Here is a photo of a liner that was laid up off Paignton during my recent trip together with an amazing Devon sunset.
It had apparently been there for many months during the pandemic but left on our final day to resume its cruising duties.
Archive for the ‘Landscape’ Category
2
A few pictures from my recent short trip to Devon with Keith. We were joined for two days by local birder and artist Mike Langman.
Grey Wagtail 
Greenshank 
Wigeon 
Dipper 
Pintail 
Greenshank 
Grey Wagtail 
Shovelor 
Teal 
Little Egret 
Cattle Egret 
Little Egret 
Rock Pipit 
Cirl Bunting 
Bearded Tit
Photo by Keith
A great couple of days with lovely countryside and some great birds. Thanks to Keith and Mike.
This week just some pictures of clouds taken on a recent walk. I am fascinated by the complex shapes and the way the light interacts with them.
Walk around the Tarn
Posted: September 14, 2021 in Birds, Butterflies and Moths, Landscape, London, Natural History, UKTags: Speckled Wood, Tarn, Tarn Park
My weekly wildlife walk takes me across the grounds of the estate where I live to the Tarn, a local park around a small lake. I am very fortunate to live on an estate with really nice grounds adjacent to a golf course and a park and so we see lots of wildlife.
Looking across to the golf course
After leaving the estate a short stretch of road leads to the entrance to the Tarn, descending from street level past the old ice well of Eltham House (now the clubhouse of the golf course).
I do this walk once a week and record all the wildlife I can see and hear. The results are then reported back to a number of different schemes set up to monitor the wildlife in the UK.
This week it is rather quiet. The Canada and Greylag Geese flocks are absent, they use a number of different sites in the area. There are good numbers of Mallard, Coot and Moorhens, so they have had good breeding seasons. The resident pair of Egyptian Geese still have 3 young but these are now indistinguishable from their parents. No dragonflies were seen, which is surprising as we usually have Common Darter present during August and only one butterfly, a single Speckled Wood was seen on the whole walk. It seems to have been a poor year for butterflies locally.
Carrion Crow 
Grey Squirrel 
Woodpigeon 
Coot 
Moorhen 
Egyptian Goose 
Speckled Wood
Greenwich Reach
Posted: August 24, 2021 in Birds, Landscape, London, Natural History, UKTags: Greenwich
Out for my monthly survey walk along the River Thames at Greenwich counting the waterbirds using the river. Even in the summer months when it is very quiet there is always plenty of activity on the river to see.
River Police 
Freight ships 
Tourist boat 
River bus 
Police boat 
River bus 
Sightseeing trip
In addition my walk is opposite the historic town of Greenwich.
Naval College 
Trafalger pub 
Naval College 
Almhouses 
Royal Observatory
At the west end of the walk there are views up river towards central London
City of London 
The Shard
At the eastern end is the Millenium Dome, now known as the O2, a concert and exhibition venue.
But what about the bird survey. There are the first signs of birds returning from their breeding grounds – Black-headed Gulls which have been almost absent since April were back with about 150 seen on the walk. Other Gull numbers were up slightly and I would expect this increase to continue over the next couple of months. A Group of 16 Canada geese was more then I had seen previously here so it will be interesting to see if they stay on the river or are just moving through.
Canada Geese 
Domestic Dove 
Canada Geese 
Canada Geese 
Great Cormorant
Other things of note were a Eurasian Sparrowhawk seen flying high over one of the riverside housing developments and a Great Cormorant perched on jetty – unfortunately he refused to turn round and so i only got a back view.
I am a real sucker for a great sunrise or sunset photo, so I had to share this one when I saw it.
It’s good to be out again
Posted: April 16, 2021 in Birds, Landscape, Natural HistoryTags: bough beech reservoir
A post-lockdown trip back to Bough Beech. The water level is still high and there is little to be seen on the reservoir apart from the resident geese and grebes. A couple of Buzzards drift aimlessly over the back of the north reservoir, but all is very quiet. still it is good to be out again.
I make my way down the road to the old Oast house. a party of Sand Martins and Swallows, my first this year, pass over the road and continue north. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker is the highlight of the birds on the feeders and a get a brief view of the Kingfisher as it darts past the bridge, whilst a Reed Bunting briefly emerges from the Reed-bed. No butterflies yet to be seen, perhaps still a little cold for them. A sparrowhawk drifts over on the way back to reservoir. 34 species is not a bad list for a couple of hours, but it is just good to be out again!
Tarn Park – Winter Sunshine, Frosty Morning
Posted: January 25, 2021 in Landscape, Natural HistoryTags: Tarn Park
Some pictures from my walk around the Tarn this morning
Beautiful Sunset
Pete's Favourite Things 