Long Monday!

I promised a bit of music on the new blog and since the weather has been close to diabolical over the past day or so this is the result of near on 2 days spent indoors investigating windows movie maker (erm other movie making software is available!) .... my cover of 'Long Monday' by John Prine, in pictures and with good mate Rob on cahon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gY7h_nLoYw

Cairngorms road trip, Ospreys fishing, Spoonbills and a surprise herd of Reindeer!

Just got back from a jaunt up to the Cairngorms with my good mate Rob. The weather was less than perfect but it was a great road trip. I did all the driving, Rob all the cooking ... I like driving and he's chef, so it was a good deal! 102 bird species, some interesting flora and mammal species, stunning scenery and good music recorded every night bar one.... so without further ado and less than normal prose from myself  here's the pics!

Pick of the crop was a toss up between 3 majestic Ospreys hunting in tandem over Lochindorb in the rain and 2 Spoonbills at low tide on Findhorn Bay


Osprey_lochindorb, 29/07/15





Osprey_lochindorb, 29/07/15



Osprey_lochindorb, 29/07/15

As well as these 3 over Lochindorb (where we also had a single Black Throated Diver), we had 10 other Ospreys .. they're doing well up here and it seemed to us as if there was at least 1 on nearly every loch!



Spoonbill_Findhorn Bay, 28/07/15

Spoonbills_Findhorn Bay, 28/07/15

Spoonbills_Findhorn Bay, 28/07/15

Hooded Crow_Findhorn Bay, 28/07/15

Grey Heron_Loch Leven, 26/07/15



Orchid species_ Loch Moraigh, 26/07/15

I reckon we were up there at the peak season for wild flowers and a wide variety were in full bloom, not all identified as yet including these orchids .....




Amphibious Bistort_Loch Leven, 26/07/15

Wild Pansy_Loch Moraigh, 26/07/15



Spotted Flycatcher_Cheviots, 25/07/15

Precious few opportunities to photograph smaller birds and I failed woefully to get any decent pics of Crested Tits when about 25 or so suddenly turned up in a tit flock at Abernethy Forest (all too close, fast moving and then they were gone!). The flock also included about 30 Willow Warblers, 10ish Tree Pipits, 3 Treecreepers and 20 Spotted Flycatchers which were pleasingly plentiful throughout the trip .... this one was actually taken on the way up in the Cheviot Hills but it was the best pic!















A few landscapes from the trip and a few of the 'lads' ....



Abernethy Forest



 

Loch Leven

Lochindorb

Lochindorb

Photographing those Spoonbills at Findhorn Bay

 

Playing the Insch Marshes

 On the RSBP reserve at Insch Marshes we came across the perfect place for a bit of outside music and recording. On the elevated platform there we could play and watch the wildlife at the same time and when the rain came the we just moved downstairs and it was almost like being in a recording studio!

Got a single female Marsh Harrier here too - good for Scotland.

Recording at the Insch Marshes



Rob_up in the Cairngorms!

Rob_Wild flower spotting hunting, Loch Moraigh

Around Abernethy



Surrounded by Crested Tits in Abernethy Forest

No Red Deer sightings but plenty of Roes around and the most unexpected mammals were these semi wild Reindeer, a herd of 20 or so including a couple of young 'uns, near to the top of Cairngorm

Reindeer, young stag_Cairngorm, 30/07/15

Reindeer foal running with the pack_Cairngorm, 30/07/15



Roe Deer, Loch Leven

Like I said, and as you can probably gather from some the above, there were precious few 'golden hours' for photography and we had to invest a fair amount of time logged on to local weather forecasts in order to dodge the rain clouds, but this is all part of the fun and we did it successfully and didn't lose a single day to rain.

