Author: Walney Wildlife

We have seen Skylarks for the first time this year and today one was sat on a fence post have a good twitter, without even having an account.
After some trees were cut down in Feb 2017, smaller pieces were mulched and the larger sections laid on top and now there are some very nice Turkeytail fungi growing, see photos to easily see where the name originated.

Bob and Bri

Except for the activity around the feeder area it is still very quiet on the reserve, lots of mud and water. Hoping for a bit more nourishment, Brian has moved the cattle from the southern pen to north of the last gate.
Have attached a few shots taken over the last week.

Bob and Bri

Such a nice day yesterday, paid a visit to the feeders, all the Niger, Mixed Seed and Suet containers were empty but there were still some peanuts and fat balls and they were being hit by Blue and Great Tits.

On the ground were a few other varieties picking up the residue.
On the way up, there was a female Stonchat on the path, managed to take a couple of shots but the wind didn’t help, see shots, it looks like it caught a small lizard.

Bri

The reserve is suffering with excess water but not as bad as other parts of the country, we have been very lucky here. Every where is water logged and the rain has nowhere to go, we need a few dry days to allow it to drain away but that looks unlikely in the near future.
A couple of photos attached of the path from the fields.
The Coastal path signs have been erected and the path officially opened on the 11th Feb, but there are a few posts still not marked, the rules of he reserve have completely changed, more on that in the future, hopefully when everything has been completed.

Bob and Bri

The path past the chalet park has now eroded to such an extent, barriers were erected yesterday, to prevent access and this morning we found them open. As can be seen by the photos, the remaining path is extremely narrow and is undercut, it requires a more substantial barrier before it disappears completely.
Attached is a small video of birds on Geoff’s seat and one of the Male Bullfinches has really bad fungus on both legs, it can be seen very carefully trying to land, they must be quiet painful but it still has a good appetite.

Bob and BriSlow motion video Geoff’s seat 13th Feb 2020.avi

It must have been frightening listening to the storm last night, especially in the Chalets next to the road, no large pebbles were thrown up onto the road but further along, immediately past the reinforcement rocks, it certainly ravaged the rough path, see photos. There is still enough room for a car to drive up, but the next major storm and it will take the path and field wall down.

Bob and Bri

Attached are a few sequence shots from a video, two blackbirds fighting for food.

Bri

We have lots of birds at the feeders,and just for a change we recorded them feeding on Geoff’s seat in slow motion, see attached video taken with a phone resting on the Slow motion video Geoff’s seat 19th Jan 2020.mp4
seat, it’s not the greatest quality but it gives a better view of how they feed, at normal speed they are just too fast.
Also can be seen is a Male Bullfinch with really bad fungus on it’s legs, and the bird noise sounds completely alien.

Bob and Bri