and female. If conditions are right they will lay several clutches in one breeding season and could account for a total of 7 youngsters, but they will have done well to achieve this. As you may be aware I am in the process of trying to obtain a ringing license which will allow me, legally to trap and ring birds in my garden. When I have all this in place I will be able to identify individual birds. I took this photo of just a few of the flock.

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So with the garden literally full of Doves, it seemed like a good chance to get that close up of a Collared Dove that I have been trying for for ages. Success at last. I am always impressed by the eyes of Collared Doves, so beautifully coloured. I have been trying to capture some shots of eyes of this species for at least a year. I also discovered today, the difference between adults and youngsters. This first picture is an adult.

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Look for the well marked red eye, colour in the wings and pink/red feet and a Black bill.

These birds, both above and below are adults.

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Now have a good look at this bird below which is a youngster and has a horn coloured bill and as yet,has not such a brightly coloure eye.

So now back to the Slavonian Grebe. I had worked out what was needed to get a good shot. Having watched the Cockwood Slavonian Grebe over the last 12 months or so, on and off, I have noticed his behaviour pattern. You can pretty much predict where he is going to be given the state of the tide. At low tide for example he can usually be found at the end of the long slipway, quite close to the Mussel Farmers moored "landing craft" typw boat. As the tide turns and begins to come in he moves down river to the little bay that is formed between that boat and Governors Slipway. Then at almost full tide he comes inshore to to the little Cockwood Stream down river which forms the entrance to the Cockwood Harbour. Fresh water to drink and and bathe in is the attraction. In the winter the Goldeneye and Mergansers pretty much do the same as well. Light is vitally important in any photography so to get a good close up several factors need to be in place at the same time. High Tide needs to be in the late afternoon because only then is the sun in the correct place, over your shoulder. It needs to be sunny and he needs to be close in without being spooked. Today it looked as though it was all going to come together except, as the tide rose and the sun shone , he was still fishing in the bay way out up stream and I watched him way in the distance with a pipefish, his usual prey! I sat patiently in my hide positioned under the bridge and was relieved to see him make his way towards me as if attracted by a magnet. Well perhaps the fresh water is! I couldn't believe how quickly he paddled inshore with his feet obviously going like crazy beneath with no effort apparent at all on the surface. I was getting excited as he got closer and then, still just too far for that really great shot he stopped to bathe and preen. Just a little too far away. He preened and bathed and was then washed down stream slowly and surely out of the cameras reach. Before he did though, I managed one half decent shot of him as he flapped his wings after a good wash!

Cockwood Slavonian Grebe - Podiceps auritus

I think we all must be pretty fed up of the weather at the moment, it's just terrible. Wet and windy but thankfully not too cold. So with the afternoon free I just had to go out between yet another set of showers to try and get a decent shot of the Slavonian Grebe (Podiceps auritus) which as I have mentioned is living (that's the right word), just off Cockwood in the Exe Estuary. I travelled on the trusty Chinese Bike, now a whole year old, and made my way under the tunnel bridge and on the the foreshore. My target species was not just the Slavonian Grebe but a good picture of the Oystercatchers would be good as well. The weather got worse but I persevered. My spirits were lifted when I saw my little friend out in the estuary mixing with a 'raft" of mallard ducks. It's the first time I have seen him with other species, perhaps he is getting lonely at last! So the weather gave me it's worst, but by now I was in my chair hide and pretty much sheltered from the drops. The grebe and his new mates drifted in with tide and eventually, were carried down river towards the little stream that runs in to the Estuary at the top end of the harbour. I have found this is a magnet for lots of birds. They like to bathe and drink in the fresh water. It has occurred to me that this freshwater source is pretty much keeping this Grebe alive. He must need to drink fresh water like any other creature apart from the 'Tube-nose" species, Albatross and Fulmers etc who have got a way of exuding the salt. I spotted a couple of bird watchers a way down river. I guessed they were looking for the Grebe and I decided to make my way to them, thinking that they knew something that I didn't. The Grebe was drifting in their direction anyway. I climbed on the bike and went back on to the road and around the harbour. As I passed by the second tunnel I stopped the bike because I could see our bird clearly in the bit of water visible under the bridge. I leapt from the bike and then carefully crept under the bridge and, guess what? The SUN came out casting a bright lovely light on the grebe and giving me the best vies and shots of him in two years of trying! He was still a bit too far away for that really special shot but I was getting somewhere near it when.......... the battery went on the camera. I went back to the bike to find the birdwatchers to tell them where they could get a good look at the bird. I was pleased when I met them to discover that they had come all the way from Cornwall after seeing my story about the Grebe the day before yesterday. It also turned out that it was Trevor from Bay Watch in St Austell, a blog that I like to look at. It was lovely to meet him and Angie. I was very pleased that they got some great shots of the grebe when we went back but my battery was well and truly dead by now!

