Messing about on the river

As it's my day off, I was planning to have a wee bit of a lie-in this morning. But when Lou reported a thick ground fog after she got up at 6am to sort the mutts out, I couldn't resist venturing out for a little drive around Aldbourne, to see if I could  get any  shots of the hares or deer through the mist. There were certainly plenty of hares out & about, but they were markedly more skittish than usual (maybe due to the low visibility) and loped off at speed whenever I got within range. I also saw a couple of Roe Deer, which were also particularly nervous this morning. So, nothing to speak of in the way of photos, but a very pleasant start to the day.

After dropping Lou at work, I decided to check out a small private lake in South Swindon, as I haven't been for a while. The pair of Little Grebes are on eggs at the moment; the male was patrolling around, but he wasn't cooperating in terms of lining up a shot, either. I was starting to worry that this might be a theme for the day, when I managed to capture this shot of a Great Crested Grebe shaking water off after a dive. I really like the muted colours & steely light created by the thick mist.

Great-crested Grebe

This afternoon, it was back off to the Water Voles again, as planned. I spent a good 3 hours watching them, and finally got a few of the shots I've had in mind. Got a fair bit of processing & sorting through to keep my busy for a few evenings, now!

A smattering of voles

Wet and wild weather most of the weekend, coupled with an exhausting week at work put a bit of a crimp in my wildlife watching, so this will be a bit of a short post! 

We spent a couple of hours watching the Water Voles on Saturday, after the worst of the heavy showers had blown over. There are quite a few juveniles out and about now; we saw a couple of half-grown youngsters happily foraging - although still spending time with their mother- as well as a very tiny, black-coated baby just starting to come out of the burrow for short explorations.

Juvenile Water Vole

Young Water Vole

The adult female is remarkably relaxed, and came incredibly close to me, swimming past just yards from my nose! The male was also out and about, although he seemed to be on a bit of a mission - swimming up & down his stretch of stream at top-speed, a little like a furry wind-up bath toy. I've got a few more shots in mind after seeing their activity, so I'll be paying them another visit on my day off on Wednesday; weather permitting.

We also took another drive around the Aldbourne area, mainly to point out a few of the best fields for Brown Hares this season to my friend, Steve. We arrived in the area around 5.30, so it was a little bit earlier in the evening then our last couple of visits. The optimal time forgetting the hares active seems to be about 7pm onwards; we quickly spotted a number resting in the fields, but with their heads down & showing few signs of movement. However we did find one juvenile resting on the edge of the hedgerow right by the side of the road, so hopefully Steve got some decent shots before it spooked & dashed off into the cover of the oil-seed rape. As the evening wore on, the hares became more active - and we also had a few Roe Deer appearing out of the thickets to graze, too.  

Distant Brown Hare

The usual Pheasants, Red-legged Partridges, Red Kites etc were all present - and we had a close encounter with one of the local Buzzards, who glided along above the road just ahead of the car. We also spotted one of the small population of Jays; always a pleasure to see. 

Hares galore

Being back in full-time employment may help pay the bills, but it doesn't half impact on wildlife-watching time! At least the sunny evenings this week have meant that we've been able to get out & visit a few of the local spots after work, to get a bit of a nature fix! 

Driving around the country lanes through the downs in the hour or so before dusk has proved particularly productive this week, especially for mammals. On Friday evening we had at least 25 Brown Hares within a 3 or 4 mile radius, with up to 8 in the same field. Returning about the same time yesterday, we again saw over 20 in the same area - including one or two very close up. 

Can't see me

Into the sunset!

Both evenings we also saw lots of Roe Deer - approximately a dozen on Friday, and 7 or 8 on Thursday - all in small groups. The females are now looking heavily pregnant- although several still had last year's fawns with them. We also spotted one that had recently given birth as we could hear a fawn calling. Most of them are in the process of shedding their dense winter coats, so are looking a bit moth-eaten at present. However a pair of young bucks were looking quite smart in their reddish summer coats. 
We had a close view of a mature stag - still with velvet on his antlers - grazing with his mate. We  also spotted a trio of young Fallow Deer bucks grazing along the edge of a small copse. Their antlers have still got a fair bit of growing to do - just nubbs at the moment!

Roe Deer - Doe

Roe Deer - Pair (Doe very pregnant)

Roe Deer - Doe (Fawn in the Grass)

Lots of bird life to be seen, too. On Friday, we saw our first cuckoo of the year - although as it was in flight it took us a few minutes to work out what it was! The usual Red-legged Partridge & Pheasants were plentiful - although interestingly I did see a very dark, melanistic female pheasant; possibly the offspring of a blue-black male bird we spotted last year? As usual, plenty of raptors around too; several Red Kites, Buzzards and a pair of Kestrels.

On my day off on Thursday, I spend an hour or two watching the Water Voles again. The babies were out - still very small and surprisingly dark-coloured. It was fun seeing them splashing around, under the watchful eyes of their mum.

Water Vole

I also took a drive around the Aldbourne area, and was pleased to come across the main herd of Fallow Deer - over 45 of them, including one of the leutistic does & tan bucks. It's been a while since I've seen them together in such a large group!

