Birds – Page 10 – Neil Baldwin's blog : Warning contains walking, technology, photography, holidays.

Let it snow let it snow let it snow

Snow was forecast for today so I planned my day around a walk towards the end of the dump. It turns out I got my timing just right, I left the house at about 14:00 then snow seemed about 6 inches or so deep.

I headed out up the main road past the village shop, the road was no longer clear and traffic was slow. Up to Stablebridge I headed along the canal towards Wendover then took the footpath that brings you out at the golf club junction. Then I headed into the woods and onto the entrance road to the woods. There was a single car track but it was about 3 inches under the snow. I had the woods to myself there was not a sound of foot print to be seen.

The going was hard as the snow was quite deep and it was all up hill. There was the odd animal footprints in the snow, it was fairly easy to tell the difference between fox, rabbit and deer. By the time I reached the cafe in the woods (which was shut!) I had a real sweat on. I took a rest under the porch of the cafe where there was a table a chairs with no snow on them. I had to take my coat off I was so hot. I sat around for a while watching the birds on the feeder, mainly tits, I have never see so many coal tits at one time.

After a rest I headed back down the hill, by this time a group of kids turned up they had walked up from the direction of the houses near next the Halton. On the way down I came across a couple (he had a massive beard) they had walked over from Tring. I headed back via the Chalet then the golf club, when I got to the Icknield way I started to see more people, it seemed loads of people had come out to see the snow.

I dropped in at Hillside on the way where the path was being cleared and the women were inside keeping warm. I then headed back home. At the bottom of the hill at the Royal Siam roundabout the traffic was at a stand still I guess they were having trouble getting up the hill. The local farmer was out with his tractor and snow plough attachment.

All in all well worth the effort of dragging myself out of the warm house.

and by the time I was most of the way up to Wendover woods the snow had just about stopped.

Here is a video I prepared earlier

Aston Clinton to Tring

Office xmas party last night we went to the White Hart, which is an improvement over Chicago’s. Did not an early start but have decided to walk to Tring over the hills and get the bus home.
The start was all up hill, through the village, up stablebridge then along the canal, up the hill to Wendover woods cafe where I am sat now typing this, eating fruit cake and coffee. Helen went for hot chocolate and carrot cake.
After the coffee stop we headed towards the ridgeway but got diverted by a possible Waxwing, we did a bit of trespassing to quickly get the the edge of the field but by the time we got there there was no sign of any bird!

That little foray diverted us from our planned route so we nipped through dancersend nature reserve then up the steep road called the Crong, to the top of the hill where we joined the ridgeway again. It would be all down hill from now on. The aim was to keep high for as long as possible so that we would end up going down the hill from high above Tring which we would enter via the Natural History museum. There we had some great views of both Tring and Yellowhammer.

Once in Tring we did a spot of shopping and a coffee before getting the number 500 bus back to Aston Clinton.

Walk from Cobblers Hill picnic site

After shopping Friday due to weather we thought we would make the most of the day on Saturday. The temperature was warmer and the frost had all gone from the trees, but the mud was still hard under foot. We parked up at the picnic site at Cobblers hill, for some reason the turn off sign has the picnic symbol blanked out, but the car park is still there. We were going to do a reverse circuit of roughly the walk I did last weekend.

From the picnic site we headed up the hill on the right of the parking, hoping to take a right hand turn if one presented. It did and we entered a plantation of fir trees where we came across some badger tracks. Throughout the whole walk we kept our eyes open for animal tracks, and it is surprising how you come across, the snow made it very easy to see them.

At the top of the hill we headed down towards Little Hampden, but took a right at the bottom of the valley. This took us towards the Coombe hill and eventually we came to a horse stables, where we took a right up the hill towards the Ridgeway runs close to Coombe hill. Before we got to the Ridgeway we took a left which would steer us back from where we came via the Rising Sun pub, now a private house, at the end of the road that turns into a track that links it to the road the other side of Coombe hill that goes past Chequers, the prime-ministers country retreat.

