Birds & Red Squirrels...

Early Saturday morning, Mark & I made our way out to spend some time with nature & capture some Red Squirrels. It was cloudy, but the sun was trying to show itself.  It is considerablely mild for 22nd January, around 9c. The hour-long walk to the woods always presents some sightings of local wildlife. The Common Loan path produced the first birds of the day, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Magpie & Jackdaw.  As we reached Ruthven Water, a pair of Dippers were showing well.  I was hoping the Kingfisher & Kestrel would be there, as I had told Mark,

 'The Kestrel is a certain & the Kingy has been there 2 out of 3 times the past two weeks!' 

As we neared Milton Pond I saw it's breast of orange, perched in the leafless shrubs lining the pond. I am always amazed by these colourful little beauties. It's a female. You can sex Kingfishers by looking at their beaks, if the beak is fully dark, it's a male. If the beak has a dark top and a red, lighter bottom, it's a female.  This gorgeous little bird has only been making a regular appearance here the last few weeks. I hope it stays around until the sun is high enough in the sky to produce some nice photographs...  We stopped for about 20 minutes to grab some (dark lit) shots. The bird was not disturbed by our presence.  She was catching minnows, bashing their heads in, then swallowing whole. It was fabulous to witness & only the second time I have ever watched a Kingy actually fishing. The little pond is adjacent to a well used, dog walking, path network.  As we were crouched down, lying down in the mud, many walkers passed us. A few funny looks, but the Kingy didn't flinch.  

As we continued on, a small flock of Redwing were feeding in one of the stubble fields. A Mistlethrush flew from the bushes. I was able to identify it by it's distinct call as it flew off.  There was no sign of the regular Kestrel.  I was disappointed as it has been there every morning I have been there, for the last few months. Typical wildlife fashion. 

Woodpigeon,  Great Tit, Robin, Coal Tit & Wren all spotted near the burn. Chaffinch, Rook & Dunnock spotted on the Johnny Mathis walk. Nuthatch & Jay heard, but not seen...

We stopped at my parents house on the hill for a quick catch-up, then made our way to Scurry Woods. 

After placing a few hazelnuts within the bark of the tree trunks & on a few old stumps, we sat and waited for a Little Red to show itself.

We took out our kit, drank tea from our flasks and had a chocolate biscuit or two. 

The wind had picked up and the tops of the Scots Pine were swaying in unison. It wasn't long before a Red Squirrel came bounding along towards us in search of hazelnuts.

Mark took some dramatic images of this individual.  As it kindly obliged by posing well and making use of the few hazelnuts. 

Goldcrest & Long Tailed Tit were seen fluttering high up in the canopy.  Because of the mild weather, I haven't seen many Goldcrest down in the lower branches yet.  The lack of hard frost & snow means there is probably still food for them up in the higher branches, so they tend to hang around up there. This is usually the best time to see Goldcrest, as migrating birds from the continent like to Winter here & join our resident numbers. The lack of foliage can make them easier to see but, their size & speed makes them a really tricky subject to capture.  Along with the Firecrest, they are the UK's smallest bird. (They weigh about the same as a slice of lemon) 

After about an hour, we had two Red Squirrels caching & munching the nuts.  A family of Roe Deer ran by us as we were enthralled by the antics of the Little Reds.  

The wind had picked up again & the Squirrels seemed to be on high alert.  When I come to the woods alone, I can see up to five individuals.  But today, just the two.  Mark's presence & the wind may have something to do with that... 

We packed up our kits, leaving no trace & headed deeper into the woods to pick up my Badger Sett Cam memory card... 

To be continued...