WALTON-IN-THE-WOLDS

We have been very fortunate with our English summer up until now. We have had rain but it barely affected whatever we were doing on any particular day.

Our location is on Six Hills Farm in Walton-on-the Wolds and as I write this I am looking out on saturated land that needs more sun and no more rain. This is our second day of heavy rain but it is forecast that clear skies will appear later. This is a beautiful renovated barn to stay in and one that we will be back to for this coming Christmas. It is a very good choice and the best accommodation in eleven weeks.

We have set the ‘trail camera’ up but nothing seems to have come close to activate it. There is both Fallow and Muntjac deer in the vicinity, together with Fox, Badger and elegant Hares. They are on show daily but we have only seen one at a time. Buzzards have flown regularly and we know that there is Kestrel here as well. Yesterday morning I walked out and had a good sighting of a Mistle Thrush feeding on the weather beaten cornfield and then I had my treat of the day when a male Yellowhammer flew up and perched on top of the hedge. I watched it for several minutes and was thrilled by its bright yellow head and brown body albeit straggly in the rain. We disturbed two Tawny Owls the other evening but have not heard or seen them since. Apparently there are Barn Owls here as well.

I think that this winter is going to be very tough particularly for the small bird populations. Although there is plenty of good cover with all the hedgerows but the berries seem to have gone already if, they were there at all after this very wet summer.

Sadly there are hardly any birds around the farm buildings and I surmise that there are no suitable nesting sites. I expected that there would be House Sparrows but not one was on view. In fact the last sparrow that we saw were Tree Sparrows at Rutland Water

ON THE MOVE AGAIN

Today is our last one in England's smallest county as we leave Oakham for Barrow-upon-Soar in the next county to the east - Leicestershire. We have to be there for tomorrow as Sammi (Michelle's neice)will be 18 and we we are there to help her celebrate it.

Today was another visit to Rutland Water to watch the ospreys. The wildlife trust resposible for the care of these birds have done a great job as there are breeding birds present here. We watched the female bird with her two chicks for several hours. We were lucky with our timing as they will soon all be going to their wintering grounds in West Africa. This years chicks will have to make the journey without any experience whatsoever. How about that for an experience! You can imagine that modern day human parents are relunctant to let their children play in the street. We love our wildlife but we respect the fact that they live in a dangerous world. Additionally there was much going on on the water with a mass of Tufted Ducks, Swans, Canada Geese ever present. In front of the hide was a nesting pair of Great Crested Grebes. This pair seem to be trying again to raise a brood and the second egg was laid this morning - too late I fear for this season. Shovellers were within metres of us and a Kingfisher perched in the tree next door.
We leave the small town world of Oakham for another stay in a rural setting.Another week of family, socialising, beer and birds.

HIGHS BUT NO LOWS

I was asked last night by Neal ‘On The Trains’ Ball what was the highlight so far. I had already anticipated that someone would ask this and my instant thought is that it has been all good – so much so that it seems that I have been having a great time everywhere we have been. I know that Michelle will have her own thoughts on this and I suspect that I can name a couple of her highs at least. She will say so later.

The one continual thought that I do have is just how beautiful England really is. We have seen some great trees and the countryside, thankfully, is littered with them. The five hundred or so years old oak at Tockwith sticks in my mind not because of its girth but because it is still there after centuries have past. It has history too for it is recorded that there was a field hospital under its younger limbs by Cromwell after the battle of Marston Moor which occurred a mile or so down the road in 1644.

We are staying at Oakham, Rutland Water is a mere 10 minutes away with great trees surrounded by English greens everywhere one looks. They are all fantastic.

Friday (18th) was our first visit to a Bird Fair. Lots to see and we did. To pursue our hobbies of birding and photography were on our primary list to achieve. We were also on a research mission to glean as much information in respect of Australia, including Tasmania, and New Zealand. We did that and more when we sat in for talks on, Andalucia, Extremadura and Sierra Andujar. This latter one was given by a birding friend Julian Sykes on how to see ‘El Lince’, the Iberian Lynx. You can see him on his website at www.juliansykeswildlife.com It is always good to see someone you know and chat over things. We enjoyed the weekend on some hot English summer days. The sun has really shone for us.

