Two Robins Fighting

I heard these two robins before I saw them. I was walking with Ellie around the estate and stopped briefly to rest on a patch of grass by a small wooded area.

We heard panicked sounds, somewhere between a sharp screech and a chirp and then saw two robins in hot pursuit suddenly burst from the tree cover and straight across the footpath. The sounds didn't stop and twice more we saw them emerge and disappear again.

I assume it was a fight between individuals establishing their territories after the breeding season. According to the RSPB, robins are "aggressively territorial and quick to drive away intruders."

This kind of behaviour is especially noticeable at this time of year because so many species are quiet and unobtrusive, now that breeding has finished.

Wildlife at Work

I'm lucky that my office is based in stunning grounds that are well looked after with the wellbeing of both us workers and the local wildlife in mind.

RBS Gogarburn was opened in 2005. It sits on an impressive 78 acre site. The development was "designed to minimise impact on the natural environment. In parallel with this landscape, water management and habitat strategies have been developed."

There are several walking routes through the grounds. If I have time available over lunch (not as often as I'd like!) I try to get out for a walk.

There is woodland (old and new), reedbeds, open grassland, and a stream that cuts through the site. Songbirds are a common sight but I also occasionally spot something more unusual.

A few months ago I saw a roe deer standing silently at the window of the office restaurant.

Earlier this week I came across a fox. It was a magical encounter. It was quietly grooming itself, sitting in the middle of the footpath in a secluded part of the grounds. It didn't notice me. I must have been downwind. I stood still for about a minute watching it. It was wonderful to see an animal that is usually so wary and alert looking completely relaxed.

Wildlife encounters are always to be treasured. But there's something about these unexpected moments in the middle of a busy working day that is extra special.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Another life tick to report. We had a great spotted woodpecker in the garden. Never seen one before but it was instantly recognisable.

It had a red mark on the back of it's neck meaning it's a male. It perched on a branch for a few seconds, had one attempt on the bird feeder, and then flew off.

Totally unexpected and wonderful. A real delight as the garden bird life has been a bit dull in recent weeks.

Sparrow Family

Last year we had a house sparrow nest in our guttering on the roof (I remember a very loud and persistent fledging calling from there repeatedly!) and this year the nest appeared there again. I assume it was the work of the same pair of house sparrows.

Yesterday I was outside with my daughter and we watched as the female house sparrow collected seeds from our bird feeder and took them back to the nest. When she arrived there we could hear the calls of the young above our heads.

So this morning I was rather shocked and delighted to see the young out of the nest, fledged! At least I assume they were the ones from our nest.

There were a male and female house sparrow on our feeder. Sitting on perches on a branch nearby were three juveniles. The female kept bringing them seeds. She focused on two of them as the third seemed to able to make trips to the feeder itself.

All the juveniles looked similar to the female in terms of their plumage, but I don't know if that's how all juvenile house sparrows look or whether they were three females.

Later that same day I saw them again at the feeder, but this time they were feeding from it themselves. They had clearly been watching their mother closely!

They were a bit unsteady and there was one comedy moment when all three went for the same feeder perch at exactly the same time, prompting some panicked flapping of wings to get away.

The whole thing was lovely to watch. I don't know anything about house sparrow development but I find it hard to believe the young could go from being in the nest to fledged and getting their own food within a day, so perhaps these were different birds from those in our nest, although I find that hard to believe too. Who knows.

Frogs aren't early risers!

Another interesting sight during my stay at my mum's was this frog:

Frog
[May 2013]

We saw it in the garden pond, floating lifelessly. This was early on a crisp morning so the frog must have been freezing and had no energy, but we were worried and (probably unnecessarily) fished it out and placed it out of the shade.

It soon warmed up and sluggishly came back to life, taking a few tentative hops. I'm assuming it's a common frog but to be honest I don't really know!

Goldcrest

Another life tick! (Yes, I'm on a roll). I was visiting my mum's in Cheshire at the weekend and she had a goldcrest visiting her bird feeder every 15 minutes or so. It must have been taking food back to a nest.

I was outside at about 8 in the morning and saw it. My mum didn't believe me, but eventually I got her to see it from inside with the binoculars and agree it had a gold patch on the top of its head!

