Snow . . .

We finally had more than a five-minute flurry of snow today. It looked beautiful for a while, but began to melt fairly swiftly. There is still some slush on the pavements, which will doubtless turn to ice if the temperatures freeze again, but most of the snow has vanished. The Blue tits, Long-tailed tits, Great tits, Robin and Blackbird have been very active around the coconut feeder. We also had a couple of gulls and Magpies battling it out for a tasty morsel.

I checked yesterday and at least one of the four Wasp spider eggsacs is still intact, though much of the long grass is now bent over. I couldn't see any signs of a Snowdrop, but I guess it's early yet. At least some of the bulbs have started to shoot. Will there be daffodils in flower for 1st March, I wonder?

 

Of Storms and Turtles

I remember the excitement as a child when I had the chance to see a live Leatherback Turtle that had been washed up on the shore at Cadgwith Cove in Cornwall. Local fishermen did their best to rescue it, but I'm not sure that the outcome was successful. 

More recently in 2010, as faithful followers may remember, I was thrilled to see a Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) swimming a few metres from the shore near Pylos in the Peloponnese. Do take a moment to read this fine turtle poem, The Lost Egg of Caretta caretta, by Lynn Woollacott on the Poetry Society pages.

Sea turtle near Pylos, Greece, 2010

I blogged a few days ago about the dubious storm sighting of a Penguin (probably a Guillemot) on the shore at Polkerris in Cornwall. And now, it seems, that two dead turtles have recently been found in Sussex. The one at Splash Point, Worthing, appears to have been a Loggerhead and was discovered a few days before Christmas. You can read about it here on Steve Savage's blog. The more recent find (17 February) was a Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle, the world's rarest sea turtle species, and it was found at Saltdean. There are photos over at The Nature Quest blog and a short news report from The Argus here.

A second Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle was discovered on a beach I know well, Cefn Sidan Sands, near Llanelli in South Wales in mid-January 2014. These turtles from the Gulf of Mexico were close to extinction in the 1980s.

And if you encounter any marine turtles - alive or dead - on our UK beaches, do report them to the Marine Conservation Society.

A Penguin at Polkerris?

We would expect some unusual avian arrivals as a result of these persistent and violent storms, but do you think a *penguin* was spotted strutting along the shore at Polkerris Beach in Cornwall?

Take a look at the photo footage here. My own opinion is that a Guillemot or Razorbill ID is more likely, far more likely, but you have to admit that the stance has something distinctly penguin-like about it.

I don't have any penguin photos, but here are some Guillemots from Pembrokeshire in West Wales ...

Wet Weather on the Shotley Peninsula

It has been a very dark, wet day, as you can see. My photographs have suffered not only from the lashing rain but from a graininess that occurs in these conditions. I still haven't worked out which setting to use for wintry pictures or for photos taken through the car window, so yet again I'm sorry that these are little more than record shots. 

The photo above shows the view from Shotley Gate, at the end of the Shotley Peninsula which straddles the rivers Orwell and Stour on the east coast of England. I was looking across the Stour towards Harwich.

Eurasian Wigeon

There was a small flock of Wigeon on the foreshore.

You will find some stunning photos of these birds here.

Wigeon were named Anas penelope by Linnaeus. 

They are dabbling ducks.

Every so often there was a sudden flutter as birds came in to land. 

A single Redshank touched down rather gracefully ...

... and surveyed the scene.

You can make out the red legs!

A couple of Turnstone were foraging. You may have to take my word for these! 

I had visited this spot once or twice before, and it is a place I shall return to in better weather!

Home Patch ~ Spiders and Frost

We have had some strange weather recently, with frost and fog interspersed with sleet, rain and sunshine. We woke up to a frosty morning earlier in the week, and when I looked out, I could see that the spiders had been working on their webs. The frost was beginning to melt, and while the webs might have looked better an hour earlier, I quite like the effect of the melting water droplets.   

I don't know where the outdoor spiders were hiding, but this one (alive or dead?) has been keeping us company indoors. It seems a shame to spoil the web, though to my eye it is not such a thing of beauty as the ones in the garden! 

And a final photo for this post, just to show you our foggy outlook! But the sun has been shining today, there are two tiny daffodils in the garden and the shrub next to the front door has small flecks of new green growth. 

Nature Reserves ~ RSPB Minsmere

I feel this is a rather sad and desolate post ... showing this wonderful reserve after the huge tide caused such devastation along the coast. The photos were taken last weekend on a very bleak afternoon. My excuse for these gloomy photos is that I was at Minsmere again today ... only this time with the sun shining, so the next post will be more upbeat!

The photo above shows the fragile bank near the RSPB Centre where the Sand Martins like to nest each summer.

Frostflowers: Fractal, Feathered or Fern-like?

This is the time of year for Jack Frost and his ice patterns!

The swirls in the photo above graced the roof of my car some days ago and made me wonder how they came to form in the way that they do.

I am, alas, no scientist, but it seems that small environmental changes, for example in air temperature, air movement, in the number of water molecules or in the quantity of dust particles, cause an ice pattern to grow, perhaps by developing long frond-like arms, thereby deviating from its original flower-like design.

But what causes these formations in the first place? Well, in the case of windows, it seems that frost patterns emerge when a pane of glass is exposed to sub-zero temperatures on the outside and moist air on the inside. Water vapour in the atmosphere condenses and becomes frost on the internal surface of the glass. These days with central heating, we rarely see frost patterns inside our homes, but I recall the high sash windows of my teenage years and the chilly patterns that delighted us on winter mornings.  

• The Story of Snow: what we sometimes miss
• Fern pattern
• Frost photos

Sunrise and Sunset (2): Swansea Sunset

After a gloomy sky yesterday, we enjoyed a colourful sunset this evening.

I think we may be in for a frost before morning.

Safari shades?

We are now over a month on from the shortest day, and sunset is definitely much later.

My thanks to David for this last shot.

The current high pressure is particularly welcome since there have been severe flood warnings in some parts of Wales. You can read about these on the BBC Wales Weather blog here. R.S. Thomas, the poet, was Vicar of Aberdaron (one of the flooded areas) from 1967-1978.

On a totally unrelated topic, don't miss Adam Tilt's post on a local Sea Mouse ...