North Devon Focus. Spring and the Bubble of Life

Well its been a mizzly, wet start to the year and so it continues. Although I love a misty astmospheric shot ..enough is enough.

I'm so looking forward to Spring sunshine, such a wonderful time of year on the North Devon coast.

In my garden the Hellebores are first to make an appearance. The Daffodils and Primroses beginning to bloom and the long shoots of the Bluebells and Tulips rising. A bonus of not weeding, the side garden is full of Lesser Celanadine which will add a little mellow yellow to the mix. The first flowering Marsh Marigold has emerged in the pond.

Amazingly the Hedgehogs have been visiting the feeding station all through the Winter bar just one week. We have three, I think and the push and pushy behaviour has started all seen on the Trail cam.

Birds still visiting and beginning to chirp, the marauding Starlings seem to have moved on but I spotted the arrival of the Siskins last week, the Woodpecker yesterday so do hope they are nesting nearby. The Lilac and Pussy Willow trees are in bud and by the look of the new Cherry Trees and Magnolia the blossom will be pretty spectacular. Most of all I look forward to the Dawn Chorus, return of the House Martins, Swallows and Swifts, the real start of Spring.

Out the window I have seen and photgraphed some spectacular skies, sunsets, cloud formations and rainbow light, at one time the field was covered in Rooks. Migrating birds are constant visitors to the field throughout the year, a reminder that the rotation of cattle and sheep grazing are vitally important to the ecosystem.

At the end of January ITV NEWS reported how "Harmattan winds would sprinkle a covering of Saharan dust across the UK" and I captured that amazing sky. (Scroll down for photo)

The wind and rain has been non-stop, I've lost count of the number of named storms but looking forward to getting out and about in the sunlight on the coast and in the countryside. Love where you live💚

 

Ecosystem. "An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life."

 

Another flaming sky. According to the news this sky was influenced by Saharan dust.

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Pat Adams' North Devon Focus. My North Devon Coast & Country Chronicle

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North Devon Wildlife through the window. Seasonal photos of the birds in my garden

Well what a year. Stormy times, supermoons, lockdowns and Covid19 restrictions meant that I didn’t get to visit some of our favourite locations and all the events were cancelled for the year. Luckily for me I love my small messy garden and the bees, birds and butterflies love it too. 

The natural world did not take a break and continued as usual with the regular birds on and below the feeder. For the first time I enjoyed watching a couple of Siskins which stayed in the garden for a couple of months, I do hope they return and nest here. January 20/21 2020 a fleeting visit from some Long Tail Tits and wonder of wonders they returned with a flurry of snow on 23^rd January 2021. 

I had started putting out Niger Seed for the Goldfinches, which they enjoyed, I then added Sunflower Hearts to the menu, they loved those even more and continue to devour messily on a daily basis.  They have dominated the feeders throughout the year and it looks as though this year will be the same, I counted 11 yesterday, I am hoping they stay around for the Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend. The Sunflower Hearts are popular with most of the birds and probably why the Siskins visited. 

As usual the Swifts and Swallows arrived in the Spring, spotted the first Swallow flying aloft 17^th April, watched them gather on the wire above the garden on the 17^th September, the next day they were gone. Finally snatched a shot of the elusive Great Spotted Woodpecker in June, they are regulars in the garden but pretty much peck and go a bit like the Wrens. Sadly I only saw one Greenfinch a juvenile, I miss the House Martins that once used to build their nests in the corners of the windows beneath the roof.

I have watched as usual as the birds sing out, nest and raise their fledglings. Here are just some of the photos from 2020.

Great Spotted Woodpecker Photo credit Pat Adams

 Sparrow Fledglings - Photo credit Pat Adams

Male and Female Siskin. Photo credit Pat Adams

North Devon Birdwatching through the window. Photo credit Pat Adams

Birds in my garden 2020

Blackbird

Blue Tit

Chaffinch

Coal Tit

Dove

Dunnock

Goldfinch

Great Tit

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Robin

Sparrow

Starling

Wood Pigeon

Wren

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is from 29th-31st January 2021. They are counting on you to count the birds in your garden Click here to find out more

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Pat Adams' North Devon Focus. A North Devon Coast & Country Chronical

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Hello December. Robin's Winter song on lockdown Day 253

It's the first day of December, Covid19 Lockdown Day 253 not the brightest of times as we are in our second lockdown since March but there have been some fantastic skies, vibrant sunsets and awesome cloud formations.  Thank goodness for nature bringing us some joy in these difficult times.

