It's back

Well after two weeks of heavy snow it started to melt and it began to disappear almost as fast as it arrived leaving lots of ice. Blades of grass began to appear and then it started snowing again today.
At lunch time today we had over 20 chaffinches, a dozen or more greenfinches a handful of gold finches, a couple of black birds and a thrush plus a few sparrows and dunnocks.
We've been found by a big family of long tails 12-20 this morning.

Snowy Hare

Well, the snow just keeps coming, so far just short of 50cm (20 inches) in the front garden, would be more on the road but the wind is making it drift on the corner. The garden is full of hungry birds including a pheasant who hoovers up under the bird feeders and the tail-less great tit is still about, he's been named the Guinea tit. This morning there were rabbit tracks down the side of the house.
Yesterday mid-morning on the way up to the post office we saw a hare running along the garden walls down from shops heading towards the Goathland - perhaps it was Nanny P? It's the first time I've seen a hare actually within the village.

Snow

Lots of.....
Started on Wednesday with overnight flurries. wet and sleety. Thursday morning heavier and by today over a foot. Plus two significant power outs. Ken saw the snow buntings last Wednesday, exactly one week before the snow started falling.

GWP, gunnera and skates

Last week the top end of the village kindly sent us a greater spotted woodpecker which tried to destroy the nut feeder but finally managed to extract some peanuts and flew away, unfortunately it's not been back, so maybe the nuts were deemed inferior.

Over the weekend we wrapped up gunnera for the winter, lots of large crowns now safely swaddled in straw and tucked in with a fleece duvet, sleep well and we'll see you in the spring.
And just in time too - Last night the temperatures plummeted and all the rain, drizzle and heavy dew froze solid, this morning we really could have done with ice skates instead of walking boots.

Bird feeders

It's been wet and windy over the last few days, in the early hours of Wednesday I thought the windows were coming in such was the ferocity of the wind and hail. The silver lining to this cloud has been the huge influx of birds to the feeders (the bad news being the quantity of feed being consumed, but you can't have everything!).
Today we've been visited by large numbers of chaffinches and greenfinches plus the noisy squabbling goldfinches and the first siskins arrived at lunch time followed by two bramblings this afternoon. Also visiting today were blue tits, great tits, coal tits, house sparrows (no trees today) dunnocks, robins (two) and at least one nuthatch. Mrs Blackbird has been jumping up and down on the window sill demanding her buggy nibbles and a thrush was rummaging in the shrubbery.

Geese

A large skein of geese flew over this morning, probably 80-100. They seemed the wrong shape for pinkies, shorter tails and necks with fatter wings. So, courtesy of the RSBP bird guide and listening to the calls, I'm hazarding a guess at white fronted geese.

Heavy frost

Overnight a hard frost has drawn wonderful fern leaves on the car and crisped the grass to underfoot crunchiness. The main road has been gritted but the back road was slightly slippery underfoot this morning. Overnight temperature 1.3°C.

Hard rain

Otherwise known as hail and thrown with some force along with great buckets of water. The stomy conditions woke us up a couple of times over night and this morning it's been coming in squalls.

Shivering penguins - snow in October!

20 October
We awoke to a dusting of snow this morning and the big yellow snow dragon (otherwise known as a gritter) has been spotted but not before several vehicles were seen slithering down the top road, a few slightly sideways.
So - for the first time this year the Pig has been lit. As it's the first burn of the season a very hot burn is required to retemper the hotbox and now the house is perfumed with the unmistakeable aroma of hot pig (scorched dust and glowing, expanding iron).

Green and white border

16 October
At last the hostas arrived and I can get the new green and white border planted up. I was worried that the soil would be sodden but it was mostly OK and in good heart after all the compost and feed that's been worked in over the summer. The original plants (those which we decided to keep anyway) have been replanted, lots of bulbs added and the new hostas plus a few ferns along with a honeysuckle, a big grass and a lonicera purpera have all gone in. Just the roses now and a couple of hostas on back order and it will be done. I'm sure there will be a few casualties and few gaps to be filled next year but at the moment it's looking good, full of promise.

Whooper Swans

2 October.
Going out with the girls this morning and hear an odd clacking in the sky, definitely not the gabbleratchet of geese. I look up and there are a couple of swans, a few paces on I hear it again from behind the first swans and then there is a small flight of swans, maybe a dozen in total, all heading south. When I got home I got the books out and from the size and shape they must have been Whoopers, I've seen mutes in flight before but this is the first time for whoopers.

