September

Weather Stats This Month

Max Temp =  21.3 deg C               Min Temp =   2.1 deg C            

 Max Wind  20.8 mph              Max Rain in 24 hr Period = 33 mm

 Max Rain in 1 hr Period = 9.3 mm          Total Rain For Month = 105.6 mm

Diary

24th. Another trip to Spurn Point had us up at 05:30 for the 2 1/2hr trip to this East coast delight. It was to prove a good day with good views of Red Throated Diver, Bluethroat and a Jack Snipe! Not a bad day in all with the Bluethroat being the pick of a really good bunch of birds. The BT kept us busy taking pictures of this mini roadrunner as it darted about on foot whilst retiring to nearby reeds. A few shots that Mandy and me managed to get are a real treat as this is a very good bird to see let alone get pictures. Mandys' new DSLR kit (Nikon D80 & Sigma 100-300 F4 lens & 1.4 Sigma teleconverter) was on it's first real outing so considering the circumstances Mandy did very well.

What a beauty

I wonder if the question was asked, could you differentiate between the two images. One of which is Digiscoped by myself and the other has been taken by Mandys DSLR equipment.

Back to the garden where the weather has done nothing but rain all day today as 20.7mm of rain has already fell in the last 24hrs and the rain has now been accompanied by strong winds that are battering the rain against the window. After the new positions for the feeders have now been established the Goldfinch have now decided to visit in good numbers, 40 to be exact! I love these little finches as they brighten the garden up no end with their tinkling calls and flashes of gold. I am missing the Blackbirds though and I am already looking forward to their return in a month or so. the other good news is the fact that Spurn recorde it's first Fieldfare of the year over the weekend so I look forward to seeing them come winter around my local spot Cowm Res.

Another thing that I have noted of late is the presence of a frog that I see quite regularly on the decking later in the evening. I suppose the frogs are having a whale of a time with all the slugs worms and beatles I see around the garden due to the damp weather. The Cat also took interest in it but was, gladly, frightened to death of it with her tale looking more like Basil brush!

18th.  The prolonged sunny spell has continued which has allowed the garden to continue it's late colour showing with the superb Rudbeckia Goldsturm really coming into it's own, It has a wonderful clean bright yellow colour and in it's third year it is now producing enough flower heads to allow some to be used as cut flowers for indoors. The butterflies and hoverflies like them once their black "eye" has opened in the centre and it seems no matter what the weather they always add a real glow to the garden. This plant has to be in my top 20 must have plants of any garden.

Bird activity is low throughout the day as moulting and migration take hold. No Blackbirds have been present for about 2-3 weeks although I did have a party of 13 Mistle Thrush fly over the garden calling a week or so ago.

A few pictures as promised of this years Bird Fair held at Rutland Water. We have attended for at least the last 4-5 years and this is always a good chance to help toward conservation of endangered species throughout the world. I often wondered why funds form a British effort always go abroad but soon realised that a single £1 can go a LOT further toward conservation in more far flung regions than it can here. I guess also birds are so mobile that money spent anywhere in the world is a good thing as when migration is taken into account it matters less about a certain area but more on a global scale. Anyway it is also a good way to test a few new items out for our hobbies. I was looking out for a new digiscoping bracket,birds of Kenya book,Nikon P5000 camera and Mandy was eyeing up the pros of switching to DSLR. It is a good chance to talk to people that design, make and sell a product which is not always that easy to do in everday purchases. It is also a great opportunity to meet up with friends and rub shoulders with a few celebs.

2007 BBWF Mural

The Mural is worked on throughout the fair by many of the artists exibiting and at it's completion is sold to gain more funds for the years chosen cause.

This years fair was a little damp on the Sunday but this certainly does not affect our enjoyment as a quick dodge of showers can be made inside many of the lecture, catering, or marquees.

                        Simon King           We had to pay to get this shot and this lady kept the T shirt!      A wash of the sandals

It was great to catch up with some friends inc Andy & Dot (above) and some friends from our recent trip to Majorca Ken & Carol but sadly we missed the intrepid couple Geoff & Joyce. Hope to catch up with you two next year.

A note of caution at this time of year as I have become aware of a Greenfinch showing signs of illness in the garden. As most will remember a very large number of Finches fell ill and it may well be prudent to check information HERE regarding cleanlines at our feeders. I have recently moved the main feeders to new areas and changed how they are now hung in the hope that the extra height I have now got them at will lessen the chance of the neighbours cat strikes. Mandy kindly built some steel poles with metal sleeves attached so that the feeders can now sit on top of these. I also managed to attach the existing rain hoods.

More info will be added to the relevant page as and when I get the chance.

2nd.  A bit of a catch up regarding a few images I captured whilst the weather treated us to a prolonged sunny spell. First up is a new visitor to the garden. This Dragonfly from the family, Libellulidae and species Sympetrum striolatum. She was very obliging and hung around the garden in various locations for quite some time. This is the last dragonfly to be on the wing as it is still to be seen as late as November but I would imagine this to be more Southerly. Whilst the pond is always available to these visitors she chose to ignore it and just soak up a few rays and snatch the odd fly if it came to close.

Female Common Darter

I also took the opportunity to get a few pics of the House Martins which nest under a roof of a neighbours house. They are still feeding young in at least two nests so I tried to capture an image of a bird that is synonymous with migration.

I bid them a usual "good luck" and left them to bring up their young which now face a very ardous journey to their wintering grounds. Strange really as much of the House Martins migration is shrouded in mystery as they join up with more Martins from Russia and Asia approx about 80-90 million inc the European population. They then head South with Swallows but whilst the Swallows are well observed in East and Southern Africa the Martins are not well accounted for at all. The fact that some youths were throwing stones up at the nesting birds does not help them but I was surprised when I tried to explain the plight of the bird, and that they came all the way from Africa to nest in this nest, the reaction was a very positive one which led to one of them, aged about 15, saying sorry! I was rather pleased with this response as I think it proves education can prove greater than any law.

Whilst on the topic of nesting birds I have been waiting to inspect the special artificial nest I had put in place for the Wrens. After observing that Wrens do like to build nests in hanging baskets my wife kindly agreed to build me a large hay rack that I would attach to the shed and fill it with plants moss and soil. This was lined with a plastic liner which I punctured. I then dug out a cavity at the corner of the rack and placed a plastic tub on it's side. This was then covered above with soil and perspex was placed over the top to help with waterproofing. The Wrens were seen to be entering this within days and nesting material was being brought in. Then sadly I noticed a Cat had also taken an interest in the nest and I would find said Cat regularly sat under the nest. The pictures below show the nest and it was sad to see that they had laid eggs but due to the Cat I would imagine the Wrens became a meal or they were put off enough to abandon the nest.