#woodpigeon wednesday

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Woodpigeon Wednesday! Overstimulated pigeon because I've been in a bit of an autism funk lately (although today's been much better.) Not much detail because I want more time to relax (and have more time to draw the silly guy)

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Concept: Humming the Bassline by Hideki Naganuma but it's woodpigeon noises

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25/05/2022-Photos from home of a grey silverfish last night, two views of the back garden with nice colour, sunny view out the front, two of the lovely in bloom rose bush out the front tonight, flowering out the front and three sky scenes out the back. Unusually I suppose thus far barring any photos I take before bed (I am logging off after this though so will roll over until tomorrow) all the photos I produced today are in this set with ten produced. 

In another working in the office day there were some wonderful wildlife moments within, getting a brilliant view of Winnie the Peregrine again at Winchester Cathedral at lunch time, seeing Goldfinches and Woodpigeon really well on the balcony tonight and on a cameraless walk over Lakeside which was lovely and so peaceful this evening having time I wouldn’t usually on a Wednesday for it where I enjoyed seeing Tufted Ducks well with white clovers adorning the walk. 

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Thursday 13th May 2021

A Round Up to Catch Up

My standard Bay Trees are flowering

I’m hanging my head in shame. Bad Nature Watcher here. First the good - I can report that the dawn chorus this morning was incredible. Starting around 04.20am I heard it crystal clear in all its glory, having lain awake for about 20 minutes before it started. I’d decamped into the bathroom, where I’d left the window open a chink (don’t tell Crow whatever you do, he’s far too nesh) and the sound was amazing, just like a birdie symphonic orchestra with our Elvis* as guest soloist and a Blackbird in close competition.

However, the upshot of my extended wakeful period meant once I’d nodded off again, I slept in and apparently missed all the fun, so Crow reports

♦ Millie the lonely female Pheasant (Millie no mates) appeared very early in the garden with A NEW BOYFRIEND. He’s clearly identifiable as new because he’s not a Vicar (ring necked)

♦ There was a brief altercation whereby two Robins seemed to be having a contretemps in the porch, possibly involving the nest box hitherto attended by Christopher Wren

♦ Woodpigeon dumped itself in the entirety of the birdbath, emptying all the water in the process - comical

♣ photos above all posed by models representing the events of this morning

Elsewhere in the garden my Acers seem to be going quite well - the tiny one shown above and the large tree below, plus a couple in big pots.

I nearly lost one of this pair last Summer when I overlooked the watering, but I cut it back and it seems to be ok. I’ve evened up the sizes of the pair and they don’t look too bad. The leaves are such a pretty colour.

Not so clever with the Wisteria out the front, it’s way, way behind everyone else’s. I think I pruned it at the wrong time and I’m blaming Daisy, the Pigeon in residence. I’m so soft when it comes to delaying tasks so as not to disturb.

I am quite excited though for the new family of Great Spotted Woodpeckers. We’re still seeing a lot of both male and female.

And I’m really championing our potential Chaffinch family. I saw the male this morning in the Christmas tree and his colours are stunning - such an under-rated little bird. This photo really doesn’t represent him fairly.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED THIS WEEK?

The term Biophilia. Find out more at Sussex Wildlife Trust. It can work wonders!

A local village view, for no other reason than that I think it’s really pretty and it makes me smile to look at it

RAVENS!

The Tower of London, which I wrote about last year, has new Ravens and a competition to name one of the two they’re keeping.  

You might remember that I also wrote about a missing Raven back in January (BBC link) Sadly she’s obviously not been found, but fear not, it’s not all bad news...

The names of our current Tower ravens are Jubilee, Harris, Gripp, Rocky, Erin, Poppy and Georgie. Ravens are intelligent birds and each of ours has its own personality; they can mimic sounds, play games and solve problems.