Sometimes you can try and do too much on a road trip .....I can remember driving right around Scotland many years ago in little over a week ... a great experience but too much of it spent behind the wheel. This was just right but even then we only covered half of the potential sites in the Cairngorms .... we missed out on some key species including Crossbill, Dipper, Ptarmigan and Golden Eagle but 102 species ain't bad for July and for the record here's the list -

1. Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica)
2. Red-legged Partridge [sp] (Alectoris rufa)
3. Common Pheasant [sp] (Phasianus colchicus)
4. Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
5. Canada Goose [sp] (Branta Canadensis)
6. Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
7. Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
8. Gadwall [sp] (Anas strepera)
9. Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
10. Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
11. Common Teal [sp] (Anas crecca)
12. Common Pochard (Aythya ferina)
13. Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
14. Common Goldeneye [sp] (Bucephala clangula)
15. Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
16. Black-throated Diver [sp] (Gavia arctica)
17. Little Grebe [sp] (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
18. Great Crested Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)
19. Eurasian Spoonbill [sp] (Platalea leucorodia)
20. Grey Heron [sp] (Ardea cinerea)
21. Little Egret [sp] (Egretta garzetta)
22. Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)
23. Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
24. Common Kestrel [sp] (Falco tinnunculus)
25. Peregrine Falcon [sp] (Falco peregrinus)
26. Osprey [sp] (Pandion haliaetus)
27. Western Marsh Harrier [sp] (Circus aeruginosus)
28. Eurasian Sparrowhawk [sp] (Accipiter nisus)
29. Eurasian Buzzard [sp] (Buteo buteo)
30. Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
31. Common Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
32. Eurasian Oystercatcher [sp] (Haematopus ostralegus)
33. Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
34. Grey Plover [sp] (Pluvialis squatarola)
35. Common Snipe [sp] (Gallinago gallinago)
36. Whimbrel [sp] (Numenius phaeopus)
37. European Curlew (Numenius arquata arquata)
38. Common Redshank [sp] (Tringa totanus)
39. Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
40. Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
41. Dunlin [sp] (Calidris alpina)
42. Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)
43. Common Gull (Larus canus canus)
44. Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)
45. Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
46. Lesser Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
47. Common Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)
48. Sandwich Tern [sp] (Sterna sandvicensis)
49. Rock Dove [sp] (Columba livia)
50. Woodpigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
51. Eurasian Collared Dove [sp] (Streptopelia decaocto)
52. Common Swift [sp] (Apus apus)
53. Great Spotted Woodpecker [sp] (Dendrocopos major)
54. Eurasian Jay [sp] (Garrulus glandarius)
55. Common Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
56. Eurasian Jackdaw [sp] (Corvus monedula)
57. Rook [sp] (Corvus frugilegus)
58. Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
59. Hooded Crow [sp] (Corvus cornix)
60. Common Raven [sp] (Corvus corax)
61. Great Tit [sp] (Parus major)
62. Blue Tit [sp] (Parus caeruleus)
63. Coal Tit [sp] (Parus ater)
64. Crested Tit [sp] (Parus cristatus)
65. Collared Sand Martin [sp] (Riparia riparia)
66. Barn Swallow [sp] (Hirundo rustica)
67. Northern House Martin [sp] (Delichon urbicum)
68. Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)
69. Eurasian Skylark [sp] (Alauda arvensis)
70. Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus)
71. Willow Warbler [sp] (Phylloscopus trochilus)
72. Common Chiffchaff [sp] (Phylloscopus collybita)
73. Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix)
74. Blackcap [sp] (Sylvia atricapilla)
75. Common Whitethroat [sp] (Sylvia communis)
76. Goldcrest [sp] (Regulus regulus)
77. British Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes indigenus)
78. Eurasian Treecreeper [sp] (Certhia familiaris)
79. European Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
80. Eurasian Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
81. Song Thrush [sp] (Turdus philomelos)
82. Mistle Thrush [sp] (Turdus viscivorus)
83. European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
84. Common Redstart [sp] (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)
85. Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra)
86. Spotted Flycatcher [sp] (Muscicapa striata)
87. House Sparrow [sp] (Passer domesticus)
88. Dunnock [sp] (Prunella modularis)
89. Yellow Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla flava)
90. Grey Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla cinerea)
91. Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii)
92. Meadow Pipit [sp] (Anthus pratensis)
93. Tree Pipit [sp] (Anthus trivialis)
94. Chaffinch [sp] (Fringilla coelebs)
95. European Greenfinch [sp] (Carduelis chloris)
96. Eurasian Siskin (Carduelis spinus)
97. European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)
98. Common Redpoll [sp] (Carduelis flammea)
99. Common Linnet [autochthona] (Carduelis cannabina autochthona)
100. Eurasian Bullfinch [sp] (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
101. Yellowhammer [sp] (Emberiza citrinella)
102. Reed Bunting [sp] (Emberiza schoeniclus)



