Spring has sprung

 In my previous posting I said I may go away for a short time. This however did not materialise due to my straining my back clearing up after our house improvements. I was able to get out a litte. Lots of spring flowers coming into bloom such as Greater Stitchwort, Garlic Mustard (pictured) lots more Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage and Moschatel.

                                                             

Next day I went to the trail camera to change the batteries and check what, if anything had been photographed. On the way I noted this deer slot. It is from a roe deer.

 

When I checked the SD card later I was thrilled to see our hedgehogs have started to return regularly to our feeders. We do get some woodmice, lots of magpies and the roe deer themselves.

 

That night I put the moth trap out again and while I was out I used my bat detyector to see if tey had also returned. As you may see from the next photo, the answer is YES.

These are Noctule Bats, our largest and earliest to emerge, often before sunset,

The following  morning I had caught more Hebrew Character moths plus Twin Spotted Quaker and Small Quaker

                       

My Back is starting to ease now so I hope to get out and discover more of how Spring is preogressing.

 

A Queen a query

 The renovations continue as do my efforts to get outdoors to stay sane. We are up to the ninth day, excluding Saturdays and Sundays. The Plasterer came round to start his two and a half day contribution. As I was clearing the kitchen,  I saw a bee on the window ledge. Not wanting it to be disturbed by stripping wallpaper. I caught it in a pot and took it to a place of safety. It was a queen Buff tailed bee.

Despite more rain, I had to get out to avoid the workmen putting in kitchen cupboards and new kitchen sink. I went to collect one of the SD cards from a trail camera on Cuerden. It had a good clip of a fox. Occasionally going out when you don't really want to, has advantages. This photo is a screen capture of that video clip.

Still restricted to weekends on when I can go out, I walked to Cuerden and collected the SD card from Ice House Wood. It was good to see a variety of spring flowers starting to blossom. Fritillary, Wood Anemone and Cowslip all within a small area.

  

 

The following weekend I walked to fill up the hedgehog feeder. When I arrived it had been disturbed see photo below. The brick that was on top had been discarded. I know it was too heavy for any four legged mammal so I suspect homo stulti. It would not be sapiens. I corrected it and re-filled the feeder.

 

 Lots of chiffchaffs singing that Sunday morning and the spring plants continuing to be in flower include Wood Forget-me-Not, Wood Speedwell, and Ivy-leaved Speedwell. The photos show the latter two

The improvements to my home are nearing completion so I may go away for a week to get refreshed

 

  

Mayhem, moschatel and lunch with the ladies.

I live in a Housing Association house, and thanks to my landlord we are getting a new kitchen, bathroom and a re-wiring of the house. We are still living there while this happens. It means I sometimes need to stay in, waiting for workmen and sometimes get out of their way when they are doing electrical work. Here is the state of my kitchen after the first two days. You can see why getting out is a neccessity

  

 On one of the first escape efforts I had a look round Cuerden Valley Park on my regular check for the signs of spring. The herons were continuing their nest re-build, still about a dozen Goosanders fishing the reservoir and I found several more groups of primroses on the reservoir wall. Lesser Celandine and Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage were by now in abundance, but I was searching to find another early flower. Moschatel is a very small flower with a green floret usually well hidded under its leaves. After about thirty five minutes, there it was. For me it is the confirmation that spring has arrived.  

 

I was able to have two more days "escaping", one of which I showed a good friend from the Forest of Bowland team where to find more signs of spring. We did notice that the amount of frog spawn was increasing. 

The second day was spent showing a group from one of the local WI's round the Park. We started by having a quick look in our Walled Orchard. and a distant look at Cuerden Hall. It meant that I was able to give a condensed chat about the history of the estate and of Cuerden Valley Park Trust.

Continuing our journey, I  took them past the reservoir to see some waterfowl as well as the Herons starting their nests. By taking them through Dog Kennel Wood, I ensured their walk took in our WI bridge.Their appreciation to me was an excellent lunch in Cuerden View cafe. This is not my photo, but gives a good illustration of their superb menu.