For the third year in a row the Tower of London’s breeding pair of ravens Huginn and Muninn have produced chicks! Ravenmaster Chris Skaife is caring for four happy and healthy chicks, more than expected, and we will be welcoming two of them to join the Tower’s legendary corvid community. Our new arrivals will take the total number of resident ravens to a reassuring nine, three more than the required minimum of six.

The Ravenmaster has already named our new baby boy raven Edgar, in honour of Edgar Allan Poe, celebrated poet and author of ‘The Raven’. But what about our other new recruit, a baby girl? We need you to help us #NameOurRaven!

Vote for your favourite name from Ravenmaster Chris's shortlist of names, drawn from history, mythology, and famous tales from the Tower’s past, using the form below.

Matilda Named after fearsome medieval monarch Empress Matilda, who battled her cousin Stephen of Blois over her claim to the English throne in the 1130s and 40s.

Branwen Named after the deity from Celtic mythology, whose name translates as ‘Blessed Raven’.

Brontë Named after 19th-century literary legends the Brontë sisters, who authored some of Britain’s best-loved Gothic novels including Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

Winifred Named after Winifred Maxwell, Countess of Nithsdale, remembered for plotting her husband Lord Nithsdale’s incredible escape from the Tower in 1716 disguised as a woman.

Florence Named after Florence Nightingale, pioneering British nurse and social reformer, and namesake of the UK’s NHS Nightingale critical care hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We’ll announce the winning name on Wednesday 19 May, the same day we lower the drawbridge and welcome visitors back to the Tower!

I’ll let you know when I find out the winner. I voted for Brontë on the basis that the male’s been named after a poet and I think it works to name the siblings with some kind of a link.

EDIT: 19th May

* the resident Songthrush, thank you very much uhuh.

**Late reaction - have read this to Crow and he’s outraged that I leave windows open overnight. Cat’s out of the bag now. Whoops.

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Woodpigeon Wednesday? Woodpigeon Wednesday.

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Woodpigeon Wednesday! Reference photo by my Dad :)

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Been seeing a lot of woodpigeons trying (and failing) to attract a mate.

Had a long day so it's not very detailed

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Woodpigeon Wednesday! Have an aroace woodpigeon!

Reference photo by my Dad :)

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Woodpigeon Wednesday!!

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Egg

From the Wikipedia article Common Wood Pigeon. Photo by Didier Descouens

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Woodpigeon Wednesday!!

Reference photo by Amy Lewis

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27th October 2023: Lakeside and home

Pictures taken in this set are of: 1. Mushrooms at Lakeside this evening. 2, 8, 9 and 10. Views on my walks at Lakeside today. The sun that was in and out today arriving perfectly for my last Friday after work walk of the year with the clocks going back this weekend to create some gorgeous and atmospheric scenes with the sun and creamy sky such scenes that have become symbolic with my last Friday evening walk of the year since my working from home days began, and I made the most of being out in nature in the evening as the traffic roared from around and reflect on why I love evening walks and the many wonderful ones I've had here this year seeing and experiencing so much from them. 3. Starlings and a Collared Dove shining in the afternoon sun out the back. 4. Ox tongue at Lakeside at lunch time. 5. A wild carrot seed head kissed by the ethereal autumn evening sun. 6. One of two Coots I enjoyed seeing really nicely and closely at lunch time. 7. A Woodpigeon it was good to see tonight.

Other bird highlights at Lakeside today were Redwing, Blue Tit, Goldfinches including flying in the evening perhaps to roost, Jackdaw, Magpie, Carrion Crow Moorhen, Black-headed Gulls including flying over in the evening too and lovely views especially in the evening of the Great Crested Grebes with Ring-necked Parakeet a key one at this time of year in moments being out nearer to dusk as the nights draw in heard. A fly on a dandelion, perhaps the first horseweed I've ever actually seen at Lakeside, white clover, broad-leaved clover, ragwort, a pretty group of oxeye daisies still going strong by the fence to the steam railway track along the northern path and wild service tree and holly berries were also good to see. I enjoyed seeing Goldfinch, House Sparrow and a ladybird the other side of the window at home today with the Greylag Geese seen flying over the house tonight near dusk a key image of this time of year after enjoying this on the way home on Wednesday I did so again by Lakeside on the way home yesterday.

