DDD

Thursday 2nd February

2012-02-02T20:05:00.004Z

Sunshine & Patchy Cloud, E 1>2

Managed to bag an handful of species for the month and a couple of photos.

Elsecar Road : Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Fieldfare, Pheasant, Pink-footed Goose 75+ NNW.

Lake : Reed Bunting 2.

Spoil Heap : Lesser Redpoll 5.

Garden : Lapwing 9 (7 S & 2 N), Siskin 1 W.

Pinks

Common Gull

Birds : February - 46

Wednesday 1st February

2012-02-01T20:13:00.007Z

Cold, Sunny, E 1>2

A pretty average bird day was had around the village. But with it being the start of a new month, i`ll mention every species seen or heard ;

Garden (am) : Robin, Blackbird, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Rook, Cormorant 1 S Magpie, Woodpigeon, Black-headed Gull, Greenfinch, Stock Dove 1, Starling, Collared Dove, Blue Tit, Wren.

Hillies : Great Tit, Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 (drumming).

Lake : Pied Wagtail, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Tufted Duck 27, Canada Goose, Coot (inc colour-ringed bird), Pochard 3, Common Gull 2, Shoveler 7, Moorhen, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Grey Heron 1.

Spoil Heap : Long-tailed Tit, Sparrowhawk 1, Mute Swan 2 E.

TPT : Bullfinch.

Garden (pm) : Jackdaw, Goldfinch.

Birds : February - 37

We all know that birding can be unpredictable, in that you never know what`s gonna be seen. Well, the same can be said about photographing em. Some days you can`t manage a single shot (even of the common stuff) and then on others, like today, you get them to perform ;

Black-headed Gull - coming into summer plumage

Pochard

Pied Wagtail

All the above were taken with the video camera, on stills mode.

Tuesday 31st January

2012-01-31T20:12:00.006Z

Cloudy (Wintry Showers am), E 1>3

A bitterly cold day and apart from the usual species at Cortonwood, the only other notable sighting was that of a single Lesser Black-backed Gull NE over the garden.

Birds : January / Year - 71. That`s a whole 2 species more than this time last year. It could have been more had it not been for the absence of : Great Crested Grebe, Wigeon, Teal, Peregrine, Snipe & Kingfisher.

To make this post that little bit longer, i`ll add the highlights from this month ;

Water Rail : 1 calling from the Post Office Pond on 1st, 1 flushed from one of the lake inflows on 4th & 1 calling from the stream adjacent to the TPT on 26th.
Shoveler : Recorded regularly on the Lake from 2nd, with a max of 9 there on 28th.
Pochard : Max counts were of 4 birds on the Lake on 6th & 9th.
Tufted Duck : Max count was of 37 birds on the lake on 30th.
Tawny Owl : A pair calling from the Spoil Heap on the evenings of 10th & 11th, and a single bird calling close to the back garden on the morning of 29th.
Pink-footed Goose : 4 skeins totalling c775 birds over on 14th > 16th.
Merlin : 1 S over the garden on 15th was without doubt the bird of the month.
Coot : A colour-ringed bird (from either Cheshire or Lancashire) present on the Lake from 18th to the months end.
Goosander : Max count of 7 birds on the Lake on 19th.
Gadwall : 1 drk on the Lake on 20th.
Buzzard : A very poor month, with only a single SW over the garden on 23rd.
Goldeneye : 1 female on the lake on 25th was only my 2nd patch record.
Cormorant : Max count was of 19 birds W over the garden on 28th.
Redshank : 1 calling over the garden (early morning) on 28th.

So what can i expect from February ? Well, apart from the aforementioned missing species for this month, there`s every chance of passage Curlew, Skylark & Meadow Pipit.
And depending on the weather, there could be my first Butterflies of the year, along with some more Moths to add to the 4 species i`ve already recorded.

Monday 30th January

2012-01-30T20:08:00.006Z

Cloudy (Sunny Spells pm), ENE 1

Things remain pretty much the same at Cortonwood, with the best from this morning being : Shoveler 3, Pochard 1, Tufted Duck 37, Coot (colour-ringed bird) & Great Spotted Woodpecker 2. I`d better make the most of the birds on the lake, what with the temperature droping to -7 C on Wednesday night. Can`t see there being any open water on Thursday.

And the best of the birds from the garden during the afternoon, were : Stock Dove 1 (feeding), Goldfinch 8 (feeding). No pre-roost gathering of the latter and that was probably due to the Sparrowhawk that was perched in the tree where the Goldies usually congregate.

Stock Dove - When i photographed this or the other bird of the pair last week, i said i was pretty sure that they had got young in the nest (due to the bird`s full crop). Now i`m even more convinced, because if my eye`s aren`t decieving me, there are signs of a brood patch visible on this individual.

Goldfinch

Sunday 29th January

2012-01-29T20:54:00.006Z

Hard Frost, Cloudy, Showers from Mid-Afternoon, ESE 1

Another good bird to start the day with and that was the Tawny Owl that was calling from somewhere close to the back garden, at 06:25.
Once it got light, i hung back a bit so that i could wish Storm a happy (15th) birthday. And while waiting for the lazy sod to get out of bed, i managed a couple of species for the notebook, and they were : Stock Dove 1 (feeding) & Greylag Geese 19 SW (small skeins of 7 & 12).

Tawny Owl : bit of a cheat this one, as it`s my stuffed bird. It was picked up as a roadkill from Elsecar Road, several years back.

Cortonwood was again pretty quiet, with the best being : Shoveler 3, Pochard 1, Tufted Duck 31, Treecreeper 1.
And the photos taken were none of the above ;

Black-headed Gull

Ice formation over a puddle

Saturday 28th January

2012-01-29T05:13:00.003Z

Sunny, Cold, N 1

The day couldn`t have got off to a better start, when the "teu teu" call of a Redshank was heard over the garden at 06:40. It `s surprising what you can pick up, when you stand at the back door during the pre-daylight hours. That was it then till it got light, and the other notable stuff from the garden (prior to setting off for Cortonwood), were ;
Cormorant 19 W (flocks of 8 & 11), Stock Dove 1 (feeding), Mistle Thrush 1 (singing).

