The right kind of winter snow

A view of the river with snow falling - imagine, in summer willow warblers, chiffchaffs, blackcaps feeding off aphids in the willows here!
In winter it's a haven for a huge variety of wildlife too, with water birds such as moorhen, mallard and grey heron, together with bullfinch, chaffinch, goldfinch and greenfinch,  blue and great tit, long-tailed tit, robin, dunnock, wren and many more.

As forecast, on cue, the snow arrived at about 08.30 on Friday 18th January and didn't cease until late afternoon, about 4cm with some small drifts as it arrived on an uncommon south east wind.
More snow fell for most of the day on Sunday 20th but with temperatures just above freezing, did not add much to the layer already on the ground.

Snow falling on the river bank, so lightly, resting on each twig

On Monday 21st January, the snow remained - at around midday it was very quiet - the snow being a very effective sound insulator, background noise was minimal and the birds were quiet too - no echoes.
I stood listening - only one bird at first, a great tit calling properly from a tree 'tee-cher'. In the distance, the sound of jackdaws and rooks in the trees but otherwise still. With no wind to move the branches, any tiny movement or fall of snow from a twig indicated life. Every tree trunk, branch, twig and shrub had a layer of snow which also covered the ground except where blackbirds had swiped and dug the snow aside and flung fallen leaves in all directions under trees forming large dark patches where they had been rooting for invertebrates with success, as the earth remained damp and unfrozen. It was certainly 'the right kind of snow' for birds and other wildlife: soft, covering the ground gradually, leaving plenty of caves and tunnels into the shelter of the bankside vegetation and tree roots.
A wary nuthatch broke the silence between the calls of the great tit - where the latter was content to sit and sing, the nuthatch could be clearly seen foraging amongst the branches. Another smaller bird flew in to forage in the crevices of the bark where invertebrates could be found hiding - a good view of a treecreeper - then a great spotted woodpecker flew out of an oak across to another tree, silently. In the north west, a faint glimpse of light blue sky, not promising any sun but at least the snow lit up the landscape which has been so dull and dark.
Three jays, unusually silent too, followed each other across the sky followed by a magpie. A tiny bird was busy high up in a tree - without dislodging any snow - a goldcrest, whilst blue tits were restlessly flying across from tree to tree. Several blackbirds, also silent, were busy in the undergrowth, their numbers greatly increased this winter by migrant birds - and a few starlings rested in the branches after rapid flights across the snow. Greenfinches could be heard in the thicket, they like to keep together in small groups and house sparrows were strangely quiet, their presence in amongst the brambles only given away by short snatches of chatter.  Suddenly a loud flapping above me - a woodpigeon clinging upside down to ivy covering a branch, reaching out to the remaining ivy berries. It seemed to be using its wings as well as its feet to cling and steady itself. Others nearby were attempting the same approach whilst some sat high in the trees and watched. A solitary crow called out and robins at last started to sing and fill the silent river bank with sound.

Another view of the snow, with old oak, holly and ivy and on the opposite bank, hazel

The end of a Wild Year on the Riverside

The last few weeks of 2012 have indeed been wild, weatherwise, with torrential rain or continuous drizzle, strong gales and racing clouds over land under water.

Look up from the mud and get a glimpse of the blue sky.

The oaks, looking so bare, are actually teeming with life

during the winter, supporting a huge variety of invertebrates which

in turn provide a rich food supply for birds.

An old oak in the evening light, its shape formed by the weather.