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5/6/22-Post 1 of 2: Lakeside and home

With news of the Great Crested Grebe pair on the lake with their chicks now I snuck another quick walk over Lakeside into this long weekend, with me working in the office Monday and Wednesday to reduce pressure on Tuesday a little when I’ll be aiming not to take many photos to help being to bed earlier. This would be beneficial tonight too of course but I kind of accept a weekend days are harder to control and I do have the benefit of travelling time to type up posts before getting home which I don’t on a Tuesday and Tuesday is a day any lunch time walk/photo taking I do are generally alone so it’s easier to run away with myself for taking photos.

I was thrilled at Lakeside this morning/early afternoon to see the two Great Crested Grebes with their chicks. Getting smashing views of the stunning humbug chicks on the mother’s back and on the water, with the father bringing in a fish and plucking its white belly feathers which it feeds to the chicks to aid their digestion. It was so nice to be captivated by this amazing natural sight again, I am in aw of these birds I love and their offspring. I took the second, third, seventh and eighth pictures in this photoset of these birds. 

It turned into a brilliant spring time walk of birds with young ones and seasonal species, as I got brilliant views of Moorhen chicks on Kornwestheim lake with an adult which I took the ninth picture in this photoset of, two sets of Greylag Geese goslings with a whole line of them swimming along looking really grown up now and some foraging under the wood of a fishing jetty, a stunning young Robin I saw well again and I got cracking views of two special male Blackcaps one of my species of the weekend. I also loved taking in the group of Tufted Ducks on Concorde lake the main one I explored today with the grebes on I took the fifth and sixth pictures in this photoset of them with one of them preening nicely and got a top view and chance for a photo of Greylag Geese on beach lake. I also saw Mallard and House Sparrow on the walk as well as a Moorhen on the pool in the northern fenced off area seeing the cows nicely in the southern and a Woodpigeon in the front garden when home. To tag onto the walk of young bird photos I took another couple of a young Starling in the garden once back and enjoyed seeing these as well as House Sparrow, Collared Dove and Herring Gulls out the back, with Goldfinch and Woodpigeon seen well on the balcony tonight. I took the tenth picture in this photoset of the Starling. 

I saw some nice flowers on the walk including my first definite hogweed of the year as the first picture in this photoset shows, a type of vetch, scarlet pimpernel, black medick, cress type flowers, speedwell, roses, yellow iris and water dropwort. It was nice to see lavender, roses and dog roses and oxeye daisies and more roses in the front and back garden respectively today. I took the fourth picture in this photoset of a nice view over Concorde lake with the I believe water dropwort looking nice.

I enjoyed seeing my first Hedgehog of the year in the garden last night, one that has been regularly visiting, what a special moment. Tonight I liked seeing a snail the other side of the window out the front. 

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Round up of my wild week: 7th-14th May 2023

My insect year really stepped up a notch this week, with two specialist butterfly days where we saw some brilliant species; seeing Small Copper, Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper and Green Hairstreak at Martin Down last Sunday and Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Grizzled Skipper again today at Bentley Wood. It was powerful to watch these stunning and beautiful butterflies and I felt so excited to be cruising into the butterfly spring especially in strong bits of weather in a changeable outlook of late. I also saw Small Copper at Lakeside which was great on Tuesday and across the week common species including Holly Blue, Orange Tip and Green-veined White I saw has underlined being in butterfly days of late. A White-shouldered House moth at home alongside today’s Speckled Yellow moths and ones seen that I couldn’t see for long enough to identify at Lakeside on Tuesday and Bentley Wood today made it a good moth week as well. 