Cormorants

Despite the excellent calm conditions, Cortonwood was pretty quiet, with the lake producing the only highlights ;
Grey Heron 1, Shoveler 9, Pochard 3, Tufted Duck 30, Coot (colour-ringed bird).

Carrion Crow

Back at home and the only species to make it into the notebook, was a pre-roost gathering of 30 Goldfinch.

Birds : January / Year - 70

Friday 27th January

2012-01-28T05:41:00.002Z

Frequent Showers, SW 1>2

Shower after shower after shower, was the order of the day and there was nothing for it but to spend the day indoors. And with nothing to report from in or over the garden, it made for a very tedious time.
In fact the best thing to happen, was that the farmer where we keep the horses, sent me a sack of Wheat. Very kind of him, i thought and no doubt it`ll be appreciated by the birds. Even more so, now that a Siberian freeze as been forecast for the WHOLE of next month.
If it`s right, we can say goodbye to the Amphibians & Moths for a while. But on the other hand, it might just stir up a bit of bird movement.

Thursday 26th January

2012-01-26T21:02:00.004Z

Sunshine & Patchy Cloud, S>SW 2

Crikey, i must be on a roll, with my 2nd productive day on the trot. Here`s the best bits ;

Elsecar Road : Red-legged Partridge 2 (in one of the horse paddocks).
Lake : Grey Heron 1, Shoveler 4, Pochard 2, Tufted Duck 24, Goosander 1, Coot (colour-ringed bird).
Spoil Heap : Grey Partridge (several, calling).
TPT : Water Rail 1 (calling from adjacent stream).
Pit Lane : Jay 2.
Matalan (lights) : Early Moth 1 &

Pale Brindled Beauty (1 of 3)

Chestnut

Satellite

Birds : January / Year - 69

With the weather turning cold again for the foreseeable, i can`t see there being much variety to report for a while.

Wednesday 25th January

2012-01-25T20:51:00.004Z

Bright Spells, SW 1>2

Finally, i have something different to report :-) And i`ll start with some late news from last night. When i went to lock up, i felt that the conditions (mild & rain) were right for a particular species. So i grabbed my lamp and went a searching around the garden, and low & behold, my hunch was right : my first Common Frog of the year ;

And the trend for something different continued this morning. I arrived at Cortonwood Lake and at first, it was a case of the usual suspects. Then a pair of Goosanders came into sight from around the island and alongside them was a smaller & darker Duck. And it turned out to be a female Goldeneye. My 2nd ever patch record for this species.
Relating back to last night`s mild conditions, i decided to check around the lights at the back & side of the Matalan store and was rewarded with a single Pale Brindled Beauty (unfortunately out of reach for potting up) &

Early Moth (1 of 4)

& this Ichneumon sp ;

I`m gonna leave it at that, because as i type this, Blogger is informing me (in red script) that there are problems.

Birds : January / Year - 66

Tuesday 24th January

2012-01-24T20:33:00.003Z

Rain (am), Low Cloud/Mist (pm), SE 1

Still nothing new to report from Cortonwood.

Monday 23rd January

2012-01-24T05:26:00.003Z

Sunny, WNW 1>3

Virtually the same species at Cortonwood, including the colour-ringed Coot ;

Back at home and the bird of the day was the Buzzard that went SW over the garden, late afternoon.

Birds : January / Year - 65

Sunday 22nd January

2012-01-22T20:41:00.003Z

Early Showers. Sunny from Mid-Morning, Strong WNW gusting 9

Very difficult birding Cortonwood this morning. At times i`d all on standing upright, never mind looking through my bins. Nevertheless, again it was a case of the same highlights as previous days. Give or take the actual numbers of each species.

Back at home and it was good to see one half of the pair of the Stock Doves put in an appearance, after a couple of weeks absence. And judging by their absence and the full crop on the bird below, i`m presuming they must have newly hatched chicks in the nest. Wherever that may be.

Saturday 21st January

2012-01-22T05:32:00.002Z

Sunny Spells, Showers, Strong W gusting 7

This blog is starting to look like one of those +1 tv channels. The only difference is, that here you get to see the same thing again a day later, rather than an hour later.
So let`s cut to the chase and say the best from the day, were : 8 Shoveler & the colour-ringed Coot.

I knew i wouldn`t/couldn`t stay positive for long.

Friday 20th January

2012-01-21T05:23:00.006Z

Light to Moderate Rain (all day), NW 1>2

Nearly didn`t bother with Cortonwood, what with the weather. But bother i did and was rewarded with my first Gadwall of the year ;

Apart from the above, it was a case of the usual highlights ;
Grey Heron 1, Shoveler 1 (drk), Pochard 1, Tufted Duck 8, Goosander 4 (2 drk).

It was good to see the colour-ringed Coot was still present and despite getting it to come to bread & seed, it just wouldn`t stay still long enough to allow me to read the alloy ring. Now if it had performed like these two, i might have had a chance ;

Talking of chance`s. I`ve not heard from that job i applied for, on Monday. And with it being taken off the listings, it looks like i`m not going to........now.

Birds : January / Year - 64

Thursday 19th January

2012-01-19T20:32:00.002Z

Sunny. Showers from Late Afternoon, Cold W 5

Cortonwood appears to be stuck in a rut. And what i mean by that is, that the lake is the only area producing the highlights. Nevertheless, after yesterday`s warm conditions the majority of the water is now ice-free and as a result, it pulled in a couple of other species (nothing for the year list, though) ;

Grey Heron 1, Mute Swan 2, Shoveler 4, Pochard 1, Tufted Duck 8, Goosander 7 (6 drk).

No sign of the colour-ringed Coot. But having said that, all the birds were on the water. Will have to take a bag of bread & seed tomorrow and see if i can tempt them onto dry land. That way i might be able to read some of the digits on its alloy ring and then Kane could possibly piece together the individual`s identity.

