Friday, 24 December 2010
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Thrushes in the snow
Sunday saw a morning of snow. Several hours of light stuff which was enough to cover over the ice and make it decidedly slippery in places.
Trundled out along the Hudson Way on the north side of Beverley in search of anything and ended up trying to find posing Redwings. They seem to be rather good at sitting behind twigs in the Hawthorns rather than clearly in the open!
And just for practice, Blackbirds in action!
The Bullfinch seem to number just two birds around the footbridge and car park near the Hayride pub, rather than the flock of 20 or so that was present when the weather got cold late last month, and neither seemed to want to sit around long enough for a photo.
Trundled out along the Hudson Way on the north side of Beverley in search of anything and ended up trying to find posing Redwings. They seem to be rather good at sitting behind twigs in the Hawthorns rather than clearly in the open!
And just for practice, Blackbirds in action!
The Bullfinch seem to number just two birds around the footbridge and car park near the Hayride pub, rather than the flock of 20 or so that was present when the weather got cold late last month, and neither seemed to want to sit around long enough for a photo.
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Birding in the freezer
Following the relative warm relief of a week ago, temperatures have plunged once again.
Today, Saturday, was delightfully sunny, but I have to admit I'm getting rather fed up with these sub-zero temperatures. With the mercury rising to a maximum of zero degrees Celsius, it was rather cold at Tophill Low NR.
The approach road is still an interesting drive... D reservoir is still iced up but looks very pretty, and the north end was still open for the Coot spotters among us!
Looking south from middle hide hence no Coots!
I walked as far as North Marsh which was well frozen (above) and spent late-morning til dusk watching, listening and FREEZING!!!
Sitting still and shivering does have its rewards though with sightings including a female Merlin that headed east over D Wood and onwards over the carr lands to the east of the River Hull, 2 Buzzards to the east of the site and a mobile flock of Siskins bouncing backwards and forwards across the river. A Woodcock briefly wandered along the old North Marsh path during one of my warm up breaks from the hide, and a probable Marsh Tit, still a Tophill rare, was calling in D Wood, though some over excited Pheasants that have survived recent shoots decided, as the probable Marsh Tit called, to make a right racket in celebration of still being alive!
Mid-afternoon, this Bittern flew in high from the direction of Brandesburton ponds and headed south along the river.
Numerous footprints can be seen over the frozen North Marsh. This Fox trotted down the marsh giving me an icy stare when the shutter clicked.
Taking advantage of the cold was a Wood Mouse. Leaving the relative safety of D Wood to explore, it spent several hours under some reed stems on the island in front of the hide, occasionally providing fleeting glimpses in the open...
before taking the opportunity to head further east to the river bank... perhaps hoping to tick the River Hull!
Wood Mouse over the ice at pace... despite the danger of freezing it's nuts off!
Despite the weather, this Yellow Stagshorn was found at the north end of the site. Yet another addition to the site fungi list and credit to Doug Fairweather for wanting to explore... a great way of keeping warm!
But as I curse the cold, it makes me look forward to once again encountering my old foe Chrysops relictus
It will soon be Spring...
Today, Saturday, was delightfully sunny, but I have to admit I'm getting rather fed up with these sub-zero temperatures. With the mercury rising to a maximum of zero degrees Celsius, it was rather cold at Tophill Low NR.
The approach road is still an interesting drive... D reservoir is still iced up but looks very pretty, and the north end was still open for the Coot spotters among us!
Looking south from middle hide hence no Coots!
I walked as far as North Marsh which was well frozen (above) and spent late-morning til dusk watching, listening and FREEZING!!!
Sitting still and shivering does have its rewards though with sightings including a female Merlin that headed east over D Wood and onwards over the carr lands to the east of the River Hull, 2 Buzzards to the east of the site and a mobile flock of Siskins bouncing backwards and forwards across the river. A Woodcock briefly wandered along the old North Marsh path during one of my warm up breaks from the hide, and a probable Marsh Tit, still a Tophill rare, was calling in D Wood, though some over excited Pheasants that have survived recent shoots decided, as the probable Marsh Tit called, to make a right racket in celebration of still being alive!
Mid-afternoon, this Bittern flew in high from the direction of Brandesburton ponds and headed south along the river.
Numerous footprints can be seen over the frozen North Marsh. This Fox trotted down the marsh giving me an icy stare when the shutter clicked.
Taking advantage of the cold was a Wood Mouse. Leaving the relative safety of D Wood to explore, it spent several hours under some reed stems on the island in front of the hide, occasionally providing fleeting glimpses in the open...
before taking the opportunity to head further east to the river bank... perhaps hoping to tick the River Hull!
Wood Mouse over the ice at pace... despite the danger of freezing it's nuts off!
Despite the weather, this Yellow Stagshorn was found at the north end of the site. Yet another addition to the site fungi list and credit to Doug Fairweather for wanting to explore... a great way of keeping warm!
But as I curse the cold, it makes me look forward to once again encountering my old foe Chrysops relictus
It will soon be Spring...
Sunday, 12 December 2010
The final beetle of the year?
Some pictures from North Yorkshire of Rhagium bifasciatum - Two-banded Longhorn.
A colony was discovered in a pile of larch logs recently. However, the log pile has now been dismantled and the colony is now gone. Shame really because it looks like a smart looking beast.
