Aug 2008

Weather This Month

Max Temp =  20.1 deg C               Min Temp =   6.4 deg C           

 Max Wind  23.2 mph              Max Rain in 24 hr Period = 39.8 mm

 Max Rain in 1 hr Period = 12.4 mm          Total Rain For Month = 231.5 mm

Diary

31st  Well another month gone and what a total wash out this summer has been here in the North West of England! Looking at the rainfall shows just how much rain has fallen and added together with July's total we have a combined amount of 418.5mm of rain! This has not been one or two heavy downfalls, this has been heavy rain with most days seeing rain and thick cloud. Lets hope for better come September but I fear looking at the long range this is not going to be anything like an Indian summer!

A quiet period assumes control of the garden on the whole as birds start to hide away to mostly undergo moulting. Blackbirds always seem to be the most noticeable absentee along with Starlings. This dereliction creates a gap in the amount of sultanas I have to put out for these two species (at peak about 10kg a week) so it gives me chance to allow funds for the birds to build up, and along with the lack of mealworm being taken it makes a big difference to monies spent in a week.

Since we got back from the BBWF it has been rather sad as we have now lost our House Sparrow parties along with the Lesser Redpoll and Bullfinch. I presume they have moved on to the open countryside but I do wonder where the House Sparrows have gone? The numbers of visitors of the Sparrow was pretty good so I did not expect them to desert the garden so quickly and without any further visits. In the hope of having some home grown Sparrows I have erected a Schwegler Sparrow terrace box high up under the house eaves. I have a feeling that Great tits will probably use this though, so we will see. A couple of good points at the moment is the juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker that is still visiting regularly through the day as he enjoys the fat and peanuts I keep topped up and also the night time visitor in the shape of a hedge pig. Every night the pig comes out at about 23:00 to feed on the few piles of mixed up peanut granules and dried mealworm I put out. I was hopeful of seeing some young as I thought a large Hog was seen earlier and now a slimmer version is visiting (assuming this is the same Hog). So fingers crossed that a few youngsters are in the "den" waiting to visit our garden. I have two Hog boxes but as far as I am aware neither have ever been used.

In light of the fact it was national Butterfly week Mandy tried in vain to capture a pic of a butterfly! Wow with the weather being so poor it was hard work but this Holly Blue did venture into the garden for a short time.

Another picture taken with the macro lens include this picture

and these two beauties caught earlier in the month showing the males fineries.

21st.  Another yearly pilgrimage to the BBWF held at Rutland water in Leicestershire. I had a list of gadgets,books,holidays and lectures I was looking forward to buying,booking or listening to so of we set on Thursday with the fair starting it's 3 days on Friday. We usually book well in advance at the travelodge Morcott about 20mins journey to the fair. Over the last few years the price has crept up at the travelodge and less and less is provided as a service inc toiletries or even a courteous hello from staff.  This time was the final straw for us as whilst we understood that toiletries etc were not provided to keep costs low what we were not told was to bring a scouring sponge, vim and a large helping of elbow grease as the room would require cleaning before you could use it. The bath was just simply disgusting. The net curtain was ripped down and thrown on top of some shelves. This curtain plays a part in privacy and security as binoculars etc are on show in the room as we were on the ground floor it was important. The bins in the room were poor and splashes of milk were left on the mirror and sideboards. Least to say we have booked a B & B for 2009 for the same money that also includes breakfast. The weather was very kind with plenty of sun showing on Friday and Sunday. Some heavy rain on Saturday night left it wet underfoot but not really causing many problems.

I had managed to get tickets to a lecture given by non other than Sir David Attenborough at the Braodway Theatre in Peterborough for the Friday night. What a superb talk given as he read journals from Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. It became clear that David took great pleasure in these two great Naturalist (Darwin) and Geographer, Naturalist and Biologist (Wallace). He read out passages from these two, both quite clearly different men from different backgrounds but yet both seeking to further each others work, opinion and views rather that of ones own, something that may be lacking in today's (evolved) society. Darwin actually stated that he would rather burn his findings and studies than for Wallace's work to be given up as his own and likewise Wallace applauded the fact that Darwin brought many of Wallace's thoughts to life in his well engineered books something that Wallace said he could never do. It was clear that David himself founded his attitude along these humble foundations as shows in his ability to appeal to a massive amount of people on many levels. Please excuse the poor pic quality but the light was poor. The first is Sir David accepting the challenge of being species champion for an endangered species the Araripe Manakin. Please click HERE to find out more.

I bought a new camera attachment to help my Digiscoping from SRB Gritturn  a company quite good faor odd ball items for this type of photography. Books for India were purchased along with DVD by Malcolm Rhymer a Naturalist who compiles video footage of areas he visits. If you are interested in visiting the fair at some point please click HERE to find out more.

It's also a great chance to catch up with friends old and new and in this picture a rosy glow caused by sun and drink is quite evident.

Ken,Andy,Carol,Ste and Mandy.

Howard & Siwan (Lesvos 2008)

Our trip to Backwoods Camp in Goa was organised through Leio who had a stall at the fair and some items from Paramo were purchased to keep the insects at bay whilst out in India.

6th.  The weather has continued wet yet stuffy but this has not slowed the garden in it's turn toward late summer with the amount of young birds passing through either to find their own bit of the planet or as they head further South as migration grips a number of our summer breeding birds. Who can blame them as they think about spending the winter months in South Africa! A picture of a classic migration bird to start with. It's always nice to see this harbinger of Spring with his majestic flute like song but on this occasion this young bird is more likely passing through and feeding up as he heads South, I always bid them good luck.

A good view of this bird at this angle shows the classic longer wing length over the tertials which are an absolute clincher for Willow Warbler rather than it's twin the Chiff Chaff. As you can see the leg colour here is quite dark which can cause confusion along with other variations apart from the song!

A close up of him on next doors conservatory what a beauty!

Another few that I have managed to capture on camera even though the light was poor due to the early time of the morning and the poor light. They all seem to prefer the early mornings to visit as I presume that it is when they are the most desperate for food after a night of inactivity.

This Juvenile Wood Pigeon (note the lack of white on the neck sides) is one of three that have visited of late although they are unsure as to why there parents have brought them!

A poor picture again due to the distance and light levels but it clearly shows another young bird as the red on the head is only present on the Juvenile with the adult female having no red at all on her head or neck but the male having a red patch on his neck (or nape as it is known) This Great Spotted Woodpecker has also brought his sibling with him so I hope they will stick around for a while. In encouragement of this I have put out to of the finest fat cakes either side of the peanuts but as yet only the Starlings have shown interest in them.