Garden tick

So, the weather over the Christmas period has greatly reduced the amount and variety of bird species that have been around, and my chances of seeing them. However, this morning I was casually sitting in my living room when I spotted a male blackcap on the bush next to our birdtable. This is the first time I can recall having one in the garden so it was very exciting. Sadly its visit was only brief and the view I got was not great. After I had got the camera the bird was gone, so sadly no photos of this... historic record!

Fieldfares

So Tuesday morning and i'm just about getting back to normal life. This morning I spotted a large, maybe around 100 fieldfares in the field behind the house. Its probably the largest gathering of these birds the field has seen, though there seem to be larger gatherings every winter. There were some smashing views of them as the foraged around the short stubby turf.

Halifax

So I have only been back 2 days and already there seems to be plenty of wildlife around, not least hundreds of thrushes that have been around my brothers church in Pellon. Whilst waiting for him to come out of church I was able to watch fieldfares and redwings flying between trees and identify them too, even though they were flying. Its nice to be home...

Uni Week 13

So the last week before Christmas. Its weird to think I have only known these people for 13 weeks and yet here we are struggling to leave each other for Christmas. Somehow, my lectures managed to continue right until Friday, while many other people just finished their lectures on Tuesday, Wednesday and then went home. This left the accommodation in a state of serene quiet state, as well as the main campus. Somehow, everyone else quiet week turned into a pretty hectic week for me, with 4 assignments as well as continuing lectures leaving me with a constant stream of work that kept me busy.

Friday
Going home day. Prior to my leaving I happened to look out of my window and spotted a jay flying into the tree's on the other side of the road.
  The train journey meant guaranteed fun, and so it proved as there was a signal failure at Sheffield station which meant a chronic backlog of delays. Once it got going though I was able to enjoy watching numerous winter thrushes from the train window, and when we passed a fishing lake I was able to spot some tufted ducks on the lake

Uni Week 11

All the talk these days seems to be about Christmas and our opinions on it, a sign that the first semester is slowing down and that soon we will all be going home.

Tuesday 
Its hard to believe but today I spotted a  Butterfly behind the school, my memory fails me as to which species it was, though more than likely small tortoiseshell. The weather was nice enough though it was bitterly cold. This is without doubt the latest I can ever recall seeing a butterfly

Thursday 
So wandering back from corp at 2.00 as standard for a Thursday morning, also standard is hearing midnight the robin singing behind the union. I still have not seen midnight, which is a bit of a disappointment since I have made him into a mini celeb around these parts but one can understand if he wants to stay out of the limelight

Friday 
Wandering down to the uni at 9.00 for lectures the lad I was with suddenly said 'Oh look, that's a nice bird'. I only spotted said bird when it came and landed on a pillar a matter of meters away. It was a Jay, and one of the finest views I can ever recall getting of one. It was much bolder than  any others I have encountered, sitting on the pillar next to a steady stream of students. It flew of after a few seconds, but flew up the road alongside the students, not away from them

Uni Week 10

Its been a pretty crazy week, just not in terms of wildlife sadly. After the CU weekend away which left me deprived of sleep, I then had a gig in London on the Tuesday night, but had to get back overnight for compulsory labs. I walked through the door at 6.30 in the morning, so that did not help my lack of sleep.

Tuesday
Prior to my gig I spotted a flock of long-tailed tits while walking down to the uni today. They were quite high up in the trees but it was still nice to see

Wednesday
I say I got back in the room at 6.30, I arrived at Meadowhall at 5.00 and was surprised to hear many birds calling despite it being still rather dark, and well out of season. I could hear blackbird alarm calls as well as various robins singing, though I only saw blackbirds on the walk back from the uni at around 6.15, though it was a very good view.

Uni Week 9

It has defiantly been a quiet week, with nothing really wildlife related that springs to mind. However, at the weekend I went on the Christian Union weekend away in wales, and on the way there I did get some decent views of buzzards on the roadside on at least 3 occasions, one of which the bird was sat on a lamppost. Also walking to the uni I spotted a squirrel in a bin, presumably rummaging, but since all I could see was its tail it was quite an amusing sight.

