Antidote to dusky winter weeks

Hemel (BMT): During the past 5 days, light levels have been bordering on crepuscular. It’s been more gloomy than an episode of River and probably more accommodating to a bat than a human being. However, with the continuation of the rain on Saturday, it did mean that the Little Egrets lingered an extra day and added another un-ringed bird to their number, bringing the total present to 8. This is the highest single count I’ve had along the BMT stretch of the Bulbourne in the 2 years I’ve been monitoring it. It also meant we hit double figures for the number of individuals using the site in the last 9 weeks. TEN birds in an area which is frequently and regularly disturbed is pretty good going.

Moving swiftly on - before someone throws a shoe at me for yet another post on Little Egrets - I’ve caught up with the Fieldfares around BMT land. Last week, there were small flocks, c10 birds, at Westbrook Hay and the Brickworks and less than a handful of birds around the Bulbourne. Fed up with high ISO, desaturated photographs, taken in semidarkness, I thought I’d dig out a few photos from sunnier times. These were taken in Hemel Hempstead in 2012, using the car as a hide. It’s the best opportunity I’ve had to date to photograph Fieldfare and Redwing. It’s also a memory filled with limitless blue overhead, unfettered sunshine and sumptuous colour.

During prolonged winter gloom, it’s a relief to be reminded that it won’t last forever. Eventually, the oppressive sky and turbid light will relent. A break in the smothering cloud is inevitable. Days won’t always feel hard and heavy and stagnant. In just a moment, the sun will blaze, light and warmth will push back horizons, and the palette of assorted greys will be thrown over in favour of every colour in the rainbow.

Trudging through weeks which feel positively resistant to life and movement isn’t much fun. However, I suppose they do provide the most excellent frame in which to place those days which are the antithesis. What do they say? Without the darkness we wouldn’t appreciate the light...

Forget 1D, 9D touches down in Hemel

Hemel (BMT): I know how eager you all are to keep up with the minute movements of Little Egrets in Hemel Hempstead. No comparisons to paint drying, please. This is serious observation. In all weathers. As someone built to thrive in temperatures more commonly occurring in the Caribbean than Hemel Hempstead, I have no complaints about the crazy mild start to November (16°C yesterday & today!). The incessant rain is less compelling and, yesterday, it was supposed to dry up by the afternoon. Indeed, it was dry when I pulled on my wellies and zipped up my waterproof. Two minutes into setting out along the River Bulbourne, across Bulbourne Meadow, and the drizzle embraced me.

An immature Grey Heron and one of the regular un-ringed adult Little Egrets were feeding in the shallows, below the Willow. Further upstream, on Station Moor, the other regular un-ringed adult Little Egret was foot-waggling its way across the river. Fast forward some 20 muddy, murky minutes, upstream, and I was looking at another 5 Little Egrets all gathered together on Fishery Moor. I couldn’t quite believe it and, at some distance, (through air that was more liquid than gas and rain-spattered spectacles), I did momentarily dare to dream they might be grounded Spoonbills or Great Whites. With fantasies well and truly snuffed out, I went through the flock and found that two birds were colour-ringed. One was the caught hind-toe bird, GR24085, hatched and ringed this spring in St Albans; the other was a new arrival: RBM; LAON(9); RAYN(D). This bird was ringed by Barry Trevis on 9th June 2014 as a chick, in the first ever nest at Verulamium Park in St Albans. It had 3 siblings. In Autumn that year, it was spotted by Roy (of recent Long-eared Owl fame) at Startop’s End reservoir, Tring. Finally, the bird was observed in December 2014, in the Chaulden area of Hemel. As to where it’s been for the last 11 months, that's anyone’s guess!

Video still, showing colour-rings of new Little Egret on Fishery Moor, 06/11/2015

9D with the 3 other un-ringed birds, all new in

5 Little Egrets, 06/11/2015, Fishery Moor, looking east to Fishery Road in the background

I should have known really. On the worst of weather days, a new colour-ringed Little Egret calls in to cheer me up. This time, it brought 4 of its un-ringed mates with it, so impressed was it with my commitment to the cause. There’s no denying that their presence made going out in filthy weather just about worthwhile.