Pictures from Doug Fairweather
A colony was discovered in a pile of larch logs recently. However, the log pile has now been dismantled and the colony is now gone. Shame really because it looks like a smart looking beast.
Pictures from Doug Fairweather
Frosty time
With fungi finding a little difficult in recent times due to the snow, here is the latest species Doug Fairweather has been able to add to the Tophill Low NR fungi list at the back end of November - Frosty Funnel.
However, it doesn't appear to show well in the snow!
Saturday, 11 December 2010
All iced up
With the temperatures rising from -14C earlier in the week to an astonishing +7C I took the opportunity to head to Tophill Low. Despite the road still being rather fun to drive along and the majority of the site remaining iced, there was still the odd thing to brighten the afternoon.
Spent most of the visit sat in North Marsh hide with Tony McLean who seems able to sit there for hours despite the chilly weather taking nice photos. Click here to see more. A couple of Buzzards, numerous Siskins and the odd Brambling calling from the north end kept the morale going and 3 Goosanders flew south along the river at dusk. A fox trundled over the frozen water giving an icy stare when the shutters clattered as it struck a pose!
Most of D res is frozen, though a small open area on the west side held a small selection of birds. The highlight was a Ruddy Shelduck, of unknown origin but the first I've ever seen - I might tick it! A drake Pintail stood out on the ice despite being distant and the rest was made up of assorted Coots (one sporting a red colour ring on its left leg), Greylags and the odd Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard and Goldeneye.
Ruddy Shelduck, asleep and showing distantly under the V
More of Tophill's winter pictures can be seen here on the warden's blog.
Spent most of the visit sat in North Marsh hide with Tony McLean who seems able to sit there for hours despite the chilly weather taking nice photos. Click here to see more. A couple of Buzzards, numerous Siskins and the odd Brambling calling from the north end kept the morale going and 3 Goosanders flew south along the river at dusk. A fox trundled over the frozen water giving an icy stare when the shutters clattered as it struck a pose!
Most of D res is frozen, though a small open area on the west side held a small selection of birds. The highlight was a Ruddy Shelduck, of unknown origin but the first I've ever seen - I might tick it! A drake Pintail stood out on the ice despite being distant and the rest was made up of assorted Coots (one sporting a red colour ring on its left leg), Greylags and the odd Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard and Goldeneye.
Ruddy Shelduck, asleep and showing distantly under the V
More of Tophill's winter pictures can be seen here on the warden's blog.
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Big freeze birding
Currently I'm semi-confined to the house, well I can't use the car... getting to the road from the drive will require some hope that I can create enough momentum to take me through the foot of snow that I dare not move on the path/road edge for fear someone will slip on the nice clean 'snow free bit' once it freezes... and actually driving on the road will require me to have the combined driving skills of Messers Hamilton, Button, Vettel and Alonso... though they don't like the wet so they sure wouldn't like the several inches of ice that will take me half a mile, with a slight downhill dip into oncoming traffic, to something looking like tarmac!
So I'm stuck with 'on the foot birding'.
A tour of the old patch, the area I did as kid, which is the old Beverley to York railway, now known as the Hudson Way, yielded 34 species during the afternoon. The Bullfinch numbers had declined to just 6, no sign of any colour-ringed birds, but they included a Northern Bullfinch opposite the Hayride Pub and a flock of 23 Waxwings, made up of mostly drab 1st winter birds but one cracking probable adult male stood out well despite the grey skies and rain as the light dwindled. Other unexpected sightings included 2-3 Snipe and a Redshank, species obviously looking for some suitable habitat.
Hope for a little sun tomorrow and some Waxwing pics!
So I'm stuck with 'on the foot birding'.
A tour of the old patch, the area I did as kid, which is the old Beverley to York railway, now known as the Hudson Way, yielded 34 species during the afternoon. The Bullfinch numbers had declined to just 6, no sign of any colour-ringed birds, but they included a Northern Bullfinch opposite the Hayride Pub and a flock of 23 Waxwings, made up of mostly drab 1st winter birds but one cracking probable adult male stood out well despite the grey skies and rain as the light dwindled. Other unexpected sightings included 2-3 Snipe and a Redshank, species obviously looking for some suitable habitat.
Hope for a little sun tomorrow and some Waxwing pics!
The big icicle!
As a constant weather watcher, I was rather impressed by the icicle held by BBC weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker somewhere up North during the BBC News one afternoon this week... it looked like fencing sword, maybe a metre long. And the fact he held it so long in his glove without it melting and snapping showed just how cold the temperature was where he stood.
As the bad weather continues, I was intrigued this morning by icicle growth! During the cold period earlier in the year, I measured a few that hung down from the roof and noted some that reached lengths of 50cms or so. Impressive pieces of nature. However, the one I noticed today was bigger... and better. Mid-morning it measured a mighty 70.2cms, growing to 71.5cms just after 11am, and to an astonishing 73.2cms by 11.20am. Just shows how cold the temperature was despite the constant 'drip drip' as a slight thaw began.
It was noticeable by early afternoon that temperatures had increased, with the icicle measuring around 63cms when this photo (below) was taken. The tape doesn't show up so well but the red blob near the bottom of the icicle is 24 inches!
Unfortunately, a small avalanche from the conservatory roof ended the life of the icicle... best look tomorrow for something to maybe reach 80cms or beyond!
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