Lockdown is still with us as we go into February. Winter is finally with us and the cold weather is starting to bite with snow showers during the day and some bitter night time temperatures getting down to -10!!
1st February….. The local walks keep serving surprises and I had some great ones today!! Decided to go on a walk today to the west of Pickering and follow Pickering Beck as best I could along permissible footpaths and it wasn’t long before I got surprise number 1……flushing some local Jack Snipe ; you don’t realise they are there until you nearly step on them!!!!
Not a chance of a photo’ but great to watch the birds fly very low and then dive for cover. I had about 5 birds which is most encouraging so close to Pickering!!
The next surprise was even better – a stunning male Red Fox !!! I will make a confession now it is the first Red Fox I have seen in the wild for nearly 13 years and it was a great thrill to see. I must admit I was never a hunt supporter, yet at the same time I cannot condone the widespread and indiscriminate shooting, poisoning and snaring of foxes that now seems to be in lieu of fox hunting by dogs since its banning.
Now we have ‘Lamping’; fox shooting at night with night vision, thermal imaging and high powered rifles with many hunts recording kills into double figures for a single night’s hunt. I appreciate that farmers do need to control foxes in some areas as the damage they can cause to poultry and new born lambs can be very distressing to the farming communities whose livelihoods depend on the prosperity of these farmed animals.
However, indiscriminate shooting on such a mechanised basis is surely not the answer. The Red Fox after all is surely one of our most iconic animals and synonymous with the British countryside. The irony now is that you have more chance seeing a fox in an urban environment than you do in a rural setting.
The fox I saw seemed very healthy, he had a gorgeous red coat peppered with grey down his flanks and was very alert to my presence. All I can hope is that this beautiful animal has a healthy and productive life ……….
February 8th …. Another winter walk along the Carrs…with day time temperatures barely above freezing … It was great watching a local Barn Owl today. They are such spectacular hunters quartering their territories in search of a vole, mouse or rat and being completely oblivious to human presence – as long as you are quiet and don’t make sudden moves. Exciting stuff!!
Another bird of note on today’s visit to the Carrs were Redpolls or to be more specific Lesser Redpoll. At this time of year it is very common to see these small finches in either Dalby Forest/ Cropton Forest which are both very close to Pickering here in North Yorkshire.
But due to Lockdown rules, it is not possible to visit either of these sites at the present time. However, due to the hard weather these small finches have increased their feeding ranges and it was great to see a small flock feeding on some Rose Bay Willow Herb seed heads on my local walk.
February 9th ……..I had cracking views of some local Bullfinches today, they certainly like seed heads this time of year. The males especially this time of year, brighten any winter walk with the flash of a white rump and a bright red breast off set by grey wings and an inky black cap.
Another great sighting today was a beautiful Common Buzzard flying over head…its always a great privilege to photograph these beautiful raptors
12th February…… Another ‘winter walk’ today … fantastic to see a Kingfisher … posing very nicely in the snow!!!