Wednesday 18th January

2012-01-18T20:08:00.005Z

(Early Rain), Cloudy, SW 4 easing > 1

I was well chuffed to arrive at Cortonwood and find no less than 8 Shoveler on the lake. They appeared very unsettled and took to the air everytime a dogwalker went by ;

Then i had a WARREN moment and got very excited, about.....................a Coot. But this wasn`t one of the resident birds. Oh no, it was a colour-ringed interloper from the W/NW of the country. I took a record shot and went home to do some research on the bird. Finally found the ringing project responsible and within a few minutes i had a reply from a guy called Kane. He confirmed it was one of their birds, but unfortunately at some point down the line, the bird had lost a colour ring from its left leg. As a result, he couldn`t give me any details other than the bird was rung in either Cheshire or Lancashire.
Nevertheless, it`s still a great record & shows clearly the movements/dispersal of what you would regard to be a sedentary species. And it makes a change from the usual colour-ringed Mute Swans ;

Tuesday 17th January

2012-01-18T04:58:00.003Z

Hard Frost, Sunshine & Patchy High Cloud, S 1

I don`t know why, but i wasn`t with it, today. I just couldn`t muster the enthusiasm to venture out. Instead, opting to stay at home. And all i managed from the whole day, was to point the camera at these two subjects ;

Monday 16th January

2012-01-16T20:09:00.005Z

Hard Frost, Sunny, SE 1

"contrail morning"

Even less on the lake at Cortonwood this morning, with the only notables being 3 Tufted Duck & 1 Reed Bunting. However, the TPT came up trumps with my first Willow Tit of the year.

The only notables from home were a flock off 11 Lapwing SW and then while on defrosting the birdbath duty, i heard a skein of Pink-feet coming over, so i ran in the house for the camera. I now wish i`d chosen to come out with my bins, instead. That way i might have been able to do better than a grainy pic and actually identify the white bird (5 up from the bottom). Think i`ll err on the edge of caution and say leucistic Pink, rather than Snow Goose ;

Birds : January / Year - 63

Oh and while i`m here. I applied for another (cleaning) vacancy today. The lady on the other end of the line took my details & phone number and said they`d be in touch. Now, where & when have i heard that before ;-)

Sunday 15th January

2012-01-15T20:30:00.009Z

Hard Frost, Cloudy, Brightening from Mid-Afternoon, SE 1

My best patch day of the year so far, and it started off with 3 Goosander SW & a skein of c100 Pink-footed Geese W over the garden, has i was leaving for Cortonwood.

Cortonwood itself was pretty quiet to start with and with the lake being 80% frozen over most of the wildfowl had buggered off elsewhere. The best that the open water held were 4 Pochard & just 2 Tufted Duck.
However things picked up along the Trans Pennine Trail, with 2 very vocal Great Spotted Woodpeckers & another skein of Pink-feet for the day (c200 W).
The grey skies made for what felt like an even colder day than yesterday ;

Hillies

Spoil Heap

Back at home and it was a struggle to keep the birdbath ice free, as can be seen by this ;

Mistle Thrush

And it was during one of the trips out with the kettle that i had the bird of the day, when a male MERLIN came speeding over from the N. It ingnored all the panicking Starlings and carried on heading S. Mind you, Starlings might be too much of an handful for such a dainty falcon.

Birds : January / Year - 62

Saturday 14th January

2012-01-15T04:48:00.002Z

Air/Ground Frost, Sunny, SE 1

A proper winter`s day, but no hoped for cold weather movement at Cortonwood. Here`s the best (usual) that was on offer ;

Lake : Grey Heron 1, Pochard 3, Tufted Duck 16, Goosander 1 drk, Reed Bunting 1.
Spoil Heap : Green Woodpecker 1.

However, the biggest highlight of the day came back at home, when a skein of c400 Pink-footed Geese went W over the garden at 12:15. Part of a large scale movement that took place over Yorkshire during the morning/early afternoon.

Birds : January / Year - 61

Friday 13th January

2012-01-14T05:41:00.003Z

Ground Frost, Sunny, Cold, Variable 1

Not wanting to sound negative, but the highlights from Cortonwood were pretty much the same, with the exception of a drk Shoveler making an appearance, after being absent the previous day.

Back at home and the best of the species were those that were passing over, with : Cormorant 4 SW, Great Black-backed Gull 2 N & Fieldfare 9 W.

And the only pic from the day, was this pristine adult winter Black-headed Gull ;

Thursday 12th January

2012-01-12T21:16:00.006Z

Sunny from Mid-Morning, NW 8 easing > 1 Late Afternoon

Despite the very gusty morning, i still refuse to be anything other than positive. And yes, before you say anything, you have arrived at the right blog ;-)

It was hard going birding the morning, and again the only highlights from Cortonwood, came from the lake ;
Grey Heron 1, Greylag Geese 18 NW, Pochard 3, Tufted Duck 20.

Back at home, and the garden was very quiet, save for a pair of Blue Tits showing an interest in one of the nestboxes.

Greylags

Hazel (female flower)

"can`t remember what it`s called" on horse manure

Cramp Balls

Really hoping the drop in temp over the next few days stirs up a bit of cold weather movement. You never know, i might just get some other Duck sp`s dropping onto the lake.

Wednesday 11th January

2012-01-11T20:09:00.006Z

Sunny (am), Cloudy (pm), SW 1>2

Another enjoyable day was had and it started with a Song Thrush singing in the garden, well before it got light.
And once it got light, i was off out to Cortonwood, where the lake provided the only highlights ;
Grey Heron 1, Cormorant 1, Mute Swan 2, Shoveler 2 drk, Pochard 2, Tufted Duck 20.

Mute Swan

Back at home for the afternoon and the only thing to show from a poor session, was this very approachable Woodpigeon ;

I wasn`t going to bother with the lamping/netting at Cortonwood, this evening. But with the temps set to drop dramatically from tomorrow, i decided to bite the bullet. And guess what ?............ i actually managed to not only see a moth, but net it as well ;

Early Moth

And just like yesterday evening, a pair of Tawnies were again calling from the Spoil Heap.

