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Celebration

October 5, 2009 at 1:34 am

Snipe

Not much to report this week as everything has evolved around my eldest son’s wedding on October 3rd. Once my wife and ten month old grandson had been rescued by the Fire Brigade from being locked in the toilet everything went OK!!

On Hopwood Snipe and Skylarks continue to move South but still no migrant thrushes. In the woods Goldcrests are quite noisy and six Bullfinches were seen together.

A Cormorant flew over the Canal one morning and Sparrowhawks have been hunting the garden on two occasions, once catching prey. The Starling numbers have now increased to sixteen.

Dry Weather All Week

September 27, 2009 at 2:22 am

Autumn Crocus

The number of Autumn Crocus in flower at Hopwood is the best for some years but their stalks are so fragile they only stop upright for a few days. In the scrub area by the railway a Willow Tit was calling today – perhaps it is on its way to our garden

As usual at this time of the year Jays are more visible in the woods as they look for acorns. Unfortunately, in comparison to other Autumn fruits, the Acorn crop this year is poor. As a result we should receive more visits from the Jays to our garden.

Parties of Long Tailed Tits are still being encountered in all the woodlands and there is a steady movement of Skylarks in a South West direction.

Despite the lack of sunshine there was a Comma butterfly in the garden today.

Late Summer Continues

September 21, 2009 at 5:23 am

Lapwings

With the exceptionally calm weather a visit to Pennington Flash produced some wonderful film of Lapwings with mirror reflections in the flat calm water. Even in Autumn they have some fabulous colours to view despite some of the crests being a bit tatty.

On Hopwood the first Skylarks are now moving through, along with small parties of Linnets. Fourteen Long Tailed Tits were still together in the woods and they seem to have had a good breeding season. The first Autumn Crocus are now in flower but sadly they only appear briefly before the Autumn gales break their delicate stalks.

In the garden the Goldfinches are now up to a maximum of twenty and the local Tawny Owl is still bringing its young in the hunt for mice and voles. Due to all the sunshine there are still plenty of Peacock, Red Admiral and Comma butterflies coming into the garden.

Summer At Last

September 13, 2009 at 3:14 pm

Adder

At long last five beautiful, calm, warm days to bring Summer to a close.

In the garden there are now Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and Speckled Wood butterflies flitting about from flower to flower.

A visit to the Hodder Valley produced Kingfisher, Goosander and many charms of Goldfinches feeding on the ripening hedgerow seeds in particular the Meadow Sweet. The crops of berries this year are exceptional especially those of the Blackthorn with sloes all over the place. Pity I don’t make sloe gin!

During the week I filmed , at a local school, a nest full of young Swallows being fed. It wont be long now before they commence the long journey to South Africa.

A visit to a sheltered valley to the North of Manchester produced not one but two male Adders – the latest I have ever seen a local Adder.

On the local Golf Course Bullfinches are still numerous and along with many passerines have had a good breeding season. A Willow Tit that was calling is probably the one from our garden that I have not seen for a fortnight.

Wet August

August 31, 2009 at 11:49 am

Comma Butterfly

It is a good job there hasn’t been much to film this month because the weather has been awful. Islay has had eight inches of rain during August so I am glad I haven’t been up there either! In between the rain we have had some butterflies in the garden including Peacocks, Comma, Red Admiral and what must be the butterfly of the year the Painted Lady.

Also in the garden there were four female Chaffinches one day and a female Sparrow Hawk.

I start my Wildlife film shows on the 2nd of September at Marple and I look forward to meeting fellow wildlife enthusiasts on my travels.

Swallows On The Move

August 23, 2009 at 5:14 pm

Swallow

Once again the Swallows at the Golf Club have had a successful season with more than fifty young fledged from five/six pairs. This year with only one room available for them to nest in two pairs have bred on the outside of the buildings, one on an alarm and the other just attached to the wall like a House Martins. Most of the young are now flying South but how many of them will reach South Africa?

On Hopwood there are now a pair of Roe Deer and a this years young. These will probably stay until late Autumn when lack of cover will force them back to Roch Valley which is more secluded. Also seen in the recent hot weather were two Green Woodpeckers feeding together on the ground. There are now lots of parties of juvenile birds around and it would seem that most have had a successful breeding season. All except the Buzzards that once again do not appear to have produced any young locally this year. Parties of Bullfinches are particularly enjoying the ripening crop of Blackberries.