Mike's conservatory (2 Viewers)

So the day dawned bright and clear and it looked like the dark grey days of the remnants of winter had finally released their grip and allowed spring to really take a hold...That was saturday.

I didn't go out on saturday...

I have a bad back at the moment (everyone say ahh!) so I thought a lie in would be good.

Sunday was back to grey, dull, and dissapointing. It wasn't a bad day as weather goes, just not a particularly good one. The access road gave us good views of some particularly bright looking yellow wags and a late arrival wheatear female. Redshank, oystercatchers, shelduck, mallard all pretty numerous and the first of the lapwing chicks are running about looking like little animated balls of wool with oversize knitting needle legs. There were pheasants crowing and shaking their wings energetically and swallow numbers are building slowly. Beside the road lay a scattered pile of redshank feathers and I remarked to Andy that it looked like 'our' peregrine had been busy. In Birdforum TV, Andy T has posted a short video of that very kill, which occured on saturday, (probably while I was still flat on my back) and there are a couple of stills in the gallery too. A walk out to the hide, which was more of a hobble in my case, saw both Andy and me getting a bit irritated with people who think it's OK for them to drive out to the disabled parking area despite clearly having no disability other than perhaps not being able to read the signs which say it's not allowed. Only one driver of three had a valid disabled sticker and good luck to him but the others are taking the p***. Rant over.
The pools are now crowded with avocet, squabbling and being generally noisy, as well as a few godwits, ringed plover and a single turnstone. However my attention once again was mostly focussed on the distant peregrine. She flew through at one point (typically she'd taken off while my attention was elsewhere) prompting a chorus of whistling alarm calls from the assembled throng of avocets. Just about managed a poor sketch from the fleeting view. Most of the time though she sat on the muddy piles and took in the world around her. In the middle distance a yellow wag posed briefly on a small heap of mud dredged from one of the ponds. There were still stalks from the rushes sticking out from the mud and I couldn't resist a quick sketch of a natural composition.

Much of the afternoon I spent in the conservatory working on a pied wagtail painting and resting my back. I couldn't help but notice that there are a lot of wasps flying around the top of one of the silver birch trees. They didn't seem to be bothering the birds overly but I think there's a wasp nest up there somewhere. I'll post progress on the wag painting when There's time and something to show, but here's the original sketch and a cleaned up drawing. The drawing isn't quite right but You'll get the gist.

Off to training again soon so time for a coffee now.

And the wag.

And I almost forgot one of the best sightings of the day; The first cuckoo of spring flew over the car park right above my head. He went over the house and he must have stopped in the orchard where he gave us a couple of calls just to announce his arrival. Great news, spring reall is heere after all!

Mike

Great report Mike (and sketching as usual).

Made me feel a bit guilty, you dragging yourself out with a bad back. I looked through the curtains at 6am on Sunday and went straight back to bed as it was peeing down.

again your narrative skills are surpassed only by the exquisite sketching - great turnstone.

Superb, Woody! The seated 'grin is a beautifully observed study of light and shadow, and my fave is the launching avocet -- so much in so few lines!

Enjoying it all Mike. Love the sketches

Well I'm back at 'work' today after some time at home looking after a bad back which is mostly recovered now. I was still able to get around and walking wasn't too bad so I managed some trips out and got in a bit of work on the pied wag painting, although sitting still for long periods proved impossible.

The conservatory has been warm and pleasant for the most part so the garden birds have been useful subjects to help me keep my eye in. Pigeon porn continues, the female is just so keen! It must be love...
The blackbird turns up every half hour or so just to see if there're any intruders and to grab a bug or two. Black headed gulls fly over constantly but only occasionally do they circle or drop in. Sparrows and magpies are always regular and a new and very welcome addition is a female sparrowhawk. She tries so hard to catch the sparrows but the cotoneaster frustrates her as the little guys head straight for the centre of it at first sight of her.