This one wasn't as chubby looking as the pictures in bird guides make out, but it was still unmistakable as there isn't another bird (apart from the firecrest, which isn't common this far north) with the bright gold patch!

The goldcrest was a really exciting spot. I don't know how common they are in gardens but I was really surprised to see it. No picture though I'm afraid.

Another Life Tick!

On Bank Holiday Monday we decided to take the kids to Whitmuir, the local organic farm shop and cafe.

On the drive there, over the hills, I saw birds several times that I was sure looked unusual to me, but they were too far away for me to see them closely, and anyway the car kept scaring them off.  They looked grey wagtail-like in overall shape and flew in an up and down bobbing motion. They flashed a white rump as they flew which is what made me think I might be looking at something new.

It was only on the drive home that I finally got a closer look at one of these birds, which remained perched on the wall by the road as we drove past. It had a grey head and back, with a very clear thick black "stripe" across its wings and lower back.

I made a mental note of the plumage and looked it up that evening. It was a wheatear!  A bird that I wasn't even sure I'd ever heard of before, let alone seen!

Apparently it is best seen in "upland" environments, which is exactly where we saw it. Fantastic! Life tick.

An Hour with Nature: Kailzie Gardens

This is the second Hour with Nature I've tried doing, following the Hour with Nature: Calderwood from a few weeks ago.

It's great fun but quite time-consuming to load and type everything up. I'm sure I'll do it again but maybe not for a little while.

This Hour with Nature was at Kailzie Gardens, a local country garden to my home in Peebles. Here's what happened.

Date: Sunday, 17 March 2013
Time: 3.30pm to 4.30pm
Location: Along Kailzie Burn, in Kailzie Gardens

Site (marked with blue rectangle) shown in relation to Peebles

Diary:

3.30pm
I had a good look round this magnificent HEMLOCK SPRUCE, at the bridge over Kailzie Burn.

3.30pm
The view down Kailzie Burn from the bridge.

3.32pm
Saw this beautiful patch of SNOWDROPS under the bridge.

3.34pm
Shortly after there was this SNOWDROP CARPET.

3.36pm
A young BEECH tree.

3.40pm

This SPHAGNUM MOSS was underneath the beech tree.

3.45pm

A CHAFFINCH was having a good old sing-song nearby.

3.46pm

I make no excuses for sharing another wonderful SNOWDROP CARPET.

3.48pm

A BLUE TIT was chirping nearby. I didn't manage to get a picture.

3.49pm

I heard a PHEASANT calling.

3.49pm

I don't know what this tree is. I'm hoping I can identify it by the bud someday.

3.52pm

A ROBIN, singing its heart out.

3.54pm

I thought this twisted RHODODENDRON looked great.

3.57pm

A magnificent DOUGLAS FIR. What an outstanding tree. I stared at this for a while.

4pm

I paused to look back the way I had come, along Kailzie Burn.

4.08pm

Walking back along the burn now on the other side. This tree (visible in the centre of the above shot too), was shrub-like and had soft catkins. Maybe it's PUSSY WILLOW but I'm not sure. Someone on iSpot agreed it is a type of WILLOW.

4.10pm

Wonderfully, in the willow, a beautiful LONG-TAILED TIT alighted on a branch. It stayed there for about ten or so seconds, in which time I failed miserably to get a photo, before flying off.

4.14pm

Some HOGWEED.

4.15pm

I heard another PHEASANT calling.

4.16pm

This was growing right on the river bank. I had absolutely no idea what it was. Thanks to iSpot, I now know it is a type of DOG LICHEN, probably Peltigera membranacea.

4.19pm
I thought this RHODODENDRON shoot growing on an old tree stump was interesting.

4.22pm
I saw a male and female CHAFFINCH flitting about in the branches of a nearby tree.

4.27pm
Found this COMMON IVY growing on (in fact, completely smothering) a wall.

4.30pm
As I finished, I went to sit down in a bower, and lo and behold, this SPIDER was dangling in front of my face. I've no idea what species it is, but it was a nice way to round off the hour.

END.

This hour with nature was so refreshing. The air was cool. It felt so good to get outside. And being a cultivated garden, lots of interesting variety to see.

Here a Google Map showing my route and the locations of all the species I saw.

April: What a Month!

