2 Lesser Redpoll
12 Long-tailed Tit
6+ Goldcrest
7+ Wren (2 singing, others swapping alarm calls “teck, teck, teck”)
17 Fieldfare flying over, heading west
8 Bullfinches
25+ Goldfinch
Mix of Chaffinches, Great Tits and Blue Tits
A couple of singing Robins plus others around site, along with Dunnocks
2 Jay
2 Green Woodpeckers
1 Kestrel
Plenty of Blackbirds & Magpies & Woodpigeons around the site
Thursday 17 December 2015
Lesser Redpolls at the Brickworks
It was another seriously mild (14 to 15°C) December day with only a slight breeze. The mud at the Brickworks is marginally less squelchy. I think we’ll need a week of dry weather before that’ll harden over. Anyway, a brief post just to note the presence of a couple of Lesser Redpolls on site today. I don’t know how frequently this species is seen across Trust land but this was my first record of them in the 2.5 years I’ve been exploring the wildlife around the Box Moor Trust. Close by was a Long-tailed Tit flock mixed with other Tits and Goldcrests and I do wonder if the two Redpolls had been drawn along with them. Anyway, birds of note this afternoon:
Sunday 13 December 2015
Burrowing creatures
The weekend doesn’t seem to have incorporated a great deal of daylight. Darkness, yes. Drizzle, yes. Rain, yes. And, at the Brickworks, mud. Mud, mud and more mud.
As I walked through the mudow (that’s mud/meadow) (top left photo), a Song Thrush was singing in the trees to my right. A crystal clear, full-bodied melody of flutes and whistles, projected far and wide. It was better than sunshine. Up ahead of me, I spotted another 5 Song Thrushes together in a bush and, behind me, 2 more. There were at least 10 around the site. A flock of 40+ Goldfinches were feeding on thistle seeds, along with Chaffinches and a mix of Tits. Last week, I’d counted at least 20 Blackbirds within the scrub and, easily, 5 Green Woodpeckers. 3 Jays gave me glimpses of white rumps and a couple of Fieldfare swapped one tree for another. Towards the end of my squelching, I chanced upon a Robin quietly singing his pretty sub-song. It was as though he was testing the air to see if anyone was listening. Delicate yet sure and another ray of sunshine.
The main reason for my visit today was to retrieve the trail camera, which I’d set up over night. We were keen to discover what had created the two burrows found by David K a few weeks back. The entrance holes are approx 40-45mm diameter and excavated soil is piled up outside like a larva flow.
The camera trap results weren’t bad. I’ve put together 60 seconds worth from the 120+, 14 second clips that were captured. All occurred between 21:00 and 00:00 yesterday. I’d put down a few peanuts and sunflower hearts to entice little creatures to do more than dash, dart and streak across screen.
So, the mystery homemaker is definitely a mouse and we have at least 2 living in this burrow. They’re likely Wood Mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) but I think only daytime footage would clinch it (fur colour). I confess, I had hoped for Bank Voles but, even so, it’s been useful to get some experience with the trail camera and learn more about the habits of these little Wood Mice.
 |
| Views of the mud and murk at Bovingdon Brickworks today |
As I walked through the mudow (that’s mud/meadow) (top left photo), a Song Thrush was singing in the trees to my right. A crystal clear, full-bodied melody of flutes and whistles, projected far and wide. It was better than sunshine. Up ahead of me, I spotted another 5 Song Thrushes together in a bush and, behind me, 2 more. There were at least 10 around the site. A flock of 40+ Goldfinches were feeding on thistle seeds, along with Chaffinches and a mix of Tits. Last week, I’d counted at least 20 Blackbirds within the scrub and, easily, 5 Green Woodpeckers. 3 Jays gave me glimpses of white rumps and a couple of Fieldfare swapped one tree for another. Towards the end of my squelching, I chanced upon a Robin quietly singing his pretty sub-song. It was as though he was testing the air to see if anyone was listening. Delicate yet sure and another ray of sunshine.
The main reason for my visit today was to retrieve the trail camera, which I’d set up over night. We were keen to discover what had created the two burrows found by David K a few weeks back. The entrance holes are approx 40-45mm diameter and excavated soil is piled up outside like a larva flow.
The camera trap results weren’t bad. I’ve put together 60 seconds worth from the 120+, 14 second clips that were captured. All occurred between 21:00 and 00:00 yesterday. I’d put down a few peanuts and sunflower hearts to entice little creatures to do more than dash, dart and streak across screen.
So, the mystery homemaker is definitely a mouse and we have at least 2 living in this burrow. They’re likely Wood Mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) but I think only daytime footage would clinch it (fur colour). I confess, I had hoped for Bank Voles but, even so, it’s been useful to get some experience with the trail camera and learn more about the habits of these little Wood Mice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)