From the ex-pub we headed left down the hill to join the path at the bottom of the valley where we took a right on the way out. Then all we had to do was follow our tracks back to the car park. However I had a better idea lets try the other footpath down and see where it comes out. We tried to find it but to no avail so wasted some time back tracking, but we did some some coal tits and a couple of treecreepers. Once we were back on familiar ground it was easy to find our way back to the car park.

It was a great walk and we hardly met a should so we will surely return at some date.

Two walks and a haircut

The weather remains very cold and sunny, so to make the most of it I decided to get out early for a walk then get a haircut (not sure it was the right weather for that) then see if there was enough time to get another walk in later before Helen got back from her shopping trip to Burford with the cousins. My morning walk was to start at Dunsmore.

I was up at Dunsmore just after 9, and found parking difficult, not because there were lots of people (there were in fact none) but because there are no parking spaces at all. I found somewhere to dump the car on the grass verge and headed down the steep hill towards Coombe Hill parking but left the road at the bottom, and headed up hill to join the ridgeway. There were a few parties of scouts about all going in different directions, they were all either lost or all had different routes to take.

I followed the ridgeway for a bit then turned right to over a field toward the pub at Little Hampden. Turns out the pub is not a pub any more, it looks like a private dwelling. I am not surprised as the premises are at the end of a long country lane which is a dead end. You will not get passing traffic that’s for sure, still it is a shame because the pub makes a great stop for a pint if you are doing a long circular walk. Helen and I would like to time it so the pub was 2/3 to 3/4 of the way round, taht way it was a welcome break and left not too far to go before the end of the walk.

From the ex-pub I headed left back across the valley towards the ridgeway, where I took a left which took me back to Dunsmore. The weather had been cold but crisp ideal walking conditions. I had seen a few yellow hammers and got fooled by my green woodpecker message alert on the blackberry!

Once home I had a coffee started a new stored procedure to create requisitions from tasks (work stuff) and headed into Aylesbury for a hair cut. Silky Snips is my favourite barbers in Aylesbury they do a good job and there is never a queue on a Sunday. So number two on top and number round round the side it was all over in 10 minutes, and I was £7 lighter, and my head must 7 degrees colder!

Once back I did a bit more work on the stored procedure, then headed out to Dancersend for a quick walk round the valley in the hills above Aston Clinton. I parked up at the usual spot just before the grand manor house at the junction at the top of the hill. I headed up to the junction on foot took a right then the footpath on the immediate left, then headed down across the field. There is a local business that does shooting at the weekend and they must own most of the land in the valley. They have planted lots of sweet cord for the game birds and I was flushing pheasants and partridge left right and centre. I then headed up the hill towards the path that run along the base of the hill directly ahead and leads to the old water works.

Back on to the road I took the path on the right which leads directly up the hill to the local phone mast, then I took a right along the top of the hill before dropping down the hill to come out near the farm where the shooting is run from. The hill is called Hang hill at the end of the road are three cottages, that are really tucked away as they are at the end of a road that goes almost full circle from the junction I set out from. From the cottages it is only about 200 yeards up a bridle path back to where I started.

The temperature was getting very cold by now as the valley is quite sheltered and the sun had gone down behind the hill, but I was well wrapped up and did not feel it. It is really great to get out and about on the fine cold days, much better than rainy or overcast days when the temperature is much warmer. I certainly felt I had made the most of my Sunday.

Winter walk

Helen was off at 11 this morning with the girls to Burford for a shopping and girly weekend. When she had gone I headed off up to the far end car park at Wendover woods where you on;t have to pay to park and is off the beaten track. I headed off along the Ridgeway toward Wendover but kept up in the hill heading towards Lording Woods.
The tops of the Chilterns were just in the clouds so the sun was always threatening to break and mists were always passing through. There were not a lot of people about, in fact when I got away from Wendover woods I saw no one for about an hour and a half, it was like I had the countryside to myself.
There is some strange country farmland furniture about up above the Hale, there are some old but expensive looking walls complete with narrow gaps lined with wood that act a styles. The sections of walls are all isolated from each other so I guess at some point there must have been fencing of some sort connecting them all up.
I head in the direction of The Gate and crossed a field which had obviously not had a crop for some time it appeared to be full of dead and dried up thistle plants, and it proved to be a great place to see some farmland birds. Flock of Yellow Hammer and great views of a fairly large fox who I spotted when a flushed a Pheasant, or should I say he/she spotted me. The fox ran off a little way but was then content to watch me for a while before walking off across the fields. That is what you can see if you get get away from the beaten paths that the general populous use.