Tale From the Hide

An abysmal day of windy rain gave way by 6 o'clock, to a clear and sunny evening. It was too much to resist and I went out to the little pool, set up my hide and waited to see what came in. The sun was beginning to set, casting an almost golden glow on the water in front of me. My mind began to wander and then, suddenly my peace was shattered as a Mallard literally crashed in to the water only 2 or 3 feet in front of me. In the quiet it almost scared my, it was a real commotion. I was sure that she would react to the hide, panic and leave immediately but no, she never paid the slightest attention to it, swimming up and down in front of the lens only a few away! I took a few shots as it was too much of an opportunity to let pass. This was not one of your tame "local boating-lake" Mallards but a true wildfowl who had come in to the pool to roost no doubt. When I got home and looked at the photos, it excited me to think of what might have been. Quite easily a Green Sandpiper, Heron, Egret or what have you could have flown in and no doubt will do. I hope that I am there to get the shot when it does happen. patience is the name of the game and persistence is part of the strategy! Hope you like the picture, I do!

Slavonian Grebe

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There has been a Slavonian Grebe, on it's lonesome for the last two years to my knowledge, and perhaps longer, out in the Exe Estuary at Cockwood Harbour. It is reported constantly as a rare sighting but is not hard to find and you can see him on every trip there if you look hard enough. Sometimes, like this morning, he will be quite close to the tide line. I try from time to time to get a good photo, but as yet, no luck in that department. I did get quite close to him  this morning but the light conditions are so difficult with bright, reflected light off the water and a dark bird. With the sunlight coming from the wrong place this morning as well, this was the best I could do. He is very smart at present in his summer colours but hard to see as anything other than a dark little bird because the light reflected from the water is always so bright. I am trying to think of a way to get closer to him, surely with a bird so close to my home I ought to be able to work out a good strategy. In the winter time he is a dull black and white thing, still with his ridiculously "red" eye, but in the summer his horns are amber yellow and he is a real treat to see. I do feel a little sorry for him, can't think why he doesn't go north to breed, but it is our gain that he prefers to spend his summers, and winters in Devon!

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Pied Wagtail

 

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I went out this evening to try and get a shot of a Green Sandpiper, it didn't show but right in front of the hide this baby Pied Wagtail settled and it's always good to know that the hide is doing it's job. You might be intersedted to know that I have a Gallery of Images online at PBase Galleries If you click on the link you will be directed there. Below is a contact sheet of all the latest images posted to this gallery. Please have a look when you can.

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Garden Bird Pictures

An absolutely abysmal day of wind and rain making this late July day feel more like late October. Still, the birds in the garden have not minded and armed with my Pentax 200mm SDM lens I sat in the hide, in the rain and the dull light to record the comings and goings. In just a 5 minute period we had 7 different species of birds visiting to take advantage of the sunflower hearts that are so favoured by all the birds in my garden Greenfinch have not been the most common bird in the garden in the last two years so I was particularly pleased when I had "true" pair. The male was particularly showy and attractive

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The biggest consideration for me when posting my blog is to include the very best pictures that I can. I make a big effort to capture better and better images. I am very pleased with this photograph. The next one is a nice image of a female Greenfinch. Have a look at the difference in colour, the female could be confused with a sparrow quite easily, if you are not sure a give away immediately is the shape of the tail of a Greenfinch wish is "fish-tail" shape in the Greenfinch.

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he juvenile Goldfinches were back in the garden and I was pleased to see that there are still four youngsters. They are looking healthy and very smart. They are always quick to take advantage of the free offerings.