Tuesday 18th December, an interlude - it was very damp but hadn't rained, the landscape lit by watery sunshine and the wind turning through WNW, the rivers swift and muddy but the floodwater had fast receded since Friday leaving the steep banks even more scoured and depositing piles of leaves, branches and twigs on the riverside in drifts like seaweed on the seashore. The cheerful sound of a flock of starlings came from one of the old oaks on the bank with more arriving to join in the whistling chorus (40). A fieldfare flew into a hedge thicket which led me to glimpse two more through the branches. Berries and fruits are scarce this year so it's unlikely that we'll see the large numbers that visited last winter. A jay flew into the same oak as the starlings and was followed by two magpies, then another. Great tits could be seen foraging in another oak, with more foraging on the river banks and in thickets, one or two calling (35). Restless blue tits ranged between the oaks and thickets everywhere, just counting them working their way along the river at all levels...quite a few! (c99). Blackbirds too were scattered along the riverside, some busy flicking aside piles of fallen leaves, rich pickings as the ground was soft and others foraging on the river mud (17), a single song thrush with them.  

Apart from the starlings, robins (14) were the only birds singing loudly, they have done well this year, wet weather was not a problem and produced an abundance of food when young were being fed. House sparrows (c30) were as usual chattering in their hawthorn hedges and sheltered bramble thickets.

Down on the river a moorhen was dabbling where the current was not so strong, they prefer to keep well out of sight under the banks. A mallard pair flew across, looking for a calm backwater where they could feed and not get washed downstream. Wrens, silent except for the occasional loud alarm call were visible only when they flew across low over the water (4) and dunnocks foraging on the river banks amongst grasses and reeds swept flat by the force of the water were only visible when they too moved (4). Calls from the branches directly overhead revealed a group of foraging long-tailed tits (11) which try to seek out trees sheltered from the wind, being tiny birds, not strong fliers. Goldfinches in a small group (5) flew over in search of seeds, following three chaffinches into a dense thicket where a bullfinch was calling but didn't show itself. The Blackthorn is still very popular with birds even though it holds no sloes, these having been stripped earlier this winter. A group of trees nearby forms an ideal woodland area, perfect habitat with a diversity of heights from understorey to the top branches of the tallest trees, plenty of mosses, dead wood and tangled brambles, holly and ivy. There are far too many woodlands that are managed out of existence, allowed no understorey, where no fallen branches or dead wood are allowed to lie and are not surprisingly devoid of wildlife, empty of song and nests all year. 

Here amongst the old oaks and ash, nuthatches were active, busy collecting and storing food - these are birds which always remember where they cached their autumn haul.(4) Tiny movements amongst the brambles - two goldcrests hovering to feed on small insects or perhaps the small seeds of the remaining dried-up berries. Two more were seen very high up in a conifer, their more usual habitat.

Out over the field a kestrel hovered, lit by the low sun, and another dropped down over the back of a hedgerow, then up again swiftly.

Winter frosts and winter warmth

Frost on the Hogweed - goldfinches have long since eaten the seeds

December so far has been a mixture of warm and very wet days contrasting with a few frosty cold nights and mornings obscured by falling fog and mists along the river. The frosts gave way to warmer weather with torrential rains on 14th December, clearing to leave very damp but sunny days. Birds have to adjust quickly to the changes - well before we are aware of incoming bad weather they are preparing for the worst, frantically feeding up or collecting and storing food in the few short daylight hours.

A perfect day for planting, before the frosts with the ground still soft

but not waterlogged. The Riverside robins were watching from a distance.

Treecreepers and nuthatches are now clearly visible in the trees.

Autumn leaves - where's winter?

After a very wet day and a very windy night, Sunday 25th November started out in sunshine with robins singing strongly, the river high, flowing swiftly, herring gulls sailing overhead, a nuthatch climbing upside down along a branch and another calling close by, heading for the first bird.

Blue tits and great tits operating low down, just above the water, skimming off insects amongst the floating debris - the river alive with birds, soaking wet house sparrows preening amongst the twigs after bathing in the river. Millions of midges dancing over the sunlit water.

No place to hide? Fly to the Holly and Ivy

 A third nuthatch flying across and a goldfinch feeding on seeds on a tree and eight more flying into a riverside tree, their soft calls drowned out by the loud chattering of house sparrows deep in a dense hedge. Blackbirds foraging amongst more open Hawthorns and Blackthorns with occasional soft calls and alarms, with more feeding along the base of the hedges where piles of leaves are caught up in the roots. A grey squirrel climbing high up in the Blackthorn settling itself in characteristic pose with tail curved over its back in a fork in a branch, eating a large sloe.