A delightful Dingy Skipper at Martin Down 

Damselflies and dragonflies excitingly came into my year this week with a string of sightings particularly from Friday onwards seeing my first Blue-tailed Damselfly of the year at Lakeside that day, my first Large Red Damselflies and Common Blue Damselflies of the year at Brownsea Island and Blashford Lakes respectively yesterday and alongside more Large Red Damselflies my first dragonfly of the year in the dazzling Broad-bodied Chasers at Bentley Wood today. An Oak Eggar moth caterpillar was good to see at Pennington on bank holiday Monday, with snipe fly at Bentley Wood and Martin Down and a lovely Bloody-nosed beetle seen at the latter other great moments. A quirky other wildlife to the main things I watch highlight this week has been a few sightings of the terrapin at Lakeside on lunch time walks. 

Broad-bodied Chaser at Bentley Wood today 

It was also another amazing week of birds packed full of stunning experiences. Finally seeing a Cuckoo at Martin Down (as posts last weekend explained, I’d heard them there a lot there over the time we’ve been going but hadn’t seen one there until last week) and hearing one at Bentley Wood today, a sensational experience seeing my second Long-billed Dowitcher of the year one coming into delicious summer plumage at Pennington on Monday and epic views of bright Willow Warbler and my first Tree Pipits of the year at Bentley Wood today were thrilling moments. There was also a phenomenal day we had at Brownsea Island yesterday, having a breathtaking experience of observing so closely the Sandwich Tern and Black-headed Gull colony with Common Terns around too. A fair few Bar-tailed Godwit and intimate views of Shelduck and Oystercatcher one I saw well at Pennington on Monday too as well as views of Canada Goose and Greylag Goose goslings and Mallard ducklings (a key theme of my Lakeside walks again this week with these three species) were other highlights at Brownsea. The big point of my Lakeside week was seeing the Great Crested Grebes on nests for the first time this year which is exciting. Swifts have been a great constant throughout my week again. It’s been interesting to see a different set of birds at home this week with Jackdaw, Magpie and Woodpigeon prominent in ones seen at home with the two corvids coming into the garden which they don’t often do.

One of my Shelduck photos on a mesmerising day on Brownsea yesterday, the great access to close views of birds and many shots taken led me to producing over one hundred photos, the most I’ve ever produced in a day together with some in the brief Blashford call in and at home.

Finally onto flowers where big revelations of my week were stunning views of early purple orchids including rare white and exquisite chequered pale ones at Martin Down on Sunday, my first ever greater celandine at Lakeside on Wednesday and my first yellow pimpernel of the year at Bentley Wood today a precious little one. Speedwell, greater stitchwort, a wealth of herb-Roberts, oxeye daisies coming into my year on walks nicely, plantain, red campion at Lakeside, ground ivy, bluebells, garlic mustard and seas of cow parsley were other highlights this week.

Hawksbeard at Lakeside on Friday, another good one to see. 

Speckled Wood at Lakeside on Friday 

This Avocet was another good wader to see at Pennington on Monday.

I couldn’t forget seeing New Forest Pony foals, my first of the year, on the way home from Pennington on Monday, a sight I love at this time of year. 

Changeable weather this week brought me one of my favourite landscape and sky features of the week on Thursday evening, a fantastic rainbow.

A beautiful view on the wonderful Brownsea Island yesterday.

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Round up of my wild week 30th April-7th May 2023

Cuckoo, Duke of Burgundy, dawn chorus and more 

This week was packed with outstanding nature watching experiences. Starting with birds it was breathtaking to get such exquisite views of a fine Cuckoo on a walk from Telegraph Hill in the New Forest last Sunday. Amazing moments, and my first neat and gorgeous Redstarts of 2023 were seen on the walk too alongside great moments seeing Fallow Deers very clearly. It was also great to hear Cuckoo at Bentley Wood on bank holiday Monday and Lymington yesterday really bedding myself into the season with these birds I always feel so lucky to see. Yesterday having the spectacular immersive moment of watching Little Terns dive into the sea to fish at Lymington seeing a fair few of this target to see yesterday was balanced perfectly with a brilliant birdwatching moment when seeing a Curlew Sandpiper at nearby Pennington coming into beautiful rusty red summer plumage I saw this bird in a way I rarely have before. Seeing Lapwing chicks at Lymington yesterday was one of a few big moments in watching young birds for me this week with Moorhen chicks, both species of goslings and ducklings enjoyed on my Lakeside lunch time walks this week. 

