Scrag Copse Diary

2011-08-02T03:25:00.000-07:00

I have been absent from Scrag for the last 3 weeks, mainly because the van was written-off, so I have had no transport. It always feels strange walking in after a break as if things have moved on a little without me, which I'm sure they have and do so anyway, whether I am there or not.
It was very quiet; the birdsong is all but silent apart from the occasional wren starting up from the depths of some bramble. Otherwise there were no song birds at all. There was, however, the mewing of buzzards overhead as well as some spectacular views as they circled just above gaps in the canopy; sometimes the light just catches them and instead of a dark silhouette of a raptor, you get the deep russet across the wings.
There was also the repeated squeaking of sparrowhawk young, apparently still in the nest; they must be ready to fledge soon.
The bracken area is impassable as usual at this time of year and I had difficulty getting anywhere near any blackthorn in sunlight so I could search for brown hairstreak butterflies. I have never seen these at Scrag but know they are in adjoining areas so I'm keen to get a record.

2011-07-14T04:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening was the final Sussex Wildlife Trust badger watch of the season. My 2011 100% success rate was maintained with up to 5 badgers out for well over an hour. They gave a lovely show too; mutual grooming, play-fighting, collecting bedding; it was one of the smoothest and most relaxed I have done.

The Emperor Strikes Back!

2011-07-04T01:47:00.000-07:00

Two purple emperors came down yesterday to the baiting areas for the Purple Emperors & Woodland Butterflies photographic workshop; a great success and just overwhelming for me to see these magnificent and elusive insects again.

There were also silver-washed fritillaries galore, the woodland glades resembling a scene from the tropics!

The Badger Biology course I ran for Sussex Wildlife Trust yesterday ended in a badger watch with badgers for 2 hours 45 minutes; I think the longest yet and still maintaining a 100% success rate this year.

10 glow-worms on the way out too!

2011-07-01T08:52:00.000-07:00

I know its been a long time but it has certainly been the usual busy season at this time of year. The past month has consisted of badger watching several times each week which has been hugely successful; there are now only 2 Sussex Wildlife Trust watches to go and the pressure is on to maintain the 100% record so far this year!
The cub is now looking quite robust, especially as he is now weaned and feeding quite well for himself, especially now the wood is wetter after all the rain; I think this individual will do well. He is now pretty much the same dimensions as the adults, but his behaviour is still very cub-like as bounces around the set, with his tail sticking up like a loo-brush.
I also set up a project on a treecreeper nest site which was lovely despite the birds being tricky to capture on camera; they would often land and then be in their nest within a nano-second. At one stage I had 6 tripods occupied with some piece of kit or other trying to trigger infra-red beams or flash units to get some kind of natural looking shot. It was good experience, however, and a pure pleasure just being in the hide for hours on end. The birds fledged last week, leaving just one dead chick behind, which was being crawled over by beetles the last time I checked; all part of the cycle.
It is now woodland butterfly season and I am trying to spot purple emperors again; it's the usual story, laying out stinky stuff and getting a crick in the neck staring up at the canopy, hoping to get a view of their magnificent flight, but especially hopeful that they come down onto the stinking bait. My first white admiral this year was on the 9th of June, which is the earliest one I have ever seen; due to the weather, probably, I not seen many since!
Finally, it has been nice to see on the way out of the badger watches, up to 3 glow-worms next to the track. This is about the most I've seen here, so possibly they are increasing, although I am aware that their population can vary from year to year. A good sign though.

2011-05-24T04:08:00.000-07:00

I took this image of one of the badgers a couple of nights ago. I was surprised as the first badger came out at 6.40pm and I was totally unprepared; they occasionally do this at this time of year. However, I managed to get all the flashes mounted and turned on without causing any disturbance. It still took a further 2 hours for her to move into the correct spot to get the shot!

2011-05-19T01:49:00.000-07:00

I have spent a couple of afternoons in the fox hide waiting for Mr Fox over the last week; annoyingly, after some very regular and bold appearances, he now seems to have become more shy. Luckily, there is a great tit nest in the base of an old hornbeam just a metre or so from where I am sitting. So, to pass the time, I have been recording the time interval between visits from each of the adult birds. I am waiting to amass more times to get a more accurate amperage but one thing I have noticed is that when there is a long time gap of 5 minutes or so between a visit, the second bird comes in within a couple of seconds of the first, suggesting, maybe, that the pair of birds forage together, at least when they travel further afield. This may confer an advantage, as far as predator detection is concerned, with two pairs of eyes rather than just one.

2011-05-12T01:41:00.000-07:00

Sadly, the woodpecker nest hole I have been keeping under observation for the past few weeks has met with disastrous results - the tree fell down! That'll teach the pair who chose the easy option of chiselling out a rotten birch as they often do. Woodpecker, however, excavate several alternative holes, so they have, hopefully occupied another site.
I built a makeshift hide to photograph the fox on Tuesday, however, clever Mr Fox circled around the back and rumbled me; I did say the hide was makeshift! I have now erected a better, well camouflaged and light-tight hide which may prove better.
Two foxes came in to the badger watch last night but were quickly chased off by the badgers. In all, there were possibly 4 adult badgers plus the cub. There was a good display of behaviour including bedding collection, mating and play.