Layers of fallen leaves - and now twigs

The ground is covered in small twigs and branches after the overnight gales, forming a fresh carpet over the now dark carpet of old fallen leaves. The colour of the landscape changes day by day. 

Formerly dense thickets of deciduous Hazel, Willow, Hawthorn and Maple now offer no hiding place amongst their branches, today the only hiding places are in Hollies and Ivy and undergrowth close to the ground where piles of leaves provide shelter. A Jay flying across in search of acorns, usually plentiful at this time of the year but very rare after a lean year. Another nuthatch arrives in one of the oaks almost falling down the trunk head first in its eagerness to collect insects it has spotted. Smart silent chaffinches are easily seen in trees now but very well camouflaged when foraging amongst the fallen leaves. Black-headed gulls keep their distance from groups of woodpigeons feeding on the grass.

Dark now, threatening heavy rain, in turning back, a fine close-up view of a kestrel as it flies over to the river and hovers over the bank in front of me, low down, then drops like a stone. It's caught its prey, probably a bank vole scurrying for shelter.

As with the sparrowhawk, predators such as these take advantage of the general confusion a sudden change in the weather can generate - master opportunists. 

November after more rain

Early November brought more rain onto saturated earth, no problem for most inhabitants of the Riverside at this time of the year - with abundant insect life in the still mild temperatures. 

The river overflowed its defined channel and banks to fill its ancient river bed, spreading out where once it ran as several channels wherever it wished.

The river showing its true nature as it spreads out over its ancient course

Oak leaves are still clinging to trees whilst new leaf buds form. Sharp frosts will change the scene and snow complete the process if it comes.

A quick look on the morning of 7th November - the river had burst its banks on 4th November, shown in the above photo - but the water had receded, leaving river bank vegetation flattened by the floodwater and huge piles of leaves driven downstream were left on the riverside banks - perfect hiding places for small creatures when the weather turns frosty. There was a chilly southerly wind but the sun offered some warmth when it appeared.

Blackbirds were foraging very close to the river (5) and robins were singing or 'chinking' (4). Blue tits (36) and great tits (13) were performing acrobatics on the willows overhanging the fast-flowing river, catching insects whilst a few fast-moving long-tailed tits could be seen on top of a Hawthorn hedge, feeding amongst the twigs (3). Many woodpigeons were busy on the field and grasses, with others close to the water (35). Chaffinches were more visible now, very smart in new plumage (6) but still quiet unlike the house sparrows which were chattering loudly in the brambles and hedgerow (16).

The river, sought out by birds, sustaining life.

A fine view of a goldfinch preening in the sun - it had obviously been bathing in the river - and looking down, a glimpse of more on a branch just above the water level bathing and preening and even more goldfinches flying down to join them (17). They appear to be more numerous this year, joining forces to search for wild plant seeds. Wrens were calling loudly (4) but not a full song, and a dunnock flew up to have a good look around , perched at the top of a Hawthorn before dropping back down into the undergrowth at the sight of magpies (3) flying across. A loud alarm call gave away a nuthatch in an old oak.

Even after all the rain and floodwater, birds are always seeking out the river, its water for bathing, its riverine undergrowth for insects, its trees for berries and nuts, its banks for warmth and shelter.

Leaves, lichen and fungi

A very cold NE gale, the coldest this autumn on 27th October caused a rapid change on the  Riverside with leaves falling in drifts from the trees, no gradual and subtle change this year. On 29th the wind had dropped and wildlife was adjusting to the colder weather with more activity and urgency.

