my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[ian mcdonald]

I went to the bird feeders today to see what was around. I saw four squirrels at the same time. A great spotted woodpecker came to the feeders. Blue, great, coal, long tailed and crested tits were there. Quite a few chaffinch visited. On a rowan tree and eating the berries were about 30 redwing and several bullfinch. After a fairly dull afternoon the sun came out in time to set. I walked a bit further, out of the trees and saw a roe deer buck watching me.



A distant view of one of the redwings.



 One of the bullfinchs on the rowan.



A squirrel on the alert as a jet passed overhead.



A roe deer in the late sun.



Crested tits don,t wait for the camera to focus before they dis-appear.

[ian mcdonald]

I,m not a bird "twitcher" and don,t travel far to see a rare bird. Reading on a local bird site that Snow Geese had been seen not far away for the last few days I thought I,d try my luck. I expected the birds, if they were still there, would be on a small inland loch. I met someone at the hide who told me the geese were on a field with grey lag geese. I had driven past them. I found the geese and took some photos. then the local pilots decided to do some flying, after the rain had eased. This spooked the birds, who vanished out of site. While I was there a convoy of cars came from about 30 miles away to see the birds. There are a number of Wildlife Watching organisations who take people around the country to see the less common species.

[ian mcdonald]

A few fungi from todays walk.



Birch Jelly fungus, Exidia repanda.



A brown puffball.



Deceiver?



Yellow Brain fungus.



Willow Cabbage gall?

[ian mcdonald]

Dull but mild here for the last few days. Wildlife are keeping a low profile. I had good views of a Cormorant along the river today.



There were several Stonefly.



Turkey Tail and Honey fungus were seen on a tree stump.



Wood Hedgehog fungus was seen among pine trees.

[ian mcdonald]

I had a walk along the river this afternoon. The river is still high and fast. A Cormorant was sitting on the opposite bank as I passed. Later I heard the sound of a shotgun. I was told by a local person that Goosanders were being shot. I did not see the Cormorant on my return. If fish eating birds are being shot I don,t call that sporting. Wildlife has the right to exist.

[Hoy]

............... did not see the Cormorant on my return. If fish eating birds are being shot I don,t call that sporting. Wildlife has the right to exist.

I totally agree! I once found heaps of dead small birds of all kinds. Hunters had trained by shooting them before the "real hunt" started.

[Maggi Young]

I totally agree! I once found heaps of dead small birds of all kinds. Hunters had trained by shooting them before the "real hunt" started.

Disgusting! Shameful behaviour.

[Robert]

Hello Ian,

I think, or at least hope, that I can empathize with you. Here in our part of California the natural environment is taking a terrible pounding. Plants, animals, there is so much loss and general human disregard for nature. Sometimes lip service is given toward environmental concerns, however the relentless degradation continues. A large percentage of the residence of California think there is no problems at all or has no awareness that anything is amiss. There are songbirds I have not seen in decades. Many local native plants that were once common are now rare or cannot be found. For me it feels terrible to care about the environment yet feel helpless knowing I can do absolutely nothing to alter the trend.

[ian mcdonald]

Happy New Year to all.

[cohan]

4 squirrels at once! Here they are far too territorial to put up with that- if you see more than one at a time, there is usually a pursuit going on!
Great shot of the creeper-- I have seldom had a close look at them, though this fall there was one moving calmly on a tree near the house, close by me. Missing my longer zoom lens, good bird photos are rare with only a 55mm!

[ian mcdonald]

It,s been more than a month since I went down to the river. Todays weather was sunny and mild with no wind, more like April than January. The river has fallen a bit since my last visit, with rocks showing above the water. The first bird seen was a Dipper, perched on a rock not far from the bank. Later I saw three other Dippers. A heron was perched on a fallen tree by the waters edge but by the time I had walked to the spot it had flown off. I then saw a female Goosander flying up-river. Further down the river were several large birds on the water. One flew past me and I recognised it as a male Golden-eye. It flew back down river again and landed close to another Golden-eye and several Goosander. The sun was dipping behind a hill as I returned and  the light soon faded, leaving views of the rising moon above the river.



Dipper.



Long distance view of two Golden-eye.



The setting sun lights up the river.



Moon rise above the river.

[Robert]

Ian,

It must be nice to be out again.

I will be out tomorrow.        

I am always impressed with your photography!

The river habitat looks interesting. I hope to hear more about this site and others as the season progresses.

[ian mcdonald]

It was sunny but cold today. I had a walk up to the golf course this afternoon. The shade among the pine trees made photography poor, so I apologise for the quality. The birds seen from the shelter were blue, great, coal, long tailed and crested tit. Greenfinch, goldfinch, chaffinch, great spotted woodpecker, tree creeper and siskin. Also seen were about 20 redwing and a dunnock.



Long tailed tit.



Goldfinch and chaffinchs



Crested tit.



Coal tit.



Brambling with chaffinchs.

[ian mcdonald]

Great spotted woodpecker.



Redwing.



Hazel catkins.

[ian mcdonald]

I had a walk along the river this afternoon. The first outing since moving into the "retirement" home and coping with all the paperwork etc. involved. I saw a Dipper on a rock and while I was watching three male Goldeneye flew in. The snowdrops are flowering in sheltered spots. I searched for fungi but could only find a small bunch with brown caps. Yesterday we had snow showers but it had cleared by dinner time today. Today was sunny with a lazy wind.