 

 The following day I went to see if  another spring flower had started to bloom. As we set off from the car park we met one of the people who rents an allotment from Cuerden Valley Park. As we chatted he mentioned he was a forager and had found Velvet Shank fungus, not one with which I am familiar. He also said it made excellent soup. We left him and continued our walk passing carpets of crocus and daffodils. It wasn't until we nearly finished our walk that we saw the yellow splash of our prize, Colt's Foot. Nearby was a dead branch with lots of Scarlet Elfcup growing on it. Another satisfying day of escaping the chaos in my house.          

Frogs and Feeders; Bullhead and Butterbur

 Spring really seems to have got underway. Already I noted Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage in flower and not too far away a frog orgy producing lots of frog spawn

 

I usually start reducing the bird food I put out once spring begins. I checked one of the bird feeders and found after six years it was no longer fit for purpose. I will need to buy a new one in September.

Still on Cuerden Valley Park, we had our first education visit of the year delivering river studies. Our Education officer covers the river geography and I don wellies to help the school children search for river invertibrates. 

     

It was a nice dry day, except for those who forgot they only had short wellies and had the river come over the top of them despite our several warnings. Good job they brought spare dry socks. Lots of Mayfly nymphs and a rather gorgeous Bullhead fish. It's an indicator of a clean river and was returned back to the water once the photo was taken.

 

I decided to walk home and spotted some Butterbur just in flower at the bottom of our Meadow Path.

 

Tyto, Toads and other critters

 A colleague mentioned they had seen a Barn Owl emerging from a nearby building. Enthused, I went to see if I could discover any owl pellets. This serves two purposes. First confirmation of the bird's presence and second, examination of the pellets helps us to see what prey the owl has been eating. We found at least three pellets plus the farmer kindly allowed us to have a camera installed temporarily to try to obtain more evidence of the bird. Here is a photo of the pellets. They may look disgusting to some, but remember the owl ejects them from its mouth, not its backside.

 

I had a good week in the middle of February with a few surprises. At a meeting of the Lancashie Wildlife Trust Speaker Team, I was given a special certificate in recognition of 35 years volunteering for LWT. Only a few of those were on the speaker team. In the afternoon, the Friends of Cuerden Valley Park gave me a Lifetime membership for the work I do for them over the year. Finally when I arrived home, I checked the mail and saw that someone had sent me a Valentine. It is a Leap Year after all.

At the weekend I went to say a sad farewell to one of the Watch Leaders who has felt it right to retire after 30+ years of running the group. It was a great session. She had  asked https://crittersinteractive.co.uk/  to bring some of their animals. There were snakes, stick insects, toads and a slow worm. My favourite was this large frog. 

 

The day after this I went checking round Cuerden valley Park and found Lenten Rose flowering and also  Lungwort. Spring seems to be getting earlier.

     

 A visitor to Cuerden had noticed some bees going to and coming from a tree that had recently been blown down in a storm. She asked if she could contact a bee expert to see what they could do. As a result a lady from the Bee Centre, which is based not too far away came to rescue the bees and take them to a place for TLC and placed in a new hive. We are very grateful for their involvement. I believe caring for creation involves insects as well as cuddly creatures.

  

Mammal Checks and moving cameras.

 It has been a frustrating couple of weeks with incessant rain and a poorly laptop meaning my blog writing has been curtailed. On the earliest drier day I went away from my local patch on Cuerden Valley Park to check out reports of badger acivity. Some supposed paths were only tracks made by dogs entering a bramble patch in a ditch, and snuffle holes on careful examination, proved to be roe deer slots. 

We did find some King Alfred Cakes fungi and some Yellow Brain fungus, so our trip was beneficial.

We returned to Cuerden Valley Park so that I could change the position of one of our trail cameras. During winter I have it over the reservoir to monitor winter visiting birds such as these sleeping wigeon and often a Goosander. 

 

 

 

I move it once the bluebell shoots start to show so I do not cause any disturbance for these gorgeous flowers. The camera then goes to our hedgehog feeding station to monitor their emergence from hibernation. This means we can then increase our provision of food when applicable for these 
wonderful creatures.

Bearded Tits, Bitterns and Big Garden Birdwatch.

