A Touch of Waterfowl

Today I saw my first brimstone butterfly up, its vivid yellow colour catching my eye from a long way across the road. I've normally seen one before now, I normally catch them in March, but the weather on my off days has not been great.

I think March 6th is the earliest I've ever seen one.

It has indeed been a lovely day in the sun today, and the waterfowl are looking iridescently fine. The mating scraps seem to have stopped, everyone has perhaps settled down for the season, and indeed there's a great crested grebe on a nest on The Blue Lake, of which more later, hopefully.

I'll leave you with these admittedly rather common birds, but they are all looking their best.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 08.04.16

Meeting with a Grebeling

This is one of the two young great crested grebes I previously saw being fed fish by a parent, complete with its stripey head!

There's always something endearing about waterfowl chicks, with their downy plumage and oversized feet, and these grebes are no exception, scooting around after their mother like aquatic zebras. They have been lucky that the weather has been mild, and the lake unfrozen so the fishing is easy. A few winters ago they would have struggled; thinking of 2010 and 2011 where the lake was frozen for weeks on end.

Soon, the grown up grebes will begin courting, with their elegant dancing and weed giving ceremonies. I hope to record that for you this year!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 04.02.16

Low Light Waterfowl

Just got some unadulterated shots to show you from my walk yesterday afternoon, on a day where the strong breeze and sky bound duvet of grey cloud made it tricky for photography. I've not been running for a couple of days as I've bruised the very base of my spine ticcing, so after two good runs, I've had two blank days really.

Walking is no substitute unless you walk a heck of a long way.

Anyway, I was off to hunt down some photo opps with my bridge camera, and headed briskly off down to London Road Lake to see what birds were out to play as the sun began to sink towards the horizon. Assuming you were in a plane high above the cloudbase and could see that damned elusive yellow orb.

So, it was another rotten day for photography. Flat grey light and a strong wind. But hey, it was warm, and dry, and I was outside, and you never know what you might see.

As it happened, it was just the usual squadron of mallards with some coot and moorhen, but they were relaxed, and at a distance I was able to get some decent shots. The grebes however, those damn grebes, refused to co-operate as ever. I present the shots uncropped and edited, just so you can get an idea of how my camera is in lowish light.

Si

Copyright CreamCrackeredNature 20.12.15

General mooching

Near full bred mallards - note the specula

Moorhen

Cootish antics

Distant grebe

Are these two in breeding colours?

Starling Hangout

This off shift has been a bit of a wipe out really. I was tired during the day, then in the evening had a tic that brought on a mild attack of sciatica from my backside all down my left leg and made me hobble in a slightly comic fashion.

It's better today, but as a precaution realised I couldn't go running again, so instead I took my camera out for a walk down to London Road Pond and then along the river, enjoying the rain given opportunity to wear my hiking trousers and monstrous yellow kag-in-a-bag and thus look very stupid.

After drawing a blank yesterday, today was mission grebe and sure enough I found an adult on patrol on the pond.

BUT IT DECIDED TO MESS ME AROUND!!!

Everytime I got the wretched avian in focus, it dived. Again and again and again. Repeatedly. Repeatedly and repeatedly. I followed it up and down the bank like a neon clad idiot, getting some strange looks from some kids trying to illegally pike fish in the lake, and getting no usable shots of the bird whatsoever.

Darn bird.

However, I got some nice shots of some juvenile moorhens, and when I went to the marina bridge, I was able to shoot the starlings that gather there before the evening murmuration. Think these turned out well.

But that's just my opinion.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 25.10.15

"Fancy a swim"

"Because I'm going in"

"Errrrr"

"Best go in after him"

Best of my rubbish grebe shots

Macro snail

The starlings on the bridge

Preparing for murmuration

Admiring the sunset

Taking in the view

Another Glorious Newark Photographic Miscellania

Sights and, er, sights from running over the last few days. The weather goes from freezing in the morning to warm in the afternoon, and makes dressing for jogging awfully tricky. Birds, of course, have no such problems.

Brown argus and small copper, Sconce and Devon Park

Brown argus close up, revealing that despite its brown upperwing, its close relationship to the blue butterflies

Small copper, suddenly abundant at the Sconce

Small copper again

Cygnet, London Road Pond

Like a Jurassic Park vegesauraus

Coots, moorhens and mallards

Drakes now out of eclipse at London Road

Rosebay willowherb past its sell by date

Like a DNA helix

The unknown yellow weeds are out at Beacon Hill Park again

Someone left these conkers on a wall for a passing urchin

A Winterwatch Kind of Walk

What a cold, bright and beautifully lit morning it was, and with my pulled muscle not going into blinding spasms, I was out early (by my standards) with my little 10x25 field glasses and a lot of warm clothing on.

It was a wonderful walk, birdsong blipping out from every tree and hedgerow - the repetitive "deeeee-doooooo" of great tits being particularly noticeable; and there was a spot in the ditch next to the cycle path between the two lakes that a number of chaffinch, blackbirds and dunnock were using as a communal spa. As can be seen below, signs of spring were present despite the cold, and a juvenile blackbird was making a very scratchy and off key attempt to sing from a tree top before it was chased off by an adult male no doubt fed up with having to put its wings over its ears.

A final treat - on the park near my home, a small flock of redwing took up residence for the afternoon, brought into town by the cold.

Frozen lichen

Captivating light

The author and the sprouting crocuses

Life and death

Snowdrops

Balderton lake aglow

Great crested grebe in the distance

Canada goose and the skeksis like muscovy duck

Gorse in flower - goldfinches were loving it!

Redwing in the tree

Autumnal Sights

Ran 7 miles around the two lakes today, and this documents what I saw...

Rosebay willowherb (?) in seed

Haws by Balderton Lake

Ash keys

Juicy hips at Balderton Lake

Swan, cygnet and goose

On the cycle path. Cotoneaster?

Elderberries, clay lane bridge

Escaped Muscovy

Ripening holly berries

This tiny fellow was on my front door. Native or invader? No idea.

Nature. With added thorns