The golf course was closed because of the (dusting of) snow and the (quite) low temperatures, so a walk across the tundrous wastes was quieter than usual.
Reading a blog from another place, about Juniper bushes on the North Downs, I wondered if there were any near here. Sure enough, an area at the top of the course yielded up a patch of about 40 - whether natural or planted I don't know.
Given the exposed position it's not surprising that they are low-growing specimens and not the proud erect types that may be seen elsewhere.
Nearby the large cliff fall could be seen, with more planks of wood being washed up, due to some quirk of the wind and tide.On the bird front there was little around - a couple of skylarks over the stubble and a few gannets and auks flying over sea.
In the garden there has been an arrival of greenfinches and great tits, and I got a shot of a Treecreeper at work.
9 comments:
Those cliffs are incredible. Great looking Treecreeper. You will be adding it to your garden list?
Great photos and your treecreeper looks just like our brown creeper. I've had a pair of creepers the last 2 winters and the larger one actually goes to a suet feeder that hangs close to the tree trunk. I also put some suet dough in the bark for any of the creepers as the winters are long and cold in NY state...Michelle
Michele,
Unfortunately the tree creeper was seen at work, not at home, so it won't be on the list. Shame :-{
Michelle,
I saw American Brown Creepers in Canada in the autumn, and they seem indistinguishable from ours - across the channel in Europe they have Short-toed Treecreepers...fortunately the ranges do not overlap or we'd have a serious identification challenge!
A good shot of the Treecreeper it is too Steve.
PS. Moorhens are an occasional visitor to the large gardens around my house, and sometimes I see them out on the grass fields to the front of my house. They come from the wet woods which is only 100yards away.
Steve ,
So when is the Gin still starting up then ?
In answer to your question , the Heron won . In between the Crow's sortis , it carried on preening . Eventually the Crow gave up and flew off . Interestingly , while it was all going on , Jackdaws and Magpies were attracted to the fray , but they kept their distance , probably egging on the Crow . When ready , the Heron lifted off and swooped down to a pond in an adjacent garden .
It is good to hear there are some healthy populations on the N.Downs. I suspect they are native rather than planted, Juniper do not seem to be planted very much at all were there any signs of younger plants. It seems that the national problem is a lack of regeneration from seed.
Greenie,
I think the berries are best used to regenerate the colony, rather than being mixed to form a dubious-tasting spirit (now if they went into wine....)
John, glad you found the blog - I'll scrabble around in the grass to see if there are small bushes emerging. Thanks for the inspiration!
Wow...that cliff drop is really something! Glad you found the junipers...you are very good at finding what you go looking for :-) Sorry, you don't get to count the creeper! I had a similar frustration today when I finally saw an owl...but not at home.
Throstle? I had to look that up. I have never heard of it. Do you have any photos (not because I need proof) ;) Just curious to see it. It's a thrush?
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