As well as the garden birds I managed a few trips out to Elmley over the week. Much excitement over a pair of black winged stilts which I failed to connect with. It would have been good to see them but I'm really not the kind of guy who's prepared to chase these things all over so I figure 'better luck next time'. I did catch up with a couple of Teminck's stints though so all was not lost!

Spring continues on a-pace. Avocets dominate the scrapes and there are many birds sitting patiently on eggs making for irresistable drawing subjects. Among the avocets there are pied and yellow wags, ringed plovers, the occasional godwit, mallard, tufties and so on all nervous of passing marsh harriers. Sedge warblers are lustily singing all over and there are whitethroats in the orchard. The first screams of the swifts can be heard and there are swallows once again repairing their nests in the toilet building.

Love the sketches sat here at work it does bring a little of the countryside into a boring room!

hope the back's better, as usual your words and sketches have brought a wonderful scene to life. I certainly hope you're more than just a little proud of that last avocet - blooming' marvellous!

Great sketches as usual Mike, but that last Avocet is really special.

With the advancing season there are corn buntings jangling their songs from the tops of bushes or, if there are no bushes, then the tops of grass tussocks. There are skylarks all over and the marsh frog chorus adds an awkward bassline to the orchestra of the reserve.

The little owl can pretty much be relied on to be sunning himself in his tree early in the morning and he keeps company with the stock doves and woodpigeons. The low numbers of large trees on the reserve means that the few trees that do grow there are magnets for birds. I think most people would probably look for green woodpeckers on woodland reserves but you can never be sure that you won't see them at Elmley.

Elsewhere on my travels I've seen my first hobby of the year. He shot past me whilst I was watching house martins collecting mud from the creek at Lower Halstow, I don't think the martins were too happy but he made me smile. In the scrubland behind where I was sitting a Cetti's warbler plinky-plinky-plonked and the first of the turtle doves purred a soft counterpoint.

Spring moves inexorably toward summer.

Mike

Nearly missed the spar! And the hobby!

Thanks all, the back's much better now. Anti-inflamatories and diazepam from the doc have done the trick!

Mike

you're spoiling us now! Love the waggy and the spar.

Thanks Nick. The wagtail spoiled me, she (I think) sat still(ish) for about 15 minutes or so right outside the hide. I actually thought that she may be ill until she suddenly seemed to have had enough of her uncharacteristic waggy behaviour and started running about like a demented little clockwork toy! Spar was less co-operative so I ended up with much looser and speedier sketches.

Mike

Woody said:

Thanks Nick. The wagtail spoiled me, she (I think) sat still(ish) for about 15 minutes or so right outside the hide. I actually thought that she may be ill until she suddenly seemed to have had enough of her uncharacteristic waggy behaviour and started running about like a demented little clockwork toy! Spar was less co-operative so I ended up with much looser and speedier sketches.

Mike

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Spars are not well known for sitting still! However I do have a friend that found a spars nest with young and climbed the next tree to video the young in the nest. While he was up the tree the female flew in and started to feed them. After that he spent many hours sitting in the tree and the female just ignored him! Must have been one very layed back Spar.

Greg Butler said:

Must have been one very layed back Spar.

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I don't believe there is such a thing!

Mike

Woody said:

The wagtail spoiled me, she (I think) sat still(ish) for about 15 minutes or so right outside the hide. I actually thought that she may be ill until she suddenly seemed to have had enough of her uncharacteristic waggy behaviour and started running about like a demented little clockwork toy!

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Haha! Wagtails are such darlings, I hope I'll find a one that is willing to pose for a while so that I can actually get more than the beak and head done!

I just love the green woodpecker (I've got a soft spot for woodpeckers...). |=)| And the doves - awwwww...

super sketches Mike and love the narratives. The Avocet is a bit special though.
Yellowhammers popping in the garden now just waitig for the Linnets to pop down to the stream for a drink.
Glad your backs better.You shouldn't carry so much money arround with you !