Cuckoo at Telegraph Hill

Little Tern at Lymington 

Some of Lakeside’s Greylag Goose goslings on Tuesday evening. 

There was a fluidity in my lunch breaks this week between Lakeside on working from home days and Winchester on office days due to seeing a number of Swifts well throughout both, immersive experiences with this exciting summer visitor which adds pleasant sound and elegance to our skies. Whitethroat was a bird I enjoyed throughout the week including at Lakeside again, and it was a good week for seeing hirundines for me particularly Swallows. Great Crested Grebe and Blackcap other Lakeside highlights. 

My round up post runs up until the morning of posting this week as this morning I got up early for over an hour to listen to the dawn chorus outside my window for International Dawn Chorus day. It was joyful and splendid to hear an intense wall of Blackbird lullaby. As they rattled through their trilling and roving repertoire, I also heard Mistle Thrush and Robin before the House Sparrows and Starling brought their chatter as it got lighter and also came the coos of Collared Dove and Woodpigeon with the honk of Greylag Goose and wail of Herring Gull audible too. Just as Blackbird (one singing as I write this bit just past midday) has consistently been heard from my room of late I’d been looking forward to this morning and that species especially made it an invigorating time.

Onto butterflies and our visit to Noar Hill on bank holiday Monday heralded really the start of our peak butterfly season as it was the first specialist butterfly trip where a butterfly was the main target rather than seeing butterflies whilst our birdwatching/walking. And we were lucky in sun between showers and overjoyed to see that target, the gem that is a Duke of Burgundy. It was an enduring experience being able to make our their sheer beauty. I also saw my first Green-veined White of the year sparking a strong week for this smooth all season species seeing them at Lakeside and Winnall Moors on Wednesday too. Holly Blue, Brimstone, Speckled Wood and Orange Tip were also good to see this week. Staying with lepidoptera and my first identified moth of the year, a Common Heath on the heath on the New Forest walk on Sunday was very welcome. 

Duke of Burgundy at Noar Hill 

Visiting Bentley Wood also on Monday allowed in this insect paradise a delve into other areas, with magnificent oil beetle and Green Tiger beetle and enigmatic snipe fly and a crane fly possible Cone-horn crane fly bringing their own splash of splendour to these spring days. Tadpoles were good to see at Bentley and I enjoyed spiders outdoors this week. Another top mammal moment was seeing my first Hedgehog of the year at home on Wednesday night. 

Cone-horn crane fly at Bentley Wood 

Finally my flower week felt something of a step up in gear towards the (what I see as) mid-late spring and even into summer species. I had a great week of observing beautiful bugle and colourful vetch. I was also thrilled to see stunning early purple orchids at Noar Hill, a long time favourite of mine. Bluebells that carpeted Bentley Wood enchantingly, cowslips, bird’s-foot trefoil, tormentil, lousewort, ground ivy, wood anemone, garlic mustard, cow parsley, speedwell and buttercup were some of the other standouts seen. I was pleased to spot some pretty eyelash fungi at Bentley Wood too. 

Wood anemone at Bentley Wood 

Of course all the trips and walks this week took me into beautiful, colourful and varied landscapes sporting their spring colours, I enjoyed taking in this field of rapeseed oil near Noar Hill. 

A lovely full flower moon on Friday night.

