Hummingbirds, tigers, and a bat in the bedroom

Despite a lack of time, the last couple of months have been quite eventful for wildlife watching: sometimes when I wasn’t even trying to look for wildlife, including once when I was asleep…

A couple of months ago we went on a walk along the River Yeo near Limington, east of Yeovil. The walk itself was mildly interesting but not quite as impressive as it had looked on the map. As we got back to the car I noticed some red valerian by the roadside. Nothing unusual in that, except that this time they were adorned by a couple of hummingbird hawk-moths. There were several others nearby. I’d only seen one once before (briefly, in the garden about three years ago) and had been hoping to see another – seeing several at once was an unexpected treat. My first attempts to photograph them involved chasing them round the plants, which only led to frustration, but I found that with a bit of anticipation I could wait for them to come into view – with much better results! This is one of a number of day-flying moths that are spreading north because of global warming.

Hummingbird hawk-moth on valerian, in Lidington

I normally go to Ham Wall to see the rarer species. As it happens, on a trip in mid-June my best photos were of a much more common species that I have struggled to photograph well. This wren had an all-consuming task to accomplish – hence also the hungry juvenile!

Wren with food at Ham Wall

Wren feeding chick at Ham Wall

I also took a few whitethroat photos which I was rather pleased with – but they were trumped by ones I took a couple of weeks later!

We went to Skomer at the end of June while we were staying in Fishguard. We had a roughly three hour wait between purchasing our tickets and getting on the boat, so after a late breakfast in the car park we ventured a short way along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path above Martin’s Haven. We hadn’t gone far when a whitethroat landed on a prominent perch nearby.

Whitethroat on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path at Martin’s Haven

A beakful (Skomer)

Skomer itself is a wonderful place – and an exceptional location for seeing and photographing puffins. I’d been a bit worried on my previous trip (about five years ago) that the number of puffins nesting there had dropped quite sharply – as they were only located at the east end of The Wick, a narrow inlet on the west side of the island.However, this time they were more widespread, being more widely distributed on the south side of The Wick, and also nesting further north on the island’s west coast. I think my previous trip was better photographically – but there are a few that I took that I was pleased with.

Group of puffins on Skomer

Puffin portrait (Skomer)

A couple of days later we explored the peninsula beyond St David’s, which becomes open moorland soon after leaving the car park at Whitesands Bay. There were a few wheatears flitting around, which I missed photographing well the first time; but later, when Jen was feeding Joshua, I went back and was lucky with a male wheatear, which obligingly landed on a prominent rock.

Wheatear on the St David’s Peninsula

Later in the week we explored the coast north of Newport. Usually when I photograph a bird, it flies away: but here there was a stonechat that did the opposite, coming gradually closer as I waited.

Stonechat on the coast near Newport (north of Fishguard)

Up until last Easter I hadn’t even heard of soldier beetles, and only became aware of them when one landed on Jen’s hand. Towards the end of last month I wandered round Waltons Heath at Ham Wall – and discovered that virtually every cow parsley plant was hosting many soldier beetles! These are the common red soldier beetle, apparently known colloqially as the Hogweed Bonking Beetle (which you wouldn’t expect a vicar to explain, would you?!)

Soldier beetle on cow parsley

Soldier beetle with hoverflies, on cow parsley

Earlier that morning, I had stopped at the old railway bridge crossing the channel west of Waltons Heath. The sun was in just the right position to reveal the fish in the water, and I was astonished at just how many there were. It’s not a great photo but does demonstrate their abundance. It’s therefore hardly surprising that the area is so good for herons and related species!

Why Ham Wall is so good for herons – the canal viewed from the old railway bridge

Talking of which, when we visited the Avalon Hide last Saturday, a Great White Egret lurking close to the hide caught a fish in full view of everyone there – providing several people with a great photo opportunity!

Great white egret, with catch

Jersey Tiger-moth

Another day-flying moth which is spreading north due to global warming is the Jersey Tiger Moth. There have been a couple in the Vicarage garden. I’ve not seen one settle with its wings open – much the most photogenic pose – but it’s quite impressive even with wings closed.

The bat in the bedroom – probably a serotine. I’d like to say that the powdery white stuff is snow, but that doesn’t really work for early August… Perhaps we should look at the top of the wardrobe more often?

One night last week there was an odd flapping sound in the bedroom, and Jen told me that there was a bat flying around. I turned over and went back to sleep. An hour later I woke up and said to Jen, “there really is a bat flying around!”. We tried looking for it, and only discovered it when Jen heard it move on the top of her wardrobe. I was eager to photograph but not to provoke into panicked flight around the room, so I avoided using flash. My best attempt is the image here. It was clearly a large bat (not one of the diminutive pipistrelles) but the photo isn’t really good enough to say more than that. However, over the following couple of days I noticed one or two large bats flying around the front garden and surrounding area, so I got the bat detector out while our friends Jack and Alison were here. We saw several of the larger bats (or maybe a couple of them several times!), and the sound coming from the bat detector was uniequivocally that of a serotine bat. I assume therefore that that’s what we had in the bedroom.

In a land of skuas and gannets

The sunniest day on our honeymoon was when we went furthest north. Hermaness is a stunningly wild and beautiful nature reserve – and because of the weather and the wildlife we saw it at its best.

The Hermaness coast – absolutely magnificent. In real life it’s even better.

Bonxies – or great skuas… piratical birds that live by nicking the food off other birds, and dive-bomb any humans who dare to venture anywhere close to their nests. They certainly add to the air of wildness at Hermaness!

