The second week of safaris under Lockdown

The Safari like everyone else has been stuck at home. We have been able to walk the mutt around the local fields early morning but haven't taken the camera as yet. 

The days have been cold and windy but there has been some sunshine and in those sunny spells saw some Buzzard passage, we saw several but all too far away until the last one which came right over the garden not too high up.

Overhead Buzzards we like but overhead Ospreys are better. So far everyone and his uncle around here seem to have had one or more, some people or soooo greedy, over their gardens except for CR and ourselves. We've got a hotline between us in case one ofr the other hears the gulls making a racket but so far no joy but there's still time...

The sunshine also brought out some invertebrates including our first 7-Spot Ladybird of the year.

A check of the stealth-cam left out in the garden for 10 days gave us the hoped for Hedgehog. It appeared on several consecutive nights always around the same time - until the batteries died. Hopefully it'll have been recorded since we replaced the batteries but we won't know until we bring it in at the end of next week. In the meantime we'll try sneaking out to see if we can spot it for real.

Our morning walk to the park to give the mutt a run passes a garden with a little wild patch tucked in the corner obscured from the other side by some shrubbery. A couple of Violets have appeared, not sure which species as we can't reach them to have a look at the rear of the flower and pick out the leaves from the other plants growing there. Nice to see all the same.

But mostly we have been confined to the garden and towards the end of the week the weather warmed up enough to bring out some more invertebrates and on Sunday there was an explosion in the number of Eristalis Drone Fly hoverflies, one, I presume a male, held a territory perched on the laundry drying on the washing line. From there it would make sorties after other Drone Flies chasing them relentlessly if another male or mating in flight if a female - An action packed half hour and fascinating to watch until the sun went in and they all disappeared.

They weren't the only insects soaking up the rays. There were a few solitary bees about from the 'colony' in a neighbour's dry stone bank and a couple of these big black Flesh Flies.

The feeders have been fairly busy but we've not had many photo opportunities. These Goldfinches had to be snapped while sitting at our desk at the far end of the living room from the window.

We've had the usual feeder suspects, Great and Blue Tits, the latter investigating our recently erected bird box but only from the outside so far as we know, not sure they're entirely convinced it's the 'Des Res' they're after just yet. A pair of Greenfinches are regular visitors several times a day and a Robin has a quick in an out a couple of times a day and we still have occasional visitors from the female Blackbird that thinks it's a Blue Tit but we've not been able to get a better pic than last week's.

Less welcome is this chap.

A trip to the shop was combined with a dog walk on the beach at low tide and after a bit of breezy weather we had a couple of interesting finds; our first Sea Gooseberry of the year,

and a Wentle Trap Shell, these are pretty scarce along this section of beach, this is only the second we've found here in hundreds of hours wandering along the strandlines searching for anything a little out of the ordinary.

We'll leave you with Lord Snooty looking down his beak at us from his lofty perch atop next door's chimney pot.

Woodpigeon

Where to next? More of the locked down same from from the park, the occasional visit to the beach as shopping trips allow and loads from the garden we hope.

In the meantime let us know who's up and about in your locked down outback. Don't forget it's migration time and anything could appear anywhere so eyes to the skies folks - and wherever you are Stay Safe!

Scales and fluffy stuff

The Safari took advantage of some early morning sun in the weather forecast and planned a trip down the coast to the local lizard hotspot. CR drove the few miles south and pulled up in what he thought was a rather unusual spot, it was the right place and it is possible with a bit of luck to spot our quarry from the driving seat of your motor.

It wasn't to be today as we had to walk up and down the bank a few times, taking care not to let our shadows fall on the vegetation. It took a while but eventually persistence paid off. Hiding under an extensive amount of overhanging Marram Grass was the first Common Lizard of the morning. Cautiously we approached as close as we dared to get a good look at the little beauty.

They like bare patches of sand that are lightly covered by vegetation. For some reason they don't seem to like to bask out in the open as they do on boardwalks, or rocks, at other places. Maybe next time we should take a rake to pull away some of the excess dead grass to make spotting them a tad easier.

We walked up and don a few more times, the sun was warm but the wind was still chilly. As the sun gained a bit more strength we found a second, smaller individual right down at the far end of the bank but up high at eye-level. Again it was well concealed and we were lucky to spot it.