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We also had visits from Great Tits and a Blue Tit. Collared Doves are in the garden pretty much everyday but I have found them quite hard to get really good close up shots from the hide. They are far more wary than the smaller birds. I noticed earlier on that one of my photographs, a Swallow taken at Turf near Exminster Marsh has been used in the latest article in the Birdguides on-line magazine which was a pleasant surprise. Have a look at it and read the article by clicking HERE

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Green Sandpiper - Tringa ochropus

This time last year the weather was pretty much the same, wet and miserable, caused by the "jetstream" sitting lower south than it should and dragging wet weather over Great Britain. I noticed that on this week last year I had seen Green Sandpipers so I thought, before the rain really set in, I would have a close look today to see if they are around this year. The photo is one taken last year in very dull conditions. I did see one today and now I know where to look I am hoping to get some good shots as the week goes on. Green Sandpipers are not common in the UK but are seen here in Devon as they move seasonally in the Spring and Autumn. A quick surf on the net shows me that they are more commonly seen in Africa, Asia and the Far East and seem to be quite common in many parts of the world. There are very few good published photos of Green Sandpiper taken in Devon so that is my next challenge. They are darker and more spotted than Common Sandpiper and in fact not closely related to that species. They are more related to the other "tringa" waders such as Redshank, Greenshank and Wood Sandpiper. This family has more representatives in the New World than Europe so a Green Sandpiper is a good bird to see in the UK. When they fly their white rump is very noticeable and the RSPB description says that they are like a giant House Martin in this regard. They have a distinctive call which is uttered as they fly.

Speckled Wood - Pararge aegeria in the garden

The Speckled Wood butterfly is not a rare species and you can pretty much find one if you look hard enough in many parts of Devon, including locally. We are again suffering from showery weather with the odd spell of sunshine. In the odd dry moment this lunchtime, I was pleased to see this individual in the garden. They are normally associated with shaded woodland areas so it is a little unusual to have one in a suburban garden and I can't remember seeing one before. This is a species that is doing well and not threatened or in need of special protection. The eye spots are used to confuse predatory birds that will peck at these areas rather than the soft body of the insect. This specimen is a male.

Oystercatcher (Pied) - Haematopus ostralegus

I saw this unusual Oystercatcher from the hide at Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve this morning. I began to feel a little sorry for it if truth be known. There was a flock of around 100 and this bird was definitely being bullied by the other"normal" Oystercatchers. At one time it was actually attacked by one of it's flock mates. It tried very hard to fit in but the other birds would only just about tolerate it. Chatting to a couple of people in the hide, they told me that this is the second year that it has been seen, so it has done well to survive. I know a little bit about genetical inheritance  and this bird would probably be the result of a chance pairing where both parents were carrying the gene for this mutation. When two recessive genes combine then the gene will express its self in an actual colour form. I could see that this bird also had red eyes, so it is also a partial "albino". An interesting bird and a quirk of nature. I have deliberately kept these pictures small as the quality is not good. The bird was quite a way from the hide and even with a 500mm lens and a 2x converter, this was the best I could get. My main reason for a rare visit to Dawlish Warren was to see if I could catch up with the Roseate Terns seen over the last few days. I did see two and also a Common Tern,  and of course,  lots of Sandwich Terns but I didn't manage to get any sort of a photograph They just wouldn't come near enough to the hide. I also saw a Common Gull which if you didn't know, are not in fact common at all, not rare but only encountered from time to time.

 

They are much more delicate than the usual Herring Gulls that we all despise so much when they are such a nuisance in Suburban areas and holiday destinations. I think I can pretty much assure you that this gull would never swoop down to steal your chips! You can recognise them by the absence of a red dot on the beak, and of course completely white head. On the walk back to the carpark I passed by a very rich area for insects and took photos of three Butterfly species in just a few minutes. The first one was a:

 Common Blue

The same Butterfly with wings closed.

Followed by a Small Copper.

This is a lovely Butterfly and the first I have seen. It's always great to see a species for the first time. Then I saw this Gatekeeper, my first for this year. We have had them in the garden in previous years. This one was  in the company of a 5 Spot Burnet Moth, one of the day flying moth species.

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If you are reading the  Blog after seeing an article in the Exeite magazine about  my Blog, my Band and my photography, then can I give you a really big welcome and say how pleased I am that you have taken the trouble to come and have a look.  My Blog gets up-dated most days, sometime I may miss if I am away or have nothing good to say, but that is the aim at least. May I suggest that you Bookmark it. Also please check my Photograph Galleries here. This is where I post all of my favourite images, you can just click on the link and you will be directed there automatically. Finally,  please email me  or leave a comment if you would like any help with the wildlife in your garden or directions to any of the  sites around Exeter that are mentioned on the Blog, I would love to help if I can.