Many robins were singing, still quite close together - in adjacent trees - with blue and great tits very active and now more easily visible catching insects amongst the twigs. In a thicket a silent chiffchaff was foraging - certainly one which will be staying here over the winter. Blackbirds were now more numerous, probably some migrants amongst them, all along the river bank and under the hedges. Quiet voices from a party of long-tailed tits were heard - where? They came into view flying low along the river course one by one, to land on an overhanging blackthorn - a lot safer than scattering amongst the treetops when hungry winged predators are around. The finches are bolder birds - a group of five goldfinches flew high across and into a thicket where some bright chaffinches were feeding and a linnet  was perched on a high branch. Lower down close to the water, wrens were now more visible with one or two singing. House sparrows were active along the hedges with two pied wagtails finding insects in the mud on the field and twelve black-headed gulls in winter plumage landed on the grass to feed together with numbers of woodpigeons and a few magpies.

A very fine view of two smart treecreepers collecting insects from deep crevices in the bark on the same old oak completed the River bank scene for the day.

In the days preceding the cold blast from the north, the autumn had been working its magic:

covering the mud under the trees with a soft and brilliant layer of leaves

with more gently spiraling down, adding to the riverside carpet.

Lichen on the branches shone with the same colors as the fallen leaves

- birds will be making use of this in spring.

Shaggy Inkcap mushrooms suddenly appeared

at the foot of a tree - they won't last long, rapidly disintegrating into 'ink'

once they have opened.

  

October Invertebrates

A very wet start to the month following a very damp September meant ideal conditions for invertebrates along the riverside with temperatures still warm and no frosty nights. Birds of course benefit from the abundance of insects especially those feeding up on their migration routes south such as warblers, swallows, martins and pipits.  Birds have also been very quick this autumn to start feasting on berries and fruits, aware perhaps that winter migrants are on their way here and the feast will not last long!

A perfect combination of flowering Ivy and Blackberries.

Insects are attracted to the Ivy flowers and warblers are

attracted to the insects. The insects can be so numerous that

the warblers can happily feast all day before heading for the 

coast and the long flight to warmer climes.

Other birds will be attracted to the ripening berries.

A bird's eye view of berries on the Guelder Rose - focus on the surroundings,

watch out for predators, whilst the beak is plucking the attractive fruits!

A female Hoverfly feeding on Ivy - still have to identify this one.

Hoverflies are very important indicators of the healthy ecology of any location - few Hoverflies and few types present mean something is wrong.

Fortunately they are very numerous here along the river and environs and many different types are present. As with most invertebrates, they need plenty of shelter - dead wood left lying where it fell, fallen leaves, twigs, branches and rotting tree stumps.

Autumn Hazel and Ash tree against a rare clear blue sky.

So far this month the sky has been active with groups of barn swallows, house martins, linnets,

and on 6th October - a strange day with clouds indicatiing two wind directions, the higher layer indicating a south westerly wind and lower layer indicating  a north easterly wind, a buzzard was gliding over the river course and an OSPREY flying towards the south, over the river course. I had seen it enjoying a large fish at Warnham Local Nature Reserve on 2nd Oct.

On 9th October a flock of very beautiful but well camouflaged meadow pipits had flown in and were foraging for insects amongst the mud, together with many active pied wagtails.

Grey herons were seen flying low over the river on several evenings and on 14th October, after the first overnight frost of the autumn, many Red Admiral butterflies were still active, high flying amongst the trees or around and on the flowering Ivy. Robins were more visible now, with some singing loudly amongst the thickets. Rosa canina, Spindle, Hawthorn, Guelder Rose, Blackthorn and Brambles all held berries and fruits - and large numbers of blue and great tits foraging for insects. A green woodpecker jaffled and house sparrows chattered in the hedgerow and a 'charm' of goldfinch flew across the river. Black-headed gulls had taken over the grass areas whilst Herring gulls wheeled and circled in a 'stack' overhead.  

16th - 20th October,  chiffchaffs and Red Admirals several nuthatch, jays and large family groups of long-tailed tits have been seen on the riverside