Autumn fungi at Askham Bog, planning trips, a Mali Harp and a bit of John Mayer to make up for my lack of birds!

Been keeping my head down and not been out much for the past couple of weeks ... busy planning and making preparations for a big road trip - I'm setting off on Nov 11th and driving the camper down to Spain. Coming back just before Xmas so its a proper tour and a well earned rest from all this bumming around on nature reserves in Yorkshire!

More info later this week on what I'm aiming to do and some opportunities for you guys to interact if you want.

I reckon a fair chunk of Winter migrants have arrived on my patch lately unseen by me, I even heard there were Waxwings again in the middle of York last week, but all I've had is a few Fieldfares over my house and an increase of Siskins, Goldcrests and Thrushes at Askham Bog.... so not many photo opps recently, but a stroll around said Bog last weekend and during a bit of 'down time' revealed some great fungi in the evening sun and along with some great looking Guelder Rose berries, a few turning Oak leaves and the odd Robin this makes a nice enough little Autumn gallery ....

Fungi, Askham Bog

Fungi2, Askham Bog

Guelder Rose berries

Fungi3, Askham Bog

Turning Oak leaves

 

Robin, Askham Bog

Fungi3, Askham Bog

Guelder Rose berries2, Askham Bog

John Mayer

No way can I come up with a link between Fungi and John Mayer, and he's certainly not in the Autumn of his years just yet, unlike Mr Jools Holland upon who's show 'Later' one of my favourite guitarists was performing the other night ... check this out if you can access the BBC Iplayer - Call me the Breeze - John Mayer







Mali Harp

The whole show is worth a watch  ....  highlights were Graham Parker & The Rumour reformed (wow, never saw that coming!), Lissie (another fave act of mine) and an amazing Mali Harp player called Ballaké Sissoko ...what an instrument!!

Here's the link for the whole show .........'Later' with Jools Holland

 

 

A bit of 'Feelgood' music, abroad in the New Forest & Cranborne Chase and a possible Adonis Blue!

Been so busy recently ... I never expected semi retirement to be so time consuming! In between some big recruiting events with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and beginning to get another band together, I've done 2 trips in the camper ... I popped down to the New Forest and South Downs a couple of weeks ago and then up into the Dales for a night last week, all great fun but it don't get the grass mown!

A few selected pics from those trips later but I'm feeling in a musical mood today and casting about for material to work with. You know how it is ... a u tube trawl, spotify playlists, and in my case also scraps of lyrics and chord progressions jotted down and filed away. Too much sometimes, but hey let me worry about that, in the meantime here's a couple of gems, both oldies, both goldies that have jumped out at me and reflected strumming today!

I can feel another timbobaggins song broadcast coming on ... maybe later and don't groan too loudly folks, I don't do it often and you don't have to listen to the end!

The New Forest, South Downs, Salisbury Plain

The New Forest is one of our biggest and best wildlife reserves and I'm sure there are still places where you can loose yourself, but my oh my it has changed since last I was down there some 15 years ago .... so many people, too many of them walking dogs and so many more intensively farmed tracts of land around the edges. I found it really difficult to get away from the beaten track and sense some degree of the magic I remember.

That said, I did hear Nightjars churring (and lots of them) on my first night there and one has to remember that mid June is always a time when birds n beasts alike go quiet and are naturally elusive whilst getting on with the business of breeding, so it was always going to be hard work, and add to that a hastily purchased guide to wildlife sites down there that turned out to be hopelessly inadequate, and already I'm feeling redeemed for not capturing a full on Honey Buzzard or a beautifully posed Dartford Warbler!