Birds : January / Year - 60

Tuesday 10th January

2012-01-10T21:09:00.004Z

Sunshine & Patchy Cloud, WSW 1>2

Another decent weather day, made for another pleasant stroll around the patch. Just a pity the highlights from Cortonwood, were just about the same as previous days ;

Lake : Grey Heron 1, Shoveler 2 drk, Pochard 3, Tufted Duck 20, Reed Bunting 1.

Morrisons Pond : Reed Bunting 1.

Back at home and a few more species were added to the highlights : Great Black-backed Gull 2 W, Fieldfare 3 N, Woodpigeon c2000 WSW (to roost), Goldfinch c40 (pre-roost gathering).

This evening and with the temp reading 10 deg C, i decided to have an after dark visit to Cortonwood. And just like Sunday night, i failed to see a single moth. But this time i did manage to get another target species, with a pair of Tawny Owls calling from the Spoil Heap.

Birds : January / Year - 59

Monday 9th January

2012-01-09T21:00:00.007Z

Sunny Spells, W 1>2

Not many highlights to speak of, but i still enjoyed the day. Well, for most of it. Which, i`ll explain why at the end of this post.
So, let`s get the highlights out of the way, first ;

Hillies : Green Woodpecker 1.

Lake : Grey Heron 1, Shoveler 2 drk, Pochard 4, Tufted Duck 18.

Black-headed Gull

Tufted Duck

The thing i like most about the above 2 shots, is not the birds, but the light giving the lake, the hue of the sea.

Didn`t bother doing any mothing tonight. And here`s why ;

Birds : January / Year - 58

Right, back to what i mentioned earlier. 9 days into the year and i thought i was doing well with my positive outlook. Well, this afternoon, a bit (or more like a lot) of negativity hit home. Some of you will remember that i applied (by phone) for a warehouse cleaning job, prior to christmas. When i last contacted them, they said that the interviews would take place at the start of the new year. Well, for the last week, i`ve been eagerly waiting my interview date, and up to today i`d not heard anything. So i rang them to enquire about said interviews and guess what their reply was ?....... "Sorry, but the vacancy has already been filled"
What pisses me of (big time), is that all you had to do was to phone up to get an interview. So why do they take your number and give you false hopes, when it`s clear that they had no intentions of interviewing all the applicants. The whole system............ fucking stinks !!!!

Sunday 8th January

2012-01-09T04:42:00.009Z

Cloudy, WNW 2

Felt a lot better in myself and with the wind being on the light side, there was no way i was stopping indoors. So off to Cortonwood i went. Nothing was added to the year list and the highlights were pretty much the same as my last visit ;

Lake : Shoveler 1 drk, Pochard 3, Tufted Duck 29, Reed Bunting 2.

TPT : Song Thrush 1 (singing), Great Spotted Woodpecker 1.

The best of the non-birdy stuff were the first female flowers of Hazel. A bit too dark/cloudy to photograph something so small. But while looking at said flowers, i happened upon this small group of 7-spot Ladybirds overwintering inside a Hazel leaf ;

At home for the afternoon, where the garden produced : Long-tailed Tit 12, Goldfinch 25 (pre-roost gathering) & several Blackbirds. The latter, ignoring the apples i`d put out and choosing to feed on the (softer) pears, instead ;

At dusk and with the outside thermometer reading a balmy 11 deg C, i decided that an hour`s mothing at Cortonwood was in order. But despite lamping the wooded side of the Spoil Heap & the TPT, i failed to see a single moth. I even failed to connect with an hoped for Tawny Owl :-(

Saturday 7th January

2012-01-08T05:15:00.003Z

Sunshine & Patchy Cloud, NW 4>7

Another day where my cold virus took a step back. It was one of those day`s where i just couldn`t get warm (and that was indoors). So i wasn`t going to risk feeling worse by venturing out into that cold & blustery NW`ly.
Nevertheless, all was not lost, as a flock of c70 Golden Plover went NW over the garden. Species no 57 for the month/year.

Friday 6th January

2012-01-07T05:29:00.005Z

Ground Frost, Sunny (Patchy Cloud pm), W 1>2

A calm & dry day made for a very pleasant change. And although the highlights included 2 new species for the year, there wasn`t anything out of the ordinary ;

Lake : Grey Heron 1, Shoveler 1 drk, Pochard 4 & Tufted Duck 15.

Spoil Heap : Lesser Redpoll 20+.

Garden : Long-tailed Tit 10+, Coal Tit 1 (singing), Goldfinch 2 (feeding), Kestrel 1 NE & Goldcrest 1.

Birds : January / Year - 56

Thursday 5th January

2012-01-05T21:22:00.005Z

Frequent Heavy Showers (am), Sunny (pm), NW 9 easing throughout the day

Didn`t get as far as the school playing field before i had to turn back, this morning. I got hit by one mother of a shower and not having fully recovered from the cold virus, the only sane thing to do was to hastily head back home.
So all my efforts went into watching from the garden, where i was rewarded with a flock of c80 Lapwing NE & a Kestrel that was hovering overhead.
Not so rewarding was what the wind had done to my Silver Birch. My favourite "garden" tree that i`ve nurtured from a tiny sapling, is no longer ;

Birds : January / Year - 54

Wednesday 4th January

2012-01-04T21:22:00.005Z

Cloudy, Light Showers, W 2>4 / gusting WSW 8 by Evening

Thought i was just about getting over the cold virus. But this morning, i felt worse than i did last week. Nevertheless, i still managed to venture out. Here`s the highlights ;

Elsecar Road : Yellowhammer 2 (in one of the horse paddocks).

Cortonwood Lake : Shoveler 1 drk, Pochard 3, Tufted Duck 18, Water Rail 1 (flushed from one of the inflow ditches).

Garden : Cormorant 3 (2 NE & 1 SW).