Local walks and beaches have been heaving over the Summer so most days I have been restricted to watching the wildlife through my window and the garden.

Our resident hedgehogs have not visited for over a week, I have still left water at the door just in case. I am happy to say we have had hedgehogs in the garden for over twenty years and for the past couple of years have had a Trail Cam to capture their nocturnal pursuits. 

I could hear the Robin singing his heart out, but couldn't see him.....you've got to love nature's way of  hiding in plain sight.

My Garden Today. Looking back and looking forward to an EVENTful Year

New resolutions and revolutions as the circle of life begins for another year in my North Devon Coast and Chronicle. It’s a fairly damp start but I have already seen Snowdrops rising, Pussy Willow and even a Daffodil and Marsh Marigold in bloom and to brighten the gloom a Song Thrush rested a while in the Apple tree today. 

The garden birds have been darting and dashing to and fro, a female Blackbird was singing atop the hedgerow yesterday and there was a cacophony coming from the privet in the front garden, a permanent roost for our local Sparrows. In addition to our regular visitors I was thrilled to see my first Firecrest and a Nuthatch. 

A bonny male Bullfinch brought New Year greetings on the 1^st January 2016. Had to rescue a wee mouse from a wee house after he got himself trapped behind a suet ball in the bird feeder. February saw a couple of Red-legged Partridge on the field, it was, though, a good idea for the rest of the birds to take shelter as Henry and Imogen stormed in with eighty miles an hour winds. On 15^th March Philip the Pheasant took up residence in the garden, returning each day for a drink of water. His mate Phyllis then did a recky of the site, supposedly to see if he’d chosen a decent spot for nesting. 

Marvin, the amorous Blue Tit returned to do his soulful dance on 5^th April. It was wonderful to see the return of the Swallows on the 23^rd and to catch sight of Mrs Tiggy and her little one at the front door at the end of April, there was also hale and snow flurries at that time so I hope they hadn’t come out too early.  We also welcomed a new “friend” in April a very cocky Spring Chicken who scurried about, pecking away in the front garden for a few days. I got up early at the end of April to listen and record the Dawn Chorus. Not quite as tuneful as I’d hoped but that’s nature for you. 

I was sitting quietly in the back garden at the beginning of May when a very noisy big yellow bird suddenly rose up from behind the hedgerow. Reminded me of watching Airwolf. It was in fact the “Linesman for the County”. I think we made a connection. Later on about 200 crows descended on the newly harvested field.   

Also had some magic moments while out walking, I watched as a deer galloped through the Bluebell woods at “Hart”land Abbey, and, as well as hearing the Skylarks as they hovered above us on Northam Burrows,  I also finally got a decent pic. Heard the screaming Swifts aloft in July and the 3^rd brood of fledgling Sparrows emerged in my garden. 

I said farewell to the House Martins and Swallows as they gathered on the wire mid-August. October had a close encounter with a Servil at Tamar Otter Sanctuary, watched a Dipper dancing across the stones on Exmoor’s River Barle and recorded an Egret a Cormorant and a Heron down the beach at Sandymere.  November took pics of inanimate but lifelike big birds and other critters at the Rosemoor Garden’s Winter Sculpture Exhibition in Torrington. Returned in December to walk off all that Xmas fayre and recorded two Redwings. 

New Year’s Eve day enjoyed a bracing walk and watched the teeny Sanderlings tripping the light fantastic across the sand and surf at Westward Ho! Today (1st January 2017) the soggy damp day was brightened by the return of the Song Thrush in the Apple tree, hopefully he is now a regular.

There were some out of this world sunsets, sunrises and super moons in 2016 including a Strawberry Moon on the longest day, the 20th June.  I spotted an amazing low-lying red moon out my window at 4.30am on the 8^th July. There was a Harvest Moon on the 17^th September, got shots of the Supermoon (Hunters Moon) on the 15^th, 16^th and 17^th October and finally there was another Supermoon on 14 November and again on 14 December! Also out of this world was Major Tim Peake, the first British Astronaut to walk in space. He made his historic Space Walk Live on the 15^th January 2016. What an eventful year, round and around, resolutions and revolutions, looking forward to an EVENTful 2017 in North Devon, hope you are too. (Article P. Adams 1st January 2017) 

P.S  The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is from 28th-30th January this year.

