October 22, 2008
Mid-October in Cambridge
The last few days have dawned cool and sunny.
I decided to visit the returning flock of Common and Black-headed Gulls on Parker's Piece.
While photographing the gulls, there was a light passage of Meadow Pipits (2), Redwings (2 small flocks) and Skylark (3).
One of the many Jays that flew over. These birds are hard to miss in central Cambridge at the moment.
A Grey Wagtail has been frequenting the front court of Peterhouse.
Four species of thrush are feeding around the college gardens - here's a young female Blackbird.
Autumn colours in the Peterhouse gardens.
As many of you will have noticed, adult Harlequin ladybirds have started entering houses en masse looking for a place to overwinter. Since they are not yet adapted to our climate, it is still possible to find eggs and larvae on the trees, even though their aphid prey are becoming pretty scarce. Some of the larvae are able to subsist through egg cannibalism.
A number of Pine Ladybirds are overwintering in the bark of trees in front of the Judge Institute.
Autumn sunset.
October 18, 2008
Feeling wintry
I cycled out to Wicken via Swaffham Prior fen today, hoping to find a Golden Plover flock to scope - sadly the shooting party put paid to that idea! I saw my first big numbers of Fieldfare and Redwings for the autumn.
... plus Stonechat and Wheatear at Upware.
Both Jays and Rooks were busy caching acorns.
At Wicken I headed to the West Mere hide to see if the reported Spoonbill was still about - it wasn't, but I did find a Scaup.
It was hanging out with a 'Scaup-faced' female Tufted Duck, allowing a nice comparison of head shape.
Just as I was leaving a whistling flock of Wigeon whiffled in to land on the Mere.
October 9, 2008
Ibis, seal and punctures
After the weekend's dismal weather, yesterday morning I woke up to this:
I decided the good weather was too good to pass up, so I took the morning off work to cycle up to Sutton Gault, in the hope of seeing the adult Glossy Ibis which has been feeding there regularly. The 22 mile ride out to Chain Corner was a breeze (thank heavens Cambs is so flat!), and after a 10 minute walk I was enjoying good scope views of the bird in bright sunlight.
A Marsh Harrier soared high overhead, but this Sparrowhawk circled close enough for a photo.
The biggest surprise of the day was this inquisitive Common Seal in the Great Ouse, a good 30 miles inland from the nearest coast. It was very inquisitive and often swam directly towards me when it surfaced.
I decided to cycle back to Earith along the levee to check out the other bodies of water - much more joggly than it looks!
A whirling flock of Golden Plover and Lapwings flew in from the east, but neither settled for long enough to scan through them.
The ride back to Cambridge was much less pleasant. First I came across a freshly-dead Tawny Owl...
... and shortly afterwards had a flat rear tyre. Mercifully, the tiny garage in Willingham village sold a puncture repair kit, and I was able to locate the puncture fairly easily. The approach to Girton village was hard work, which I initially put down to tiredness, but it turned out that now my front tyre was deflating! I managed to limp back into the lab, where our technician Ian was able to find and remove the offending hawthorn spike.
The cold mornings mean that many of our native ladybirds have packed up for the season, though there are still quite a lot of Harlequins around town.
Jays are particularly easy to see at the moment, very vocal and often travelling in loose flocks. This one has taken to stashing acorns in my parents' lawn.
