Odds & Sods 2023

Glad you enjoyed photos of the Great White Egret, even with their poor resolution. I was very excited to see it, especially as according to RSPB there are approximately 72 birds over wintering in the UK.

My mid-week visit to observe progress of the Eversley quarry restoration did not start well for photography. Looking like a nuclear explosion, this is a shot over Colebrook lake north from its northwest corner

Zooming in on the headland

The sun was making sterling progress in burning off any remaining mist. I thought the V shaped wakes looked neat, all glistening away. I had to make the best of what looked like a washout with regards to photography.

Everything was lovely an peaceful, that lovely serene blanket of silence and calm that envelopes one on a cold, still, foggy morning.

This is Tern island. A scrape which Moor Green Lakes Group volunteers clear of vegetation every winter. I reckon it should be renamed Gull/Cormorant island, 'cause its rare to see a tern on it.

Someone replied to an earlier post of mine that they loved having a wider context (i.e. landscape) of where photographs are taken. Tern island is in middle of photo.

Footpath leading to 'Bird feeder paddock' (gates on left) and entrance to Colebrook hide immediately after paddock. The temperature had warmed up to -3C

45 minutes later, as I meandered my way to Manor lake, the sun had made a sterling job of melting away the mist. This lake is in the progress of being filled in, with a view to making reed beds and wetlands. A great shame, I feel, as after some 15 years, this lake is now an established ecosystem. However, Cemex are being forced to adhere to plans drawn up roughly 30 years ago.

I had an added bonus. I've never had an Airbus A380 pass so close. The area is on a main stack for Heathrow airport. Planes normally fly east west above and parallel to the Finchampstead Ridges, roughly half a mile north of where I am standing - it's the upper tree line in the photo above. They then turn right, just west of Finchampstead village, heading to the west of Wokingham, before turning right again to follow the M4 on their final approach to Heathrow.

This beauty did something different. It flew southwesterly, over the Finchampstead ridges, before banking right more or less over Manor lake. Right in front of me! How good is that! Normally, all I get is a side shot of any aircraft.

It's banking to the right to fly over Finchampstead village, thence on to the west of Wokingham, before turning right to follow the M4 to Heathrow airport.

The end is in sight, for the restoration of Manor farm, and thence the formation of Longwater road nature reserve. I had noticed that a fair amount of tree felling had taken place. At first I thought it was clear up around footpaths after the recent storms. However, trees had been felled far from any footpath. As luck would have it, these contractors were working on the day of my site visit.

The orange vehicle had an attachment on its front that looked like that on a combine harvester. I think it might have been a giant rotavator. It was clearing paths though the dense undergrowth, particularly brambles. It sort of breezed its way through the bramble patches in a couple of minutes. I thought of the hours of toil it took me and other Moor Green Lakes Group volunteers to dig out bramble patches by hand.

The smaller yellow vehicle, with a bulldozer shovel on it, is remote controlled. The chap to the right of the vehicle has the RC transmitter slung around his neck

It had a large grinder attachment attach to the opposite side of the bulldozer blade. In this photo below it was grinding away at something on the ground. I thought at the time it was a tree trunk, but in retrospect I think it might have been a tree stump.

I'm not sure why these contractors have been asked to grind away tree stumps. One possibility is that they are clearing the way for a wooden causeway. Plans drawn up 20 years ago (i.e. sometime after the originals), show a long causeway along the southeast edge of Manor lake. However, plans have changed over the years, and it is possible the area is being cleared for some sort of building e.g. visitors centre, huge hide, etc.

Personally, after recording the restoration of Eversley quarry for almost six years, I am heartily glad to see a glimmer of the end of it.

Unknown said:

No worries Mike. I wasn't expecting a reply. I thought you were asking out of idle curiosity.

I was, also, it's good to share tips and tricks.

In the garden this morning. We've got a couple or three Jays that visit my bird feeder station. They are more tolerant of humans, this being a relatively built up area. Still highly wary, though.

In Birch tree at bottom of garden. Light too gloomy, resulting in picture too noisy to crop.

It was about -3C. Jay puffed up to try and stay warm.

Grumpy Jay, as it was so cold

On to my fortified raised vegetable beds to stop cats and wood pigeons destroying my crops.

The mesh is large enough to allow insects and small birds into beds to feast on pests such as aphids, but small enough to keep out pigeons and cats. Unfortunately, Grey Squirrels can get in, and so eat any strawberries. I'll have to protect them with a finer mesh cage.

The Jay came back a couple of hours later, whilst I was boiling a kettle for tea. A Blue Tit had sprinkled peanuts all over the place. They are particularly messy eaters, I find, throwing food here and there. Great Tits, by contrast, seem quite neat. They are in to the feeder quickly, snatch up a peanut, then leg it all in less than a second. Some Blue Tits spend many seconds, on peanut feeder, spitting nuts all over the place.

Anyway, this Jay took full advantage of this, and pounced before the local bully boys (Grey Squirrels, pigeons and Magpies) could see it off. It proceeded to fill its crop and beak with as many peanuts as it could, in as short a time as possible.

It might already have eaten several nuts by the time I rushed into dining room to grab my camera. Here it spies a peanut.

All remaining images cropped. The first nut I saw it eat, it's starter for ten.

Two in one go

Steadily, warily, but quickly it gobbled peanuts

Its crop is beginning to bulge

Manor from heaven, and no bully boys

Look as the size of its crop. Nuts are almost over flowing

But still it carries on. Never know when it will get another chance like this.

With crop bursting, it now attempts to carry as many peanuts in its beak as possble.

Blast, a fraction too late to catch it flying off. Does this count as a failed wildlife shot?

Lovely pictures of the jays. Squirrels have my permission to eat all the strawberries! I don't like them lol Thanks for sharing these with us

Great shots of the Jays with the peanuts Angus, They are lovely colourful birds, ideal for us photographers! I never knew about the 'crop', it's amazing. as they say, 'You learn something new every day' ...

Meadow Pipit on the garden fence the other day taken through double glazing.

Lovely shot James. So sharp and clear. The Meadow Pipit stands out well against the grey background ... 

That's a gorgeous picture James.... even through the double glazing!! So clear... thanks for sharing!