Having a few technical issues with the website at the moment…Finger crossed should be sorted out after Christmas holidays..
Anyway back to more important matters. I found a rather attractive group of fungi at the base of a tree at Toad Holes beck the other day. As I am learning about fungi I first thought it was a Sulphur Tuft but after a bit of research it turned out to be a Velvet-Shank flammulina velutipes which is a new species for our fungi list.
Today myself and other members of the Low Moor & Oakenshaw Conservation Group gathered at 10.00 for our monthly workday. We have a water overflow problem at Toad Holes Beck as a drainage channel is blocked which causes one of the footpaths to become flooded. Also a team was going to be picking litter from around the site.
However myself and young Freddie who I am working with on a ‘ Winter Wildfowl survey at TH Beck for his bronze D of E award met at 09.15. At the middle pond Freddie found the pair of Gadwall which are intermittent at the site, but whilst we were watching them the Water Rail I found on the 12/12 appeared giving Freddie his first ever view of this secretive bird.
But 10.00 soon came round and it was time to get stuck into some work!
Work start to clear the channel
One of the litter teams….but sadly over 5 bags of litter was collected…
So we would respectfully ask all residents and visitors to the area not to drop their litter. Thank you.
Yesterday all the local ponds were frozen….This was an ideal time to check up on my old friend from Norway…the Black-headed gull which appeared at nearby Harold Park lake in the winter of last year. And sure enough it was there waiting on the ice ready to take advantage when a member of the public fed the local ducks.
I submitted my sighting again to the Norway Gull ringing scheme which shows the bird return to Norway on the 13/7/2017 and has then returned to Low Moor to probably spend the winter on the easy pickings at Harold Park lake…
| Gull colour ringing in Norway (8) Last CR-Code Green ring with white code: J21Z LBM;RBGW(J21Z) Ringing Centre Stavanger Museum (Norway) Ring number 6236522 Species Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus |
||||||
| Date | Place | Coordinates | Days | Distance | ||
| 22/4/2016 | Mosvatnet østsiden, Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway | 58°57’26″N 005°43’09″E | —– | Hatched—– | — | |
| 30/6/2016 | Mosvangen Camping, Mosvatnet, Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway | 58°57’10″N 005°42’53″E | 69 | 1 | ||
| 9/7/2016 | Breiavatnet, Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway | 58°58’07″N 005°44’02″E | 78 | 2 | ||
| 23/1/2017 | Harold Park Lake, Low | 53°45’22″N 001°46’29″W | 276 | 739 | ||
| 25/1/2017 | Harold Park Lake, | 53°45’22″N 001°46’29″W | 278 | 739 | ||
| 26/1/2017 | Harold Park Lake, | 53°45’22″N 001°46’29″W | 279 | 739 | ||
| 13/7/2017 | Vassverktjønna, Åsen, Stavanger, Rogaland, Norway | 58°56’25″N 005°44’00″E | 447 | 2 | ||
| 12/12/2017 | Harold Park Lake, | 53°45’22″N 001°46’29″W | 599 | 739 | ||
It was -4c when I set off today to check on the local patch. All but one pond at Toad Holes Beck were totally frozen. The pond in question is the large pond which had a thin layer of ice and an open area near the Reedmace. There was very little on the ponds but then on the middle small pond I got a glimpsed a flash of white deep in the reeds. I waited for about 10 minutes then a very wary Water Rail came creeping out of the reeds.
A good sighting which is a possible annual winter visitor to the site. However, the kind of sad thing is that it the Water Rail is a very secret bird and probably the reason it showed it’s self so much is it was searching for food in the harsh conditions
Depending on your view but to me it was the first real bite of winter today. So I thought I would do a quick bird species survey in our recording area, just to see if the weather had brought anything new in or if any species had temporarily left the area due to the cold weather.
Light snow at Raw Nook nr. I recorded 31 species which for winter is a reasonable count. I struggled to find any Dunnocks or LT Tits. Not too concerned because I believe the Dunnock can be evasive and the LT Tits I know is OK as I saw a feeding flock a couple of days ago. Sadly no Greenfinch which is a bit worrying. The good news however, was a Woodcock seen twice at Toad Holes Beck which has probably came down from Odasal Woods and the Ring-necked Parakeet is seen daily ( present for 11 days) but can be mobile.
Ring-necked Parakeet.
A bit of a surprise this one…a feeding female Ring-necked parakeet in the Low Moor area!
The species is fairly common in the south and slowly spreading north. To date I have two previous records of this species but never one visiting a garden feeder so keep a look out and if you see one please in our area please let me know…cheers
On Saturday morning our group had it’s monthly workday. There was another good turnout of volunteers armed with mattocks to continue removing the Silver Birch saplings from the lowland heath area.
However, today we had some special guests, Karen a wildlife reserve manager from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and her trainee Sue who had been invited by Sarah Goldsmith (YWT) to our workday.
Our group has perhaps limited knowledge of forming a conservation management plan for our sites. So whilst the rest of the group were hard at work Claire and myself took our guests on a tour of the sites (including Dealburn Road Wildlife site) to seek help, knowledge and advice
We started at Raw Nook Nr discussing pond management and how to thin out the woodland to create better habitats. The meadow at the site hasn’t been cut for a number of years and now coarse grasses are prevalent. Karen suggested clearing small patches of the grasses and spreading Yellow Rattle seeds…but they needs a heavy frost before they germinate….Yes said Karen…just put them in the freezer before hand…that will do the trick…Excellent idea Karen.
It was then on to the Dealburn Road where we discussed various issues in taking the site forward. Again discussions at Toad Holes Beck centered on the lack of management of the meadow and thinning out of the Hawthorns.
So Claire now has a full notepad of knowledge and advice and me, well when we met with the rest of the group it was the perfect ending as an Orange Ladybird flew onto a member of the group!…a site first for Toad Holes Beck…
Yes I have to admit that watching visible migration in our area is just about over for another year. I watched this today and like the last two mornings there has been little passing through.
But getting up before dawn most days from early September has provided me with some memorable moments like the Grey Plover that flew west over the watch point and the 5 Barnacle Geese that following a skein of Pink-footed geese. Perhaps the real highlight has been the Hawfinches with 4 recorded.
At 06.50 this morning I was just setting off to watch visible migration when I saw the spectacular Venus-Jupiter conjunction where both Venus and Jupiter can clearly be seen together in the sky.
Jupiter is at the top and Venus at the bottom.
Then after the spectacle had finished Jackdaws were on the move to the S/W a good count of 337 was noted. Eight Blackbird which were flying high to the N were observed which was an interesting sighting.
Another Hawfinch flew west over the watch point this morning at Caldene fields. However, there was a strong possibility that a second bird came in a couple of minutes later. This bird dropped into some trees around the Wyke area.
This sighting today is my forth this autumn following the major influx of the species nationally.
My point is that now and in the coming weeks these finches ‘ may ‘ feed in gardens or be seen locally…so keep an eye out and if you see one please let me know…cheers