Today Michelle was in Leicester doing family things. I spent the day in the nature reserve. This is a must do site and even the Osprey flew in the afternoon. I concentrated on a few ducks which included Teal, Gadwell, Shoveller, Pochard and Scaup. I saw both Common and Green Sandpipers and also a Little Stint. All very worthwhile and I will go there again before we leave here. Another great day in England with some good moments writing this blog at The Grainstore while downing a pint of Rutland Panther. They have six ales and one mild all of their own and this coming Thursday is the start of the 13th Rutland Beer Festival when they will rack up 70 different ales, beers etc. I have tasted the six but 70! See them on www.grainstorebrewery.com if you are a beer buff like me.

OLYMPICS TO MINSMERE

It’s time for a ‘down’ day as we have been seeing so much and so, this morning, it is time to catch our proverbial breathe to reflect. In short we are having a bloody fantastic time having combined London’s – or should I say Britain’s - Olympics with our stay in England. I can still see the images of Eton Dorney, the podium at Hampton Court getting ready to present another gold medal and two Saturday evenings at the Olympic Stadium at Stratford in East London. Terrific stuff, terrific viewing that was full of emotion and national pride.

Whoever came up with the term ‘Games Makers’ for the volunteers deserves a gold medal for enhancing their contribution from that mundane word of ‘steward’. This should really be given the accolade of ‘The Friendly Games’ for there seemed to be smiles everywhere. The British Broadcasting Corporation provided the best coverage that anyone could produce. We have some great presenters who did their nation proud. While all this was going on we were still doing our own thing as you can see from previous blogs.

Since then we have been concentrating on more birding and photography. Both the Bittern and Bearded Tit had eluded us at Cley, Titchwell, and Lakenheath Fen. Yesterday we made a one and half hour journey through England’s beautiful rurality to go to Minsmere a marvellous RSPB site.
We had already spent hours looking for these elusive two species. Our luck soon changed. We met two friendly birders and when they entered our hide the Bittern flew. After twelve sightings we were on a high and the shots Michelle took ensured that we can see this great bird on a screen. The Bearded Tit was much more difficult with only a brief sighting as one dived back into the reeds. There is always tomorrow. We were a little late for adult Hobbies but a juvenile one flew down a dyke while we were waiting for a Bittern to fly again.

It's Summer in England

Today has seen clear blue skies and this is truely an English summer's day. Today was our first visit to Titchwell Marsh a well orgnanised RSPB site. We had a great day starting off with moths at 9am - no, I'm not getting nerdy or geeky - but there were some experts there. We ticked off fifty birds and the star of the day was a Whimbrel that we watched for 20 minutes or so - there was no doubt about it and our first since Tabarca about four years ago. According to a RSPB man there was also a juvenile Mediteranean Gull amongst all the Black-headed ones which we did get the scope on.

We finished off this little jaunt with a visit to the Kings Head in Blakney and beer served from behind the bar - you can't get that in Spainetter or better it.

ANOTHER GREAT DAY

This morning it was a good hour spent on Cley Marsh.We made the most of our time and as we walked to the hide there was a young Sedge Warbler sitting a few feet away in a bush, a Reed Bunting showed on top of a bush and a Reed Warbler proved too elusive for Michelle's camera. The best bird on the water was a Green Sandpiper followed closely with one Golden Plover still in winter plummage. There was also the most number of Knot that I have ever seen. A juvenile Marsh Harrier flew right in front of the hide to give us a good view of it. Luckily there was a Lesser Black Backed Gull only a few feet away from a group of Greater Backed which was good for comparison.

We then drove to Wisbeach via Fakenham and Kings Lynn and enjoyed the summer greens of the verges and hedgerows topped by the spent browns of the seeded grasses. Trees again we enjoyed.

On our return a hunting Barn Owl flew in good view a field's width away from the patio in good light so that Michelle managed to get three decent shots. Then two kestrels flew only yards away. It goes to show that you need to be lucky.