Wet, wet, wet, dry, wet

Was the weather Monday 27 September to 1 October. Added to which it was windy too.
The garden was awash, and the plants were nearly horizontal, we ran out of dry dog towels and the kitchen floor resembled a muddy puddle. In fact it rained so much there was a landslip on the Scar behind / above the station which collapsed downwards and was only halted in it's progress by the wall and gate.

Martins

I was wrong - today (30 September) there was initially a solitary house martin circling above the horse chestnuts at the back and then later on in the day a small group. They've not been seen since they must have been the very last stragglers.

Nuthatches are back

23 September.
The nuthatch arrived back at the feeders today, I wonder where it's been over the summer. A couple of tree sparrows have been around too. We've not seen any martins or swallows for a few days, I think the recent blustery weather has finally sent them on their southward journey.

First Goathland Geese

20 September
Reports of the sighting of the first skeins of geese, probably pinkies, flying south - maybe to join the huge flocks at WWT.

Autumn has arrived I think

17 September
We've actually turned the heating on these last couple of days, it has turned decidedly autumnal, which as it's mid-September is only to be expected I suppose, there are still a few martins and swallows around but WWT reported the first large landings of Pink-foot geese this week so the year is definitely on the turn. (370 arrived on 15th at Martin Mere, http://bit.ly/19jiiN)

Moulting birds

3 September
The sun is out again today, it's a lovely day and the garden is full of birds. The nuthatch has been back a few times but Mrs Blackbird is looking rather bedraggled at the end of a full moult. Last week a very large family of long-tailed tits flew through as well. However, earlier in the week it was incredibly windy and many of the plants, especially the climbers have been battered and are looking very sorry for themselves.

Swifts

End of August.

The swifts have been noticeable by their absence for several days so they have already left for warmer climes - not surprising really as it's not eaxctly been a scorching summer - for which some of us are truely grateful!

Woodpecker

Wednesday 25 August.
Today there was a young greater spotted woodpecker on the middle pole of the colonade looking just like a cartoon of itself as it pecked the pole and hopped all the way up until it was sitting on the top with such a look of astonishment - what happened to the rest of the tree then? Where did it go? Did you great tits steal it? And off it flew.

It returned a few days later and helped itself (rather violently) to some of the nuts in the feeder making it sway rather wildly - maybe it made itself seasick (did you know goldfish can be seasick?, just a useless piece of information for you there) because after flying off with a beak full of nuts it has not been seen again.

Dragonfly

21 August - Goathland Flower and Veg show.
I'm puppy minding and busy baking bread when in through the open kitchen window comes a buzz of wings attached to a rather large and very beautiful green dragonfly. A couple of circuits of the kitchen and out it goes. We've not seen the green one again but have had a couple of bright blues one around the garden.

Catch up

OK a small flurry of posts to come in a vain attempt to catch up on the last three month! How did that happen??

Rain

And then some.
Yesterday it rained most of the day, not just rain but huge quantities of water hurled from the sky with great force. Then it did it again, 6ish this morning there was more water falling than the earth knew what to do with, gutters over flowed, puddles turned into ponds. By 8 the rain had stopped and by mid-morning the sun came out and started creating a large sauna. Still sunny and no more wet - for now.

Marshy Willow Tit family

Came a visiting this morning. One adult helping itself to sunflower seeds from the feeder some of which were then fed to the entourage of two fledglings.

Red Kite

Just outside having lunch and we hear a lot of noise above us. Looking up there is the unmistakeable shape of a red kite being mobbed by rooks and a couple of crows. The kite seemed most un-bothered and lazily flapped it's way towards Whitby - obviously fancied a day at the seaside!
It looked like it had yellow wing tags, a bit difficult to tell against the sun but probably, if so it's travelled a long way, two yellows mean origin south of England and hatched in 2004.

Buds are bursting

This morning we were assailed by the lovely clean, soapy smell of fresh hawthorn blossom which yesterday opened wide in the sunshine. And after weeks of watching the oak and ash dead-heating as to which would unfurl their new leaves first today the oak has definitely won the race with lots of new leaves open at the top of the tree on the edge of the car park whilst its ash neighbour is still in bursting bud. And you know what that means - we're in for a splash.

