"Odds & Sods" (old version) - please add to the new thread 2020 instead !

He just dropped in for breakfast

Two Grey Wagtails for you. Hopefully correct, bearing in mind my dodgy bird recognition. Odd thing was, they weren't bobbing up and down.

These two were rooting around in Finch pond jnr.

Huh?

Ah,well, as part of the restoration of Manor farm, Finch pond will be filled in and the bulk given over to reed beds. However, the plan calls for some small ponds to the north. Inert have been creating two small ponds over the past couple of months.

The first I call Finch pond jnr, and it was finished several weeks ago. The second I call, errrm, well, Finch pond jnr II. I know, hang your head in shame for being so unoriginal.

If you examine the two photos you may begin to pick out bricks, breeze blocks, bits of wall, chunks of concrete and other industrial crud. Well, from what I've recorded over the past year, the process for infill is to bulldoze any old crud as the base, and then top the lot with a thick layer of inert soil.

I've seen all sorts bulldozed in. Bits of wire, thin cabling, whole lengths of thick multi-core cable, metal bars, plastics of various sorts, work boots and gloves, a few bottles, large bits of timber, paint cans, etc, etc. Some of the concrete chunks are huge. So beware, if you work on a nature reserve that is a converted quarry, of what may lie below.

Cropping out the birds

Cropping out the birds again.

They were very calm, moved slowly, hunting with great care, and totally ignoring me. I snapped off a few shots then left them in peace.

I see quite large flocks of Pied Wagtails on Manor farm.  The largest number of Grey Wagtails we spotted, were three or four on the Blackwater. Otherwise they appear quite rare - unless I simply haven't got my eye in and simply see a UGB.  That would be Unidentified Grey Bird.

We drove down to Torquay, Sunday, to drop off my paintings for the Artizan summer exhibition, in Fleet Walk, which runs for a month. I am not optimistic about selling any. The Brexit recession has bitten hard. Shame, as I donate 10% of my proceeds to the RSPB.

Good heavens was it hot, made worse by the heat island effect of all the buildings and cars. We eschewed any thoughts of a hike along the coast, instead spending the day trying to stay cool in Torquay.

I snapped these lucky fellas cooling off in the marina with my bridge camera. Taken at 1200mm, the images lack detail, but there is sufficient for me to paint from.  I like the reflections in the water.

Double Mistle Thrush.

Brilliant capture, Paul. Do you think they are juveniles waiting for a feed from mum or dad?

Unknown said:

Many thanks, Mike, both for the advice on the gloves and kind words about all my photos.

I find it takes roughly 20 to 25 minutes for my fingers to warm up to the point where taking a photograph isn't painful. I guess you know all about that. Strangely, after this point I am happy to wander around holding my camera with bare hands for ten or twenty minutes at a time.

Before that point there is frantic removal of gloves for that all important shot; ignoring the pain. Then putting gloves back on and shoving them into any pocket that offers a modicum of warmth. I got very good at pocket billiards.  :-)

I will probably only need the RAB Power gloves. The coldest temperatures I've wandered around the reserves in this winter is minus 5 or 6, with no wind.  No where near the conditions you've experienced.  Typically it has been a balmy minus one to six degrees this winter.

It's just that initial 20 to 25 minutes that is so uncomfortable. No idea why; always been that way.

I do find it quite a serene experience, wandering around the 'reserves' just before sun up. I can go for hours without seeing a soul, and it is so peaceful and quiet. After all, I am the only fool out there, that early in the morning and in those weather conditions.

Angus, you're welcome.

When I did my Mountain Leader training (which was not just navigation skills, it included leadership and survival when all goes south, but also recognising potential situations within the party like fatigue, dehydration, hypothermia and hyperthermia, among many other scenarios), and winter skills courses, we were told that the three areas of the body most susceptible to cold are: head, hands and toes.

Head and hands because they're often exposed, the toes because they're furthest from the heart.

Unknown said:

Brilliant capture, Paul. Do you think they are juveniles waiting for a feed from mum or dad?

Cheers, Tony. I suspect adult & youngster as one landed then the other a few seconds later. When one departed the other waited a few seconds then followed. It reminded me of the young Starlings and Sparrows in the garden when they follow the adults for feeding.

While having a wander around Baddesley Clinton on Sunday, not only was the weather good, but I was treated to a fabulous sight, swallows nesting quite close, literally above their heads, to where people were passing, and totally blasé about what was going on above them.

Here are a few photos from my day out.

Tree lined avenue between the house and church

Baddesley Clinton Church, formerly Catholic, then later becoming a Protestant Church.

Baddesley Clinton house and stables

I haven't forgotten the swallows....

Sitting tight on the nest

Baddesley Clinton grounds

I'm no expert on fish, but these are most likely carp

Sun Dial

1:00pm (13:00 almost) on the sundial, 1:30 (or 13:36 if your prefer)

I think the sundial might need winding up!   ;)

And some more of the swallows. What a fine looking bird

The feeding frenzy....

Sorry to have uploaded so many photos, hopefully I haven't bored you, though it was a good day, and I'm paying for it with a painful leg.....

I'm hoping to return very soon to see if I can get any pics of the swallow chicks.

Great photos Mike, such lovely scenery and Swallows; you could never bore us with photos like that so thanks for sharing them.   Hope your leg feels better after a good nights sleep.