In the last 9 weeks, the Box Moor Trust land along the River Bulbourne has been host to at least 9 LITTLE EGRETS: 2 regular un-ringed birds, 3 un-ringed visitors (yesterday) and 4 ringed birds, the latest of which carried the number 9. Interesting eh?!

Ringed birds:

LAON(9); RAYN(H). BTO ring GR24085, first spotted 03/09/2015 (caught toe)
LAON(H); RAYN(F). BTO ring GR24083, first spotted 04/09/2015
LAON(H); RAYN(C). BTO ring GR24066, first spotted 20/10/2015
LAON(9); RAYN(D). BTO ring GR24046, first spotted 06/11/2015

Little Owl lifts the gloom

Hemel Area: Rain fell for most of this morning and the whole day has been wrapped up tight in grey gloom. I was feeling about as sparky as the weather and it was with some reluctance that I left the house for some fresh air before lunch. I squelched my way along a muddy path and then, suddenly, there, on a fence post, I spied a ball of feathers. It was too small for a Woodpigeon but, of course, once I got the binoculars on it, I found I was watching a gorgeous Little Owl. It was having a spot of bother with a Magpie, which had decided that the grasses below the owl were the best place to forage for food. The owl wasn’t best pleased and kept a beady eye on the Magpie until it got the message and moved on.

I didn’t want to disturb the bird so the photo and video footage were digiscoped from some distance, in very poor light (I’ve removed the audio). Not great quality but hopefully still enjoyable. The section of the video where the owl is turning around and looking at the ground is when the Magpie was below it, chancing its arm.




I think the last Little Owl I saw was at Berkhamsted in 2013. I only heard one calling last year at Westbrook Hay when a friend and I were out searching for Edible Dormice.

Little Owl, Berkhamsted, 2013

Watching any wild owl is pretty special and today’s bird was no different. I forgot my soaked feet, wet jeans and the heavy cloud: all of my attention and emotion were lifted and tied up in this little ball of feathers that was bothered by a Mapgie, cleaned its bill and sat and surveyed the land. Fab!

More in hope than expectation

BMT & Tring Reservoirs: In the spirit of Something is better than Nothing, here I am with a scrap of an update. Over the last 12 days, it’s been the usual mix of walks over BMT land with the occasional sortie elsewhere to keep things interesting. I've run into numerous, entertaining mixed Tit flocks and, although they haven’t included the hoped for Firecrest or Yellow-browed Warbler, they are nevertheless cheerful. Whose spirits can’t be lifted by 9+ tinkling Goldcrests, 11+ chirpy Long-tailed Tits and a smattering of Blue Tits, Great Tits and Chaffinches, all busy searching and flitting through the bare branches of eye-level scrub, as was the case one morning last week at the Brickworks. Energy, life and colour arrive with these restless flocks and seem to leave with the last of their calls, as they disappear onwards and upwards through the trees.

The return of the Redwings to BMT land was nearly 2 weeks ago now and, although I saw Fieldfare locally on Saturday, I’ve not yet sought them out around the Trust.

With Short-eared Owls being reported left, right and centre, and a few Barn Owls obviously moving within the county, I spent last Friday evening staking out a potential local hunting ground. It was a blissful, warm, still nightfall, with a blood-red sunset and, although a few bats and the odd moth came out to play, the owls had other plans. 

This morning, Roy Hargreaves found a Long-eared Owl roosting near the reservoirs. Yes, that was LONG-eared Owl. I don’t know about Roy, but my jaw hit the floor when I heard! More in hope than expectation, I followed up on this with a walk around Tringford and Startop’s End reservoirs late morning. Not surprisingly, I didn’t chance upon an owl with superior tufts.....or one without superior tufts, for that matter. Ah well. The night/winter is still young. And, on into November we go...