November 2023 - Page 2 of 2 - A Year in the Valley

Mallards

Well, I didn’t have to wait long for the mallards! It was at breakfast on Wednesday. I thought I knew which post I was going to write next, but the mallards had other ideas.

They usually hang out on next door’s pond, or I see them flying up the valley, but on Wednesday morning they were whooshing down the stream, and they made a left turn up our ‘path’.

I didn’t write much about the moorhens, and I was thinking, what can I write about mallards? They seem to be on every pond. So, I googled mallard and found out that it is a ‘dabbling duck’. What? Is that even a Thing?

Apparently, dabbling ducks are very much a ‘thing’. The term is used to describe the ducks that don’t dive. Dabbling ducks include – mallards, pintails, gadwalls, teals, and widgeons. They are particularly at home in shallow water, marshes, and flooded fields. They feed off aquatic plants, seeds, and roots, from the bottom or surface of shallow waters, so they dabble at the surface or tilt and go tail-up to get to the juicy plant bits on the bottom.

Another difference in behaviour is the way they take flight. Dabblers spring straight up into the air, and divers have to run across the surface of the water to gain momentum. Dabblers swim with their tails held clear of the water, and their feet are smaller and less powerful than the diving ducks, as they don’t use them for propulsion in diving or flying.

Finally, dabbling ducks are also known as ‘puddle ducks’, so now we know a bit more about Jemima, don’t we!

Daisy D

10 November 2023

Birds

Mallard

Water Shrew

On Monday, something very exciting happened. Mr C. called me to the kitchen window as he had seen a kestrel landing on the lawn. Of course I was too late, and the kestrel had flown off, but Mr C. spotted what had caught the kestrel’s attention.

I hurried down to the lawn and this little creature was rooting around in the grass, as though it was looking for a hole to bolt down. It let me get up quite close and at one point it was scuffling around my feet. This was great for photos, but I got far more of its rear end than its face. It was so black and its fur so short and thick, that I was trying to see its front paws to make certain it wasn’t a mole. Also, I wanted to get a good look at its snout and tail, just to make sure.

You can see his front paws in this picture – little pink claws.

Obviously a shrew because of its distinctive long snout, at first I assumed it was a pygmy shrew as that’s the only kind I’ve seen in the garden. However, I did think it was a bit big for a pygmy shrew and the water shrew is the largest of British shrews. Then there was the colouring – you can see the clear demarcation of black top and white belly, plus white tufts by its ears. Plus, if you zoom into the picture below you can see white hairs on its otherwise smooth tail. All these attributes are indicative of a water shrew.

So, I’m going to count it, as clearly it has come up from the watermeadow, right?

But what was it doing in the garden? Water shrews typically rest in their burrows during the day and emerge at night to catch insects and other invertebrates, as well as aquatic species like shrimps, newts, frogs, and small fish, which they dive for. Being semi-aquatic, it prefers a waterside habitat, or damp woodlands and hedgerows.

But perhaps it has been flooded out of its burrow – you saw how wet the valley is – and is seeking shelter higher up. Or maybe the kestrel dropped it as it was flying over the garden and swooped down to pick it up, which would explain why it didn’t scurry away faster – maybe it was a bit dazed. As you will see from the third picture, it made its way off the lawn towards a ‘wildlife corridor’ at the back of our vegetable beds. From there it could have a clear run under cover all the way back down to the watermeadow. Fingers crossed that it made it to safety.

Daisy D

08 November 2023

Animals

Water Shrew

Today in the Watermeadow

The valley is waterlogged, but you can’t see it. Our watermeadow and our neighbours’ gardens are under up to a welly boot’s height of water, which is obvious where the grass is short. Below are some photos that I took on Saturday. There were stretches of water in Diagon Alley, Little Venice and the main paths on either side. The only bits properly above water were Alder Corner, the mound on which the weeping willow stands, and Hard Knot Pass. (See Map)

The stream burst its banks on both sides and was lapping up at the back fence, soaking the alder saplings. The current was faster than usual. In fact, the entire watermeadow has a current as any floodwater flows across from right to left on its way towards the sea. We planted the alders and dug drainage channels to facilitate the drying up of the watermeadow after flash floods. This winter flooding will likely hang around for days or weeks at a time till March. We accept that as it we know it happens every winter.