Carrion Crow - Cortonwood

Birds : January / Year - 53

Tuesday 3rd January

2012-01-03T18:19:00.007Z

Rain (clearing mid-morning), Sunny Spells & Showers (pm), Strong SW gusting 8

Despite the crap weather, my attitude remained positive. And yes, you have read that right ;-)

Right, on with the day`s sightings and the first notable species were 2 calling Linnets S over the garden.
I don`t usually venture out when it`s too windy, due to not much being about. But today i did and set off for Cortonwood, mid-morning. I went via the school playing field and cut across the "now" wasteland where the leisure centre used to be and was very surprised to happen upon this flowering Yellow Chamomile ;

Not as impressive as when i found this "first for the Rotherham Borough", last summer.

From there, i attempted to make my way along Elsecar Road, which was a task in itself. What i mean by that is, that it was hard going walking into the strong wind. And after what felt like a lifetime, i arrived at Cortonwood, where the only highlights came from the lake ;
Grey Heron 1, Shoveler 1 (drk), Pochard 2 (fem) & Tufted Duck 17.

Back at home, i managed to get my first Raptor of the year, when a Sparrowhawk went S over the garden. And while picking some wind-strewn rubbish up, i noticed that the Lungwort was coming into flower ;

Snowdrops, Yellow Chanomile & Lungwort !!!!!! flowering within the first 3 days of the year, whatever next ?

Birds : January / Year - 51

Monday 2nd January

2012-01-02T21:24:00.006Z

Ground Frost, Sunny, Cold, SW 2

Wall to wall sunshine all day, made for a very pleasant time. And that was further enhanced by adding 8 more species to the village year list.
First up was a flock of 7 Great Black-backed Gulls that went S over the garden, has i was heading off out.
Passed by the Junior School on my way to Cortonwood and had 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and surprisingly, several (early) clumps of these ;

Snowdrops

Only 2 days into the year and already Cortonwood was back to its usual self, in that the lake provided the only highlights ;
Goosander 1 drk, Grey Heron 1, Canada Geese, Reed Bunting 2, Pochard 3, Tufted Duck 18, Shoveler 1 drk & several Siskin.

Canada`s

Back at home and a few more species made it into the notebook ;
Herring Gull 8 SW, Grey Wagtail 1 (on house roof, briefly), Lapwing 30 NE & Goldfinch 25 (pre-roost gathering). Also, quite a few Magpies kicking about ;

January / Year - 49

Really hoping tomorrow`s wet & windy forecast doesn`t bring out the negative mood, that i`m so wishing to avoid.

Sunday 1st January

2012-01-02T04:55:00.007Z

Bright Start. Cloudy with Light>Moderate Rain from Mid-Morning, SW 2>4

A new month & a new year list to start and it was inevitable that Robin would be the first one onto the list. Other species to fall from the garden, were ;
Blackbird, Wren, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Black-headed Gull, Starling, Collared Dove, Mistle Thrush 1 (singing), Coal Tit, Common Gull, Stock Dove 2 (feeding), Jackdaw & Rook.

It`s been well over a week since i`ve ventured out, so with the sun only just breaking the horizon (which seems to take forever at this time of year), i set off for Cortonwood. Here`s what fell, where ;

HILLIES ;
Pheasant & Redwing.

LAKE ;
Coot, Mallard, Tufted Duck 18, Grey Heron 1, Moorhen, Tree Sparrow 20>30, Goosander 1 drk & Pochard 2.

SPOIL HEAP ;
Fieldfare 9 SW.

TPT (upper) ;
Chaffinch, Long-tailed Tit & Treecreeper 1.

POST OFFICE POND ;
Water Rail 1 (calling).

PIT LANE ;
Herring Gull 3 W, Bullfinch 3, Song Thrush 1 (singing) & Great Tit.

Sunrise over the Hillies

Pit Lane - looking S

Pit Lane - looking N

Back at home for the duration, where i added Greenfinch, Goldfinch & 2+ calling Greylag Geese went N, after dark.

January / Year - 41

I`ve not set myself a target for this year and as you can see from the previous 2 years totals, it`ll be somewhere in that ballpark.
2010 : Year - 118 / Monthly average - 72.8
2011 : Year - 119 / Monthly average - 67.1

2012

2012-01-01T04:34:00.003Z

So here it is.....a new year & a new start. My main aim for this year is to ditch the negativity i (all too often) expressed over the last 12 months. But most of the time it was a by-product of a few personal problems that i had to contend with, during the year. All that`s out of the way now, so there`s no reason to be anything but positive again.

I`m still feeling a tad under the weather, from the cold virus that i picked up last week. Nevertheless, once it gets light i`ll be taking a much needed stroll around the patch. And to kick this, the first post of the year off, i thought i`d share with you, my recording equipment ;

Swift "Ultralight" 8x42 (these have served me well over the years. Only wish i could afford a new pair)
Fuji Finepix S 8100 (for micro moth photography)
Fuji Finepix S5700 (general use) (used to take the above shot. Hence it not being there)
Panasonic HDC-SD60 (HD video recorder + 5mp stills camera)
Notebook & Pencil

And to finish this post. I`d like to wish all the people who read, follow, comment & identify species for me, a very Happy "& wildlife filled" New Year. Good health to you all.

Respite

2011-12-28T05:28:00.005Z

Unless something`s seen from the garden, i don`t think i`ll be posting anything for a few days. The reason being, is that i feel like death warmed up.
I was feeling fine yesterday morning and then...... BANG!!!!, i took a sudden side-swipe from a cold virus.
Nothing for it but to pop a few pills & down some extra vitamin C and hope i`m birding fit, for Sunday.

Christmas!!!!!...........it well get better....

2011-12-25T16:09:00.006Z

....as the day goes on

We got the kids a netbook each for Christmas and the job of getting them up & running fell down to me. Rudi`s was simple to do, but Storm`s was a real pain in the arse. Whatever i did, i just couldn`t find the wifi enable connection. We thought that it must have been faulty, but after much searching of the damn netbook, i found it. Unlike Rudi`s, the one Storm had got had been disabled. And while all this was going on (pulling out of hair, colourful language etc), they went out of my way and out for a ride.
At least now i dont have to wait till they`ve done Facebooking & Homework to get access to the PC. This one`s all mine!!!!!........ now.

