Sept 08' Weather This Month Max Temp = 17.9 deg C Min Temp = 4.9 deg C Max Wind= 20.5 mph Max Rain in 24 hr Period = 61.1 mm Max Rain in 1 hr Period = 9.8mm Total Rain For Month = 156.4 mm Diary 28th. A
trip out today had us up at 04:00 for the 2 1/2hr journey to Spurn
Point on the East coast. I look forward to going here as I love the
feel of the place when Fieldfare and Redwings are plentiful. A little
early in the year for the mass influx of these Scandinavian beauties so
we had to do with,amongst many others, a Juv Red Backed Shrike and
Common Whitethroat. We were hoping for Yellow Browed Warbler but it
seems they have moved on. One thing that reinforced the notion of
migration was the 1000 or so Pink Feet we saw going over in parties of
up to 50 in each Skein. A long way to go for these birds so In the not
to distant future we shall return when the "chack chack" calls of
Fieldfare abound. Just a couple of pictures I managed. Not bad on the Shrike as I was at least 50m away. 21st. A
largely sunny,warm and still day on the 20th had us thinking we were in
June and that all the rain had been a dream! The hottest temp for Sept
was also reached at 18:05 as it touched 18 Deg C..wow! Today the sun
has failed to break the thin cloud down and at 13:00 it is 16.3 deg but
is remaining cloudy. The hogs are still visiting for food but last
night I only noticed this years lone youngster. I hope mum is well but
I would imagine that the youngster is now pretty independent of her
although they have visited around the same sort of times. A little food
was left over in the garden last night so I presume mum did not visit
at all. The youngster is gaining in size toward it's needed target
weight of about 500g, this being the weight it will need to survive the
rapidly approaching hibernation period. House
Martins are still with us and surprisingly 3 swallows whipped around
the area in the afternoon for some time. I guess they are making the
most of the insects as the sun shines...and who would blame them. The
young Woodpecker is still visiting which is ace as this is the longest
time an individual has stuck around. It has also given me the
opportunity to watch this young bird shed it's juvenile plumage to
reveal a more and more distinct red patch appearing on it's nape which
gives the sex of this young bird as a male, as the female has no red on
the head or nape at all. Lets hope he sticks around a bit longer. 14th. A
few pictures taken with the new macro lens for Mandy's camera as the
sun showed it's face for a short time in the afternoon. It becomes
clear when using the setup that lighting and stability are essential,
something I had neither of, which I hope will be addressed at some
point in the short time future. Depth of field with macro is the
biggest hurdle so with practice and a better understanding of use of
the camera for macro will hopefully give us better results. Yesterday
I noted an influx of Honey Buzzards around the Eastern side of the
Country so It had me looking high into the clear skies where I did see
about 40-50 finch like birds all blogging in the area. I was hoping to
have them come a touch closer but they flew off behind some trees. I
also noted 30 House Martin feeding high up in the skies as the chased
one another and insects. The other day a single Fieldfare flew over the
garden which was rather early but welcome. I look forward to seeing the
winter migration and my mind is thinking about a visit to Spurn of
Flamborough. 12th. I
have been out of action for a few days with a dental abscess, and boy
do they create some pain. Having had this problem I thought it a good
time to maybe remind anybody that have not done a feeder clean for some
time to maybe undertake this as soon as possible as it's about this
time of year that disease can run riot amongst our wild birds. I have
done this job last week and if I am honest it is a time consuming
affair due to the amount, and in some cases, sheer size of the feeders.
Non the less it is important so if you get chance I would suggest
clicking HERE
just to familiarize yourself of the reasons. I can remember the disese
outbreak of 2006/07 that was a nationwide problem so lets hope that a few judicious thoughts now can help stop any possible recurrence. 7th. Again
the weather is the main topic as a a new record for the most rain in
any 24 hr period was broken. The previous record was in January 2008
when 57.4mm of rain fell but this was eclipsed by the 61.1mm that
reached it's maximum at 07:59 on the 6th of September. As this total
was gained very much overnight I bet it mostly went undetected but the
roads did show signs of heavy rain as shale and debris had been dragged
onto the roads. Also one or two of the garden contained small pools of
water where previously non had been. It seems that whilst other parts
of the country are preparing for more heavy rain it could well be that
the weather here is thinking of sunnier times as unexpectedly we had
long spells of strong sunshine on the 6th. One thing of note with this
poor weather pattern that has been with us for at least the last month
is the fact that the barometer has at times read like it should be a
high pressure with sunny days but it just seems that even a high
pressure does not always equate to sunshine! The barometer is again on
the rise so it will be interesting to watch the weather over the next
12-24hrs as most forecasts are for rain.....lets see. The
Hogs are still appearing in the garden and take there time as they
forage around for things to eat. Our first young Hog for the season has
now been joined by another sibling which is great to see. Mum visits a
touch later than it's offspring but all of them stay in the garden for
at least 1 1/2 hrs as they quarter the garden searching for the food I
put out for them in various places. I have noticed that over the last
few nights Mum is sporting a new pink rinse on several parts of her
spines so whether somebody is spraying her or whether she is sleeping
in a area of paint storage I do not know, is it that somebody wants to
know if the same Hog is visiting their garden during the night? A
single redpoll has returned to the garden feeding on it's favourite the
Nijer seed. At the moment the nijer seed is by far the most popular as
I have to refill the food everyday. The numbers of Goldfinch are
responsible but with upto 8 youngsters visiting it does not take long
for the seed to be scattered as well as eaten. The elusive House
Sparrow was noted yesterday with a lone Male tucking into mealworm but
soon departed with no more sightings during the day. Butterfly
numbers increased massivly yesterday as the sun beat down. I counted 4
Peacocks, 1 Meadow Brown, 3 Small Tortoiseshells and one Small Skipper.
That is some total as the garden this year has been bereft of these
beauties. So later on tonight or tommorrow I shall see if my forescaster is correct or if the national forecast is correct! 1st The
weather is again producing the most debate as already the rain gauge
for the month reaching almost 1" of rain in three days! It's tiresome
if I am honest as I think the body is missing out on such much needed
UV rays. Non the less good numbers of Goldfinches are visiting with
lot's of this years young in tow. The Great Spotted Woodpecker is
still visiting daily but the biggest news as regards visitors to the
garden is the first young Hedge Pig of the year. He fed last night on
dried mealworm and peanut granules and later after I put a touch more
out Mum visited on her own to top up on some much needed food. I shall
be keeping an eye out to see if any more young turn up. To help keep
track of them feeding I have set my wireless cctv camera up near to the
feeding spot to see visitors during the night. 
