Onwards and upwards!

The hide, I am afraid to say, was not all that of a success. The Cleethorpes weather was on some days at  roaring 20 degrees, not all that warm you may say? In a one person tent with yourself and two eager dogs.. one might sympathise and understand that it was in the least a tiny bit uncomfortable.

The baby frogs were out in force around the pond and surrounding grass. I managed to capture this rather comical sneak-attack from baby to parent of the common garden frog, Rana temporaria..

I thought that the pond would be the main bird-hangout what with the weather being fine, but it appeared that my garish bright red tent was scaring them off more than anything. I did however manage to capture two birds in the bath! The bird bath, of course..

I recently mentioned that being a ‘nature geek’ had not worked wonders for me when I was younger and I have to admit, I’m still finding it quite difficult to express my true excitement when I see a song thrush, Turdus philomelos, running along our local cricket field or to stand still and watch a wren, Troglodytes troglodytes, singing impressively loud whilst I’m walking the dogs. So when I had received my work from Uni, I  took a stroll alongsisde the Brayford and was so excited but what I saw.

I had seen last years’ cygnets, once a scruffy brown turn in to elegant swans throughout the year. I was now greeted by the quiet squeeking of the newly hatched, fluffy grey cygnets of the Brayford pool. Their mother swan with them, looking around every so often to make sure her babies wer nearby. I stood in awe of these beautiful creatures, weaving around the narrow boats looking for food.

It is amazing to see how much these tiny babies will grow and how quickly too. The Springwatch in me reminded me of the dangers that these adorable cygnets could face. I could see no gulls or crows nearby but that didn’t mean they were out of harms way. The eight little ducklings I’d seen weeks before dwindled almost before my eyes. Within a few days of seeing the remaining two ducklings, I was faced with around six pairs of mallards, who were nestled together. It could have been any one of those pairs who had brought the ducklings in to this world, and now they only had each other!

There was also a lovely surprise on the River Freshney in Grimsby. I’ve often seen a single swan roaming along the waters but I had no idea there was a small population. To my releif, there were other members of the public who were stood by, watching a mother swan with her brood. It was quite nice to see how the public had been captured by these serene sight. Her cygnets were evidently older than the ones on the Brayford (as you can see by their size!) And although there was a shifty looking herring gull, Larus argentatus, making its way through a hoard of pigeons, all the mother swan had to do was stand up and at once he was intimidated and skulked off.

As much as I love the summer time for the weather and time off – I just can’t get enough of spring and all the gorgeous baby animals that it brings with it!

Reading over previous editions of BBC Wildlife Magazine (kindly donated to me by a family friend) It seems that certain wildlife photographers suggest focusing on one animal, a speciality. If I had a choice, my speciality would be big cats but I live in Cleethorpes.. with a small dog so thats not really an option. I’ve taken after my dad in the nature department and our garden is relatively wildlife focused with ‘wild’ areas that go untouched, a compost heap for insects and a pond.

The pond attracts allsorts of wildlife. We have fish in there and frogs, tadpoles and a variety of garden birds which visit on a frequent basis. I don’t actually have a hide per se and a home-made one would consist of an upside down clothes horse with a green towel draped over the top. Hmm, that might work actually? Well too late now because I’ve asked my friend if I can borrow her tent. Its  a two man tent so I’ll have space to stretch my legs and sleep if the student in me decides to re-appear mid-session!

After deciding on the idea, I thought I’d experiment and sat on the lawn, camera at the ready. The dogs were out with me so I thought if the birds weren’t having any of it.. I could photograph them! Coco quickly decided that I was comfy and snuggled in to my lap, securing the fact that no birds would becoming anywhere near me. Now, I don’t think I’ve been blessed with amazing photography skills and I think my reactions are a bit slow.. and I always think getting the camera out ready might make you miss this great experience you’re encountering but hey, I’m willing to give it a go! My ‘test’ session proved relatively successful with relation to dog-photography (see attached: Pippi emerging) but the majority of pond photographs have my bare feet in the bottom corner or coco’s tail mid-wag.

Better luck next time?

..I’ll let you know!

I visited the “Gauntlet Birds of Prey - Eagles and Vulture Park” which was incredibly cheap (£4.75!) and proved to be worth a lot more!

The Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, that I photographed (left) was a juvenile. It’s clear to tell because he lacks the white feathers on his head. According to the guides, they said that the white head of the adult Eagle was to the blend their silhouette against the sky, making them less easy to see from the water, as one of their main food sources are fish! Interesting!

I was captivated by the size of the birds, in sheer volume they almost put my poor Lincolnshire buzzards to shame. The day was not without my favourite however! The sanctuary had four Common Buzzards in captivity and whilst putting on their air-show with a young Tawny Owl, two wild buzzards flew over head. Apparently they tourment the Bald Eagles which are cowards in reality.. (although I wouldn’t dare call them that!) The wild buzzards over head made the owl nervous and he began to lack concentration until they were clearly out of view. The birds in the air-show flew incredibly close to their audience. It was hard not to laugh at everyone ducking out of the way until I was pretty sure a vulture aimed for me.. I soon stopped laughing.

 A guide took us to the vulture-feeding station and took his place inside the enclosure with the Hooded Vultures, Necrosyrtes monachus, and Black Vultures, Coragyps atratus. I was in admiration of the guy who talked us through everything he knew about this interesting.. but rather ugly birds of prey. He informed us of their plight in Asia and how the vulture number had plummeted by 90% due to the veterinary anti-imflammatory drug Diclofenic. Apparently in Asia, vets had treat cattle with the drug and when the cow died, a Sky Burial took place to dispose of the carcass to prevent the spread of disease. This usually involves taking the carcass to a mountainside and allowing the vultures to feed. The vulture’s digestive acids are so strong that any ailments or diseases that the cow had in its life would be killed in their stomach. However, the Diclofenic drug does not react well with the vultures and in turn, kills them. This obviously leads to a downward spiral where the other vultures feed on the vulture carcass, the drug is digested etc etc = not many vultures left!

Overall, very intersting visit! I would highly reccommend but only if you’re in the area because it’s not all that big a place.

I have witnessed the arrival of around 10 new tiny ducklings on the Brayford in the past week. As excited as I am to watch their developments, I’m full of trepadation after the last 8 sadly departed! I’ll keep you updated!!

So, had an interesting journey on the train last night. I love the feeling of travelling home at 6pm and still being able to see out of the window. Nights are drawing out – wahoo! Anyway, I once again saw the bird that makes my heartbeat quicken. The buzzard! (Buteo buteo) Ok ok so it’s not very exotic.. and quite common.. alright, it’s very common that being it’s proper name and all! In my little Lincolnshire experience though, the buzzard is beautiful. Alright we’ve had a kestrel in the backgarden along with pretty little finches and teams of precise flying starlings over Cleethorpes beach but the buzzard – now he’s a hunter and a handsome one at that! I’ve seen him swoop down and glide effortlessly across a field in search of prey. (Albeit cute and fluffy prey, but I can look past that..) Yesterday, in the usual place, between Market Rasen and Barnetby where the patchwork of green and brown fields seem endless, I saw him. The buzzard, brandishing his beautiful white under-wing at me from my seat in the train flew past my window with speed and grace. Although it was only a glimpse of my powerful bird of prey – I was smiling for the rest of the journey home. Yep, I completely understand that my mind will be blown when I visit South Africa! But for now the British birds are doing me proud.

Oh! Another rather interesting wildlife encounter revealed itself to me last night. As per usual, I was on the train. It was during my journey home and we had just passed the pig farm.. which is nice. As I attempt to block out the reason for the pigs’ being on the field, I occupy my mind with nicer thoughts like: “How cute are those piglets!!” Ah, but it’s true. Squealy and smelly as they may be – piglets are little cuties! However, I digress for my tale is not that of the pigs. The train was slowing, as it has a tendancy to do when you’re wanting to get home, and the sun was setting over the fields of a long crop. Something caught my eye. A flash of dark fur! And whatever it was.. it was huge! Perhaps I overexaggerated in my tired state but the russet colour sparked my imagination. Fox? Deer? Beast of Bodmin!? The creature appeared to bound into the grassy crop and the train stopped. This could be amazing! I reached for my glasses and waited for the beast to re-appear. To my excitement, it did. To my dismay, it was a labrador..

As I’m sure you’ve guessed, the two main animals that I’ll be focusing on in this post are the deer and the swan. I mentioned before that I travel daily up to University in Lincoln, through fields that are full of life. Sometimes I don’t understand how people can nap around me when there are such wonders to be seen so close to home!