Not a glimpse of either sadly and bird pic opportunities were scarce but there were some awesome floral displays, one or two nice butterflies and best of all the sun shone throughout!

Birds first (hehe .... that'll be on my gravestone!), here's a smashing male Stonechat, a bird that seems to be doing much better down here than it is up North.

Hobbies are the falcon of choice in the New Forest and although I stalked this one hoping to get a full on 'in flight' close up, it never quite happened and this was taken almost at dusk and hence a bit grainy but its caught something in its talons and is munching away in mid flight!











...... on a similar theme this Common Buzzard seems to be transporting what I think is a Slow Worm to its nest, its not a snake but far too big and thick to be an earthworm ... what do you reckon?

 

Out of the skies and back down to earth, I couldn't resist taking a couple of pictures of the famous New Forest ponies, not least because one of them seemed to charging headlong towards me and the camera just came up in time!

 

More serene and typical shots of the ponies here ... they really are iconic creatures of the forest and always lovely to see.



Skulking through another, much smaller forest at Pamber, again trying to get off the beaten track and maybe spot something unusual, I just came across the usual .... common warblers diving for cover, a few Great Spotted Woodpecker nests and this nice Roe Deer that was looking at me as if to say 'what the feck are you doing in here!'

After a day and a half of trying to dodge the dog walkers and early morning joggers in the New Forest I decided to head into Dorset and Cranborne Chase .... it was like stepping back in time travelling through some of the leafy villages in this most idyllic of English counties. I saw an old style wooden bus shelter in one such village and in the next I swear I saw Miss Marples!



Adonis Blue?

Cranborne Chase is just lovely, typical south downland with chalky hills and steep grassy valleys. I was after some good butterflies ... anything blue basically and I think I got lucky with this one. Could it be an Adonis Blue?




















Somewhat less colourful but no less beautiful, there were several Dingy Skippers knocking about and this one turned out nicely in the frame ..... a bit brown and easily overlooked but hardly 'Dingy'!

Dingy Skipper



Large Tortoiseshell

This is what I'm pretty sure a Large Tortoiseshell I snapped whilst I was having a sandwich and a cup of coffee at the top of Cranborne Chase, and whilst I was up there I took a landscape looking over Downs and towards Salisbury Plain.


Got my best bird of the trip here too but sadly no photograph .... a fleeting but definitive glimpse of a male Cirl Bunting, heard it calling too!




Salisbury Plain

Salisbury Plain itself was pretty disappointing to be honest .... hardly saw a thing apart from a couple of nice passing Ravens and a few singing Skylarks, but it was midday and my recently sprained ankle was hurting after I'd walked too far in the sun, so I didn't pursue to any great extent, preferring a nap in the camper instead -  to recharge the batteries before driving back up to Yorkshire . Nice to be there again though after many years ... so quiet!

Common Raven

Lets end with a bit of colour and a few selected wild flowers, only a few because I haven't identified them all yet and some of these Orchids are devils to get right!

This one for instance could be a Man Orchid but its more likely to be some sort of Helliborine, I've tried to look it up but its a tricky business with it not being in full bloom.

This one could very well be a Long Spurred Orchid, and if it is then its a good find on Cranborne Chase

?Long Spurred Orchid

These are Marsh Orchids for sure!


















Yellow Flag Iris

Yellow Flag Iris is everywhere in suitable habitat at the moment and you don't need to go far to see some... lots of it at my local reserve at Askham Bog for instance, along with various Orchids and of course Water Violets

















Bugle

 

 

 

Stroll through any decent sized deciduous wood at the moment and you should see clumps of ground hugging Bugle, one of flowers that's easily overlooked but reveals such beautiful detail when you get down and have a good look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last one has me stumped though ... there were maybe 3 or 4 clumps just like these in damp boggy ground and amongst Marsh Orchids and Yellow Iris. Another one to post on to the flower experts out there in cyberland!