Fallow Deer

Other interesting sightings this week included a Grasshopper Warbler, Pipestrelle Bats and a probable Honey Buzzard (in flight). Lou and Hurley also had a close encounter with one of the local urban foxes last night... it seemed quite interested in Hurley; maybe huskies look like a giant fox?

Seeing red

The Red-necked Grebe we saw last weekend has still be hanging around at Farmoor Reservoir, so as the weather was a bit sunnier on my day off on Thursday, I decided to pop back for another look at it. 

While it didn't come quite as close this time, I'm not about to complain. In the sunlight, it was looking quite stunning in full breeding plumage.

Displaying its small crest

 Joining him were large number of Great Crested Grebes;  the fishing is obviously good! There were also quite a few Swallows zipping around, and several terns - although only distant views of these. Down on the watermeadows by the river, a big mixed flock of geese were feeding; there were a mix of Barnacles, Greylag and Egyptians all present. 

With wall-to-wall sunshine forecast, we decided to visit Brownsea Island again today, for another go at getting Red Squirrels before the canopy blocks most of the light from the forest floor. 

It was an absolutely glorious day; we couldn't have asked for better weather. More of the summer-breeding seabirds have returned since our last visit a couple of weeks ago. We saw Sandwich, Common and Artic Terns - as well as lots of House Martins and Swallows flying in. The Oystercatchers are looking rather dapper at present, too.

Oystercatcher

However, the Red Squirrels were very definitely the #1 target for the day, so we spent most of our time in the woods , armed with lots of hazelnuts! After meandering around for a few hours & staking out a few spots, we'd seen several squirrels, but not had much luck getting any foraging on the ground. Sending Lou ahead to scout proved to be worse than useless, since she merrily made sure she got her own shots ( full-frame, beautifully posed on a mossy tussock, no-less!) before alerting us! 

 Around lunchtime, we struck gold; finding a trio foraging on the ground along the crest of a ridge. Two of them were amazingly tolerant of us, especially once they realised that we were bringers of nutty goodness. Slightly aggravatingly, the most bold & cooperative beastie had a big lump on his nose - so I was mainly focusing on the other. However the manky-nosed one was hard to ignore, since he was practically running up our legs - and investigating our bags! 

Lump on its nose - Its best side

We had a good hour or more with them, so as normal, I was trying to think of different shots. I rather like this cheeky one of him peeking over a mossy hillock.

Back at the pier, the little flock of Turnstones kept me amused while we waited for the ferry. I always like watching these funny little birds scurrying along the strandline.

Turnstone

To finish the day of nicely, this evening Lou saw the first of our local bats hunting in the park. 

An unexpected bonus

It's funny, some of the places that you can find wildlife. You don't always have to be in the back-of-beyond to see some amazing species; as the sites we visited this weekend show.

The forecast for the weekend wasn't brilliant, but after my first full week in my new job, I was determined to get out and about to make the best of it. So, on Saturday morning, Lou & I headed down to South Wales for another look at one of the pairs of Dippers. Driving down through an industrial estate, you wouldn't expect to be coming across much in the way of wildlife, other than the ubiquitous seagulls & a feral pigeon or two. However, hidden behind is a secluded stretch of wooded riverbank, with lots of weirs and rocky islets - perfect territory for Dippers. 

We spent a pleasant couple of hours watching a pair zipping back & forth, taking beakfuls of cadis-larvae up to the nest under overhanging tree-roots. The chicks could be heard very loudly when either parent went in, so I wouldn't be surprised if they fledge this week. The light conditions weren't great, as it was dark clouds & drizzley, with a few heavy showers, but it's always interesting experimenting with different shots in more muted colours. As well as the Dippers, there were several pairs of Grey Wagtails - and a pair of Chiff Chaffs showing well.

Grey Wagtail

Last night, I heard that a Red-necked Grebe had turned up again at Farmoor Reservoir. I had great views of a bird in eclipse plumage in the autumn, but as this one was showing well and in breeding colours, I decided I had to go and take a look today - even if it was bucketing down! Thankfully, the day wasn't as bad as forecast & although it was very dull, we only had one shower. Farmoor is a bit of an odd site to me; you do get some really good birds turning up, but it's a huge, rather featureless concrete reservoir, so it's not quite as appealing as a more naturalistic setting. However, with a bit of patience, we did get some good views of the Red-necked Grebe, fishing & preening fairly close in to the bank. At one point it was only about 6 metres from me. It was vocalising quite a bit, so I wouldn't be surprised if it moves on over the next few days to it's breeding grounds. Having looked back at my photos from autumn, I strongly suspect it may be the same bird - although it's impossible to be certain!

Red-necked Grebe

While waiting for the Grebe to come in closer, we had a very unexpected bonus siting. We noticed a large group of gulls come up from around one of the huts, mobbing a large bird - an Osprey! Obviously on it's way North, it looked like it was thinking about trying to fish, but the gulls were giving it such a hard time it eventually flew off down to the far end of the reservoir & out of sight. Walking back, we had close views of some of the resident Greylag Geese, Little Gulls and a possible Sinensis Cormorant perched on one of the buoys. However, I'm not 100% sure on the identification! 

Osprey

Pied Wagtail

Greylag Geese

Sinensis Cormorant

Driving home, we spotted a fair few Red Kites floating above the fields, and a male Muntjac Deer grazing close to the edge of a copse. Pretty good for a dank weekend!