Tap here to Sign Up for the Big Garden Birdwatch 2017
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My Big Garden Birdwatch 30th/31st Januaary 2016  

3 Blackbirds 2M 1F - 6 Blue Tits

2 Doves -  3 Chaffinch 2M 1F

1Sparrow -  2 Robin

2 Starlings - 1 Willow Tit - 1 Wood Pigeon

Watch Marvin's Little Spring Bounce

Queens Birthday Honours 2016. Major Peake, The UK's first official astronaut, was on the International Space Station when he received the news he would become a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George for services to space research and scientific education. Wikepedia Stub - Tim Peake

Wikepedia Stub - Airwolf . An 80s action-espionage television series with Stringfellow Hawke, a pilot who has to retrieve the helicopter named Airwolf from the hands of its creator Dr. Moffet with the help from his friends, while going through a series of adventures.

My Garden Today. Highlights on a rainy day

It's dull, it's raining again and BBC Springwatch is over for another year. I particularly liked the brave Blue Tit mum who took on the Great Tit chicks (it gets confusing this nature lark).  There was more violent scenes in this year's Springwatch than an episode of Peaky Blinders and that's saying something. The last chick standing took an age to haul itself out of the nest box but I hope he or she is off having a wonderful new adventure now.

There has been a flurry of activity in my garden today with another brood of Sparrow fledglings, the first batch was on the 31st May. Amazingly spotted four fledgling Blackbirds scurrying around below the Rhododendron with Mum on hand to dish out the grub. The Robin chick was first to explore the big wide world on the 14th May but I didn't see the first baby Blue Tits until 12th June. So cute, great balls of fluff rather like a new yellow tennis ball.

It's important for them all to find their own food and there are plenty of insects around to eat but Mums and Dads need to eat as much as they can after all their hard work so I have given them a choice of mealworm suet block, peanuts and dried mealworms mixed with pastry. It was comical to watch a baby Blue Tit trying to grapple with a peanut on the feeder, pushing it round and around in circles.

At this time of year there are lots of chicks grubbing around, Robins and Blackbirds for example don't fly straight away but scuttle through the undergrowth so take care when mowing the lawn or strimming (if you have to). The RSPB advise not cutting hedges and trees between March and August as this is the main breeding season for nesting birds. (Article P. Adams 17/6/2016)

 

 "Nice to feel the sun on my back"

RSPB Advice on Hedge Trimming

It is an offence under Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 to intentionally take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built. It will be an intentional act, for example, if you or your neighbour know there is an active nest in the hedge and still cut the hedge, damaging or destroying the nest in the process.

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 

Countryside Hedgerows regulation and Management (The main nesting period: 1st March to 31st August) 

Catch up with BBC Springwatch from RSPB Minsmere 

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All photos copyright Pat Adams North Devon Focus (All rights reserved)

North Devon Focus on Flickr

About RSPB Reserves located in North Devon  
Need help buying the right bird food? Use the RSPB 'Which bird food?' charts to help you decide

WGCCxxx

Counting Butterflies “Fleeting encounters, lasting memories”

I read the news today - over ten million Painted Lady butterflies are winging their way to the UK. Until the Buddleia starts flowering in my garden I’m happy watching the Speckled Wood as they dart and dance together over the garden before separating and settling momentarily. My first butterfly sighting in January was a Tortoiseshell which I disturbed when cleaning the downstairs loo. It settled on the window sill and remained dormant until late April, which I am sad to say was when it died. To date in my garden or on my walks I have seen ten Speckled Wood, ten White, three Orange Tip, four Common Blue, one Peacock, five Brimstone and a Small Heath plus a Silver Line Moth, Speckled Yellow Moth and finally a huge Drinker Moth caterpillar. When my Buddleia and Hydrangea are in full bloom in July, they are normally covered in Red Admiral, Peacock and Tortoiseshell but I will be watching out for those Painted Ladies and hope for the return of a seldom seen Clouded Yellow or Fritillary. Spotting them is easy, photographing them, however, is quite different. Get too close and your shadow and the lens scares them away, annoyingly not too far away, normally on the next flower. I now use a long lens with an extension tube so they don’t know I’m there. Here is a photo of a Speckled Wood taken a couple of days ago. It rested for quite a time on the fresh new leaves of the Rhododendron, conveniently opening and closing its wings as if posing for the shot. I wish they were all so accommodating. “Fleeting encounters, lasting memories” was just one of the aptly descriptive quotes on a wonderful Radio 4 programme presented by Brett Westwood, who you may have just seen on BBC Springwatch Extra. The programme, Natural Histories, Butterflies, depicts how butterflies have enthralled and influenced people throughout history. 