At first glance we thought it had lost the tip of its tail but when checking this pic we found it does indeed have a full tail.

We were able to get CR on to it before we made the fatal error of moving a little too quickly too close and it darted back down its almost invisible burrow in the sand.

With that one gone we had a check on the first one before we had to leave and it was still there warming up.

Can you see him? Would you have spotted him?

As CR drove away we took the liberty of having a look and yes we were able to see it from the passenger seat of the car as we passed.

The weather deteriorated as we approached base camp and then got worse throughout the rest of the day so we were rather fortunate to have had such good views. 

The following day we got news of a family of Tawny Owls in a local woodland. We saw one there many years ago while leading a moth and bat night and heard one calling when we helped out with moths and bats on a nearby Bioblitz about three years ago. We arrived at the site to see a pair of Stock Doves at the nest box, never seen one at that site before, but way above them in the topmost branches of the tree we found two fledgling Tawny Owls (YLPC #111). They weren't easy to get a pic of, trying to hold a heavy lens still while pointing it almost vertically isn't easy and we fired the ISO up to the giddy heights of 10,000 to get anything a shutter speed to knock out our wobbling.

There was no sign of the adults, with the Stock Doves going in the nest box they probably weren't in there! Maybe they were hiding in one of the Ivy covered large trees scattered about. Fortunately one our chums, PL, got a pic of an adult later in week.

Behind us is a pool where a Little Egret was fishing.

Successfully as it happens.

Still find it a bit weird that we can see these less than a mile from Base Camp.

With time to spare we wandered up through the woods and beyond with Monty coming across our first singing Blackcap (140) of the year, Chiffchaffs and eventually a singing Willow Warbler (141) but we couldn't get the camera on to any of them.

In the afternoon we met up with GR and had a mooch along Fleetwood Prom spotting not a lot apart from a couple of very brief views of what was probably a Harbour Porpoise out beyond the distant light surf.

A couple of scans of the golf course didn't give us any Wheatears but we did eventually find one on the beach. The local flock of Linnets gave us the run around, mostly as they kept being flushed by dog walkers. But with a little luck and patience we managed a couple of pics of a singing male.

Today we met up with CR again and went for another look at the Tawny Owls but they were nowhere to be seen this morning. There were plenty of other birds calling and singing in the woods, Nuthatches, cheeky Blue and Great Tits, Robins, noisy Wrens and singing Blackcaps. But again none of them were for posing for the camera so we drove round to Marton Mere in the hope of some summer migrants perhaps a more unusual one or two.

It didn't take long to hear a Blackcap and a Song Thrush hopped around in front of us until a camera was pointed at it and it went shy a flew in to cover. Cetti's Warblers sang all around us but remained invisible. By Heron Hide two Cetti's Warblers one either side of us tormented us by singing loudly at each other but refusing to show although we did see a presumed pair of Lesser Whitethroats (142) there to add to the one we'd seen earlier, a possible fourth was nearby too but could have been the first one that had moved across the path while we were looking for the Cetti's Warblers. Also from there we heard our first Reed Warblers (143) of the year.

The embankment, south east corner and Bird Club hide were quiet but coming out of the hide C noticed a couple of small bees resting on a fence post. They looked like a species of mining bee but neither of us were sure which one.

A minute or so later we found a female, that had us guessing a bit in the field but once the pics were downloaded and examined it was obviously a Tawny Ming Bee, as were the males seen earlier with their prominent white beard.

We looked for more as we passed the profusion of flowers on the Blackthorn bushes but none were seen. 

At the damp meadow there were a few patches of Cowslips in flower and far fewer than in previous years patches of Snakeshead Fritillaries. Where have they gone? Surely the bulbs haven't drowned over the winter months???

Above the Fritillaries the gulls were going bonkers and eventually C found the culprit, a very high soaring Buzzard which did drop lower and drift off to the south. 

The feeding station was disappointingly devoid of life so we didn't stay long.

The walk back to the car gave us a lone Swallow (MMLNR #66) hawking insects in the lee of the line of fruit trees alongside the track.

