Waiting For Spring

 Well, here I am again with not much to show or tell. The Easterly wind has gone and the days have been much brighter but not much seems to have changed on the wildlife front.

The old dependables have been seen (Marsh Harrier, Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Otter, Sanderling and Purple Sandpiper) along with a drake Smew which popped in for a few days, other than that it has been business as usual.

Mute Swan landing

Otter creating an impressive bow wave

So cold even the LTD had to wear ear muffs

Buds are appearing! Getting excited about spring.

Marsh Harriers have been displaying

Nicely camouflaged against the trees

There have been increasing numbers of Wood Pigeons roosting on the north side, I'd guess around 700 or 800 on some mornings. Could be more as they don't all take off together for a fly round which makes estimating more difficult.

Stogies off for a brief fly round

Slim Pickings

 Carole King was almost right:

The weather here has been as grey as it can be,
Although it doesn't really matter much to me;
For all the wildlife seen while the sun is rarely there, 
It might as well rain until September.

The Easterly winds have made getting out and walking a bit of a chore over the last week or so. Add to that a week's worth of hassle with bedroom fitters and the sum total is not much to write home about.

On several days when it rained and/or was really dark and overcast I didn't even take the camera out with me, which wasn't a loss at all as I didn't see anything worth capturing anyway.

This is really dispriting as I can usually find something worth photographing be it a flower, fungus, anything catching the light, even grass! I'm having difficulty even finding buds to look at. Give it a few more days and things will pick up I'm sure so there is always something to look forward to.

Meanwhile the Great Spotted Woodpeckers carry on drumming, the Barnacle Geese keep on goosing one another and the frost has seemingly gone away (for now) 😂😂

Frosty phragmites

Long-tailed Duck at the Mere

Great Spotted Woodpecker in very poor light

 

 

Had it been sunny I could have taken a photo in much better light...

GSW, same wood, different light, different year 😉

The Barnacle Geese were in second field on Thursday which is the first time I've seen them in there. I was able to get close enough to read a few of the leg rings to confirm they are the  birds from Scorton in North Yorkshire.

Barnacle Geese

J41

J43

J72

Things will get better through this week and the blog will be more interesting (I hope).

As Mad As A February Hare

 Brown Hares are famed for going a bit bonkers in March so these three hares were a bit early on the uptake. No boxing going on that I could see but plenty of jaunty prancing and dashing around.

Brown Hares first seen with 8 Roe Deer near the hedgerow

The local population of Tree Sparrows is definitely on the down turn. We don't see them in the places they used to be seen around the Mere, and reports from further down the coast point to a similar pattern. It's difficult to see one reason for this but the usual culprits are habitat loss, food scarcity and a reduction in nesting locations. I walked along Hornsea north cliffs and found a few in the hedgerows there, so we are not Tree Sparrow-less yet thank goodness.

Tree Sparrow at north cliffs

While I was walking on the cliff tops a couple of Stonechats popped up, but apart from them, the Tree Sparrows and a couple of Reed Buntings there was nothing else to set the heart racing.

Stonechat

The two Egyptian Geese that are often seen at the Mere now were there again on the same morning as I was coming back from the cliffs (1st February).

Egyptian Geese at KP

"Our" Barnacle Geese are still with us, usually to be seen in the Clover Field but they do get up and have a fly around every now and then. There were 38 of them when they first arrived last year and that number has been stable until the last few days when only 37 were counted. Whether one has slept in or has gone elsewhere remains to be seen.

Barnacle Geese

Song and Mistle Thrushes have started to sing and they are the harbingers of Spring for me. It was really good to see two Mistle Thrushes the other day.

Mistle Thrush

The snowdrops at Wassand are in full bloom and look just splendid. Well worth a short amble along the drive towards the hall.

Snowdrops near Wassand Hall

A drake Smew appeared on the Mere on Monday and was seen again yesterday. I found it over near Swan Island so not really 'tog-able but I took some anyway - along with the long-staying Long-tailed Duck which was a bit closer.

Drake Smew from a fair old distance

Long distance Long-tailed Duck

I started this post with images of Roe Deer so I thought I'd bookend it with one of Roe Deer. I see three deer most mornings (a buck and two does) and the buck has antlers coated with velvet. This will peel off gradually through the coming weeks to reveal pristine antlers beneath.

Roebuck showing velvet covered antlers