Plant-wise, our patch is pretty much the same as the rest of the valley – the bindweed is dead, the nettles are slowly dying. The alders have lost their leaves. Only the grass looks fresh – and a clump of dock in the foreground. (see top picture)

The recently-named Weasel Walk. I hope the weasel escaped the flood.

The as-yet-un-named Right Hand Path with Alder Corner looking as though it is above water.

Daisy D

06 November 2023

Views

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Today in the Valley

The valley is full of texture. Dark green patches over the far side where the nettles are still flourishing. Brown tufts of dead willowherb and loosestrife are standing strong after the storm. And knitting it all together are brighter green strokes of fresh reed canary grass lying low across the valley. Whereas the shoots that emerged in the spring shot up and flowered, those that emerge in the autumn will overwinter and have a growth spurt in the spring.

There are three parallel streams running down towards the sea, sometimes in the winter the low-lying sun lights them up and they glint like mercury, but not today. Only our stream is visible – but more of that tomorrow…

Daisy D

05 November 2023

Views

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Moorhens

The watermeadow is flooded after Storm Ciaran and that means that moorhens have been spotted swimming up and down our path! Now I’m waiting for the mallards to join them.

Daisy D

04 November 2023

Birds

Moorhen

Long-tailed tit

We have seen long-tailed tits in our garden and watermeadow all year round from the Big Garden Birdwatch in January, till now as winter approaches. They tend to fly around in groups, especially in the winter, and we saw ten when I took this photo, flitting around amongst the branches. They love the smaller trees and bushes, so are well-suited for gardens and hedgerows, as well as the scrubby wetland habitat. In the trees and bushes they hunt for small insects and spiders.

The defining features of long-tailed tits are the long, slim tail in black and white; round pink belly and black eye-stripes, like bushy eyebrows.

Their mossy nests are works of intricacy, taking around three weeks to build. They are domed to keep in the heat, insulated with up to 1500 tiny feathers – the little birds can work out how many they need for an optimum temperature – and heavily disguised with lichen. Cobwebs are used as both glue for the lichen and elastic when woven in with the moss to provide expansion as the brood grows. They nest deep in thorny bushes, like bramble and hawthorn, or in the forks of trees and once the leaves are out, the nests are very hard to spot. If I ever manage to see one, I will definitely post a photo!

Daisy D

03 November 2023

Birds

Long-tailed tit

Wood Mouse and Harvest Mouse

It’s difficult to get around the whole of the watermeadow at the moment as most of the paths are under water. We are expecting Storm Ciaran tonight and the stream has already breached its banks on both sides. The alder saplings on the far side are still above water, but the stream is only inches away from them. On the near side, the path in Alder Corner is above water, but the left-hand side of the watermeadow (Weasel Walk) and the middle is mostly under water, and the pond is overflowing. Even the paths that look dry are really soggy, so I am walking down the drainage gully, which Mr C has cleared back to its original shingle, because I really want to protect the turf paths.

So, preparing for the storm, I brought in the Trail Cam and found five video clips. Four were of mice and one was of something large, which brushed past the camera. I think it was the badger, but there wasn’t much to go on, just a furry edge moving past!

The pictures aren’t very good quality, but this one I thought I could identify as a Wood Mouse. The wood mouse is also known as the field mouse or long-tailed field mouse. Whereas the house mouse is grey all over, the Wood Mouse has sandy brown fur and a white to grey belly. Although the picture isn’t in colour, you can clearly see a lighter belly. Its tail is roughly the same length as its head and body, and what was a clincher for me was the back feet which are large, as they spring and leap around, which this one did. They are mainly nocturnal and live in rough grasslands and gardens as well as woodland. They live in underground burrows and at this time of year they are gathering and storing food. Their diet is varied: seeds, snails, insects, fruit, berries, nuts, and fungi.

I believe this nest is evidence of a Harvest Mouse. This photo was taken in July, when the Reed Canary grass was tall.

This means that we have also had Harvest Mice, as I found this nest in the summer, wrapped around a grass stalk. I wasn’t sure whether it was a mouse nest, but I’ve now got round to checking it out and found out that it is a mouse’s nest.

Harvest Mice have a blunt nose, and a shorter tail, almost as long as their body. They live in spherical woven nests sited off the ground in long grasses and they live in reed beds and long tussocky grassland as well as hedgerows and the edges of woodland. They eat seeds, fruit, and insects.

Daisy D

01 November 2023

Animals

Harvest Mouse, Wood Mouse