So a grand morning out despite the disappointment of not seeing the Tawny Owls and the frustration of not being able to get the camera on the warblers but as ever with wildlife there's always a surprise and always something new to see even if you don't see what you set out to see.

Where to next? A safari up the motorway beckons...

In the meantime let us know who's tipping the scales in your outback.

Some you lose and then you win big time

The Safari had a good start to the week with some decent weather and a flat calm sea giving us an early morning Harbour Porpoise and a couple of Grey Seals. The tide was out and what we wanted to photograph was well out of range. 

Back in the office we had an email from SD telling us he'd had at least one Bottlenose Dolphin too. 

The following day we were out with the camera again to try to photograph our target species for the Year Bird Challenge but a scan of the sea didn't reveal any at all but there was a flock of lively gulls away to our north. A good look at those was called for in case any of our quarry were with them although they were too far away to even think about aiming the camera in that direction.

There was a reason for the commotion - a big splash and a dark shape burst through the water's surface. Still too far away but we fired the shutter off anyway.

We'd got Bottlenose Dolphins...but how many?

For the next half hour they came closer parallel to the shoreline but not much closer inshore. The best count we could get three, one in the lead and two following a good way behind.

The following shots are in the order they were taken. Right on the limit of our small lens.

Missed - not quick enough on the shutter button!

They were tricky to get pics off as they weren't doing any big leaps but let's just say we were grinning from ear to ear when we hot back into the office. Still no additions to our Year Bird Challenge though. That would happen at lunchtime when the tide was in - not the best pic though so we'll try to get another but at least Sandwich Tern (YBC #140) has been added to our photo album at last.

There'll be loads roosting on the beach in a few weeks time, big flocks of them, but by then they'll be in their winter garb.
This week we've played host to a young lad on his Work Experience week. One of the tasks we've being doing with him has been a lot of weeding in the Dementia Friendly Garden. The earlier part of the week was very hot and humid. On Wednesday morning we didn't notice any Ladybirds but as the temperature climbed and the humuditity increased there must have been a big influx around lunchtime as we spotted hundreds of  7-Spot Ladybirds returning to our thistle pulling after our break.

There was also a notable influx of Red Admirals flying through the works garden and on Patch 1 as well. 

Our first Swift (P2 #52) of the year here was heard screaming then seen overhead on Wednesday too.

Our young lad was a geography student and interested in climate change and all that goes with it so we took him to the nature reserve to show him how it is involved with the drainage system of the town and if sea-level rises too much then we could become an island. At the end of June 27 years ago we came for a job interview and before going in thought we'd have a wander around the reserve to familiarise ourselves with it as we'd only visited once or twice previously. That day was like this day with warm sunshine and we remember hearing a Grasshopper Warbler reeling away in the rough lower ground to the right of the track and thinking "Hey that's not bad, I could work work here" or at least something like that. Could it have been a descendant of that Grasshopper Warbler that was reeling away from almost the same spot today??? Little did we know way back then that a few years later we'd be instrumental in getting that patch of rough ground included within the Local Nature Reserve.

As well as the Work Experience lad during the day we've entertained Rainbows and Brownies in the evening. They've both had the nets out and ransacked the pond. The Rainbows pulled out a big surprise. Our pond is raised for safety reasons so we would never expect to find tadpoles in there as Frogs and Toads wouldn't be able to jump or climb the wall to reach the water so seeing three of these was a bit of a shock.

We can only imagine that some well meaning person with a pond at home, possibly one that was in danger of drying up in the hot weather has affected a jam-jar rescue and put them in our pond.

The Rainbows found several damselfly nymphs and a fair few dragonfly nymphs but just a couple of days later the Brownies only managed a single damselfly nymph but a great many dragonfly nymphs.

Probably Common Darter dragonfly nymph

All exciting stuff and then the weather changed from a lovely hot and humid, 28C must be one of the hottest June days ever recorded here but the following day was cold wet and windy back down to, a well below average for the end of June, 15C - it felt like 5C in the wind!

Wit the wet and windy weather coming the wildlife seemed to went and the last couple of days have been a bit sparse for sightings although it has grounded the 7-Spot Ladybirds and forced them to pause their journey to who-knows-where as we were still seeing plenty during our last bout of weeding yesterday afternoon.

