Return of the Bullfinch
After last weeks rain we have at last had some good Winter weather with two sunny days and a low of minus five degrees centigrade one morning. The Goosanders at Rhodes lodges increased to forty five then to sixty which is my record count and was particularly impressive as fifty were on one lodge! Ice […]
A Sad Story
If last weeks weather was bad this weeks weather has been even worse with only five hours of sunshine and 2.39 inches of rain! There have been plenty of birds in the garden with a peak of thirty seven starlings and twenty eight House Sparrows and the inevitable happened a male Sparrowhawk pounced on a […]
Another Wet Week
Not a lot to report since last week with the weather being very wet except for one sunny day on the 29th November. On Hopwood a Woodcock was flushed and ten Long Tail Tits seen plus two Reed Buntings. At Rhodes Lodges twenty Goosanders were present and looked good in the sunshine until flushed by […]
Green Woodpeckers still around
A totally different weeks weather this week compared to last with only one good day on the 23rd with sunshine all day. The garden has proved good with thirty one Starlings feeding one day, twenty six House Sparrows on another and eighteen Greenfinches on another. Jays come every day but the Blue Tits are in […]
Barn Owl Success
A good weeks autumnal weather since my last report and the big news is the fledging of three young Barn Owls locally. This is a second brood and the first breeding at this farm since 1972 and yes, I have checked this site twice a year since then and finally, thirty five years later, it […]
A Wet Week
There have been several wet days this week and only one visit to the local Golf Course. Goldcrest and two Grey Wagtails were the only decent birds seen. Grey Wagtails must be on the move as today, one was in our front garden on our bird bath – an unusual garden bird. A visit to […]
Home Again
Well here I am back home again after seventeen days on Islay. The first week provided some good weather for October but the last week has been dull and mild with one day raining all day – an unusual event for Islay. There has been a continuous passage of Whooper Swans through Islay with some […]
Writing from Islay
Here I am writing from Islay after our first week. The weather has been sunny at times but there has always been a strong wind and rain on a couple of days. As usual the Barnacle Geese have been very impressive, especially at dusk as they come to roost in their thousands at Bridgend. I […]
We are off to Islay
Only a few days since the last entry but we are now busy packing for a visit to Islay to complete filming there for this year. On the 14th October two female Stonechats were on the golf course feeding and calling from the Umbellicas – only the second time I have seen Stonechat locally. Two […]
A Late Wheatear
High pressure has dominated all week producing dull, cloudy and calm conditions. With only a light southerly wind there has been no further influx of Redwings and Fieldfares. On the local Golf Course the Green Woodpecker is still very vocal especially in the mornings. Reed Buntings and Grey Wagtails are still present and even better […]