The two kayak men that we met at Low Newton, Northumberland are now in the Deal, Kent just 350 miles from home. You can see them on http://midlifekayak.com.That's it until tomorrow with a full day at Tichwell

Another Day in Cley Marshes

Norfolk has really got its act together. They have 54 sites in the county and tomorrow we will go past four of them as we drive via Fakenham towards Kings Lynn.This is a fantastic area not only for birding but for wildlife in the general sense. Its beautiful, interesting and the facilities are in place. if you don't believe me have a look on their website www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk to see for yourself. Why not follow their example of protecting Norfolk's wildlife for the future and pay them a visit.

Today we spent time in two different hides in the company of other birders who were friendly and helpful. Without them we would not have identified two Curlew Sandpipers away in the distance.We saw at close range Spotted Sandpipers in both summer and winter plumage. Our list for the day almost got to fifty and what do we know. We must have missed loads! The one and only Barnacle Goose was still evident and on the way out a Whitethroat popped up. Apparently there was a Common Gull close by but it would have probably have been my first good view of one.
That's it for now. Heading inland tomorrow for heath and ancient woodland.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust

Now that we are at Cley we joined this trust. We are staying for a week and we intend to spend many hours on the marshes here. This morning it was summer again with only a light breeze which made it ideal for a visit.There were plenty of waders on display but it was strange for us to see Spoonbill, Avocet and Little Egret other than in Spain.The pick of the day was seeing Golden Plover but the list still numbered twenty eight different species. We will keep looking for the smaller birds but our target is certainly to see Bearded Tits and of course the boomong Bittern.

ON THE MOVE AGAIN

The end of our fifth week saw us leaving Boggle Hole on the North Yorkshire coast, heading for Cley in Norfolk via Blacktoft Sands just a few miles east of Goole and south of the Humber. This is an important reserve run by RSPB. It’s a great place to sit and watch and give yourself a surprise or two.

The Tree Sparrow has made wonderful recoveries where the habitat has been restored for them to feed, nest and breed and here at Blacktoft is one of the locations where they exist in good numbers.
We also saw Black-tailed Godwits, Coot, Dunlin, Green Sandpipers, Lapwing, Little Grebe, Little Ringed Plover, Mallard, Moorhen, Pheasant, Redshank and Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Snipe, and Teal.

While we were watching the water birds two adult and two juvenile Marsh Harriers put on an ariel display for us which also included a parent dropping a meal for the youngster to catch. One of the young ones perched on top of a bush where we could see the immature plumage and compare it with an adult.

Patience paid off when a Water Rail emerged from the reeds and showed itself. This was not a first for us but they are always difficult to see. The other elusive one is the Bittern which is what we hope to see in Norfolk.

Blacktoft is a great place to go to, it is well organised, the hides are very good and the birds are on show. You should give it a visit and we would love to go back as there is so much to see. We did manage to see both Sedge and Reed Warbler with a male Blackcap showing.

Tomorrow it is going to be Cley Marshes just outside our door!

LAST DAYS OF JULY

It is now past the end of July we are in our fifth week with so much to see, to do and to enjoy. This week we are on a farm just above Boggle Hole an area that Michelle visited when much younger and this is the reason we are here. Anyway it is good to be close to the coast and be able to walk back along the beach after enjoying a beer in The Dolphin in Robin Hood’s Bay. Both of us agreed that a pint of ‘Wainwright’ from Thwaite was the best brew so far. We will have to visit again.

On Monday 30th we visited Bempton Cliffs to see and photograph the sea birds that nest on the cliffs. This is an RSPB reserve, the staff were helpful and informative and what a place to call your office! The Gannets and Kittiwakes provided most of the entertainment but we thought that we had our bird of the trip. A small falcon was perched on the cliff in clear view and was photographed. We thought that it could be a Merlin but it was a juvenile Kestrel. It was good moment but we will still look for the elusive Merlin. It was a great experience with people of all ages enjoying the location and supporting the efforts of conservation. We are now members again.

Yesterday was a different day as we walked the ‘Cinder Track’ from here to Whitby – a distance of about ten miles. This took us along the track of an old railway where the rails had been laid on cinders and the route was just inland of the coastal walk. There was a lot of activity in trees and bushes seemingly full of young birds. It was another good day which included the Larpool Viaduct that spans the River Esk and the Whitby to Grosmont railway line.