Where to next? It's the weekend so there might well be a safari somewhere and next week we will be entertaining more Brownies, this time they'll be rockpooling on the beach so watch out for their super finds.
In the meantime let us know who's mysteriously appeared in your outback

The trouble with barn owls

The Safari was out early on the hunt for a scarcish bird to hopefully add to our Year Bird Challenge. We were at the site with the scope set up only a few minutes after 07.00. All was peaceful, the sun was already warm on our back and almost all of the sounds were the sounds of nature. It was good to be out almost like being in a scene that might have been painted by John Constable.

We had a good scan for our intended quarry but to no avail. There were plenty of other waders and waterfowl but not the one we wanted...yet.

Lapwing

Oystercatcher

Redshank

 Overhead Skylarks serenaded us and from the hedge behind us a Whitethroat sang incessantly but the most obvious sound was the calls from the group of about four dozen Black Tailed Godwits feeding and resting in the pool right in front of us.

Further down the lane there was a Gypsy lad with a lovely modern horse-drawn caravan - we say Gypsy, he might have been any old bod just escaping the rat race - He came over to see what we were looking at before hitching up his horse and leaving. His caravan had metal cartwheels and made a serious drumming and rumbling noise on the road causing the cattle closest to us to stampede through the pool putting the Black Tailed Godwits to flight.

He also said he'd seen a big pale brown owl earlier which we expected would be back asleep in its barn by now. 

We kept on looking for the Little Ringed Plover that's been reported regularly recently but still had no luck so started to occupy ourselves while the birds moved around a bit by watching a family of Coots.

As luck would have it a Barn Owl flew overhead with prey heading back to its nest - where had that come from surely if it had been hunting in the cattle field we'd have seen it! As it disappeared in to the distance we didn't bother raising the camera to get a pic of its backside. And that was the end of that we thought as it was now nearly 08.00. But no, it snuck up on us again while we were engrossed in watching the tiny Shelduck chicks and the numerous mostly well grown Shoveler chicks. It didn't hunt 'our' field but skipped over the hedge and crossed the normally very busy dual carriageway.

Well what goes out a-hunting must come back and after a good length of time come back it did carrying a vole. Trouble is we very nearly missed it. You see that's the trouble with owls they fly silently and this one came back behind us and we were lucky to catch it in the corner of our eye but being behind us and that meant it was now on the wrong side of the light. We swung the camera round and fired away hopefully. Got it - just!!!

So really good to get a Barn Owl (YBC 139) on our our Year Bird Challenge. Unfortunately the Little Ringed Plover didn't show by the time we had to leave to get Wifey's breakfast on the go.

Later we were out again to try to find out if the local White Letter Hairstreak butterflies were on the wing as they'd been reported from the Southside yesterday, very close to where we'd been on our family duties. being a sunny Sunday morning the pollinator killers were out with their lawnmowers and hedge trimmers, we saw a lawn full of White Clover and Self Heal being scalped followed by a large Santolina bush losing its flowers - why on earth cut the colourful bit off? - and then a Buddleia bush having its unopened flowerbuds removed. We also saw the large grassy area behind the fence has been mown, at the end of last week it was a sea of yellow Buttercups. It really is no wonder the bees, butterflies, moths etc  are struggling. Why are we so terrified of flowers and colour?

It was already hot on Patch 1 and there were a few butterflies about. Most were Large Skippers and they weren't for stopping at all. We also had a few Speckled Woods, a similar number of Common Blues and singles of Red Admiral and Small White, no Meadow Browns yet and although we hung around 'the' tree we didn't see any White Letter Hairstreaks.

Also out n about was a rare 7-spot Ladybird, we've hardly seen any ladybirds this year.

Of more interest was this parasitic wasp

We've got a couple of possibles but are waiting for those clever iSpotters for a definitive ID.

On the way back we bumped into a dead Long Tailed Field Mouse lying on the pavement that wasn't there on the way out. Cat or heat? Or a mixture of both?

Where to next? Back to work tomorrow and we have another Brownie group in the evening so there might be something exciting they've found to show you later in the week. 

In the meantime let us know who's sneaking up behind you in your outback.