Nature Notes: the 2022 edition

[ErrolTheDragon]

Happy New Year to all nature lovers!
The
Please join us to add your observations throughout the year. Urban or rural, there's always something going on throughout the year, even if it's a bit quiet right now.

Didn't see, but heard a varied thrush. No amount of looking found him but his song was lovely.

One of my favourite birds.

www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/varied-thrush

Lidl have some bird supplies in

[quote LoveFall]Didn't see, but heard a varied thrush. No amount of looking found him but his song was lovely.

One of my favourite birds.

www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/varied-thrush[/quote]
Wow, what a beauty.

I’m starting to see some flowers and new growth popping up around where I live. I’m no botanist, but some of it seems a bit early. Yesterday I went to a woodland that was already covered in wild garlic and I saw what looked suspiciously like a jack-in-the-pulpit. Some kind of wild geranium has also started flowering under the hedgerows here. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s herb Robert, but surely it’s WAY too early for that?!

Anyway, a bit more expected -at least timing wise- were some seals I saw on the beach today. There were close to 50 of them, including some very adorable pups 🦭

jack-in-the-pulpit

I hadn't heard of that so googled it and can only find references to a US plant - is it also another name for lords and ladies maybe? I've seen a bit of that in odd places already.

It’s what we call it here in north Wales, but yes it’s the same plant as lords and ladies 🤔

I learnt that plant as cuckoo pint, must be a regional thing.

There are wild primroses in the hedges over here.

I saw a red squirrel running on the path ahead of me yesterday. I did a 20 mile walk/hike across the Dublin mountains.

It's cuckoo pint here, too.

Violets out in the garden. The rooks arguing about who is nesting where up in the woods.

Saw a buzzard and two muntjac yesterday. The muntjac were legging it through the woods.

We went to the local WWT reserve today. Lots of whooper swans and other wildfowl, plus much twittering in the trees from the small birds - charms of goldfinch and other finches, tits, a reed bunting and (I think) a brambling. Swathes of snowdrops under silver birches, which is a lovely combination, some hawthorn leaves on a few random trees and lots of red campion, herb Robert, primrose, cowslip and lords and ladies leaves coming through- no flowers quite yet. And in the fields on the way, my first lambs of the year.

I saw an oystercatcher in winter plumage today. I see oystercatchers every single day. I see them when I go to the beach, I see them when I head towards the hills, I even see them fly over my garden. But I had never noticed that they look different in winter to how they look in summer 🤦🏻‍♀️ I’m half thinking that may be the local oystercatcher population doesn’t all change to winter dress, because otherwise how could I possibly not have noticed this before?! Or may be I really am that unobservant 🙃

I'd never noticed any difference either. Having looked it up, it's fairly subtle, and I think because oystercatchers are so unmistakable (and locally numerous) perhaps we don't really tend to look at them in as much detail as we would with many other birds?

That’s what I thought, but the oystercatcher in question was standing next to a few others that weren’t in winter plumage. The difference was noticeable from a distance, but it’s possible that this one was particularly extreme. The band around the neck looked much thicker than it does on the pictures on the internet. May be it was a younger individual? 🤔

The black-capped chickadees are definitely onto their spring song. DEE dee.

I finally saw a varied thrush yesterday. I haven't heard any robins yet.

The Anna's hummingbirds are very busy drinking nectar. I too a photo the other day. It is a bit unclear because of a tree in the background but you can see the little guy.

Darn big tree. How dare it ruin my picture?

But I will give it a pass because it is so tall. The photo is taken from the 8th floor.

Sorry about the black mystery box.

Todays Times Nature Notebook.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-orchard-pest-can-be-a-blessing-in-the-garden-2hpqjk9nm?shareToken=5bd4b018817c26300698d3ba73880f25

Here, between yesterday's wind and that forecast for tomorrow, we've had snow - the biggest flakes I've ever seen, at least soupspoon sized. It's not quite cold enough to settle properly though the lawn is white. We're leaving the bins strewn across it as if we pick them up now they'll probably be down again tomorrow. Also the pole bird feeder, which has never toppled before. The most woebegone bedraggled squirrel braved the snow to try valiantly to carry away the seed feeder, so we threw out some nuts for her, which seemed to put the spring back into her step.

(The table is where we put it - it flips and sometimes lifts in high winds so we turn it over when there's a bad forecast)

Looks like the storm hit you pretty bad Errol 😯 It was a bit better than expected here, but still way too windy to go out at the weekend. Today was the first time I braved the outside world again.

I did my usual “circuit” which goes up through a wooded bit, then along the edge of the upland and then down a tree lined lane, back to the village. When I was about halfway, I heard a distinctive “chow” sound and spotted three choughs, taking off just a few metres from where I was standing. That more than made up for a few day of being stuck inside 😊

I found my first four-leaved clover of the year yesterday.

Starting to notice the snowdrops and crocuses around town. Also seen the daffodils starting to poke up. Hoping the weather stays ok this weekend so I can get out for a walk

I've been away for a week and the signs of emerging life are more noticeable. Buds and shoots all pushing through

Quite a few roadside daffs out, and I've got lots of lovely little iris reticulata in my pots now.
But todays sighting was my first butterfly of the year - a lovely yellow brimstone. I think he may have been lured out of hibernation rather too early by the clear sunshine today.

I rescued a bumble bee from our pond today, it was very dozy.