2011-05-09T04:37:00.000-07:00

I have been away working on Skomer Island last week photographing puffins and did not have time to update the blog before I left with the exciting news.
On the badger watch on 30th April, as well as a sow, we actually had a cub present! This is very exciting as I have not confirmed any new cubs over the last couple of years. The cub appeared quite well developed and I suspect has been reared at another outlier sett; it is also possibly the sole survivor of a litter.

I have another watch tonight and hopefully will get another sighting.

2011-04-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

I checked a nest box yesterday and was a little shocked to have a blue tit hiss and lunge towards me as I opened the lid. I don't blame her at all as a huge primate levers open her nest-space and potentially threatens her eggs. I have never experienced such aggressive, and effective, threat displays from a blue tit though; they normally just hunker down and look vulnerable. Good for her though. I gently closed the lid and left her to it.
Again a fox came in to the badger sett area last night during another Sussex Wildlife Trust badger watch. This fox, who I bumped into three times yesterday came in close and fed for 40 minutes as we all watched motionless before she was chased off by an adult badger erupting from one of the holes. This is becoming a regular occurrence and is providing a a good warm up show before the badgers emerge.

2011-04-19T05:45:00.000-07:00

Again it has been a busy time at Scrag as the badger 'season' gets under way. On Sunday I guided a cameraman for Tern TV filming badgers for an ITV1 documentary airing in the summer. Luckily the first badger emerged just after 7.30pm with plenty of ambient light for the first batch of filming. Later, the next badger fed among the bluebells in front of us, luckily totally unconcerned by the bright LED lights we put out. The documentary is apparently about wildlife crime, so hopefully our efforts will help raise awareness to badger baiting around the country.
Last night, I ran the 1st Sussex Wildlife Trust badger watch of the year and a journalist from Sussex Life was present, so the pressure was on. I needn't have worried as for pre-badger entertainment, first one then a second fox came in to feed within 7m of the group. While watching the second fox busily munching, as if entering stage left out came the first badger! After a few minutes contented mutual feeding the badger caught a whiff of fox and charged straight at it eventually chasing it across the sett and away through the bluebells. The fox, staying just out of the heftier mammals grasp, slinked through the shadows until the badger resumed feeding. Reminiscent of jackals at a lion kill in Africa the fox delicately returned and managed to feed some more before again being repeatedly chased away.
After an hour of this inter-mammal species action all had dispersed and we, as the 3rd mammal present, followed suit, returning to the cars by an early 9pm. An account of this will be appearing in the June issue of Sussex Life.

2011-04-12T04:15:00.000-07:00

This weather is exceptional! Butterflies such as orange tips, brimstones are now patrolling the edges and rides of the woods looking for a mate and the odd speckled wood is perched in dappled sunny spots. I have watched the nuthatches take over one of the nest boxes and plaster the large hole, enlarged actually by woodpeckers, with mud. I heard, a few days ago, the male great spotted woodpecker excavate a nest hole; this is quite low down and, if used, will be suitable for a hide. They do, however, excavate several potential holes before settling on the chosen one, and these are normally a bit too high to set up a hide on.
The mauve-blue mist is now forming across the whole woods as the bluebells start to emerge; Scrag is beautiful and fascinating at any time of the year, but right now and for the next month, it is at its best.

2011-04-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

It was a good Woodland Birds' workshop day yesterday; the goldfinches were the stars. After an on-off presence this season due to squirrels ripping apart their feeders, the adapted metal ones I installed a few weeks ago have certainly done the trick; normally I will lure them onto teasel heads, but yesterday I lured them onto sprays of blackthorn blossom to give a nice spring-like feel to the image.
Nuthatches were harder to capture yesterday; possibly the recent spring weather has distracted them onto other tasks.
I am pleased that we have had a couple of substantial downpours; this will be crucial to the badger sow that may have delivered cubs in February. She will be lactating and needs as much food as she can get; the dry weather means worms are deep underground and this would make up 50% of her diet. If she can't get enough food the result would be that the cubs starve.

2011-03-24T00:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first day back at Scrag after a trip, leading a group, to India.
It couldn't have been a better day to come back with bright, spring sunshine and 15 degrees. There were the first brimstone butterflies patrolling the woodland edges in search of a mate and their larval foodplant, purging buckthorn.
Flowers are out too, with violets, lesser celandine and large clumps of primrose.
I checked under the reptile refuges, hoping for slow worms, grass-snake or even adders, but unfortunately only found a bank vole.
While checking one of the owl boxes a dog-fox ran straight past me, within 10m or so. The wind was from the east so he was oblivious of me. I also found an area of disturbed earth where a vixen had a litter last year; unfortunately, last year, she moved them, but I shall keep an eye on the site for developments as the earth looks freshly disturbed.