The track (Skinhead Girl) that i posted yesterday, well, i`m posting it again. But this time in its original Reggae/Ska glory ;

Right, that`s got me in the mood for some drink & more music :-)

A very Merry Christmas....

2011-12-24T15:37:00.004Z

....to all the readers & followers of this here blog. Hope you all have a good one.

The most exciting thing to happen over the last 3 days (for me, that is ;-) is that Jakki finally bit the bullet and went back to her old hairstyle. Just got to slap some bleach on it, now ;

Wednesday 21st December

2011-12-22T05:14:00.002Z

Overnight/Early Rain, Low Cloud, WNW 1>2

Another miserable weather day, but it was brightened up with a few species over the garden : a Peregrine drifted ESE & a flock of 37 large Gulls consisting of Herring, Lesser Black-Backed & Great Black-backed went S late morning.

Birds : December - 66

Tuesday 20th December

2011-12-21T06:01:00.004Z

High Cloud, NW 3>1

The best that Cortonwood produced from the morning was a single Jay. It really is something of a struggle, this month.
Back at home and things livened up somewhat. Not with a bird though, but my first ever garden WEASEL. It was present for about 5 mins, before it disappeared under the side hedge. Would`ve been nice to get a shot of it. But that wasn`t to be.
Don`t know what`s up regards the lack of birds coming into feed, and below is the only species other than Collared Doves to do so ;

Birds : December - 63

Monday 19th December

2011-12-20T05:28:00.003Z

Icy, Overcast, Rain, SW 1>2

An awful day, that was thankfully brightened up by the presence of a drk Shoveler on the only bit of unfrozen water (c10%) on Cortonwood Lake.

Birds : December - 62

Review of the Year (Pt 3)

2011-12-19T08:33:00.005Z

April

A total of 79 bird species were recorded around the village, with most of the highlights being the arrival of summer migrants. Here`s the first dates for such species ;

Blackcap - 2 singing along the TPT on 1st.
House Martin - 1 N over the garden on 2nd.
Sand Martin - 1 feeding over the lake on 2nd.
Wheatear - pair on the vacant building plot on Cortonwood Drive on 2nd.
Willow Warbler - 2 on the Spoil Heap on 5th.
Swallow - 1 feeding over the horse paddocks on Elsecar Road on 7th.
Whitethroat - 1 on the Hillies on 10th.
Grasshopper Warbler - 1 on the Hillies on 13th.
Little Ringed Plover - pair on the vacant building plot on Cortonwood Drive on 13th.
Lesser Whitethroat - 1 singin on the TPT on 19th.
Garden Warbler - 1 singing by the Post Office Pond on 21st.
Sedge Warbler - 1 singing on the Post Office Pond on 23rd.
Reed Warbler - 1 singing on the Post Office Pond on 25th.
Swift - 3 over the garden on 25th.
Yellow Wagtail - 1 Nover the Hillies on 28th.

The month also produced 2 firsts for the patch ;

SANDWICH TERN - 1 very vocal bird N over the garden on 28th.
PINTAIL - 1 drk on the Lake on 30th.

The best of the moths from the month was not one, but two Water Carpet ab porrittii. Both being netted along the TPT. This is a very scarce aberration, nationally ;

The month also saw the emergence of the first of the Odanata of the year ;

Large Red Damselfly

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Saturday 17th December (Punk`s not Dead........)

2011-12-18T06:53:00.012Z

(.....but the patch was)

Had an hour around Cortonwood, but nothing doing. So it was back home to to wait eagerly for the long awaited punk fest, at Sheffield. All i can say is, that i`m glad it was an all dayer and not just an evening event, otherwise i`d have been climbing the walls.

Although there were about a dozen bands playing, it was the 3 headliners that was the main reason for going.
The first of which, was the Subhumans. Who played a belting set, in their typical anarchic way.
The Buzzcocks closed the night with an hour of their classic & melodic tunes.
But it was the Angelic Upstarts that stole the show. The whole venue erupted into a stomping frenzy when they opened their set.
A fantastic day and one that will go into the memory bank, along with all the other gigs that have been stored there, over the years.
Punk`s not just about the music. It`s an attitude & an intimacy between the bands and their fans. There`s no distance between the stage & the crowd, no barriers & no thinking that they`re above anyone.

Dick - Subhumans

Mensi - Angelic Upstarts

Pete Shelley - Buzzcocks

Steve Diggle - Buzzcocks

Friday 16th December

2011-12-17T05:24:00.005Z

Icy, Cloudy, NW 1

A double disappointment at Cortonwood. The first of which was the birding (i`ll say no more on that subject). The second, was my job hunting jaunt. I`d heard that there was an outside cleaning job going on the Retail Park. Now that would`ve been ideal for me, being able to bird the patch whilst working. But i had no luck, as the vacancy had already been taken. Nevertheless, i`ve still got a chance (or have i ?) with the other vacancy i applied for, at Manvers.

Back at home, and i finally got some positivity out of the day, with a calling Goldcrest in the garden and better still, a calling Redshank over, after dark.

Just the one photo from the day ;

Carrion Crow

Birds : December - 61

As i type this, i`ve got just over 7 hours to wait for my christmas prezzie. Bring it on ;

Thursday 15th December

2011-12-16T05:14:00.005Z

Early Snow, then Sunny, W 2

The first white stuff of the season fell for about half an hour, early morning. But it didn`t amount to much. Unlike the whiteouts we were getting this time, last year.
All that besides, on with the birds. And as i was leaving the house, 3 Skylark headed N over the garden.
Cortonwood was business as usual to start with, but the Spoil Heap produced a decent flock of c70 Redpoll. Problem was, they were very unsettled & flighty and every time they landed, it was always into the sun. So i wasn`t able to grill them for anything more scarce than Lessers.

Like i said, the snow didn`t amount to much. But it gave me a couple of photographic oppotunities ;

Birds : December - 59

Wednesday 14th December

2011-12-15T06:04:00.003Z

Sunny (am), Cloudy (pm), SW 2>3

Slightly better than the previous 2 days, but i still remain unimpressed : 1 Cormorant, 18 Tufted Duck, 1 Goosander & 1 Reed Bunting. All from the lake.

