Ships and Seabirds

Yesterday I drove to Cleethorpes to visit my favourite camera shop. I had finally made my mind up to buy a new camera body, the Canon 50D, which I duly did after trying it out in the shop. Next I had to add some ballast to my wallet as it was so light by the time I left the shop I swear it would have floated away. Anyway I then decided to have a stroll along the promenade to see what was about. I had to use the old 350D as the battery with the new camera really needed charging and, of course, it was a different size to the fully charged ones I had with me.

The day was mainly sunny, a bit breezy from time to time but quite pleasant. The tide was out. It goes a long way out at Cleethorpes as it does along most of the Lincolnshire coast because of the gentle slope of the beach. There are many sand banks which can be a danger to those who do not know the area and to those who don't keep an eye out for the incoming tide as it flows very rapidly round and behind the sand banks before covering them completely.

I stayed on the prom and one of the first things I noticed was a rig at least half a mile off shore and I think it is one used for building the bases for the towers of the many wind farms which are appearing along this coast.



There were lots of large ships moored whilst waiting for high tide so they could continue along the River Humber to Hull and Goole Docks. Also there were many sea birds on the sand banks feeding on the lug worms and other sand dwelling creatures.



As you can see it was very hazy out to sea. The only vessel I actually spotted moving was a roll-on roll-off ferry which may have been going to Immingham.



Near the pier there were a few birds flying about. They were moving very quickly so it was a good job there were few other people about as I frantically swung the camera about to get a few shots of the birds in flight.

I think this is a Little Gull in Winter plumage.



This may well be a Mediterranean Gull. That was certainly the best match I could find from the RSPB site. Somebody should have told it that it was the wrong day to double its money.



I didn't have to worry about this Pelican getting away as it is carved from stone.



As I was walking back up to the road I looked down and could see a flower bed which had been cut out in the shape of an anchor. The blue is made with pansies but the plants making up the rope haven't started to flower yet. It should be a beautiful picture once the weather warms up and I will have to remember to visit Cleethorpes again later in the year. Over the years there have been some very good artistic flower arrangements.



By then I was getting anxious to get home, charge up the battery for the new camera and have a play with it so it was just a short visit this time.

Nestbox Visitor

Just a short piece of video captured yesterday morning when the Blue Tit made one of its morning visits to the nestbox.

Buds a Bursting

Looking round the garden yesterday showed more evidence of nature's awakening. I was catching up on the gossip with my neighbour when I noticed the tiny flowers, no more than 3mm across, on the Corkscrew Hazel. Although the bush has been there for a few years I had never noticed the flowers before but it had been fairly well buried behind other plants which I had removed last Autumn.

Corkscrew Hazel - catkins opening - tiny red flowers
(All photos can be seen larger by clicking on them)



Also in evidence were some flower buds on the Salix Flamingo and leaf buds just opening on a dwarf standard rose.



Finally on a close inspection in the fruit cage I could see flower buds opening on an early fruiting Blueberry bush and signs that the Blackcurrant bushes were coming to life. The Blueberry bushes are grown in large tubs of lime free compost as there is a lot of chalk in this area of Lincolnshire. I am hoping they repeat last years bumper crop.



I just hope that they are not starting too early as temperatures are expected to fall again over the coming week with forecasts of frosty nights returning.

Robin Nestbox Mk2

I bought this Robin nestbox about two years ago. I treated the outside of it, drilled three small drainage holes in the base and put it on one side until I got round to mounting a camera inside it.



As it was a sunny warm day I finally got round to getting on with the job. The camera is one I had removed from its original use as a security camera. It was faulty in that the infra-red lighting refused to work properly and the colour was very poor. Fortunately the main part was just a board camera and when I disconnected the light sensor the IR LEDs stayed on all the time. Just what I needed as the box was to be put in a poorly lit sheltered spot. Having taken off the lid of the box I then set about finding the best position and angle to mount the camera. Also the camera has to be focussed for close objects. It is no use focussing on the bottom of the box as any nest and bird will be closer to the lens so it needs to be focussed on a point about two inches above the bottom of the nestbox.



Once in position the camera was wired up properly and the hole for the wire was sealed with hot melt glue. Next job - some extra waterproofing in the shape of the sort of plastic used for damp proof courses in buildings. This was overlapped in all directions so it should stop any water penetrating to the camera. Any small gaps were also sealed with hot melt glue.



