February '11
Weather This Month
Max Temp = 11.6°C Min Temp = -1.5°C Mean Temp = 5°C
Max Wind = 20 mph
Day's Of Rain Over 2mm =19 Rain 24hr Max = 37.8mm Rain For Month = 219.4 mm
Diary
24th. The
month starts to draw to a close and today is a day that has taken a
long time coming. It seems an eon since a sunny day with a touch of
warmth has been in evidence. The rains and greyness subsided and the
temp hit a high of 11.6C this afternoon. Whilst I did have to work is
was nice to come home and see the garden during daylight hours. Whilst
it was nice it soon became apparent that the garden is well out of shape
and it will take quite a lot of work to put it back into some semblance
or order.
A Sparrowhawk is hunting quite regularly in the garden and what is great about this male is that he is not shy at all. I have caught him several times just perched where he lands and he seems quite tolerant of movement from within the house which is unusual. I hope to get a photo of this beast of nature.
The frogs are getting more numerous in the pond so I hope that within 4 weeks or so we will have this years first spawning.
14th. My
first sighting of a visiting hedgehog was noted on the evening of the
12th. Having now noticed this I have started putting out food for him.
Other signs of spring being within reaching distance is the sight of
frogs diving for cover whenever I pass the pond. Birdsong is now also
evident from the Robin, Dunnock, Starlings and Lesser Redpoll. Whilst I
have heard Blackbird song away from the garden I have yet to hear the
fluty notes to let me know the garden has been claimed for the up coming
breeding season.
6th. In my hurry to get something in the diary (just so busy elsewhere) I forgot to mention some things of real importance when we visited Leighton Moss. First up was the several sightings of Bank Voles and the squealing call of the Water Rail which was heard in a few places around the reserve. We also saw a fleeting view of one as it lifted off the path in front of us and headed for the safety of the reed bed. Of real significance was the sight of hundreds of thousands of Starlings coming to roost at the reed beds. What a spectacle as they whirled round and round before finally funneling down thousands at a time for the night. The noise when they were down in the beds was immense and the Peregrine that caught it supper was the icing on a very surreal, amazing cake. I would recommend anybody to seek out such Starling roosts as it really is a wonder of the natural world.
As
you can see from above stats the weather is terrible with grey and very
wet conditions continuing. The wind is also now having its turn...a
real horrible time at present as looking at the rainfall already tells
it's own story as of 6th we have already had 94mm of rain!
3rd. A very busy period at the moment as work on the house continues, letter writing to travel companies, a few trips out, sifting through photos etc....I think I am spreading myself to thin!
Anyway I missed the RSPB garden bird count so I am going to do it this weekend instead. I chose to visit Leighton Moss instead with a few companions. It was not much above freezing all day and most of the hides were bereft of any birds due to there being no open water only thick ice!
The places that had food out drew the obvious birds so I tried to get some shots but the light was so poor under the cover of trees and with the sun failing to show all day. None the less I did manage this shot of a real lovely bird.
I was pleased with this image as it is the best I have of this species and coupled with the weather I was pleasantly surprised. Sadly this image shows my next time consuming problem....above the bird on the left you can make out a small dark smudge. It may look like a fly or other object but sadly it is of something that is inside my Zoom eyepiece of my scope. This is bad enough for me to have it sent away for inspection and hopefully a warranty claim will be the outcome. We shall see as repairs to optics can be eye watering to say the least.