A Soggy Start to 2024

 It was raining like mad last night, it is raining like anything today, so I've spent New Years Day on the sofa. 

In fact, we seem to have been enduring rain and stormy winds for the entire holiday season! There is so much flooding around here, with Sconce Park pastures and large chunks of Farndon village being below water. But I've still managed to get out running a few times, albeit going very slowly, and really enjoyed being out there, spotting the first signs of the colours of spring. 

In addition to snowdrops, we have the first flowering aconite, mahonia and most strangely, cowslips in bloom in the library gardens. 

I've enjoyed watching tweeping flocks of goldfinch working on teasel heads, long tailed tits flitting through willow trees by the lake and river, and on New Years Eve a huge buzzard sat on the ground in a paddock, staring intently at something under a battleship grey sky. 

There's a lot of world out there, and I intend to explore more of it than I have been doing. 

Si

All text and images copyright Cream Crackered Nature 01.01.24

The Flooded Town

 Well, Storm Babet hit us much harder than it initially seemed it would. There was a day of strongish wind and a bit of rain, then a calm Thursday, but Friday it suddenly started raining and blowing a hoolie unexpectedly. 

Apparently, some sort of atmospheric block up north skewed the storm back down the east coast, and a month of rain fell in twenty four hours, blocking roads, cutting off villages and creating a lot of misery in places like Lowdham and Retford, that visits from a government minister - Teresa Coffey - did very little to alleviate, to say the least. 

Here, the Trent and Devon burst their banks, and also the vast housing developments on the edge of town caused hitherto non flood plain areas finding themselves underwater as the water ran off the estates. 

The cricket club is underwater, of course, as is the rugby club. Devon Pastures in the park was turned into a lake. A charity duck race has been cancelled, as it was feared the ducks would end up in the North Sea rather than the lock as they were supposed to. 

All that rain gave me a cold too. 

Si

All text and images copyright Cream Crackered Nature 25.10.23

The Mandarin

 Long term readers may remember me writing of the male mandarin duck that used to spend time at the Blue Lake; one of the odd birds that perhaps found its way there from a collection like the pink footed goose that used to visit, or the Jurassic looking muscovy drake that used to creak around on massively clawed webbed feet.

This bird, however, has not been seen on the Blue Lake for a while. 

There have been reports of it down on the Trent from time to time, but I've not seen it down there...no wait I have. Once, amidst the roots of the willow by the castle wall. But that was pre-pandemic times, I'm sure. 

Which of course begs the question - was the beautiful mandarin drake with golden sails I saw further down the river by the locks yesterday the same bird? I've no idea. 

But it feels rather more romantic, so to speak, to believe that it is. It's not as if there's loads of mandarin ducks round here.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 28.03.23

Gentle Meanderings

 I'm still not doing a lot of walking; I am now doing rehabbing exercises for my ankle - including a lurid orange foam roller with medieval torture instrument vibes - and wearing an ice pack when I remember.

I therefore apologise for the lack of riveting content, it is very frustrating for me to be not outside and also the weather is too atrocious for bike riding. The rain seems unrelenting, but I'm guessing our reservoirs need it so I'm not complaining about that. 

I can at least do my best to get outside, and just enjoy the sights and sounds. The harsh honking of the geese at the marina is rendered almost melodic by distance, and there is usually a robin to be heard singing somewhere.

There's a new noise too, one I've only recently discovered. The little sculpture outside Rumbles cafe, which I thought was actually a pretty little piece of polished metal, is actually a sort of steel drum as I found when I heard kids tapping it in their mittened hands, a soft "bonging" rather less tinny than a steel drum in actual fact.

It's a sound oddly out of place under skies of battleship grey. 

Si

The Golden Evening

 Yesterday we had a pretty decent day all told, so I thought I'd take myself for a longer walk than I've been used to recently, to see how my ankle would hold up and to try and bring you all some content worthy of you!