Well, it's not every month you clock three life ticks. But April was such a month for me.

Following the red-legged partridges and siskins from April 1, I've also seen my first ever greenfinches. All of these in my own back garden!

Most excitingly of all, the siskins and greenfinches have become regular visitors to my bird feeder. Even the partridges have made a return once or twice.

It just goes to show that keeping your bird feeder topped up pays dividends in the long run, as birds come to realise you're a reliable food source.

Here's to April!

Not an April Fools

I was shocked and delighted on the morning of 1 April when I looked out of the kitchen window and saw this creature wandering round the garden.

Red-legged Partridge
[April 2013]

I hadn't the first clue what it was, but fortunately it was very easy to identify from a bird book: a red-legged partridge. I'd never heard of it before!

But what a remarkable bird! It pecked at the ground and then a second one followed it into the garden. I chanced my luck and headed outside to take pictures.

It stood for a while on this tree stump.

Red-legged Partridge
[April 2013]

Then it spotted me and it and its companion quickly headed off.

I texted my mum immediately to let her know and she assumed it was an April Fools! You just can't win! Good job I've got the photographic evidence ;)

As if that wasn't enough, I spotted two interesting looking birds on the feeder in the afternoon that I immediately knew I hadn't seen before. I didn't find them easy to ID but they stayed on the feeder for ages so eventually I was able to confirm they were siskins.

I couldn't get a decent picture. This was the best I managed - you can just make out a little bird bang in the centre of this photo. I promise you it's a siskin.

Siskin
[April 2013]

Two life ticks in one day! What a start to April.

An Hour with Nature: Calderwood

This post is a bit of an experiment. I recently took part in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch, in which you spend an hour counting the birds that visit your garden.

It gave me an idea. Why just count birds? And why just in your back garden? Why not spend "an hour with nature" in a random location, having a nosy around and spotting everything you see! Birds, of course, but also trees and lichen and bugs and whatever else you can find.

I tried this for the first time in Almondell & Calderwood Country Park, near Livingston, Scotland. Here's what happened...


Date: Sunday, 24 February.
Time: 8am - 9am.
Location: A small pond, in Calderwood, Almondell & Calderwood Country Park.

Site (marked with blue rectangle) shown in relation to Livingston

Diary:

8.00am
I immediately saw a MAGPIE calling loudly from a nearby branch. It flew away as soon as I stepped towards it.

8.01am
Took some shots of this HAWTHORN by the pond.

8.02am
Saw this rather octopus-like SILVER BIRCH.

8.07am
Found some interesting LICHENS growing on another hawthorn. I can't identify the exact species for sure, although my best guess is EVERNIA PRUNASTRI for this one...

... and PARMELIA SULCATA for this one:

8.12am
This long GRASS was interesting. I haven't managed to ID it.

8.14am
Saw this. Is it a grass? No idea. But it made for a fabulous silhouette.

8.15am
Starting to wonder where all the birds have gone.

8.16am
Saw this grand tree which I'm pretty sure (from the buds and bark) is ENGLISH OAK.

8.25am
Found some HAZEL with a few catkins still hanging.

8.26am
Finally heard some birdsong! It was a BLUE TIT. This is the closest I could get.

8.27am

A GREAT TIT appeared. The "Tea-cher! Tea-cher!" song was very clear. I thought too late to try and make a sound recording. Here was the best shot I could get.

8.29am
I peeped over a rise and saw the river, Linhouse Water.

8.30am
It started snowing. Heavily.

8.36am
You can kind of see the snow falling in this shot.

8.38am
Started exploring the edge of the pond. There are some REEDS like this:

8.40am
Here is the pond. Snow still falling.

8.41am
Found a hawthorn that still had some HAWS from the previous year.

8.47am
Snowfall subsided a bit. Two more great tits.

8.51am
Took some shots of these green shoots of grass poking through the snow.

8.55am
Found a HOLLY.

8.56am
Saw a great tit again, perched in a silver birch.

9.00am
END.

Well I might not have seen much animal life, but I genuinely and thoroughly enjoyed doing this Hour with Nature. I didn't expect there to be such a variety of tree species in such close proximity, and the grasses and lichens added a fascinating layer of interest. I'll definitely make time to do it again.

Here is a Google Map of all the species I saw.