New bird species - Bullfinch

Spotting a species that I have not seen on site before is becoming increasingly rare after three and a half years living here. Today I saw the first bullfinch on site - this has got to be one of the handsomest birds in the UK. As a child living in the suburbs of London in the late fifties and early sixties I remember them as fairly common but they seem to have declined drastically. Living in Appleby for fifteen years I can recall a couple of sightings in the area, both whilst cycling, so this is only the third bullfinch I have seen in that time.

Kingfisher fishing (sort of)

I saw the kingfisher actually dive into the moat on Friday and come up with apparently something in its beak. It flew in and perched briefly on a sycamore twig that is over the water. I saw it dive in and then return to the perch. Unfortunately the handblown glass I was watching through makes everything a bit hazy so I could not be sure what it had in its beak. I can only think that is it is dragonfly larva or something similar as I have never seen fish in the moat.

Fox sightings

I am seeing a fox regularly for the first time since we moved here in 2004. Early on there was a large dog fox that came crashing through a hedge by the back door at night but nothing since. Last week one came into the garden in daylight - running on three legs with blood on its other leg. It made a hasty exit when I went out and clearly knew its way around. Since then I have seen it regularly in daylight typically heading up the field from the wooded area as I am walking through the trees. I don't know whether it has its den on the property but I am concerned about the moorhens. I found a pile of moorhen feathers yesterday and my assumption would be that the fox had taken it.

Bat in the bedroom

I went into the bedroom at around 7:30 this evening to find a bat circling. I am pretty sure it was not a pippistrelle by the way it flew and the wingspan so I am guessing it was probably a long eared. I was surprised how long it took to exit by the window I opened despite flying right by the window several times. The mystery is how it got into the bedroom, although the door was open so it could have entered the house in another room and then flown into the bedroom. I will check the attic above the bedroom to see if there is any sign of long eared roosting there.

Not many pips about

My last four bat counts have totalled a measly five bats - just over one bat per count. There are still some pippistrelles around but they don't seem to be sleeping in this particular roost. Earlier this year I counted a record 115 bats leaving the roost. It looks like I may have to wait until next year to see if they will return in numbers.

Sparrowhawk in the garden

Confirmed sparrowhawk as a new species yesterday although previously I thought I had seen one flying in the distance and there had also been some suspicious collections of pigeon and dove feathers.......

I heard a magpie making warning calls around 7pm. I looked out the window and a sparrowhawk had hold of a collared dove on the lawn. My movement, as I appeared in the window, scared him and he flew away with the dove in talons.

I had not got a close-up view of the prey and there was a residual concern just in case it had been one of the juvenile moorhens as they spend a lot of time on the lawn. However the colour of the feathers at the scene and the reappearance of all four juveniles today means it was a dove.

Kingfisher!!!!

For the first time there has been a kingfisher on the moat this evening. Presumably he was reconnoitring as there are no fish in the moat as far as I know. He flew fast and low along the side of the moat I was watching, three times in about twenty minutes. I got my camera but he declined to do a photo flight. I have only seen a kingfisher in the village once - about seven or eight years ago. However I heard that one was seen recently along the stream.

Dragonflies

Not many dragonflies seen this year. There have been a few Southern Hawkers and one rested long enough for me to get a picture - see the wildlife gallery

More moorhen chicks

The moorhens are definitely making a comeback. I saw a couple of new chicks on Tuesday which looked a few days old so I'm guessing they were born around the time of the floods last Thursday. It seems hard to imagine they could survive such raging water but that is an anthropomorphic view. The reality is that moorhens can cope with any water-based issues..........

I'll add a couple of pictures to the wildlife gallery of the chicks.

Spotlight on the moorhens

Now that almost all the mallards have gone - there seems to be just one duck with two ducklings left and they are keeping a low profile - the moorhens are centre stage. There are six chicks on the moat - two older ones who wander round independently and four younger chicks who are watched carefully by adults. One of the parents looking after the chicks is spending time lying down on the lawn - a behaviour I had not spotted before. I noticed that the adult had a limp which may be part of the reason for being on sentry duty and part of the reason for spending time lying on the grass. I still find the moorhens have a comical look on land which contrasts with their elegance in the water. It is the huge feet and long legs that give the appearance of one of those trucks on monster tyres. I am also amazed at the way they start off as chicks looking like very small versions of the parents and then move into a juvenile phase looking quite different beofre reasserting the adult look.

Mallard Central

Today fifteen adolescents returned - this could have been the remains of the brood of sixteen that left a while ago. They hung around doing quite a bit of resting and sleeping. The brood that was born about a month ago seems to be only two ducklings now so they were also on the water. Then this evening I spotted a recently born brood of six ducklings - they looked to be only a day or two old. That makes in excess of fifty mallard ducklings born this year - as opposed to a grand total of eighteen in the last three years. One of the adolescents started to get aggressive with the young ducklings. The mother was chased off by another of the adolescents. I shouted at them and it stopped for a few minutes. The next time it happened the mother had a go at the perp herself. Hopefully that will be the end of it as the ducklings cannot defend themselves and don't seem to have the sense to keep a low profile.

More ducklings

A third set of Mallard ducklings has hatched in the last couple of days - to add to the the two sets born last month. In the three years we have been here we have not had more than one brood in a year and the most ducklings at any one time has been nine. This year we have had thirty eight ducklings........so far.

One of the April broods was back on the moat with thirteen 'adolescents'. The duck that was with the older ducklings occasionally chased off a tiny duckling when it got too close to her brood. This must be to stop it joining her lot as it could hardly have provided a physical threat. Whilst this sort of behaviour is described as normal it does not fit with the communal lifestyle and creche arrangements that seemed to apply to the first two broods.

Grass snake at close quarters

I hadn't seen one of our grass snakes close up until today. I was removing ivy from the garage roof gutters when I came across a snake hiding under the ivy. Of course I stopped clearing and let it slide under some remaining cover. I think it could travel down into the water via the downpipe from the guttering although it could also get there via the ivy.