Woolly

I was just wondering what to make the subject of today's blog, when I espied a small creature climbing up the wall.  We've all seen these little creatures from time to time, but few of us have taken any notice.  It is, in fact a Woolly Bear, the larval form of the Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci).  Here seen magnified 10 times.

A nasty little pest in the home, it feeds on natural fibres, damaging carpets, clothing and furniture.  Fortunately, these days, most of us have far fewer 'natural' fibres on which it can feast.  The wide use of polyester, nylon and the like, make our homes less vulnerable.  This picture of it's head end and clearly showing the bristly hairs which give the Woolly Bear it's name, x60.

The larvae usually hatch from eggs in bird's nests, but they will also be found in stored fabrics.  The larvae then take 1 to 3 years to develop into adults, which feed on flower pollen before mating, laying eggs and starting the cycle again.

I got rid of it after taking its photo.  We may not have much in the way of natural fibres these days, but I don't want what little we have, eaten by a Woolly Bear!

It's beginning.....

..... to look a lot like Christmas!

This morning, we have purchased a new Christmas Tree, with lights and baubles, much to my delight and, I suspect, a certain amount of incredulity on Malcolm's part.  It's SO exciting, but I have to restrain my festive cheer for another month. Drat!
Returning to now, the fat-ball drama is being played out regularly at the front of our house.  At this rate, we will be bankrupted by Sparrows within the next six months.

Like a highly trained military outfit, the sparrows perch in the hedgerow opposite, keeping an eye on us and then, in one, full-blown frontal attack, they launch themselves across the road and land en-mass, squabbling and chirping.

Then the 'heavies' arrive in the form of Starlings.  These raucous troops descend with stealthy precision and launch a stabbing attack on the fat-balls sending a shower of small fragments onto the ground like a snow-storm.

It isn't until the Starlings arrive that you get some idea of what 'shock and awe' tactics mean.  They screech at each other and at the Sparrows, destroy the fat-balls with ferocious accuracy, then disappear into the hedgerows again before anyone has the opportunity to fight back.  What a spectacle!

Waxing

With the sun trying to peep through the clouds this morning, Malcolm and I set out for a walk around the old theme park site.  There are a huge quantity of Cotoneaster shrubs around the area and the old car-parks are full of Rowan trees, Dog Roses and the like, so it was with some over-optimism, that we went in search of Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus), a bird which I have yet to add to my 'list'.
It was very wet under foot following all the rain we've had during the past few days, but it was very mild and the views across the fields were well worth the effort.

This panorama shows the area which had previously been taken up with a brickworks during the days of mining. It also clearly shows the golden hues of the Autumnal trees, something which can be seen well, closer in.

As I mentioned, the Cotoneaster bushes are laden this year, a magnificent feast for a multitude of bird species as well as a number of small mammals.

There are several different types of Cotoneaster, some have smaller berries, but what they lack in size, they more than make up for in numbers.

Despite all the free food around, we were not lucky enough to see any Waxwings this time.  But, despite the mud-caked shoes and the ever-present danger of slipping on fallen leaves, the colours were wonderful and a good time was had by all (well, by Malcolm and me anyway).

Looking back

Every now and then, it's nice to have a look back at what we were doing at this time in years gone by.  This day last year, the subject of this blog was the Black-headed Gulls on 'Swan Lake', see here.  Two years ago, soon after I started 'blogging', the weather was too bad for a walk see here.
Today, after doing a little furniture moving (and removing) for our good friend Winn, it was again too wet - and a little late - for a walk, so the picture is a collage of some of this Autumn's pictures from around Shipley Park.  Click for a bigger version.

Sciurus

With Winter knocking very loudly on the door, there is one animal which above all others, seems to have its work cut out preparing for the long, cold days to come.  I refer of course to the Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis).

 These cute little rascals are well known for displacing our native Red Squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris).  Their habit of feeding at ground level - not up in the trees as the Reds do - gives the Greys the edge by being able to eat fallen acorns.  The Greys also eat tree bark,  all sorts of seeds and nuts, fungi and will even steal birds eggs and hatchlings.  With such a wide variety of food stuffs, it's easy to see why they have thrived far more than the Reds.

In the woodland around Shipley Hill, the Squirrels are as busy as..... well, as squirrels!  Collecting nuts and burying them in caches for the Winter.  Lets hope they remember where they've buried them.

Pochard

I have mentioned the Pochard (Aythya ferina) on this blog before, but they are such charming little ducks that they always bare further investigation.
This morning, as we walked around the pond at Straw's Bridge, there were three of these diving ducks to be seen, two males and a female.  The female was some way away from the two males and was busy trying to snatch a piece of bread for itself from an elderly couple who were throwing food to the swans, gulls and ducks.  The males were having none of it.  They were contented just to float around, sleeping the morning away.

Only about 475 pairs of Pochards breed in Britain, but their numbers increase in the Winter months to about 85,500 individuals with birds from Northern Europe overwintering in our more temperate climate.

Pochards are covered by the terms of the "Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds" which was set up in 1995 to help with the conservation of wetland birds.  More can be read about the agreement HERE.

Frustration

I mentioned a few days ago how we have had a couple of Coal Tits (Periparus ater) visiting our bird feeder.  Since that first sighting, I have been trying to get a picture of these wonderful little bird.  This task has proven extremely tricky, but here are the best I have managed so far.  In this one, the Coal Tit is stubbornly remaining hidden round the back of the feeder, while a Blue Tit feeds on the nearside.

The little darlings don't stand still for long but this one was still just long enough.  It was still, frustratingly hidden behind a branch.

The last one was taken while the Coal Tit was selecting a seed from our neighbour's feeder.

Lets hope the pictures get better, it's such a beautiful little bird and it really does deserve better representation than these.