An identification challenge from a recent visit to Fowlmere.

Had us scratching our heads and consulting the guide books.

It had most of the characteristics of a Ruddy Shelduck but it wasn't, grey head ? ...... Hmmmm.
























               This is a pair of Ruddy Shelducks that I photograped at Slipton last year

The staff at the visitor center held the answer ..... its a South African ( Cape ) Ruddy Shelduck and an escapee from a wildfowl collection.

Still, an interesting experience !.

A challenge to the Botanists amongst you !

On Sunday I was at Wood Walton Fen near Cambridge and came across the following.

I thought that it was a seed pod of sorts but I didn’t want to to remove it for analysis, it was one of several in a bunch, each about four-five  inches in length  approx. three feet above ground level in amongst mixed thistles and grasses and rough vegetation by the side of a ditch.

At first sight they looked a bit like young cucumbers.

Any ideas !

My thanks again to the ever helpful Dr Peter Llewellyn, who responded with a minimum of delay.

'' Hello John, try Yellow Flag (Iris pseudacorus) fruit under Google images and see if that is like the thing you saw.

Regards, Peter L. ''

Spot on Peter, many thanks once again.

Did any one get it right ?.

My Plant identification is as good as my Butterfly and Dragonfly identification ..... awful !

Last weekend I saw a seedling plant that I did not recognise, no surprise there then I hear you mutter.

I certainly couldn't find it in any of my UK wild flower guides.

Can you do better ?.

I sent the image to Doctor of chemistry and amateur but very credible botanist Peter Llewellyn who very quickly responded as follows.

'' Hello John, your plant is Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)  which is an invasive, annual, introduced species causing much havoc along damp verges and river banks throughout the British Isles. On the positive side, bees love it and much to the annoyance of conservationists, bee-keepers sometime plant it for nectar.

Regards,

Peter Llewellyn. ''.

Did you get it right ?.

What always amazes me about lovers of wildlife and the '' web '' is the availability of guidance that is offered by highly qualified people who are willing to impart their knowledge for their love of their discipline.

Heartfelt thanks Peter.

Pollen panniers .........

We all know that Bees collect pollen to take back to their hives to support honey production, but how do they transport it ?.

 ....... this image clearly illustrates how they cache pollen on their legs .... as always with insects, great efficiency.

Flora as well as Fauna on this blog .......

I saw this flower on the edge of the reed beds and it struck me as rather unusual.

One of my friends Graham Barker, far more in touch with plants than I, was able to identify it as '' Redshank '' ( aka Willow weed and Lady's thumb ) a member of the Knotweed family.

It is invasive but can be controlled when required.

What a shame that such a striking flower is a weed.

NB  Another friend, Eric Graham has also suggested that it is '' amphibious bistort '', a species that Graham and I also considered.

Its not for me to play King Soloman when it comes to plant identification so its good to have two nominations.

My original position continues to be that it is an unusual looking flower !. 

This years crop ......

Of Teasels, a really important source of food for many birds in winter not least of which is  the Goldfinch.

Many other species benefit from this food source when mature and it is widely spread throughout our countryside.


What an attractive plant this is however I have to say that it is at its best in autumn when it has '' turned '' .

Textures ........

I love texture.

In this image I have captured three at least.  Wood, barbed wire and spiders webs, all have different visual and  ''feel '' effects between hard and soft contributing to the end result.

Its just another road to go down when out and about and the bird life is a bit on the slow side. 

I like dogs very much.

I also know and number many dog owners amongst my friends.

There are however two sections of irresponsible dog owners that I despair with who clearly cannot read or choose to ignore the notices at every entrance gate to the reserve.

1.  The owners who make absolutely no effort to pick up and remove their pets waste leaving it as a most unacceptable sight and to be trod on by visitors to the reserve .... totally antisocial and unacceptable behaviour.

2.  The other section are dog owners who do half the job. They pick up and bag the waste and then leave the bag hanging on fences or just dropped on the paths of the reserve.  

This is amazing, who do they think is going to remove the bags ?. 

For these people I have a tip - put a used plastic container in the boot of your car ( an old butter or Ice Cream container for example ) place the bag in it and when you get home drop it in your appropriate bin.

For these latter two sets of owners, please take full responsibility for owning a dog.

And please don't forget that Titchmarsh Local Nature Reserve is exactly that, a gem of a nature reserve that we are lucky to have. 

The reason that dogs should be kept on a lead, particularly during the breeding season ( March to August ) , is that many birds nest on the ground and may abandon their nests if disturbed by uncontrolled dogs.

Please, give nature a chance !.

Its not all about birds .......

This patch of wild Yellow Flag Iris added a bit of colour to an otherwise drab TLNR on a very grey day last week.

By way of a bit of change a friend of mine Graham Barker recently visited the Festival of Country Life at Lamport Hall here in Northamptonshire and published this high tempo video of his visit, it really captures the depth, breadth and character of this great countyside of ours here in the United Kingdom, link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYXjv6xs-gg

Sometimes we miss the bigger picture .....