I then king of turned back and headed back from where I came. As I got back towards the car I came across a flock of tits amongst them was a Treecreeper (one of my favourite birds), and a Green Woodpecker. There was also some strange ice formations on some chalk out crops near a big hole, I have seen them before and I think they might be caused a water is somehow squeezed out of the chalk by the cold.Once back to the car I headed over to M&S at Tring to get some lunch and tea, them home and back in the warm for the rest of the day.

Who ate all the pies?

Early breakfast then we hit the trail, heading straight out to the sea past the abbey ruins. We had a good look rounnd the sluice bushes but not much to see. As we headed towards the hide someone pointed out out single turnstone on the end of the groyne, and informed us that there was a snow bunting further down the beach, we could see lots of peiople looking at it.
As we headed toward the twitch Helen spotted a shore lark. The snow bunting was very trusting, one photographer was within 3m of the bird. We got really good views. After that we had a look at a distant king eider, but we had to take other peoples word for it.
The coast guard cottages were a welcome break for a coffee. So far the weather had been clear skies, and warm sun. The wind was light, but if you spent too long in the shade it was cold.

We headed off round the heath after dartford warblers but had no luck, the consolation was that Helen M found a fly agaric to photograph with her new camera. There were quite a lot of mushrooms about but a lot of them had seen better days. We paused for lunch on a bench set back off the path and dedicated to Billy and Betty. The pies we bought yesterday were lovely Helen S and I had a Heidi pie which was made from vegetables and squash, and Nik and Helen M had the asparagus and mushroom pien which they gave the thumbs up to. At the north end corner of the heath, we almost trod on a slow worm, which probably die to the cold was not moving while it obliged us by posing from our cameras, Helen H then moved it off the path and in to the undergrowth at the side and in the sun, it moved more then perhaps because of the warmth. From the heath we headed towards Greyfriars. Nik spotted a hare in the field and we saw two green wood peckers on a telegraph pole.
Through Greyfriars and past the abbey ruins we arrived at the Dunwich cafe and chip shop, out intended point for a break before we turned back towards Eels Foot.

After a welcome and very sweet hot chocolate we headed back up up the hill out of Dunwich retracing our tracks back to Mount Pleasant farm where we picked up the bridleway which is a straight line route back to the pub touching on the edges of the Minsmere reserve.
On the way we came across a herd of deer with a stag. Whilst looking at the deer I spotted a little owl on a distant fence post, it sat around as they do for some time before flying off. Further on we spotted a mouse in the undergrowth that did not hang around for long. When we got almost back to the pub when you can see across the fields in land we were treated to vies of 2 barn owls hunting across the fields in the setting sun which was just idyllic.
After relaxing in our rooms and a quick shower it was back into the bar for some more food and beer. What a great way to spend a Saturday.
If you want to know who ate all the pies well the prize goes to Helen S and Nik who topped off the lunchtime pies with Mean Bean pie at the pub for dinner, and Nik believe it not ate half of Helen M’s at lunch time.

Lord Nelson

Weekend at the Eels Foot, yes again! Arrived in Southwold and headed straight to the Lord Nelson for Helen to have a pee, and to meet Helen and Nik.
Pub is very busy it is the end of half-term week and a Friday, not a free table in sight but managed to secure a couple of bar stools.
After some lunch we headed off round the shops. I managed to find a present for my mums birthday from the amber shop, and dad a book. Nik and I purchased some pies for lunch tomorrow, Helen S bought a jacket, Helen M some earrings and a print of a rook/crow, and Nik bought a jacket. I bought Stephen Fry’s auto-biography. After shoppinge we headed back to the pub, when we got our rooms and headed off for a short walk to look for owls, all we managed was a the call of a Tawny.
Finally it was time to have a well earned pint.

