Tag Archives: farmland
A Whirlwind Weekend of Wonders
I learnt a very helpful piece of information during a recent weekend’s birding (14th-17th April): bird for spring migrants on a rainy day with a south-east wind blowing. It seemed counterintuitive to this fairly fair-weather birder and walker until the … Continue reading
Posted in Blog
Tagged birding, birdwatching, connections, farmland, nature, Oglet, redstart, ring ouzel, wheatear, whinchat
Comments Off on A Whirlwind Weekend of Wonders
A Good Friday’s Birding
On a glorious Good Friday, I visited a new (to me) birding site with a friend. Target species: yellowhammer – another species in rapid decline, as I’ve mentioned before on this blog (https://wordsanddeeds.co.uk/not-the-bird-we-were-looking-for/). The reasons are numerous: farmers sowing crops … Continue reading
A Circular Walk around Hale: Late Swallows Lead to Musings on Nature’s Decline, Part 2
Having reached Carr Lan, I turn down it, prepared to play chicken with the cars as there are no pavements here, and both the road itself and the grass verges are very narrow. The road winds, too, so I zigzag … Continue reading
Posted in Blog
Tagged #AttackonNature, Anthropocene, birding, birds, farmland, Hale, nature, walking
Comments Off on A Circular Walk around Hale: Late Swallows Lead to Musings on Nature’s Decline, Part 2
A Circular Walk around Hale: Late Swallows Lead to Musings on Nature’s Decline, Part 1
On a mild October morning of blue skies and fluffy white clouds, I drive to Hale for a walk, but not to the estuary; today, I choose the Town Lane, footpath, Higher Road, Carr Lane loop, hoping to see the … Continue reading
Rambling around Hale, Part 2
Resuming the walk along Within Way, I see a young whitethroat perched on a hedge down a side track, beak full of small caterpillars. It darts into the opposite hedge – maybe helping to feed the next brood?
Rambling around Hale, Part 1
Preamble (pun intended) This shortish (approx. 2 miles) walk takes in a range of habitats – hedgerows, farmland including wheat and vegetable fields, estuary and mud flats, shore and scrub – and a lighthouse, and can be extended into Hale … Continue reading
Not the Bird We Were Looking For
This post begins with a note of caution: if a friend asks you to go on a ‘twitch’ (birder term for looking for a locally scare bird that’s been reported in the area) to a woodland that neither of you … Continue reading