 

Speckled Wood Photo Pat Adams (All rights reserved)

Drinker Moth Caterpillar Photo copyright Pat Adams (All rights reserved)
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•  Brett Westwood is a radio presenter and author, specialising in natural history.  
• Wikipedia Stub https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_WestwoodI
• Butterflies Natural Histories http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05w99rp

• Butterfly enthusiasts should also visit The ButterflyConservation UK website for information or help with identifying species.
• Read all about it  http://www.northdevonjournal.co.uk/11-million-painted-lady-butterflies-set-UK/story-26705200-detail/story.html
• North Devon AONB News 

UPDATE. About 20 Painted Lady butterflies spotted on the Hartland Heritage Coast 21st June 2015

A little Spring Bounce

I took this video of an incredible display from a male Blue Tit last Spring. Such a big effort from a teeny bird. He started what I think was his courting ritual in April, jumping to the log, fluttering up and down the window then across to the feeder and back again, the only sound "tappity tap" as he collided frequently with the window. Marvin's visits started early morning and went on for hours each day. For three weeks the ritual continued until he finally found his soulmate.

Spring has arrived early this year, as I am writing this I am thrilled to say Mr. Blue Tit is back again and has started his merry dance once more, I would like to think it’s Marvin. Around and around isn’t nature fantastic.

Window on the World: A short vido clip by P. Adams (2014)
Photo: Marvin's return 10/3/2015

New Year rainbows, soggy walks. and counting birds.

I am feeling a little “under the weather” so I’m not getting much gardening done. According to the RSPB this is the best time to cut back trees or trim hedges before the mating season, which tends to start in February, so I really am eager to start. After such a turbulent start to the New Year, you’d think the birds would be quite wet enough  but this week both the male and female Blackbirds were splish-splashing in the tinfoil bath in the back garden and today a Starling was going at it like a jet skier in a water filled planter in the front garden. So by the look of it the birds  are already beginning to rouse themselves. There is a little more action also on our bird feeder and on the hedgerows and field nearby. Spotted two Buzzards today, the Starlings were enjoying the stubble on the field earlier in December and this week they have been gathering in quantity on the telephone wires  beside the A39. Last week, after the storm, we took a soggy walk on a debris strewn beach at Instow on the Torridge Estuary then moved on to a seemingly tranquil Fremington Quay where a small cluster of seabirds, an Egret and one lone Curlew were quietly drilling down in the mud. We returned via Bideford and spotted a Murmuration swooping and swirling above Bideford Long Bridge. As light was fading we parked awhile on Brunswick Wharf to enjoy the spectacle. Meanwhile back in my garden the Chaffinch, Great Tits, Coal Tits and Sparrows are constant visitors, Mr. Robin is already stating his claim with an occasional song, and the Blue Tits continue to sneak nuts out from under the beaks of our resident Doves which plonk themselves on the feeder. Rainy days have been lit up by rainbows after some short bursts of sunshine. The only down side to this perfect little scenario is a local ginger cat that languishes below the feeder and waits.... What’s the betting that all this action disappears when it’s time for the Big Garden Birdwatch which this year is over the weekend of 25^th and 26th January

A little under the weather and ragged round the edges, just like me

The first rainbow of 2014

Lone Curlew off Fremington Quay

Count the wildlife that's counting on you. Bird populations are a great indicator of the health of the countryside. That's why it's so important to take part in surveys like the Big Garden Birdwatch to keep an eye on the ups and downs of the wildlife where we live.  All you need to do is spend an hour over the weekend of 25-26 January counting the birds in your garden. It's that simple! The more people involved, the more we can learn. So, grab a cuppa and together we can all help to give nature a home. For more info and to register, please visit www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch

Click here for Big Garden Birdwatch 2014 Results

• Explore Instow with the North Devon Focus Picture Tour
• Explore Fremington Quay with the North Devon Picture Tour
• Explore Bideford with the North Devon Focus Picture Tour