The rut

We hosted a party for Caroline’s birthday last night, this morning she and Helen managed to get to church (9:15 service), which impressed me give the partying the night before. I got up and watched the exciting Korean grand prix, had some breakfast and tidied up a bit. The weather was crisp and sunny so I headed out for a walk around Ashridge.

I parked in the small car park just up the hill from Alburgh, which is if the beaten track away from the monument area. I headed in the opposite direction from the monument the plan was to get some picture of fungi and see if I could catch site of some of the deer in the area.

I followed a bridleway, passed a very big house and eventually came across some smaller houses which were at the end of of a track. They seemed had a great location, a couple were semi-detached and bizarrely one of the front gardens had a couple of horses grazing. The garden was normal front garden size and the grass was nice and short!

I then headed towards the road that runs through Ashridge, which meant crossing the very large grassy heath area, when I spotted no less that 4 green wood peckers all very close to each other. You could see their red heads poking up above the grass. After crossing the road I headed in to the woods the other side, where I started to here the stags calling, which they do at this time of the year to attract females and make their presence known to other males in the area. I heard a few quite close but only got fleeting glimpses of the deer them selves.

I got some some pictures of some fungi in the silver birch areas, but they were not at the best they were showing their age a bit. It reminded me that I need to read over the LX3 manual again I seem to spend too much time figuring out how to change settings which I know exist I just can’t figure out how to make contact with the right bits of the menu system.

I then heard a stag really close by so I slowly and quietly made my way toward the source of the noise, I was then lucky enough to see a stag and 3 females hanging around what looked like a stand. I was there for quite a few minutes behind a tree which helped support my binoculars, I got some cracking view of the stag calling. Eventually they got spooked by some other walkers in the woods. Time to head over to Hillside fro some of Caroline’s birthday cake.

Circular walk Dancersend

Managed to fit in a short walk on Saturday between weekend chores and socialising. Parked up at the parking/passing point up in Dancersend where the cottages are on your right as you drive toward to the manor house.

From there I walked toward the manor house then took a left at the road junction to find a few yards on a foot path that leads to a couple of cottages then a farm complex which seems to be the meeting place of all the people who attend the regular shoots that happen. At the bend in the road just past the farm you can take a right which takes you on a footpath up the hill to join the ridge way. As you get toward the beech tree areas toward the top there are lots of fungi to photo.

Once you are almost at the at the point where the Ridgeway crosses a road near a phone mast it is time to take a right and head down the hill to the water works buildings, then along the road to the entrance to Dancersend Nature reserve run by BBOWT , enter the reserve and head back in the direction you came down the road and follow the path up the steep hill. There are many ways round the nature reserve but make sure you exit via the patch that leads to Pond Cottage other wise you will end up trespassing on shooting land!

Head up the hill back to the manor house, then take a left back to the parking place. Walk was about 3 miles and took 1:20, with a few stops to take pictures of fungi.

View Dancersend circuit in a larger map

Signal Crayfish

You may remember that earlier this year I posted a blog entry about finding a claw of a Signal Crayfish on the canal tow path on the walk to work. Well this morning I found a whole live one, I have posted a video of the blighter on you tube for you all to see. They are quite vicious so I handled him with care, whilst getting the footage. If I waved a hand above him he raised his claws, and I suspect that he would have nipped me given the opportunity.

On the way home I came across a man in an inflatable boat with an electric engine, he seemed to be putting out fisherman’s keep nets. When I asked what he was up to he told me he was catching signal crayfish to turn into bait for fishing with. Apparently the harvest was variable sometime many sometimes only one or two per net. I wished him luck and went on my way.

Oh and for the record I had a couple of birding moments today, first a sparrow hawk was chasing a swallow/martin outside my office window, then on the way home two grey heron were chasing each other round and about.