Goldfinch-Carduelus carduelus

We are still being visited from time to time by Goldfinches attracted by the Sunflower Hearts. If you want to almost guarantee visitors to your bird feeders then I can absolutely recommend Sunflower Hearts in an open wire feeder, a great combination which outscores the commercial "posh" plastic feeders over and over again. July is a very quiet time for all kinds of birds, nesting is probably still going on but birds are very subdued in July. Migration has not begun yet and birds are generally resting after the early summers exertions and will sit around quietly out of sight and don't generally sing territorial songs at this time of year. There is always an exception and Blackbirds will still sing from time to time. . . . . . . . . This picture was taken in very dim light almost out of boredom and really just to see if the new Pentax lens can perform in dullish light. I am sure that we are going to get lots of those conditions in the Autumn. Just checking this date last year, I note that the weather was a little cloudy and rainy, pretty much the same as today. Also in this week last year, Spoonbill arrived on Exminster Marsh so that would be nice if that repeated it's self. So perhaps we are in for a treat this week after all. That is the beauty of birdwatching and wildlife , you never know what to expect next.

Powderham Osprey - Pandion haliaetus

The last few days have been hard for me to get out and do anything at all due to bad toothache which has caused infection and a lot of pain. Anti-biotics seems to be getting on top of it now thankfully. Yesterday, however I did manage to get out for a few hours and decided to go and see what I could find at Powderham and Cockwood. As I passed by Powderham estate I stopped to watch the Osprey reported for the last few days. The bird was very visible in a dead tree near to the castle but in the distance. Luckily, after only ten minutes, it left it's perch and headed in to the thermals to float over to the Estuary. It returned after a very short while carrying a fish, landing back on it's favourite tree to eat a dinner of Mullet! Frustration was my over riding feeling, it was just too far to get a good picture of but, never the less a very satisfying sighting. There are, according to the RSPB website, 148 breeding pairs of Osprey in the UK. I personally believe that Osprey will, in the not too distant future, nest here in Devon on the Powderham Estate where there is ample food opportunities and nest sites on the estate with the security that a Devon breeding pair would need. An Osprey is a regular visitor on migration here and surely it can't be out of the question in the future. 

 

Birdwatching and wildlife in Devon is a rewarding and interesting passtime. Even in July when birdwatching is very quiet you can usually find something interesting to see if you are blessed with time, and have luck on your side.

Here is a photo of the Osprey taken in August last year, a considerably better image  than yesterday's. Note that this bird has a clear white chest which would indicate a male. Females would have a bib marking and in juveniles there would also be an indication of a "bib" in both sexes. This years photo would also indicate a male, my guess is that it is the same individual.

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On the subject of Powderham Estate I took this photograph last year of one of the Fallow Deer herd and it is such a satisfying image that I thought I would share it with you again.

Little Egret-Egretta garzetta

Speckled Bush Cricket - Leptophyes punctatissima

Meadow Pipit - Anthus pratensis

A bird that is seen on every visit to Dartmoor is the Meadow Pipit. I find them very photogenic and always enjoy seeing them. From time to time at the right time of year I have watched them chasing off Cuckoos who frequently choose Meadow Pipits as a host. In the winter I see them on every visit to Exminster Marshes where they spend the winter. Typically they breed in moorland and winter in marshy areas so it is a bird I see very frequently. On a recent visit to Dartmoor I came across this young newly fledged bird which was very attractive to my eyes. One of the adults was near by.

Hedgehog - Erinaceus europaeus

I have a small chicken house at the bottom of the garden and use straw as litter. One of my "girls" has gone broody and is sitting on 6 fertile eggs.......... due to hatch the same day as my 1st grand child coincidentally!. Yesterday,  I decided to move the three none broody birds in to another enclosure so as not to disturb the broody hen.  During this operation I collected straw and  filled a sack from the original house to scatter in the new enclosure. All was going to plan until I went back minutes later to fill another.  Imagine my shock and then horror when I discovered, lying on the straw, a baby hedgehog, now pecked and a bit bloodied. Moving the straw had disturbed a Sow Hedgehog and her hoglets. They had a lovely nursery nest amongst the straw, and up until this moment had been undetected both by myself and my chickens. I picked up the little hoglet, it had a nasty wound on the head above the (as yet unopened) eye. It was warm and fat with white spines and emerging new dark spines erupting in between. To be honest I didn't give it much hope of survival but, never the less I put it back with mum and it's 3 sibblings. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a few shots. I was obviously worried about the disturbance but it was too late for that because disturb them I had.  I am really quite upset about this.  Hedgehogs are declining in the UK and I havn't seen one in the district all summer. Usually we have one wander through the garden every now and then. The other day I had found some "droppings" which obviously were from this sow.

