Tuesday 13 July 2010

A change in the weather for this afternoon, it was overcast, dull and windy, not good at all for Butterfly recording, very few were on the wing, just a few large and small Skippers, a couple of gatekeepers and some Meadow Browns. The birds were few and far between too. I had an hour out around Migrant Alley, but there was very little to see, even the mixed corvid flock had moved elsewhere!



The ever obliging KESTREL did appear though, and hunted around the Greenhouse Complex, a group of 5 HERRING GULLS and a lone LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL flew over, headed West. The WHITETHROATS have started singing again from the Tree Nursery Hedgerow, and the LESSER WHITETHROAT was also seen along Ashes lane, where a section of Hedgerow has already been flailed to bits by the the local farmer, who cuts, slashes and burns anything he's asked to, ( for the right price of course ). I know that that a BULLFINCH was nesting in the cut section, that's now gone, along with god knows what else!



The July months list is already stalling, its on 55, still three behind the lowest July total, recorded back in 2004, but there is still half the month to go :-). Thing will pick up soon......hopefully .........



Being on a bit of a loser out on my patch this afternoon, I went to look at the best habitat on my patch - my garden :-) As usual it was crammed with finch's Tits, Doves Pigeons, BLACKBIRDS, ROBINS, DUNNOCKS and the like, but not one Starling. Here;s a few photo's of the regulars.





First up a Male Blackbird, that's learned to use the tube feeder.





A couple of Tits, GREAT above and BLUE below



The ever present GOLDFINCH



and the Long Tailed Field Mouse was back












5 comments:

Lancashire and Lakeland Outback Adventure Wildlife Safaris said...

Nice mouse - but what the h**l are they doing flailing hedges in mid July??? Isn't that illegal these days unless there are serious extenuating circumstances like blind corners on roads etc.

Cheers

Davo

ShySongbird said...

I'm not impressed with the hedge flailing either and also thought it was illegal during the nesting season!

Lovely photos from the feeders, those Blackbirds can be very resourceful :) Nice to see the mouse again too.

Warren Baker said...

Dave - Songbird. Yep its illegal, but wildlife law is about as strong as wet tissue !

I would have to have documented evidence of a birds nest in the hedge, also have warned the farmer it was there, then if he continued I could spend a lot of money taking him to court to get his wrists slapped. The farming community and the judiciary of this country are as one !

Got the bastards on the Badger culling though :-).

Derek Faulkner said...

Warren,

Its not quite as clear cut as you state. Where health and safety is an issue, for example along roadside hedges, hedge cutting is permitted between 1st March and 31 August.
The cutter however would be expected to have made sure that he is not disturbing or destroying any on-site birds nests.

Warren Baker said...

Derek - quite right you are. Then when you ask the driver 'have you checked the hedge for nests' they always tell you yes, then get shitty with you, because you made them lie !