A review of 2017. Nature stuff part 1 of 2. January to June

It's been my first full calendar year as a pensioner. Here are a few highlights using my photos as a memory jogger and keeping it roughly chronological.

From top left going clockwise.

1. Star Pit Peterborough, A favourite site of mine and home to some quality birds.

2. Castor Hanglands, This is the just the sort of place where you would half expect someone to position a deer skull up a tree.

3. Cley beach, three grumpy birders all moaning about something or other as per usual.

4. Sue Leeks learning the art of twitching at Willow Tree Fen in South Lincolnshire.
The latter site gave us great views of a bluethroat and equally great views of the backsides of many photographers.

In April, I found a pair of peregrines nest building on a low pylon somewhere in Peterborough. Most breeding peregrines I get to hear about are nesting in high buildings such as cathedral towers. This was much more accessible in terms of height and alongside a path where hundreds of people walk, run or cycle past every day. There are some people living locally who might consider them to be a threat to their interests, so I kept the location quiet. The pair were however very vocal and soon some locals started to take notice and expressed a wish to keep an eye on them.  Even I, inept in marksmanship, could have easily culled them with an air rifle. I resisted and took some photos using an iphone held up to my telescope.

They got as far as producing at least one hatched chick. I understand that this was however unfortunately predated by gulls. A week or two after hearing about this I heard about a (revenge?) attack by a peregrine a few miles away catching a lesser black backed gull.

The top left picture is a pretty flower called salsify growing near Harwich. You can eat the roots apparently.
In May, I made my first visit to Lake Vyrnwy in Wales with Stuart Ball (top right). It was great to see the holy trinity of Western Oakwoods - Pied Flycatcher, Redstart and Wood Warbler. The only other time I had seen this trinity together in one day was curiously enough on Autumn migration in Malta. (Buskett Gardens).

Later in May, Sue and I had a four day trip to Aarhus in Denmark (bottom two photos). I made several early morning trips to a local wetland area called Braband. This is to Aarhus what Nene Park is to Peterborough. Except that Braband has thrush nightingales and marsh warblers. These are both remarkable songsters. One morning at around 6.30 am, a cycling commuter came by and joined me in listening to the nightingale of the north. He recalled the first time he had encountered this amazing sound.  "I was cycling home drunk in Copenhagen at about 1am in June 1986 having watched Denmark beat Uruguay 6 1 in the World cup".  The sound reheard that morning triggered waves of nostalgia and national pride.

1. The Nene Washes in May (top left) gave me my one and only record of corncrake - singing at 1pm. What an amazing place that is, and right on my doorstep. Theres nowhere else in the UK that you can hear black tailed godwit with their worried sounding call, interspersed with the odd rasp of the corncrake.

2, The moth at the top right is a cypress carpet moth. It could be the rarest moth I have ever found in my garden. It might even be a first for my local area (known as a Vice County).

3. This heron looks like it might be doing some yoga or meditation. This is quite apt because it was in Cumbria right near the site of a Buddhist Festival I was attending. Actually it was sun bathing, possibly using the sun to burn off parasites. Its probably rare that a Cumbrian Heron gets a chance to do that, given the weather in that part of the world.

4. An elephant hawk moth - not uncommon in my garden.

In June, Sue and I headed north to Scotland firstly staying in mid Argyll for a week. We saw the sun for a total of 10 minutes for the entire week. I enjoyed the ospreys nesting a few minutes walk from our cottage. I understand that a couple of years ago, the lady laird was enjoying her morning tea when she heard a stooshie (commotion) coming from this pine tree. She raised her field glasses to see a pine martin grab a whole clutch of eggs despite the osprey parents attacking it.
The dreich weather put off most of the moths, but not the sturdy and stoical poplar hawkmoth. The buff tip moths were also determined not to be put off by the weather, brazenly indulging in sexual intercourse in a public place. I guess you can get away with this when most potential predators would assume that they are looking at a birch twig.

The main reason for going to Argyll was to attend a meeting of the 49 club. A truly venerable gathering of eminent nature conservationists. I did worry that Sue might struggle to cope with all of those crusty old bores, and then I remembered that she had had more than enough practice of such types having had to put up with me for 23 years. Joking aside, we both had a great time, were made to feel very welcome. The theme of "bringing back the beaver" caused hilarity when Sue mentioned it to some of her friends. Rather puerile on their part I thought.

Part two of our Scotland trip (featuring another set of crusty old bores) and the rest of 2017 will feature in part 2 of this review.  Will Sue's patience and tolerance finally wear out?
For now I will leave you with some haikus inspired our wet week in Argyll.

Still standing stones.

Still raining hard.

Still collecting redstart.

Treetop commotion.

Osprey brood lost.

Pine marten jackpot

Scarcely seen here

Five novice nuthatches

On an Argyll dead limb

The beavers are back

Said the aspen to the willow

Gnawing me, gnawing you.

Wilsons filmy fern

not much to look at.

But I'm glad it's here

A low rise home

Whinchat sings

A song of weeds

From lochan to loch

Flight croak quack

Lady Goosander 

Roadside puddles

Sandpiper echoes

from ferny walls

Yellow black sprites

Twangs and fights.

Siskin squabbles