 After a few minutes she came out of her ball and showed her head and I kept still knowing that a hedghogs  eyesight is poor. She did a couple of circles, sniffing all the time,  and then disappeared back under the adjoining shed, obviously her way in and out. This left the little hoglets who were around 6 days old as their eyes were not yet open and said to do so at a week. I was quite surprised that they differed  in size.  The pecked one was so much fatter and larger than the other three.

After a minute or so I gathered up all the babies who were already squeaking like baby birds, and felt a little bit cold to the touch. I fashioned some kind of depression in the straw to re-made a kind of nest. I covered them over with more straw and left them well alone. I was hoping that they would not get too cold beforemum came back, it was a warm day at least. I hoped that mum would come back and suckle them and just carry on as normal. Animals are not stupid though because when I checked few hours later she had been back but taken them off to a new nest somewhere else. This was agreat relief. In the photo below you can see the damage on the head of one of the hoglets. Having read up on Hedgehogs this morning I now know, and so do you, that the male plays no part in the upbringing and the sow forages locally going back to the hoglets to feed them. I can say that they appeared to be very well fed and fat as little pigs so she must be doing a great job on the slugs in the garden. I plan to put out some cat/dog food for her and perhaps a bowl of Goats Milk. Apparently I share one trait with the hedgehog in that we are both Lactose Intolerant! This will give her an advantage and may help to secure the youngsters survival. I really like the idea of having these wild mammals in my garden. They are the gardeners friend in every way. They eat slugs and other garden pests so who would not want these truly iconic British Mammals living amongst us. The idea of my Blog is to record and share my sightings with the rest of the worls and it is great to be able to do that with you from 77 different countries around the globe so far!

Herring Gull breeding in the Garden

An update of the Herring Gulls on my neighbours rooftop. yesterday was very wet and they survived their drenching very well. They spend their time wandering up and down the roof and every time the adult male sees me he is ready to defend them by mobbing me!

Dartmoor Fox

It was quite odd yesterday evening. I decided to go out to the moor yet again just to see if I could get more photos of Whinchat that had been showing so well just a few days again. I made my way down to the area that I had seen them before and it was disappointing now when I realised that there was no sign of them whatsoever. Just 5 days ago there seemed to be 5 pairs at least and now there were none! Quite odd. Later I did discover one pair but well away from the place where they had been almost numerous. As I wandered around I caught sight of Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterflies, at last I photographed the underwing and I was able to confirm the ID. The weather was incredibly hot and humid, very unusual in the UK. I walked very slowly and quietly as usual and caught sight again of a Snipe that is obviously breeding in a little pool and marshy area close to the track. I have seen these Snipe on 4 different occasions now and always in the same place so they must be breeding I would think. On my way back up the path I had a real treat. As I looked up the hill on my right I saw a small Fox sitting up like a little dog just watching out for anything that caught his/her fancy. I quickly got the camera ready and took a few shots but from a distance. It hadn't seen me yet and I took steps nearer and got a few more. As I watched him I could see how intent on looking for a meal it was and it took little notice of me even though I was quite close. Having now taken a few reasonably good shots I tried to get even closer but the fox was having none of it and immediately got up from his relaxed position and disappeared down off his little lookout spot and in to the bracken behind. What a lovely animal it was, very appealing and attractive with piecing dog-like eyes and a rich red coat. I looked around at the sight it would be getting and thought how lucky he was to live in such a nice place. Lots of food around with a Rabbit warren below, berry laden bushes beetles and the odd bird now and then. I would guess that they are not particularly persecuted now that the hunting ban is in force and hope that farmers don't go out of their way too much to shoot them. Surely it would be worth the odd lost chicken to share your environment with a beautiful creature like this. 