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30/09/2022-Lakeside and home 

I have seen something of an increase in flower photos this week. I am not sure if this is because I have been a bit more efficient with taking photos generally this year than last year and what it became in 2020, and a big part of that was for many flower species after I’d taken a few shots of them on different days in different ways I was conscious not to take many of that species unless there was a moment for a photo I just could not miss to allow myself to photograph other species, thinking of the bigger picture of the days and weeks all being linked and it all counting together. And it did have a good impact for me as with me knowing more and more flowers since I first really got into them in 2020 and noticing more of me appreciating being out with flowers and plants and not always needing to try for photos. So now the season is on the turn into autumn so there are less flowers naturally, but a few are emerging again after the relief in the weather following the heatwaves they now maybe stand out quite a bit. I enjoyed photographing some wood avens with their delicate silky yellow leaves some flowering I noticed on Tuesday by the railway track at Lakeside, the hedgerow crane’s-bill in the fourth picture in this photoset a first for me for the species I believe a smashing and colourful one to see which I noticed on Wednesday when passing the grassy area at the entrance to Lakeside on my commute repeating a trick I did a lot in the late winter/spring of noticing flowers just inside Lakeside at the entrance commuting and then went to take a photo on a lunch time walk another day, some mallow in the sixth picture in this photoset, some possible hogweed and a daisy on the green out the front on the way back on my lunch time walk. I took the third picture in this photoset of some nettle leaves which I enjoyed today.

Other flowers I enjoyed seeing at Lakeside or nearby on walks today were carrot and a yellow quartet of bird’s-foot trefoil, agrimony, dandelion and ragwort, with some fuchsia and other colourful flowers seen well at the cafe’. I also enjoyed seeing steeplebush, lovely blue flowers on the balcony and pink flowers out the back at home today and smashing yellow flowers in the flower bed out the front on the way to Lakeside that have sprung up alongside the cornflowers, yarrow and poppies one of which I took the first picture in this photoset of. 

I was delighted to see a lovely little moth fly into vegetation at the south of Lakeside which I took the fifth picture in this photoset of, its The Snout an exciting one to see. Its my seventy second moth species I’ve ever seen and milestone fortieth species seen this year I have had such a good year of seeing moths. 

Seeing and hearing Carrion Crows well at Lakeside at lunch time, and Magpie well on both walks were nice moody corvid moments at Lakeside today. A young gull either Herring Gull or Lesser Black-backed Gull splashing and flying up into the air then back down into the water and the Great Crested Grebe preening were highlights on Concorde lake on my lunch time Lakeside walk. With great views of Coot and Moorhen on this lake too. A Robin in a puddle on a wet Lakeside evening walk along the northern path I really liked seeing one in the garden today also always a treat with young and adult Woodpigeon on the railway track were nice to see. I heard tit species I believe nicely at Lakeside at lunch time too and I heard a Ring-necked Parakeet calling briefly from within trees. I liked seeing and hearing hoards of Starlings gathering and feeding out the back throughout today.

There was a definite autumnal feel about today. The broad trees surrounding Concorde lake that were endless emerald bastions of summer in the months gone by now yellowing as part of a fair few colours on trees seen here, fallen leaves scattered across path and lake and welly boots needed for a part of the path where mud collects which I saw had arrived last week and I planned to walk that part today. Added to a its fair to say rare wet version of my peaceful Lakeside Friday evening walk to take me into the weekend gently which was moody, and there was something cozy about seeing the day fade out with the rain falling and the gloom. I took the second, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth pictures in this photoset of views at Lakeside today the eighth showing some fallen leaves on the northern path with great bits of green to enjoy still. I hope you all have a nice weekend. 

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first ever The Snout moth, one of my favourite birds the Great Crested Grebe, Mallard, Moorhen, Coot, Herring or Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Woodpigeon seen well at Lakeside and home, Starling, Goldfinch, Robin, House Sparrow, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Jackdaw and I heard Ring-necked Parakeet.