Yesterday evening had a lovely suprise in store for me – amongst a thicket beside a neatly harvested field, I caught a glimpse of the regal brown head of a roe Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) peering up at the train followed by a startled dash into the undergrowth. Her white hind made her relatively easy to identify whilst researching, although I’m not all that familiar with deer breeds. I couldn’t stop thinking about what a graceful sight she had been as she bounced elegantly across the field. In the past few months I’ve seen a few Red Deer, one early morning as I was sluggishly slumped into my cold train seat, I saw three grazing females in a field of almost untouched snow. They were oblivious in their eating and only one of the females looked up to investigate the train as it rattled past. Although deer are relatively common in England, I think that most people (including myself) find a sense of amazement when they see the beautiful creatures in the wild. I’ve always thought of the deer as a mysterious beast as usually, I only catch a fleeting glance of them as they blend so well into the woods. So far, I haven’t been lucky enough to see the proud antlers of a stag – I’m still on the lookout! Althought I’ve possibly missed my best chance of catching them, during rutting season.. I hope my luck will soon change.

The Brayford river that runs alongside the University is teaming with life.. Mainly water fowl and fish but if you’re into wildlife – it’s a great relaxing place to be with a lot going on. Watching the large bevy..(apparently).. of Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) I saw a few take to the air, in what has to be the most unelegant way possible! With a furious flustering of their wings and a loud patter of feet, in the air they looked so graceful.  I was told as a child that a swan can break your arm if you get close enough to it, and I’ve heard from a presenter who was almost knocked out by the ‘fist’ from a swan hitting him over the head. As ungainly as the Mute swan takes flight, during the mating season – I become transfixed as I watch a pair copy each other in almost a slow but beautifully rehearsed dance. I beleive the courting is all the more special to watch, knowing that the pair are likely to mate for life – and yet each year the cob goes out on a limb to woo the pen for another year of faithfulness. Awww, who said chivalry was dead??

Monday 1st March
A rather crisp March morning welcomed me to Lincoln  today and in my tired state I stumbled (not literally) across a truly beautiful sight. A mother Mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) was leading her eight tiny newly hatched ducklings along the river Brayford. Six of which had  the common markings.. which I think resemble those of a wild boar piglet and two were a stunning vibrant yellow! At the time I saw them, I was waiting at train tracks and they swam happily behind their mother in a neat little line in the river beneath the bridge. Almost hypnotised by this happily unaware family, I suddenly remembered a particuar episode of last years’ Springwatch where they followed a family of seven cygnets with their two Mute swan (Cygnus olor) parents. Over the course of the next few days, the audience watched as the numbers of the cygnets dwindled until the last surviving cygnet, with a parent either side was carried away by a Carrion crow (Corvus corone) to its own nest. I looked on with dismay at the Mallard with her octuplets and hoped that I would see them all together another day.

Thursday
I hadn’t been near the Brayford for the past few days but whenever I passed a body of water, my curiosity got the better of me and I had a long peer in.  I unexpectedly came across Mrs. Mallard with Mr. Mallard today as I munched on my brown bread. I was both unsettled and releived to see that they were exploring a puddle with their remaining three ducklings. Unfortunately, the two pretty yellows had gone. As with most people who are passionate about animals (and soppy!) I didn’t have to think twice about sharing my bread with the tight family unit. None of them fought over the crumbs and they looked so content, enjoying their little meal. Admittedly, I probably looked like a bit of a loon as students bustled passed me discussing last-night’s events but I didn’t care. These gorgeous little delicate babies needed the best start in life. The amount of times I’ve watched nature documentaries and wondered how (I know its a rule) but how they can watch as a baby animal dies. I truly don’t think I’d be able to do it – as much as I know “thats just nature’s way”.

Friday
It has now become second nature for me to scan the river bank and bushes for a glimpse of any animal – my ducklings especially. I stopped short as I saw two bumbling laddish students play fighting whilst walking and not watching where they put their feet. Thankfully, the duckling I had spotted a minute earlier must have seen these guys and was wise in waiting by a tree stump until the coast was clear! I watched him dash into the undergrowth next to mother mallard and another duckling. Then there were two! I don’t beleive I like this game anymore! If I’d have known the fate that would befall the little darlings, I’m sure mother duck wouldn’t have minded me taking one home with me. (Although my Cockerpoo would have probably been insanely jealous!)