My World Of Wildlife

The Rock Pipit, a medium sized bird that hangs around the rocky shorelines of the UK. With the Latin name of Anthus Petrosus it tends to perch on the top of large bolders and feed in between rocks. Streaky brown, the Rock Pipit is slightly bigger and duller than the Meadow Pipit. Here is a comparison:                                                                          Rock Pipit:                                                                                                                                              Meadow Pipit: As seen here the Meadow Pipit is much lighter brown than the darker Rock Pipit.  Facts about the Rock Pipit: Some birds arrive from Norway to spend the winter here There are 36,000 breeding pairs in the UK Their diet consists of insects, beetles, small fish, small shellfish and seeds They are less common in the not so rocky coastlines of the north-west, east and south England coastlines. At the weekend I saw about 5 Rock Pip

Today I spent a very sunny and warm day at Seven Sisters Country Park in Seaford, East Sussex. This country park covers 280 hectares of Chalk cliffs, meandering river valley and open chalk grassland. It is well know due to its amazing chalk cliffs. Walking along the river their were many Cormorants (11), 2 Grey Heron and 2 Little Egret as well as a group of 14 Little Grebes. Singing on the wire there was a lovely Meadow Pipit. I heard it singing all the time I was there! Meadow Pipit As we walked towards the beach a group of 40 Curlew (my first Curlews) flew over. They were singing loudly as they went over and their curved beaks really made them stand out. Incoming Curlews I also saw my first Rock Pipits, there were about 5 of them flying all around the park! One landed right in front of me and I managed to snap a photo. Rock Pipit There were also many Greenfinches in the bushes as well as a pair of Stonechats. After arriving at the beach and eating our lunch

Today I went on a successful Fungi Hunt at Buchan Country Park. Firstly I thought that I would visit the spot where I saw the famous Fly Agaric last year. When we got there (under a pine tree by the pond) I did not see any but then sure enough behind the tree was a perfect example of a Fly Agaric. For more of my photos take a look at my Flickr account:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/135794693@N08   Fly Agaric I also saw the weird Candlesnuff Fungi for the first time. There were quite a few groups of them mainly on dead wood or amongst the moss: Candlesnuff There were also many fungi that I did not recognise but this one was quite unusual with its gills showing very well. Would anyone be able to identify this for me? As well as the striking colours of the Fly Agaric I saw this Common Earthball which is poisonous. These were very interesting as there were quite a few of them in a group together. Common Earthball   Thanks For Reading!

On Sunday I spent a few hours at WWT Arundel. Arriving at 10:15 it was cold but surprisingly sunny for once! As we walked out there were about 150 Crows circling above the cliffs behind me. (I think they were dive-bombing a Peregrine Falcon). We first walked around the reedbed loop boardwalk where I saw nothing until towards the end. A bird caught my eye in the trees, looking through my binoculars it was my first Redpoll of the year! Next we went into the Sand Martin Hide; there was a single Widgeon as well as a Grey Heron, 1 Pheasant across the lake and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. As we were about to leave about 30 Lapwing acrobatically flew over. As we walked to the last two hides I saw a Cormorant sunbathing over where the boat rides were. I think it is a Juvenile as it had a whitish front. Cormorant  In the last hide there were over 20 Teal, 10 Gadwall and a few Shoveler. Male Shoveler (Sorry for the bad quality, it was quite far away!) Surprisingly a Male

This morning I went bird ringing at Leith Hill. It was very foggy and you could see many spiders webs where the dew had settled on them. There were so many! As I arrived I was quite surprised to see a very late Whitethroat had been caught and was being ringed by another trainee! A few Grey Wagtails were calling throughout the time I spent there although none were caught unfortunately. We caught many Goldcrest as well as a few Siskin. I ringed quite a few Chiffchaffs as they are still migrating through Leith Hill at the moment.  Chiffchaff I also ringed a couple of Finches, first was a Greenfinch then a young Goldfinch. Goldfinch Sightings and caught birds were: Green Woodpecker, Meadow Pipit, Robin, 5 House Martin, Pheasant, Coal Tit, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Wren