Squirrel

Not good...
The girls have just evicted a grey squirrel from the bird feeders in the middle of the lawn. Maia wasn't sure, thinking it needed to be shot first and if it was must she fetch it because they really don't taste very nice and have a nasty habit of biting. However, Hebe was much faster and the squirrel shot up a tree whilst Maia was pondering the options.

Snow - in May

It's freezing! My poor tulips look as if they're getting a good dressing down and are busy inspecting their shoe laces. Even a fleece layer wasn't enough to protect the outdoor tomatoes or the gunnera - the toms are a gonna but it was only the leaves on the gunnera which will survive and put out some more leaves from the (so far) undamaged crowns.

On Monday Mrs Bossy Blackbird did as was bid and brought her new babies for us to see, but they weren't quite ready and one of them got a rather too close inspection from three curious dogs who just about terrified the life out of it but did, in fact, leave it undamaged, not even pinked (well done Hebs). I carefully moved it from the middle of the dog yard into the shrubbery but it was all in vain, later on the birds giving a real yammering and there was a sparrowhawk plucking the baby blackbird spreading feathers all over the lawn. As if one wasn't enough she (yes it was a female hawk) came back later for another go but I think went away empty taloned. In the evening we were watching TV and a large shape kept swooping past the window in the evening gloom - then the picture went fuzzy, a quick glance out of the window showed a tawny owl perching on top of the satellite dish!

Busy week, lots of firsts

This past week has had lovely warm spring sunshine which has brought out the first blackthorn flowers and the larches are greening up nicely.
We have also seen the first house martin and the first swift (Sat 24/4).
However, although the days have been lovely and warm we've had some fierce overnight frosts, the protective fleece on gunnera and the seedlings was like cardboard on Monday morning (19/4).

Out of range

a little, on the way back from Pickering this morning saw a few oystercatchers in the fields above the Hole of Horcum. They looked a somewhat out of place but were obviously finding lots to eat and were busy probing.

Sunshine!

And warm days, I unwrapped gunnera this weekend, still getting a fleecing duvet over night but already growing away strongly.
Saw a small tortoiseshell on Saturday and also heard my first cuckoo in the morning. Saw my first swallow on Thursday evening (8/4).

Butterflies

Two Peacock butterflies were fluttering about the garden at lunch time, warming themselves in the beautiful sunshine. Also the primroses opened today.

Bird song

What a collection this morning.
First, outside the post office heard a curlew and looked up to see one flying overhead heading Gatehouse way. Then a drumming woodpecker in Brereton grounds followed by another at the top of the incline and a yaffling green chap. Finally more drummers in the woods across the Mill Green. Not to mention Mr Pheasant and his ladies promenading across the field.
Weather is again grey and wet - soggy doggies.

Swallows

Yes, already. Just heard that two were seen up at Hunt House over the weekend.

Soggy garden

A week of sunshine and drying wind and the garden was beginning to recover. I was just beginning to think that I might be able to do some weeding and then it rains - big style and we're under water again. But at least it's not snowing like Scotland and Ireland.

LBJ

Seen in the garden on Friday, a perusal of the books confirms that it's a garden warbler. In yesterday's sunshine a very brave little clump of celandines in the greenhouse garden decided to open their flowers - must get the weedkiller out before it's outlawed!

Bumblebee

Just seen the first bumblebee of the season. A lovely big fat buff tail, buzzing about the flower beds (not many flowers yet) and inspecting the garden wall - maybe a nest site?

Moorlands birds

are returning. Had to pop into town and on the way out at lunchtime saw a beautiful lapwing standing tall by the side of the road and up beyond silla's two skylark dancing in the air.

Sparrowhawk

We've had a male sparrowhawk through the garden twice over the weekend. On Saturday he sat on the back fence just watching whilst the rest of the bird population made itself very scarce. Gave us an opportunity to get a good look, he's rather beautiful - as long as he leaves my tree sparrows alone! Have a chaffinch, or even a gold finch we've lots of those...

Curlew

Just opened the door to take delivery of bird food and heard the first curlew, bubble away as it flies across the Mill Scar. That's it then, it's spring.

f-f-freezing!

Down to -6 last night, even the water in the greenhouse froze solid. it's been high skies and bright all day and now the temperature is dropping like a stone. Another cold one overnight, and the forecast says more of the same for the coming week.