 For the third time this winter some friends and I decided to go to rspb Leighton Moss to search for Bearded Tits, our previous visits having been unsuccessful. The first part of our walk took us past the moth trap which was still in its winter quarters. Scanning the trees there enabled us to note Siskins, Bullfinch, Blue Tits, Robins and a solitary Greenfinch. 

 

We continued towards the Causeway and were pleased to see two Marsh Harriers gracefully hunting over the reeds. Two of us then took a quick look for Sweet Violets near where the Causeway meets the road. They are one of the early flowering plants but not yet visible. I suspect it was a little too early for them. We walked down towards the Public Hide, pausing at the grit trays hoping for Bearded Tit. None arrived while we were looking. A glimpse of a Great White Egret gave us the motivaation to carry on to the hide until I heard the "ping" of a Bearded Tit. Everyone was suddenly quiet listening for more. Then there it was right in front of us. A lifer for many in our group. 

At the hide we noted Mute Swan, Cormorant, lots of Coots with a couple of Gadwall  amongst them. Two more birds which we didn't see but were able to recognise the calls were Little Grebe, and the squeal of a Water Rail. We had planned on going to Lower Hide but for some of us, our footwear was lower than the water level on the path. We decided to return to the Centre for lunch.  After lunch to the feeding station and enjoyed watching Goldfinches, Blackbirds, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Marsh Tit (pictured) and Coal Tit.

 Straight on then to Lilian's Hide to search for the reported female Ringed Neck Duck. In this we were unsuccessful. More sightings of Marsh Harrier, plus Snipe, Goldeneye, Wigeon,( pictured) Teal, Shoveler and Lapwing still made us very happy.

 

Eager for more delights we then carried on to Grisedale Hide. A Marsh Harrier was flying slowly in front of us with Shovelers, Canada Geese and the ubiquitous Mallards. We were about to leave when suddenly there it was, almost invisible, a Bittern. It had dropped in almost unnoticed. I am so glad that some of the younger members of our party have much better eyes than I. Then to cap it all the Great White Egret flew over our heads just as we left the hide. All together a wonderful day. 

The following day I helped to lead a Bird walk on Cuerden Valley Park, to coincide with the rspb National Big Garden Birdwatch 

 

As we were setting off we could already hear a Great Spotted Wood Pecker drumming and a Song Thrush starting to practise his courtship performance. Suddenly in the wood nearby, we saw the white flash of a Jay's rump 

 The bird stayed for about two minutes then departed allowing the Song Thrush to occupy the same spot. On the nearby bird feeder were Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Chaffinches and Nuthatches all busily consuming the sunflower seed. Continuing down the hill towards the river we noted a few Wood Pigeons and Carrion Crows in the field along side us. A Robin seemed to think that we might have some food and followed us for about ten minutes. We climbed the steps to the reservoir where I set up my telescope. This enabled us to have good views of  Mallards, Canada Geese, Coots, a couple of Moorhens , a single Lesser Black-backed Gull and several Black Headed Gulls. One of the latter already had its head starting to turn to summer plumage. At the far side of the reservoir we noted both male and female Goosanders. 

  

 In the trees on the island one Grey Heron was easily seen and a second one that was alittle more difficult. Returning to the stone bridge we went up the hill to the pine woodland. It was here I heard some Siskins and the unmistakable call of Long Tailed Tits. Another Robin, a Wren and a few Blue tits maintained their alarm calls as we continued our walk towards Cock Cabin Wood. I checked the Nuthatch holebut there was no activity there.A couple of Moorhens on the pond, a Blackbird and a few more Wood Pigeons were the only birds I noted. Back to the main path southwards with more raucus calls from a couple of Magpies and a good view of couple of Redwings. We speeded up a little as time was going far too quickly. I did hear a Mistle Thrush making its "rattle" call. We then climbed the winding path through our Wildflower Meadow and back to Cuerden View Cafe.

 To finish our walk, I checked the large feeder near the Walled Orchard and noted Dunnock, Bullfinch and Stock Dove. A hot chocolate drink was the perfect ending to a lovely morning.