Skip to main content

Cowcroft Wood

Faced with a beautiful afternoon and a garden in urgent need of attention I natually went for a walk instead. Cowcroft Wood nature reserve is a couple of fields away from the house and as it has been dry it was a nice alternative to my usual walk. There wasn't much in the way of bird life visible although there was a lot of song audible. The celandine is out and looking lovely with a promise of a magnificent display of bluebells later.

Suddenly there was a disturbance at treetop height accompanied by a loud mewing. It took me a second to realise what it was as I have never heard a buzzard in the area although I have very occasionally seen them from the car. It flew across my line of sight and stayed in the area for quite a while as the calls were audible for quite a while.

Apart from that we had a very brief glimpse of a muntjac and a brief view of a pheasant catching the sun at the edge of the wood.
Labels:

Comments

David Kavanagh said…
I was in this wood today with the dog. First time in a while and found it very busy with various wildlife/birds. Most interesting find was a nest of orange banded bumble bees - not sure of the exact species - in the trunk of a half-collapsed tree leaning across the track which curls up to Cowcroft Farm. My own best birds in recent months have been two hen harriers and a short-eared owl in fields near Cholesbury. First time I've spotted either species locally in 13 years of living in Chesham.
10:43
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

No Choice

Taking my usual walk today it was striking how the autumn colours had come on in the last few days. When the sun came out I really regretted not having the camera with me. There wasn't much to see in the way of variety or numbers of birds. A couple of probable skylarks put up on a cultivated field but the gem was naturally a red kite. Circling over the fields behind my house at tree top height it finally came over my head as I reached the edge of the field. Living where I do I suppose that I should be blasé about them by now but when one comes overhead there is no choice. I still just stop and say "wow!"
Post a Comment
Read more

Harvest

The arable fields between Ley Hill and Latimer have been harvested over the last couple of days. This morning I saw a group of yellowhammers in the middle of the road by a field gate. From the look of things they were eating spilled grain. Instead of flying into the hedgerow they flew away from me along the road at windscreen height. I haven't seen much else recently apart from a distant glimpse of a partridge and the occasional red kite.
Post a Comment
Read more

Finally

 Health issues mean that I haven't been paying any attention to my blogs but I was roused from my afternoon cup of tea today but a most unholy racket. Yes the parakeets have finallyarrived in my part of Chesham with a flock of five in the tree in my neighbours garden. It had to come eventually as they have been in Rickmansworth for years. Not much else happening apart from the usual circling kites and the occasional buzzard. I haven't seen anything eating my rowan berries but the tree is being steadily stripped. Usually its a mix of wood pigeons and blackbirds. Collared doves seem to be back in this end of the village as I saw a pair while waiting for the bus this week. They used to be garden regulars but hadn't seen any near the house for years.
Post a Comment
Read more