Tuesday 13th December

2011-12-13T21:30:00.003Z

Sunny, SW 3>5

Another all too quiet day around the patch and the above flock of Cormorants (over the garden) was as good as it got.
Roll on Saturday, when i can blow the cobwebs away, at the "Avenues & Alleyways" Punk all dayer.

Monday 12th December + Review of the Year (Pt 2)

2011-12-12T21:19:00.007Z

Sunny. Clouding over Late Afternoon, Rain from Early Evening, WSW 2>5

Nothing from either the garden or Cortonwood made it into the notebook, today. It really was that quiet.
So, it`s straight onto the best bits from March.
77 bird species were recorded around the village, with the best being ;

Dunlin : 1 calling over the garden on the evening of 4th.
Oystercatcher : The first returning birds were 2 W over the garden on 7th.
Waxwing : 8 around Cortonwood lake on 8th, 1 in the garden on 14th & 23 in the village park on 18th.
Woodcock : 1 roding over the spoil heap on 20th.
Curlew : 1 W over the garden on 28th.

The month also saw the emergence of several species of Lepidoptera, with these being my personal favourites ;

Comma

Peacock

Caloptilia stigmatella

Many-plumed Moth

Might take me a while to sort the April highlights out, what with the arrival of most of the spring migrants to go through.

Sunday 11th December + Review of the Year (pt 1)

2011-12-11T18:04:00.005Z

Cloudy, Rain from Late Morning, SW 3 easing > 1

It was one of those days where by the time i`d decided to go out, the rain began to fall. So i didn`t bother and put my efforts into watching from the garden. And it was no surprise that the only notables were of flyover species : 2 Goosander SW, 6 Cormorant SW & c200 Golden Plover circled.

And now to the bit that i`ve been putting off for the last week. And that is the review (or more rather, the highlights of the year). So let`s start with the first 2 months.

January : The best of the 69 species of bird recorded around the village, were a Merlin W over Cortonwood on 13th. Reed Buntings put on a good show in the garden, with 1>3 birds feeding at my seed table, on eight seperate days. Waxwings weren`t as evident has they were during the previous months, with only 2 records of single birds : 1 calling from the spoil heap on 2nd & 1 calling from the back hedge (garden) on 3rd.

Not a Reed Bunt and not mentioned above, but it was/is my best ever shot of a Pied Wagtail.

Deffo a Reed Bunt.

February : A slightly better month for the birds, with a total of 70 species being recorded. The best of which, were ;
Mealy Redpoll : 2 in a feeding flock of Lessers, on the spoil heap on 5th.
Waxwing : Max count was of 132 birds W over the garden on18th. An accurate count for flyovers, i hear you say. Well, what was presumably the same flock, was seen feeding in the Old Moor car park, earlier.
Chiffchaff : 1 in full song along the TPT on 27th.
The month also produced some non-avian highlights (firsts of the year) ;
Bumblebees : 1 Buff-tailed in the garden on 10th.
Butterflies : Peacock - 1 was seen flying around the garden on 11th.
Amphibians : Common Frog - 3 in the garden pond on 6th. Common Toad - several at Cortonwood on 12th. Smooth Newt - 1 in the garden pond on 13th.

Right, better go & see what best bits i can dig up from March.

Saturday 10th December

2011-12-10T20:13:00.005Z

Clear & Frosty Start. High Cloud from Late Morning, W 1>3

Arrived at Cortonwood (via Westfield Road) this morning and was greeted by this, at the entrance to the Hillies. Yet more habitat loss on the patch ;

Right, on with the bird highlights while there`s still some to be had. I know we had a frost, but i didn`t expect the lake to be 80% iced over, and the best from the open water, were 3 Pochard & 21 Tufted Duck and the lakeside trees held a small mixed flock of Siskin & Lesser Redpoll.
The only other area of Cortonwood to produce anything different, was the Trans Pennine Trail, with singles of Willow Tit & Treecreeper.

TPT : This area is also under threat. This time from Elsecar Heritage Steam Railway, who want to extend the line down to Morrisons on the Retail Park. I really hope they struggle to raise the money!!

Back at home, and a loose flock of c100 Golden Plover circled the garden.

Birds : December - 58

Good/Bad ?

2011-12-09T17:08:00.003Z

Haven`t bothered venturing out over the last 2 days and that was down to the strong winds & heavy rain/wintery showers. Therefore there`s not a lot to report on the bird-front, with 4 Lapwing NE over the garden this morning, being the only highlight.

Birds : December - 53

And now to the title of this post. Well, today i found this vacancy online ;

Warehouse cleaner required for this busy warehouse on an on-going temp to perm basis. A permanent contract for the right candidate. The role will involve ensuring the outdoor area is kept clean and tidy, picking and collecting rubbish from external areas, general warehouse cleaning, including sweeping, emptying bins. Other duties may be required. Please note the majority of your time may be spent outdoors. 20 hours per week, Mon-Fri 10.00am till 2.00pm.

The good part relates to the job (obviously) & distance. It`s located on the Manvers Industrial Estate, which is only c20 > 30 mins walk from home. But it`s in the opposite direction from Cortonwood. Meaning i`d only be a weekend patch watcher during the winter months. Dis-counting the garden, of course.
Anyway, i bit the bullet and gave them a call. The result was that they took my number and they`d be in touch regards a date & time for an interview.
Mind you, i`ve heard all that before. Is it worth building my hopes up, at this stage ? Forever the pessimist......me.