Whinchat - Saxicola rubetra............ Dartmoor

I have been studying the behaviour and taking pictures of Whinchat on Dartmoor during the last week or so. They are reasonably easy to find once you have a rough idea of their location. I move off the main paths and follow the sheep trails through the heather and bracken and then listen out for their quite distinctive calls. Stonechat are named for their calls said to resemble the chipping of stones against each other but I find that Whinchat are for more remeniscent of this sound. Whinchat will make a double call this "chip" and a musical note which can appear to be closer to you than it actually is. The birds will settle on the tops of bracken and heather calling and chipping to each other. In my experience females are far more approachable and the males tend to keep their distance, but this is far from scientific and just based on the casual observations of the pairs that I have been watching. Males call with a slightly more musical note. Once in my chair hide the birds will come within a few feet of the hide and chase after small flying insects, "flycatcher-like". From time to time they will dive down to pick up a caterpillar or perched insect. This male is very approachable or should I say approached me, choosing a favourite perch on a growth of bracken and returning repeatedly to the same perch all the time calling and chipping to his mate, she was simultaneously calling some 30 or 40 metres away. I am hoping to go back to the area today to see if I can get pictures of newly fledged youngsters.

Tree Sparrow - Passer Montanus

The last few days, since last Thursday in fact, have been a bit hectic for me and I have been out of the county and visiting my Son and Daughter-in-Law in the county of Yorkshire. I obviously made an effort to see and photograph a few things when we were there. The highlight was my first (UK) sighting of a Tree Sparrow. I have seen them in the Far East, Singapore to be exact where they have been introduced and they are the common sparrow there. In the UK they are very scarce now and populations have plummeted by a ridiculous percentage in the last 20 years..... 90% or there abouts. This is a bird that I possibly took for granted when I was a boy in Derbyshire and overlooked, but of course I will never know that for sure. They are now absent from Devon and Dorset. A small colony, somewhere in North Cornwall is our nearest population. In Yorkshire there are a couple of sites where they can be seen. Bempton Cliffs was the first that we visited and on top of the RSPB visitors centre I caught sight of my first. I have to say that I was very disappointed with the Bempton Cliffs RSPB Reserve and it is all that I dislike about RSPB reserves all rolled in to one. Frankly it was/is a Zoo. The RSPB have taken ownership of the land there and the birds that breed there, and now charge an admission to view the wild birds on the cliffs..... what right have they to do that? There were facilities and cafes and, of course the inevitable gift shop. It was crowded to say the least with at least 500 people milling around the view points, to be honest I have been to Exeter City home games with fewer spectators. Surly, brusque "volunteers" were at the designated viewing points with their spotting scopes permanently focused on the odd unfortunate Puffin that was clinging to the cliffs and they would call out........ the blokes, not the Puffins ....... "Puffin in the scope". There would then be a melee and scuffle as people clamoured to peer at the bird. Birdwatching, this aint!!!! I have to say that even though I am now a member of the RSPB something should be done to tone down the take over by the society because Bempton Cliffs has bee totally ruined. I was appalled by it all. I just hope that they do not acquire the land on the Cliffs here in Devon between Budleigh and Sidmouth, imagine the horror of that with a gift shop, fence and toilets and then the inevitable hordes that would throng in like lemmings. So RSPB, you have ruined Bempton Cliffs! Now Old Moor RSPB Reserve in the Dearne Valley near Barnsley is a success story and even though there is an admission charge they have done a good job in creating a wildlife haven in the midst a typical Northern Landscape of houses and failing industries close to the MI and very busy trunk roads. A chat with Steve, (don't know if he was the manager but if he wasn't he should be), convinced me that they were actually protecting the birds here as well as providing good educational facilities and inspiration for local children. The focus was on Tree Sparrows and they were everywhere. Didn't agree with the children's adventure play area, it's a wildlife reserve for heavens sake and the family hide was better than my house. Is it really necessary to have such well appointed hides? This shows what a rich organisation the RSPB is. This does little to "Protect" birds which is surely the RSPB's aim (hence the title). But all in all I was pleased to see the efforts to protect and encourage the Tree Sparrows and I guess, without the shop, cafe and carpark then there would be no reserve and the Tree Sparrows would continue their decline. So I paid my money and joined the RSPB so I can moan from within!

 This Reed Bunting showed very well and was breeding by a small pond.