With our use of '' long lenses'' and desire for close up images of our target birds.

I think that this image conveys quite a lot.

A Moorhen in a classic reed bed habitat, great light reflecting a blue sky on the surface of the water and a relatively calm windless day.

One of the main reasons we pursue this hobby of ours, is getting away from our daily pressures and enjoying intimate moments in our countryside no matter which country we call home. 

Its not all about birds ......

The meadows on the Elinor Fishery side at TLNR are providing a feast of Cowslips at the moment, their deep rich yellow colour is quite spectacular, I don't remember seeing so many in recent years.                                                                     

I'm not sure but I think the blossom is Blackthorn, either way this Peacock looked stunning against the white bloom.

Oh dear, again, I'm not very good at identifying coarse fish such as this that I photographed in Harper's Brook on the perimeter of the reserve.
   

This time I can say with confidence that this is a tractor, actually a Massey Ferguson, drilling seed in the field on the Aldwincle side of the reserve.

I believe that farmers leave ploughed fields over winter to allow the frosts to break down the soil structure to assist harrowing in spring, few heavy frosts were really recorded this winter but I am sure sufficient to do the job.

Funghi assistance please .........

This Funghi was on a dead tree at RSPB Fowlmere over the weekend, does anyone know which species it is, I cannot identify it from my guide ?.

Many thanks in advance for any assistance.

What a Teasel ........

What more can I say ..... Texture, colour, sunlight, shadow, natural, visual and wild ...... beautiful.

Fog and Ice at the Reed beds ....... -2 Deg. C.

With no wind or sunshine to speak of the fog hung around the gravel pit reed beds most of Sunday. 

The Phragmites and Teasels were heavily frosted and the fog served to neutralise any colour that would otherwise have shown with better light, grey, grey and grey again.

Still, the end results accurately reflect the seasonal conditions.   

                                       A less than happy looking Grey Heron on the ice.

Off topic ....... I think that I am getting soft in my old age ........Great Nephew Digby Albert Finlayson Knivett.

An image taken with a mobile phone by my nephews wife Zoe of my great nephew ...... Digby.

The composition of this photograph is in my opinion technically a masterpiece, the intensity of Digbys' stare and concentration on the light source from his '' elephant '' bedside light accentuated by the distribution of the lights intensity creates a very artistic lost and found effect.

If this image had been taken by a professional photographer with professional equipment in a studio it would in my opinion sell a lot of posters.

I wish I could achieve this with wildlife ..... Digby can of course get fairly wild on occasions ! 

The origination rights for this image and all legal copyright, ownership, and rights of reproduction of this image are strictly reserved by Zoe Knivett globally.

In life there are bad apples in every barrel ............

Very sad in view of the exceptional work that Paul Riddle does for Owls in Leicestershire, 

I am lost for words at the moment.

http://owlsaboutthatthen.blogspot.co.uk/

What a world these people must live in. 

Griffin, the Border Terrier .......

I'm a birder and lover of wildlife, sometimes however a life event takes you '' off topic '', so this post is far from morbid, its a tribute, I want to celebrate the passing of a great personality with a global audience !. 

My brother-in-law and sisters pet, Griffin dog, loved everybody and was loved by all.

Not bad going too for this breed to reach seventeen years in age, in the words of the song ''we all gotta go some time ' and we all will !.  

   

Computers ............

On Sunday evening last my PC crashed stone dead ..........  Great, thanks a lot ! 

So over the last couple of days I have had the hard drive recovered, bought a new PC, transferred the data off the old hard drive onto the new and, thankfully, I am now back up and running.

The PC I purchased is a Lenovo G500 with 8GB Ram and a hard disc capacity of one Terrabyte ( great for image storage )

Its quite amazing how disconnected from the world you feel when your access to the web and e-mail is disrupted,  frightening really. 

SAD - Seasonal affective disorder ...........

It's nearly mid November and I have to say that, so far, the weather here in the UK is treating us very kindly.

As I look forward to what the winter brings to us I also can't help recalling some of the pleasures that Summer 2014 presented to me at the reserve.

With the Gravel pits at Titchmarsh LNR and the River Nene running at its Eastern boundary we are blessed with a real cross section of flora and fauna.

More and more I am becoming attracted to other elements of wildlife photography, of course birds continue to be my primary interest, but I have to say that given the limitations that my telephoto lens present for macro work I am really happy with some of the results that I have been able to achieve - Banded Demoiselle just alighting on a phragmite and a Common Blue Butterfly being just two  of them.

A lot of people to disappoint ....... !

I really can't believe you kind folk. 

A little less than three months ago I started this blog to feature my humble yet enthusiastic amateur images and stories of birds and nature in my local region of the United Kingdom.

The blog has today passed a grand total of over ten thousand hits from every corner of this world that we live in.

Thank you very much for your support and continued interest, it is truly appreciated and I hope that you get as much out of visiting the blog as I do running it.

I appreciate constructive criticism so please feel free to leave comments and thoughts that I can explore to make the blog better !.

Johnfinlaysonbirder

24th October 2014.