Wednesday 7th December

2011-12-07T21:22:00.002Z

(Overnight Rain). Sunshine & Patchy Cloud, Strong W gusting 7

Finally got round to birding Cortonwood, but i only wish i hadn`t bothered. Due to the strength of the wind, the place was dead. And it was down to the garden to provide the only highlight of the day, with 4 Goosander over (1 SW at dawn & 3 NE at dusk). The conditions tomorrow are set to be even worse, with rain & gale force 8>10 WNW`s. Looks like i might have to block it out with some old skool punk tunes, like this one ;

Tuesday 6th December

2011-12-06T21:04:00.002Z

I said yesterday that if there was a window of opportunity to get out, i would. But after (more) heavy showers during the first half of the morning, i lost the will to live, never mind bird. And i`ve been in that mood all day.
I did have a backup plan in case of the aforementioned weather, and that was to make a start on my yearly review. But after a while of picking through the first lot of highlights, i soon got fed up.
Not even the Buzzard that went over the garden at dinnertime, could lift my spirits.

I`m terrible to live with when i feel this way. Just ask Jakki & the kids. I`m awkward just for the sake of being awkward.

Monday 5th December

2011-12-05T21:27:00.004Z

Rain/Sleet Showers, W 2>3

Yet another day where the patch walk was aborted, soon after it started. I was half way along Elsecar Road when the mother of all sleet showers came down. And unlike yesterday, not only was i wet, but i was frozen with it. And it goes without saying, the only thing on my mind was to go back home.
Not a lot to report in that short time, other than 3 more species made it onto the Winter Wildflower list, which now stands at 41 : Oil-seed Rape, Snapdragon & Feverfew.
And this made it onto the camera ;

Peziza repanda : Thanks to Greenie for the id.

Fingers crossed there`ll be a (dry) window of opportunity to do Cortonwood, tomorrow.

Sunday 4th December

2011-12-04T21:19:00.006Z

Frequent Heavy Showers, WNW 2>4

I set off for Cortonwood just after a shower had passed, only to be caught out by another one & another one. I didn`t even make it to the end of Pit Lane before i`d had enough and turned round to go back home. And what did i get for ending up looking like a drowned rat ? Two more species for the winter wildflower list, that`s what : Hairy Bittercress & Red Valerian.

Back at home & after a change of trousers, i decided to do the day`s birding from the dryness of the back porch/door. At first, it was down to the pair of Stock Doves & the singing Mistle Thush to provide the entertainment. Then as the day progressed a bit of movement started, with a Yellowhammer S, 2 Snipe SW & after dark, the contact calls of Redwing could be heard has they passed overhead.
The camera only got used the once today and that was on this small group of Starlings ;

We`re supposed to be getting some snow showers overnight & into tomorrow. But i doubt it`ll be anything like this time, last year ;

Spoil Heap

Trans Pennine Trail

Birds : December - 50
Winter Wildflowers - 38

Saturday 3rd December

2011-12-04T05:04:00.006Z

Sunshine & Showers, Strong W gusting 7

Another day where i didn`t get to Cortonwood. Some patch watcher i am.
Anyway, the morning was spent at home for various reasons. But i still managed to record a couple of things and they were, a Mistle Thrush that was in full song, a Coal Tit called from the back hedge & 2 adult Herring Gulls went W.

After dinner i had a stroll to where the leisure centre used to be, then i cut down to the knollbeck to have a look around an area that i missed out the previous day. And despite the gusty conditions, i managed to happen upon a few more species : 1 Reed Bunting, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker & another handful of flowering plants : Nipplewort, Weld, Smooth Hawksbeard, Hedge Mustard, Creeping Thistle, White Campion & Tansy.

White Melilot

White Campion

Tansy

Birds : December - 47
Winter Wildflowers - 36

Friday 2nd December

2011-12-03T05:04:00.004Z

Frosty/Clear Start, Clouding over from Late Morning, SW 1>2

Had a few issues to iron out at home during the morning, but managed to keep an eye out on what was happening in & over the garden, where 4 Greylag Geese went N & a Sparrowhawk drifted E. So it wasn`t a total loss.
After dinner, i had a stroll across to the Knollbeck area. One, to see if there were any vacancies at the builders merchants & or at the skip yard/recycling centre. No luck there. So the job hunt continues.
Two, to see if there was anything else to blog about. And i`m pleased to report (although Keith might not see it that way ;-) that i added another 8 species to the winter wildflower challenge ;
Oxford Ragwort, Hogweed, Musk Mallow, Hedge Bindweed, Bristly Ox-tongue, Ribbed Melilot, White Melilot & Scentless Mayweed ;

Ribbed Melilot

Scentless Mayweed

Hogweed

Musk Mallow

Birds : December - 43
Winter Wildflowers - 29

Thursday 1st December

2011-12-01T20:49:00.010Z

Sunny (Hazy in Afternoon), SW 3>1

I`ve set myself 2 challenges this month. And the first one is the now regular patch bird list with Warren, and unlike him, i got off to not too bad a start with 41 species being recorded. Here`s what fell where ;

Garden (am) : Rook, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Black-headed Gull, Starling, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Stock Dove (2 feeding), Dunnock, Blue Tit & House Sparrow.

Elsecar Road : Pink-footed Goose (c80 NE), Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare, Chaffinch, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Song Thrush, Robin & Great Tit.

Lake : Tree Sparrow, Canada Goose, Mallard, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan (2), Great Crested Grebe (1), Pochard (1), Grey Heron (1), Gadwall (1) & Goldfinch.

TPT : Bullfinch, Wren & Kestrel.

Garden (pm) : Greenfinch, Jackdaw, Long-tailed Tit & Cormorant (2 SW).

And the second challenge is with Keith. Which is to record what wildflowers are in bloom during the winter months (Dec, Jan & Feb). After this start, i doubt i`ll be seeing many more ;
Cowslip, Petty Spurge, Common Ragwort, White Dead-nettle, Red Dead-nettle, Shepherd`s Purse, Garlic Mustard, Dandelion, Lawn Daisy, Oxeye Daisy, Bramble, Black Knapweed, Yarrow, Red Clover, Meadow Buttercup, Dog Rose, Red Campion, Greater Periwinkle, Smooth Sow-thistle, Gorse & Herb Robert.

Cowslip

Common Ragwort

Oxeye Daisy

Black Knapweed

Dog Rose

Red Campion

And not quite qualifying, or does it ?

Wallflower