Uni Week 8

So this has definitely been a busy week wildlife wise, based on the standards set so far at any rate. So without further a do, lets commence with the breakdown of this week

Monday
Walking along behind the school on my way to uni I heard and then saw a lovely flock of long tailed tits. They were quite high up so I was unable to get any really great views but they still got the week off to a great start and they are always nice to see

Tuesday
So walking back from a club at 2.00 in the morning I was very surprised to hear a robin singing behind the students union building. Even by urban birds it still seems ridiculously early in the morning while its so dark too. Either way, I was impressed I recognized the song as a robin, even if I did not see the bird

Thursday
So on the way to the blockbuster closing down sale I have to walk through the botanical gardens. It was a lovely day, with blue sky and as it was early evening it had lovely light too. I spotted 9 squirrels on my walk and at very close quarters too, and some in very photogenic positions

Friday
Another walk though the botanical gardens and once more there were ample squirrels. I knelt down to get a better view of a few and they came running up, to you, it was pretty insane how close they were getting. Overall there were probably around 20 squirrels as well as 2 jays which were high up in a tree.

Saturday
More of the same really, just more Squirrels in the botanical gardens Botanical Gardens

Sunday
Walking to the village shop to get some milk this morning I spotted a jay fly near the Edge bar. It landed high up in a tree though so it was not a brilliant view but it was still nice to see.

Uni Week 7

Once more it has been a very quiet week, either that or I have been expecting too much. If that's true then its probably been quite a busy week, in that the numbers of ladybirds is still on the up and one is now asleep on my window. There has also been quite a few squirrels around, one of which was very bold and I managed to get within 1 meter of it, it was a huge squirrel too. Having said that, the real drama happened on Tuesday...

Tuesday
I came home from lectures today and crossing the courtyard where I live I found, under a bush, a feral pigeon that seemed injured, and was very stunned since I if I had wanted to I could simply tread on it. I figured it would be unwise to leave it there where so many students come past so went to get my gloves. I picked it up from the path and the thing did not move a muscle. There were some remnants of blood on its beak but apart from that and a bald patch on its neck there was no sign of injury. I placed in over the wall next to the stairs where I would be able to monitor it but nobody would know. I gave it some digestive and then left. Over the day I checked it regularly but it did not move at all. Before bed I came back and gave it some more digestive but it seemed pretty hopeless.

Wednesday
I headed down the following morning expecting to find that it had been predated during the night, or that it had died in its sleep. It was not where I left it so decided it must have died and been carried off, however when I turned around it was sat in the bike stands. I was pleased since it had obviously moved there itself. However, once more I was not keen to leave it there, in a place where it was very vulnerable so I moved to try and get it. I was pleased to see it running away and it even tried, though failed, to fly. Eventually I caught it and moved it on the field under some trees. I gave it some digestive and left it. When I checked later that day it had gone and there was no trace, suggesting it had flown off rather than being predated. I would like to think then that my rescue had been a success but sadly I guess I will never know...

Uni Week 6

This week was a lot more productive than recent weeks, or at least Sunday was. Apart from that its been another quiet week but I went for a walk to with church along the canal in Matlock.

Sunday
Went for a walk along the Matlock canal today, it had a mixture of weather, but on the whole it was pretty decent. The highlight was undoubtedly 9 little grebes, really close as well so that you could really appreciate how nice they are. Along with them there were numerous mallards and mute swans, as well as 2 species of wagtail, pied and grey. There were also a small flock of long tailed tits. While walking back I had to rescue a small newt from a puddle in the path but that was nice to see, if not a little unexpected. Also unexpected was the fact that I saw not one but 2 red admiral butterflies, which was bizarre considering that they are a migratory species. This could well be my latest ever butterfly record.

-Little Grebe