Category Archives: nature

312/365 Nuts

08 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by in autumn, birds, nature

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Today was a glorious autumn day so I took myself to Forest Farm Nature Reserve for a long walk. I popped in to the hide to see what birds were around but it was very quiet.

191108 moorhens

Apart from a couple of Moorhens in the pond, the only feathered creatures I saw were these, a Jackdaw and a Jay that had been enticed down on to the grass in front of the hide by the peanuts another birder had thrown out for them.

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311/365 Mermaid’s purse

07 Thursday Nov 2019

Posted by in coastal fauna, fish, nature, seaside

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I found this egg case on the beach at Cuckmere Haven a week or so ago. With such a leathery, tough outer skin, it’s easy to see how well this could protect the embryo that must once have been inside.

191107 mermaids purse (1)

I checked the Shark Trust website’s identification page and, given the south coast location, I think this eggcase might belong to a ray, perhaps a Spotted ray (Raja montagui) or an Undulate ray (Raja undulata).

I’m not sure where the name Mermaid’s purse came from – perhaps it’s simply because the eggcases come from the sea, are vaguely purse-shaped and hold something valuable inside them.

310/365 Living fossil

06 Wednesday Nov 2019

Posted by in autumn, nature, plants

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The Equisetums are such wonderfully sculptural plants, living fossils that are so old they once thrived beneath the trees in the Paleozoic era, more than 250 million years ago. The name comes from the Latin equus, meaning horse, and seta, meaning bristle, which is probably why these plants are also known as horsetails.

191106 equisetum

309/365 Starling adoration

05 Tuesday Nov 2019

Posted by in birds, nature

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I know I blogged about Starlings just last week but I simply can’t resist giving them more air time. This is partly because the Starlings I encountered in London’s St James’s Park last week allowed close views and I managed to get some reasonable photos of their stunning plumage.

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But it’s also because when I was on a Glamorgan Bird Club field trip to Rhossili last Sunday, we were treated to some small murmurations and one of these gatherings looks to my eye just like a seal – did I mention I have a vivid imagination?!

191105 starlings (4)

308/365 Birds of St James’s Park

04 Monday Nov 2019

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I’ve just returned from three days with two friends in London. We were doing touristy things as our Australian friend hadn’t been to London before but I did manage some birding during our walk through St James’s Park. Though abundant and obviously breeding locally, most of these cannot really be classed as wild birds but they’re lovely just the same.

191104 st james park

The birds we saw included Mute swan and Black swan, Black-headed gull, Moorhen, Egyptian and Greylag and Canada goose, Feral pigeon, Shelduck and some species of white duck that I don’t recognise, Grey heron, Ring-necked parakeet, Bahama pintail, Tufted duck and more. Unfortunately, the resident Pelicans were hiding on their island so we saw them not.

191104 moorhen
191104 egyptian goose

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307/ 365 Grey phalarope

03 Sunday Nov 2019

Posted by in autumn, birds, nature

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191103 grey phalarope (1)

A week ago today, during a short break in East Sussex, I enjoyed a superb long walk with two good friends at Cuckmere Haven, and there was a wonderful birding bonus, a Grey phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius).

191103 grey phalarope (2)

I knew the bird had been seen in the vicinity but Cuckmere is a huge area and was then much submerged after recent heavy rains so I didn’t expect to spot one small bird amongst the many enjoying all the water. My luck was in though, as this lovely creature was swimming about on a pool of water quite close to the main path down to the beach.

191103 grey phalarope (3)

This was only my second ever sighting of a Grey phalarope, as these are birds that breed in the Arctic, spend most of their lives far out at sea, and only usually turn up around the British coast after bad weather.

191103 grey phalarope (4)

306/365 Starlings and a cock

02 Saturday Nov 2019

Posted by in autumn, birds, nature

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At this time of year, Starlings start to congregate, at first in small gatherings and then forming the large murmurations that astound all who see them. In the late afternoons / early evenings I am treated to a modest number that rendezvous on the roof of the church opposite my house and vie, noisily, for the prime position of sitting atop the cock on the steeple.

191103 starlings (1)

304/365 Portland pipits

31 Thursday Oct 2019

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During each of my three visits to Portland there has been a plethora of pipits, especially Rock pipits, like this one, using the stone walls of the lighthouse compound as its rocky shore, parachuting down on to the grass within to strut and probe, then popping back up to survey the scene … and the nearby photographer.

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