Focus Nature Notes. Don't Tidy up Mrs. Tiggy

Well  I was doing my bit for nature, leaving the hedge-trimming, pruning and tidying up until later so not to disturb the nesting birds. My garden, I am proud to say, is quite small, rather untidy, a tangle of climbers, overgrown shrubs and not so pristine lawns but this also makes it very wild-life friendly. Last  week I finally started cutting back the hedges, the flowering shrubs, honeysuckle and roses and generally tidying up. I started by adding an extension to my Critter Hotel  with an old up-turned wicker cat basket thinking it might be a cosy winter shelter for our resident hedgehogs. I must say I was very happy with the result, I was “Giving Nature a Home”, a veritable palace built out of cut down cable hose, logs and evergreen  branches. I was also emptying the compost bins spreading it around the flower beds and the base of the shrubs for the Blackbirds and Robins to rummage through. I eventually worked my way to the messiest corner of the garden where unused pots and trays have lain undisturbed for a couple of years. I lifted up some corrugated plastic sheeting and Noooooooo- in the far corner curled up like a hairy caterpillar was a sleeping hedgehog.  She was in the perfect place beneath the Beech trees, nestled in a leafy mattress with easy access to the path for her nightly forages in the garden. I immediately put the sheet back, sprinkled with leaves, hoping that I hadn’t disturbed her, feeling so guilty wondering if she was already hibernating or just having an afternoon nap. So the moral of the story is nature will find a home in the unlikeliest places, in messy pots, clumps of twigs and leafy litter. The beginning of November is when hedgehogs normally settle down for  the winter and as Guy Fawkes Night approaches this is a time to be extra vigilant. Devon Wildlife Trust advise leaving bonfire building as late as possible. Our hedgehogs have been in the garden for years but I have never known where their home is, I also didn’t know that they will usually wake and forage more than once through the winter so I will continue to leave a few nuts by the door on warmer nights.Article and Photo Pat Adams 1/11/2013

• Devon Wildlife Trust - Adopt a Species
• The RSPB have tips on Giving Nature a Home.
• RSPCA North Devon
• North Devon Animal Ambulance - Wildlife Rescue
• Wikepedia Stub The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1905.

EMPTY NEST SYNDROME.......

Finally get to see where all the action has been coming from. Feel a little sad, a bit like when my son left home for the first time. I expect lots of Mums and Dads will be feeling the same as they tentatively drop their toddlers off for their first day of school or wave their bigger toddlers off to university . This masterpiece was tucked away in the Apple Tree, it just caught my eye after the light flooded the area after hedge trimming. It was still very much camouflaged but I recognised the dry Ornamental Grass and Monbretia that I had left out for just such a purpose earlier in the year. I think the nest belonged to the Blackbirds that have been keeping me so amused in the garden this summer. I have been watching them leaving the nest, ducking, diving and dodging cats. Here are just some of the stars of the summer show. Hope they have a safe journey, I will miss them.

SUMMER BRIGHTS & BUTTERFLY BUSHES

While some of the birds have gone into hiding as they get ready for their Summer moult I have turned my attention to the other countryside critters. My garden is full of Summer bright spots since the Hydrangea, Hebe and Buddleia have begun flowering. Hydrangea are particularly stunning flowering bushes and come in a variety of colours, but their colours seem totally dependent on the alkali or acidity of the soil. The Mop Heads in my garden tend to be blue and I noticed the one cutting I have in a pot with normal compost is pink even though the parent plant is blue. The wonder of the Hydrangea, Hebe and Buddleia is that they attract all the bees and butterflies. The Buddelia is aptly named the Butterfly Bush and today mine have been awash with Small Whites, Red Admirals and Peacocks.You can see more photos from My Garden Today on Flickr

 

 

All photos copyright Pat Adams

Hot enough to put the washing out. Fold and remove after use!!

Heard a constant cheep, cheep this morning as I was making the coffee. Looked out the window and thought I'm sure I'd brought all the washing in, then realised all was not quite as it seems. This little fella had just fledged and he stayed, cheeping away for 15 minutes. I was beginning to think he was stuck, as I believe they can't fly when they first leave the nest but decided not to assist. Sure enough he eventually (with encouragement from Dad) flitted back into the shade under the Apple tree.The garden birds have been busy since February when nest-building started. I saw my first blackbird fledgling back in the beginning of June so it is easy to think that the breeding season is over when in fact all the birds are back in the nest with another brood. So spare a thought for our little feathered friends, especially in this hot weather, hold back on the hedge trimming, leave a long grassy border round the lawn and leave out lots of  water. I have been watching the Blackbirds in my garden splashing around in a large shallow, tin-foil plate, a successful makeshift bird bath. I put it in the shade beside a bush so they could "wash and go". I have watched as they lazed, feathers akimbo, in the sun and while they had fun tossing a pile of grass I'd left after mowing the lawn, presumably they were searching for insects. All in all wildlife love it when we aren't too tidy.

 

Spare a thought for wildlife as the Southwest Sizzles - Read all about Devon Wildlife Trust's 6 Point Plan 

It is against the law to knowingly disturb or destroy a nest. For advice on wild birds and the law check out the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981