Pink footed geese have been active around town; at the park the other day I was having a cup of tea and a group of about 200 birds began to noisily circle over the park before settling somewhere near the marina. 

Their smaller size and much higher pitched honk tells them apart in the air from canadas and greylags. 

By the sound of things, there are still some amongst the geese that gather around the marina, but it was something else that caught my eye on the churned up ground just next to the fence.

It was a speckly little meadow pipit, twitching its tail in the manner of its wagtail cousins. It flew up in a jerky up and down manner showing the white edges to its tail before disappearing on the soil somewhere. 

After a turn around the park, on a day so still the wind turbines weren't moving and what is left of the leaves are being allowed to remain, just for now, on the trees, I made my way around the Blue Lake under a setting sun, where the waterfowl are starting to gather in slightly larger numbers, the gulls squabble over crudely chucked lumps of bread, and a drake pochard floated peacefully on the mirror waters.

A pochard! The first of these beautiful red-headed ducks I've seen on that lake for several years.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 16.11.21

A Dragon Boat Festival

 On one of those fine September days he had, he says digging through his archives, the town had a fantastic festival of Dragon Boat Racing lasting most of the day on the Trent in front of the castle.

36 teams entered, including a team from our workplace who represented us so brilliantly on the day, and it is probably the most populated event I have attended in nearly two years. 

Luckily it was warm and outside, so risk was low, and I felt pretty comfortable photographing and filming the event, while talking to the various charities who were present - who benefitted to the tune of £46,000 - and our crew.

It was an event the town can rightly be proud of.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 05.10.21

Many Many Butterflies

 No cricket match for me today, due to lack of ability and a sore shoulder, so I took myself out for a walk along the river this afternoon to watch the second team at Winthorpe.

The weather has cooled a little bit, and indeed got rather chilly later on when the wind veered to the north. But this didn't seem to deter the butterflies, that were about in large numbers on the riverside flowers, especially the ragwort. 

The dominant species out and about seemed to be the vivid orange gatekeepers, a meadow brown that their creators decided to neaten up and give a nicer paint job. But there were commas, skippers and the various white species too, although I was surprised not to see any small tortoiseshells around. 

Over the river, swallows, sand martins and house martins were busy feeding themselves up for their migration. It seems that the swifts, bless them, have started to leave.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 24.07.21

Dipping on the Glossy Ibis

 Well, today I did something I've never done before.

I "dipped" on a bird.

I've never before gone anywhere to look for a rare bird, I've never done anything "twitchy". But the opportunity of just taking a walk along the river to find the glossy ibis that has been hanging out behind the sugar factory was something I just had to do.

I have to say, the bird has picked a good spot. It's in a rather godforsaken part of town, in muddy fields beyond the Nether Lock and the weir. It wasn't a pretty walk by any stretch of the imagination, and the experience was not enhanced by various rusted shopping trolleys and bikes that had been dragged from the river and dumped. 

I wasn't quite sure where to go, but there was another birder down there who helped me find my way there, and she joined me as I crossed a drainage ditch on a makeshift bridge and wandered around an empty field full of discarded sugar beet.

The ibis had apparently been hanging around by a temporary pond in the middle of this field, but there was no sign of it. This means, in birdwatching terminology, that I had dipped on the bird. 

I may try again if the bird hangs around. And probably "dip" again.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 08.03.21

More Wateriness

 Sunday saw me taking a long hike out to Hawton and then across to Farndon, looking for winter thrushes along the Hawton-Farndon road.

In the past I've seen a lot of fieldfare in the fields along this lane, but not a sausage. Not seen a single winter thrush yet, but I'm rather more urban in this flat than I used to be. 

Willow Holt was, as expected, very boggy looking, boggy in the sense of being completely underwater in places. No way through here! But hey, it was a two hour walk in the open air, and I enjoyed it.

I'm recapturing the enjoyment of trundling along listening to Radio 4. When the plays are good, and the programmes interesting, I take such joy in it!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 27.01.21