Underground...overground

Free but not wombling! this moribund Mole was found by the children outside the front of the house. With no obvious signs of having been attacked, it allowed a rare opportunity for a closer view. It was released near to where it was found but sadly didn't recover.

The Harris's Hawk is still at large and being seen occasionally, allowing a close approach at times. Judging by the bulge in it's crop it is feeding well, though i've not yet witnessed it catch any prey.



Survival

With the recent covering of snow and drop in temperatures, some have been finding it difficult. This Snipe, a ground feeding wader would have found it's cryptic colouring of no use on a white background, coupled with the extra stress of foraging in the frozen soil could have led it more open to predation.

Several Woodcock, a close relative of the Snipe have been seen in the garden and adjacent fields mainly skulking at the base of Blackthorn hedges. It is a familiar bird of late autumn and often associated with hard weather movements, numbers increasing when there is a freeze on the continent. Although they are encountered frequently i have not been able to photograph one on the ground yet !

 

Other species of bird, notably the small passerines such as Long-tailed Tit have a higher metabolic rate and need to feed more often in colder weather, providing us with a constant stream of visitors to the feeders. Unusually some have taken to feeding under the feeders, taking small particles of peanuts that are dislodged by the others. 

Not all are finding it so difficult, this Fox has been several times, casually trotting along, even stopping to take in some of the sun's rays on occasion, no doubt benefiting from the misfortune of others !



Ice Ice Baby...

Ok it's not a baby but a second winter !
A brief phone call from local birder Simon Cox had me leave the confines of the farm and travel west for just under two miles to Stone Point. Here Simon had located a fine Iceland Gull sitting on the water between the point and Brightlingsea. Along with Glaucous Gull, Iceland is one of the so called 'white wing gulls' that are scarce visitors to Britain in winter from the arctic, although this winter has seen up to fifty Iceland's on Shetland !
The name Iceland is a bit of a misnomer as they breed on Greenland and not Iceland...work that one out.
The occurrence of this bird has led to what i believe is Toosey's first 'pelagic twitch' with a few locals commandeering the Harbour Masters boat to get closer to the bird !

The local crows had something a little more exotic than Marsh Harriers to harass today, in the form of a Harris's Hawk. This escaped falconers bird is a native of the southern states of the USA and regularly seen in captivity in this country. In their natural environment they hunt in family groups for small mammals and rodents. In the second image the leather jesses used by the falconer to tether the bird can be clearly seen.



Incey wincey...

I came across these two very differing arachnids on our sheltered east facing wall. The first is not a true spider but a harvestman Dicranopalpus ramosus. They differ from true spiders in having a one piece body, only two eyes and the second pair of legs are longer than the first. Originally from north Africa, this species was first recorded in Britain in 1957 and has now reached Scotland.
The second is one of the 'stretch' spiders Tetragnatha montana, no doubt gaining their name from the resting pose. Both are listed as being found up until November, i suspect that they are late rather than early ! Now that the wind has gone round to the North East i feel that neither will make another appearance.

The second rare micro moth of the year turned up in our kitchen this week. With five records here last year, Agonopterix curvipunctosa had previously only been recorded in Essex back in 1917. The larva of this proposed Red Data Book species feed on Bur Chervil and Cow Parsley, the latter of which occurs here in abundance. Presumably these enter the house to over-winter, as another two species Mompha epilobiella and Monopsis obviella have also been recorded indoors this winter.

With the passing of the first month of the year the garden bird list stands at 62, this compares favourably with 2011-63 and 2010-57. At last the number of birds coming to the feeders and cover strips is increasing, with up to 7 Tree Sparrow, 9 Yellowhammer and 23 Corn Bunting most days.