Spring

At last!
Aconites in flower under the hazel and the garden is perfumed with witch hazel - beautiful. Today the sweet peas have gone into the greenhouse and I've sown the first of the annuals. Yesterday I cleared the big flower bed (working off boards but still) and lifted the fleece off fatsia. Whilst I was working in the garden yesterday I heard the owls calling for the first time during the day.

Robins

I've been watching a pair of robins chase each other around the garden today stopping every now and then for a short display of tail flicking. I wonder where they're planning to build, somewhere close I hope. The dunnocks are also have a rare old time with lots of wing waving.

Woodpecker

was drumming down the incline over the weekend.
Sowed the sweet peas yesterday approx 210.
But now it's snowing again!

And again

here is comes. The white stuff. Ground frozen solid and sheet ice underfoot so the new flakes (and large quantities of hail) are just sticking to everything.

Candlemas

That's today and the old rhyme says that if the weather is fair and bright winter will have another flight, if it's dull and drear winter has gone for another year. But what does it mean if it snows all day? I suppose only time will tell.

Big Garden Birdwatch

On Saturday we did our RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, one hour between 10 and 11am. It was crisp clear and bright, several inches of snow had fallen overnight and there was the odd flurry during the hour. The snow made counting even harder than usual as we kept getting snow blindness from staring at the brightness for too long!
Anyway these are the results:
Chaffinch - 23; Goldfinch - 12; Greenfinch - 14; Brambling - 9; Siskin - 3; House Sparrow - 6; Tree Sparrow - 11; Dunnock - 2; Blackbird - 3; Mistle Thrush - 1; Song Thrush - 1; Redwing - 2; Starling - 3; Blue Tit - 2; Coal Tit - 1; Great Tit - 1; Robin - 2.
The nuthatch didn't turn up and the long tails waited until we'd finished arriving about 20 minutes after we'd finished counting but 17 different species is pretty good going.

White stuff again

Yep, here it comes again. Hail this morning and now fat flakes, as if someone has burst a feather pillow outside the window.

Still wet

Hardly any snow left in the garden although there are still large heaps on the road sides and vast swathes across the moor. The garden is looking very sorry for itself and rather soggy too although I'm sure most things will recover.
We've become a regular stop for a large flock of long tail tits, around a dozen at a time. Our 'tame' blackbird is still asking for food every day.

Green Shoots

The garden is beginning to appear from under its blanket of snow and in the heather bed are the first sprouts from some bulbs, mini-daffodils I think. Spring must nearly here (well, lets pretend).

Rain

Yes, wet stuff, not white (although there was smattering of that too). Now everywhere is sodden and getting very muddy.
Field full of fieldfares, redwing and thrushes.

Ice

After the snow, then the thaw temperatures plummeted over night and we've woken up to vast sheets of very thick black ice. Even the dogs with their inbuilt studded traction (claws) are struggling.
A few siskins today.

Big thaw

continues. The snow has come off roof at the back of the house and the heap outside the kitchen window is over three feet deep.
This morning we've a big family of long tails on the suet feeder.
Yesterday I saw a grey wagtail on the green outside the shops.

Christmas update

We've been offline over the festive break and what a lot happened.
Snow for starters, over two feet and still falling. It started on Thursday 17 December and it has snowed every day.
It's brought a wide range of birds into the garden, all the usuals: chaffinch, goldfinch, greenfinch, blue tit, great tit, a few coal tits, black bird, starling, wood pigeon, collared dove, house sparrow, dunnock etc. Siskins have been noticeable by their absence, we have a regular visitation of three robins but have had up to five at any one time, all carefully watching each other evenly spaced and taking their turn on the feeders. One female black bird has become very tame and quite demanding, as soon as she sees anyone in the kitchen she flies to the window table feeder and looks in. When you open the window she hops across to the washing line and then as soon as the food is down, even before the window is closed she's back and she guards it quite zealously chasing off other black birds but she seems to tolerate the robin.
The tree sparrows have been back occasionally and once or twice the nuthatch. However, we have had daily visits from first one redwing and eventually four individuals all feasting on the cotoneaster berries. There has also been a yellowhammer once or twice and one day a snipe flew across but didn't land, the first time I've seen once actually in the village never mind almost in the garden. The snow has been very deep but I've not seen many mammal tracks, a few small rodents (mice &/or voles probably) in the back garden, no rats thank goodness.
The blue tits have been keeping warm by nesting together in one of the artificial house martin nests under the eaves, I counted over a dozen heading in late one afternoon, I'm sure there were some already in.