Puffins at Hermaness – as cute here as anywhere else!

Hermaness coast, looking north. The colour of the white rocks is because they are covered in gannets…

A small part of one of the gannet colonies on the Hermaness coast.

These stacks are the most northerly parts of the British Isles – and due north of Out Stack (to the right), the next solid surface is the Arctic ice cap. The lighthouse on Muckle Flugga used to be the most northerly habitation in Britain until it was automated in 1995. The rocks on the left are covered in gannets.

Norwick Beach

Norwick beach – you might think this is a photo of a normal sandy beach, but actually it’s a photo of a rather unusual geological boundary.

Just over 400 million years ago, an ancient ocean was being squeezed out of existence by the collision of two large landmasses (which in later ages, and after more geological dramas, would become Europe and North America). One of the results of this collision was unusual: a section of oceanic crust was thrust above the continental crust. Remnants of this form about a third of the Shetland islands of Unst and Fetlar. The boundary between the two bands of ancient crust can be found at Norwick Beach: in the photo, the continental crust is the dark rock to the left, the oceanic crust is the light rock to the right.

Jen was keen to swim at Norwick Beach – but not for long!

Lerwick Baptist Church

Both Jen and I were keen to find a good church on the Shetlands, so we decided to go to the Lerwick Baptist Church. This required a three hour trek from Norwick Beach, including a couple of ferry crossings but we were well rewarded by a lively and welcoming congregation and excellent preaching. They have a recently-built church and have about 150 in the mornings (there were about 50 that evening).

We then spent a night at Shalders guest house, which was a uniquely delightful place to stay. We were a bit puzzled by the St George’s flag that was flying outside, but all became clear when Jen asked Ann, the proprietor, the following morning: she has 23 flags in her cupboard, and flies the one appropriate for the home country of her guests.

Puffins on Skomer

Puffin on the cliff edge at The Wick

On Wednesday I took advantage of good weather and spent the day on Skomer. This an island off the Marloes Peninsula in Pembrokeshire, which is famous for its seabirds and particularly its puffin colonly. Although I had intended to look for a wide range of the island’s wildlife, I ended up being completely beguiled by the puffins.

I’d been there a few years ago, on a day which was largely foggy, but still had an amazing experience. This time, as the weather was spectactularly good (itself noteworthy considering the storms that prevailed for much of the rest of the week) I decided to set myself up at the Wick, where the puffins are most numerous, to try to get some decent photos. There’s a particular spot with a stunning backdrop to the sea below, where thought I’d be able to line up a good shot or two.

Puffin at The Wick on Skomer

What I hadn’t expected was that a puffin with a beak-full of sandeels would then land right in the middle of the frame! A couple of snaps later, it was gone to feed its young…

Having lined up the background, this puffin landed right in the middle of the frame!

 

Shy puffin

It’s astonishing how bold puffins can be, and how close they can get to people. Most of the people there are likely to have gone away with stunning photos. However, a few of them did seem to be a bit shier, hiding away in burrows.

My one regret of the trip was that, having gone to Pembrokeshire with John Linney, Dave Doughty and Jesse Stuart, I ended up being the only on the Skomer trip. After I’d shown them the photos, they were wishing they’d been there!

Puffins at The Wick on Skomer

 

Puffin with sandeels at The Wick

Being a tourist

I’ve just spent most of the past week being a tourist, as my mother has been visiting Durham for a few days. This was much helped by the weather, as we had some of the only days of summer so far this year!

Puffin posing with sand-eels

We spent a day up in Northumberland, which included a trip to the Farne Islands. Mum had never seen puffins properly before – but there were plenty here! I was keen to photograph one with a beakful of sand-eels. I noticed many fly directly over the island, but they seemed spooked by the number of tourists and only a few landed. Then just before departing for the boat, this one appeared, and almost posed for the cameras!

We also visited some of the local museums, which offered great insight into the once-thriving economy of the region. The first of these was the excellent Head of Steam Railway Museum in Darlington: this houses the original Locomotion, which ran on the inaugural Stockton-and-Darlington railway, and was a fully working engine for thirty years.

Locomotion at the railway museum in Darlington, and the HMS Trincomalee in Hartlepool’s marina.

Sue, Tom and Mum at a local Italian restaurant.

The Hartlepool Maritime Experience has as its showpiece the HMS Trincomalee, a fully restored battleship that was built in 1817, and had active service in the Navy for ten years from 1847. It’s an impressive sight (see above), and the tour of the decks was a window into a different era – and a tough environment. The sailors living in the dark and cramped lower deck would have slept in hammocks that were hung just above the dining tables, and owned little that could not be stored in a two-litre duffle bag. There was an odd contrast later in the day with the monks’ dormitory in Durham Cathedral: spartan though this may have been, they at least each had a separate bay to sleep and study in, with copious light and space compared to the sailors.

Healing on the Streets

Over the last few months I’ve been part of the Healing on the Streets team in Stockton. It’s been really good to be part of it from the start, to experience some of the wariness of the local townspeople as to what we’re about, and then to perceive a distinct thaw and greater willingness to receive prayer. One of the first people we prayed with in April was wheelchair bound and suffering from cancer. It seemed a significant moment, but we did not hear from her afterwards. Today she wheeled up to say that she had had a CAT scan a few days previously and was now clear of the tumour! We were concerned that she was not walking yet, so we prayed with her for that. We await further news of how she is doing.