Dormant Nature

With the cold spell back, together with it dark before and after work, this has been a very quiet week. The temperatures have dropped to -5C but seems much colder due to the windchill. The bird table has had the usual visitors with up to 5 Siskins in and out briefly and a noticeable rise in the number of two common birds that have become scarcer recently throughout the UK. These being Song Thrush and House Sparrow, with 3 of each visiting today.
Though Monday was cold it was slightly less so and 3 Winter Moth were flitting around the outside light in the late evening. This is one of those moths where the female of this species is virtually wingless and cannot fly, though the males can fly strongly.
But that was it as far as it goes this week, Nature seems to be having a bit of a kip in the cold.

The Wood Pigeon gang

Most of the snow has gone and with it the activity at the bird table, bar my permanent gang of Wood Pigeons. The flock of 20+ Siskin is still buzzing around together with the odd one or two that seen to fly over every few minutes. Other fly overs today include a Grey Wagtail, 5 Redwing, 2 Blackbirds and a Sparrowhawk.

  Wood Pigeons in the garden

A garden tick

Looked out into the garden first thing this morning and there, just under the patio window, raking amongst the leaves by the step,  was not as expected a Blackbird,  but something much bigger - a Woodcock! A new one for the garden. They are frequently seen flying over the house, roding, at dusk in the spring and the odd bird flies  over in late autumn but this is the first to be actually in the garden.
The front street at Chester-le-Street continues to produce birds too, as this morning, in addition to 2 Grey Wagtail among 30 Pied Wagtail, a flock of 20-odd Canada Geese flew over heading south.  Unfortunately
there was no repeat performance of yesterday's Red Kite.

Crispy Woodcock & Red Kite shadows

There's been very little new snowfall but there is hardly any  difference in the depth and  its still deep and crisp though no longer even. The bird table is still very busy but no new visitors for a day or two. Its been an excellent couple of weeks for seeing Woodcocks and I suspect many will have succumb in this big freeze. I saw another two this morning walking down the road, 1 feeding under a tiny little scrubbery where there was little snow but plenty of leaf litter.
The bird of the day however I saw as I walked down the Front Street in Chester-le-Street town centre. Several Black-headed Gulls were wheeling about and dropping down to the payments to grab the odd discarded chip and bit of pizza but I didn't take much notice until something like a dark shadow caught my eye.  I looked up but there was nothing but the gulls there, until a few moments later a superb Red Kite flew over the shop roofs and circled the street by the library. I was hoping it would also swoop down for something but presumably they were vegetarian pizza pieces as it made no attempt and then sailed off towards the river. I've had a few Red Kite over the fell, including one earlier this year and found a dead one by the A1 slip road not long after they were introduced in Gateshead in 2005 but it would be good that they became more regular here. I think (though haven't checked) that this is one of the Gateshead birds with a combination of pink and orange wing tags but I couldn't see the numbers. It did appear to be an adult bird, though a little ragged, but presumably not the one I saw earlier in the year over the fell which appeared not to have any wing tags.

No more snow but no flowering plants either

No snow fell for the second day but there's hardly a thaw. However the bird table is quieter than usual today. The group of Siskin flying around still has all 26 members and there is now at least 3 Coal Tit visiting  including a very strongly marked bird.

A nicely marked Coal Tit in the garden

 I am a member of the Wild Flower Society which is I quote 'The only national society created specifically for amateur botanists and wild flower lovers in the UK.  We are a friendly group who like to meet up throughout the summer months to see and photograph British wild plants in their natural habitats. The Society has been running for over a century and proudly boasts a number of very eminent botanists and academics amongst our ranks with at least fourteen members having plants named after them!'. At this time of year, one of the things they, and myself record, are the number of plants still in flower in each of the months of December, January and February - The Winter Months Count. My counts, not surprisingly are rather pathetic compared to the southern counties but this year, fives days in surprise, surprise, the count so far is zero. In fact its been had to see a plant at all in the snow, never mind a flower. I had 4 species by this time last year (Daisy, Gorse, Common Ragwort & Red Clover) and finished the month on 26 species. Far too early to tell but I think this will probably be my lowest count ever by a considerable way even if the snow shifts soon.

Had no time this weekend, due to chores, to go onto the fell proper,  and have I've missed it.

18 x £2.75 = more bird food

Went out to stock up on more bird food at lunchtime, not much left in the shops and looking at the prices they're put some of it up by 50p, the greedy you-know-whats. There's still up to 18 Wood Pigeons present in the garden. I see you can buy Wood Pigeons online for £2.75 each.  Now 18 x £2.75 = a good few weeks bird food. Back to the internet search engine 'How do you catch Wood Pigeons?'

26 Siskin in and out of the garden but not wanting to stay and a female Brambling landed on the fence, was tempted but flitted off again. A Mallard drake flew over but I'm not sure where he can find any open water around here. Goldfinch up to 5 now and a single Fieldfare flew over.

I saw a (the) Grey Squirrel  at the end of the street again but I still don't think its found the garden. There's no mammal footprints in the garden snow at all, not even a cat, I think its just too deep for them and any small mammals will be far safer under than on top of it.

I'm now bored with this snow

Its been tough this week for me never mind the birds, walking into the town and back at least, every day in deep snow and freezing cold. There is now 20" of snow lying in most places in the garden and the minimum temperatures the last three nights have been -8C, -10C and -11C . That's worse that Iceland - both the country and the food shop.
The bird table has been very busy and I don't want to try and work out how much I've spent on bird food but it's certainly been appreciated.

Totals for the first three days of December have been

    * Wood Pigeon - 12
    * Collared Dove - 1
    * Waxwing  - 60
    * Pied Wagtail - 1
    * Grey Wagtail - 1
    * Wren - 1
    * Blackbird - 7
    * Robin -3 
    * Dunnock - 4
    * Great Tit - 5
    * Blue Tit - 9
    * Coal Tit - 1
    * Chaffinch - 4
    * Goldfinch - 1
    * Siskin - 20
    * Bullfinch - 2
    * House Sparrow -5
    * Common Starling - 25
    * Carrion Crow - 2
    * Magpie - 1

Both the Waxwings and Siskin came into the garden on Wednesday, the former stripping half the Pyracantha berries off by the time I got home again but never returned. I've also had Woodcocks flying over on both Wednesday and Friday.

By lunchtime I've got 17 18 Wood Pigeon eating all the seed. The internet is a wonderful source for information, I've just found Mr's Beaton's recipe for Pigeon Pie.