Finally I fixed the wooden roof back and chose a place to fix Robin Cam Box Mk2, ran the cable back to the shed and removed my first Robin Cam Box which was too much in the open to be really attractive to any respectable red breasted squatter. I put a few shavings in the bottom of the box and wired it up to my surveillance system. (Top right hand camera. The bottom pictures are the inside and outside of the Blue Tit nestbox)



I may be too late for this Spring but it will give plenty of time for it to be investigated for next year.

A Mild February Day

I spent the morning tidying up in the fruit cage. I might feed the birds and encourage them to visit the garden but they are not really welcome to help themselves to my blueberries and blackcurrants so I have those in a large walk-in caged area. While I was pottering about the garden I saw a Bumble Bee visiting a crocus flower. I think that was only the second one I have seen so far this year.

This afternoon as the Sun was shining for a change and the temperature had reached 11C I took the camera with me on our afternoon visit to the cricket field. In one distant field there were several horses; most standing so the cold wind was behind them.



In another field were a few sheep. Only one of the lambs was in view.



All the time Bobby and I were on the cricket field we saw little wild life. Just a couple of Rooks and the odd Rabbit.



I've always been fascinated by the contrast between these trees. The poplar being more pliable is able to bend with strong winds. The older tree has lost one of its twin trunks and the other has been shaped by the prevailing winds.



As we left the one thing which reminded me that Summer is a long way off yet was the sight of a magnificent Weeping Willow seen here as it is today and compared with last Summer.



Returning to the front garden I saw that there were more catkins and that the Mahonia was giving a good display of yellow flowers as were some crocuses.





Finally, just as we about to go back in the warmth, I spotted another Bumble Bee, well maybe the same one I saw this morning, visiting a heather plant.



So at least there are signs of Spring awakening even if I do have to wait a few months for Summer.

Monitoring My Bird Feeders & Nest Boxes

I like my comfort. I like to watch the birds at the feeders. To that end I trained a surveillance camera on the main set of bird feeders. All my cameras can be watched on an old 15 inch monitor I have in the corner of the living room.

As well as the cameras there are two multiplexers. One is in the shed and combines the views of the nest boxes. The other is in the living room and combines all the camera views. This one also has a hard drive so recordings can be made. Both can be remotely controlled so I can choose which cameras to watch. All the equipment, including the cameras, I bought, mostly second hand, on eBay over the past couple of years.

Various settings allow all the cameras to be seen at once:


Or just one: (I spy a Long Tailed Tit)


With this setting I can monitor the Robin box, top right, the Tit box and see any birds flying to and from the boxes:


A low resolution video of a couple of Long Tailed Tits observed on "Feeder Cam". Looks as though it needs re-focussing and the colour readjusting.



At the moment Squirrel Nutkins is attacking the peanut feeder so I guess the feeder I set up just for him/her is empty so I'd better go and top it up before it chews through the mesh.

A Bit more Colour

I can tell it's getting nearer to Spring without going out or even looking out of the window. I can hear the first lawn mower of the year droning away at a property opposite me. I would have thought the lawn would have been too damp, mine certainly is. Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Walking round the village with Bobby this morning I could see that many of the old houses now have lovely carpets of white Snowdrops. Under the shade of the trees in one part of the church yard is the usual crop of yellow Winter Aconite. They always make a cheerful sight.



Wandering round my garden yesterday I noticed a few Dwarf Iris were in full bloom.



Those along with several clumps of yellow Crocus and the hundreds of Snowdrops show that nature is awakening and there is better, well warmer at least, weather to come before too long. Also I notice that many of my dwarf trees show signs that the leaf buds are beginning to grow. For the first time this year I noticed that the greenhouse door is open. A few years ago I adapted an electric car aerial, along with a thermostat and some other electrical bits, to open and close the door automatically. The Sun is shining on the greenhouse and it must be must be getting near 18C in there for the system to operate.

Tit Nest Box

Virtually all of the wood shavings have now disappeared from the bottom of the box. All I can see is a few small fluffy feathers - whether shed by the bird or put in there on purpose I do not know.

Mid afternoon I spotted the Blue Tit make a brief visit to the nest box so it is still showing interest.