Friday November 30

On what the weathermen tell us is the last day of autumn, I found time for a quick circuit of Arrow Valley Lake. The weather was sunny and fairly mild, the breeze gentle and south-westerly.

I am getting used to seeing the same old birds there, and in the main that happened again. The Goldeneye is still present while Shovelers have increased in number to an impressive 28. Not bad considering the only other duck species present is Mallard.

Some of the Shovelers

Just past the bend I did hear a familiar species which was nevertheless the highlight of the visit. A Chiffchaff was audible from the other side of the lake. It always amazes me how the "hweet" of this species can be heard from over 100 metres away.

By the time I had reached the spot it seemed to have shut up. But after a short wait it started up again, and I eventually located it in the lakeside vegetation.

Chiffchaff

It took several minutes of stalking before I got a shot where you could actually make out the bird. Presumably it will try to over-winter here.

My moth trap is out as I am typing this, but with the temperature at eight degrees and falling and rain due before dawn, I may struggle to catch anything. I'll add to this posting when the results are in.

Stop Press: I caught four December Moths, and while I was emptying the trap on the morning of December 1, all the birds in the garden erupted into flight as a male Sparrowhawk flew in and landed on the fence.

December Moth

Sparrowhawk

A Sparrowhawk with red eyes. Hmmm.