2011-03-10T02:12:00.000-08:00

Goldfinches are finally feeding on the feeders again after a 3 month absence. Although, the birds have been around, the squirrels have repeatedly torn open the niger seed feeders and have meant an irregular supply of food.

Now they are back though, they are going through the feed at the rate of knots!

2011-03-03T09:01:00.001-08:00

Same location, different animal!

2011-03-03T00:37:00.000-08:00

A nice piece of footage that one of the remote cameras caught a couple of weeks ago.

2011-02-12T01:57:00.000-08:00

The brown leaf-litter ground layer is now turning green. It's a subtle thing but the primrose leaves and deep, green stars of bluebells are taking over giving the ground a spring-like green tinge.

The dawn chorus is being added to species by species with blackbird joining in.

Interestingly, on a drive home on Thursday night, I had to dodge a group of toads crossing the road; sadly some had already been flattened.

2011-02-07T07:09:00.000-08:00

Having spent the past 2 weeks in first the Masai Mara in Kenya and then the Virunga Volcanoes in Rwanda it was a bit of a culture shock driving straight to Scrag from the airport, arriving just at dawn. Although it wasn't cold, it was grey, gloomy and blustery. I needed to stock the feeders before going home and the greyness wasn't enticing me to stay.

However, being 6 weeks after the winter solstice, it is now spring and the birds were singing with robin, song thrush, great tit, coal tit, dunnock and even goldcrest contributing to the growing dawn chorus. I also heard great spotted woodpecker drumming. Plants were also evident with primrose, bluebell and lords & ladies pushing through the leaf litter.

I also watched a fox trotting through Scrag from the west and then turn north to pass just 30m from me. The wind was in a good direction and I watched totally undetected.

2011-01-15T09:39:00.000-08:00

The first day of woodland bird photography workshops for 2011 today. And what a day it was despite the grey conditions. The sparrowhawks were regularly coming through making close passes to all hides providing breathtaking entertainment. Simon Davis, in the woodpecker hide, managed to get this shot of male sparrowhawk as it perched on the ground after missing the birds at the feeders ; it was too close to fit in the frame; a nice and rare problem. All in all a good start to the year's workshops.

2011-01-12T07:06:00.000-08:00

This brief footage was captured on one of the hidden remotes over the last few days. Although the quality is poor, they are an excellent way of telling presence of a species in a particular location as well as times, which is very important if you are running events.

Happy New Year

2011-01-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

We carried out several tasks at Scrag yesterday including the usual stocking of the bird feeders both at the main hide area as well as the storage area where the robin comes down for her mealworms and just hangs around generally, making nice company. I say 'her' but I don't really know, I've just never witnessed her singing, so just assume it's a female. She followed us up to the badger sett and just sat above us as we ate our sandwiches, occasionally flitting down for crumbs. Although, I am aware that it is merely cupboard love, it is just good to have her around; I'm sure they evoked affection even in our hunter-gatherer days going back many thousands of years.

We coppiced a single hazel; I need some poles to make a new hide and the smaller poles will be used in the garden.

I also checked the remote cameras which give me an excellent idea of what or who is passing through key areas; this gives me an idea of whether a hide in a certain location is a good idea or will merely result in sitting getting bored for a few hours. I captured this ghostly image of a fox in December.

2010-12-22T06:11:00.000-08:00

For the past few days I have been in Yorkshire looking at, among other things, waxwings in temperatures as low as minus 13. However, visiting Scrag today, the thermometer showed me a night time low of minus 9 degrees. This is seriously low and although daytime temperatures are around 1 or 2 above since yesterday, I think there will still be a heavy toll on small bird populations. Of course, these populations will recover as is the cycle of natural things, but spare a thought for the tiny birds, not only are they having difficulty finding sufficient food but they are having to cope with these devastating temperatures. Although it looks beautiful, there are a lot of things dying in Scrag at the moment.

2010-12-14T11:24:00.000-08:00

It was the Small Woodland Owners Group (SWOG) meeting on Sunday. It started at Lower Orlton Copse, hosted by the Gatwick Greenspace Project who gave us a walk around their plot before feeding us some lovely locally sourced venison and sausages cooked on an open fire. Thanks guys.
Afterwards, I led a walk around Scrag just pointing out the small things I've done to encourage wildlife or aid watching it.
Overall, it was a great day and good to catch up, and meet for the first time some of my woodland neighbours. Big thanks to Claire at Advent Wood for the Christmas tree; it's in the living room now all decorated.

2010-12-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

The snow still lying on the ground gives a lovely bit of light on the undersides of birds, as I think this image of a male chaffinch shows; almost looks like it was taken in Finland. It was minus 4 degrees as I got in the woodpecker hide this morning but reached a dizzying 1 degree above as I left; I almost felt like shedding my thermals...leaving the other 7 layers on of course! While waiting in vain for a sparrowhawk to perch in front of me, I was joined by 4 or 5 redpolls; 2 perched just 60 or 70 cm away in the blackthorn branches next to the hide. I have never been so close or have ever acknowledged how warm the colour of their plumage looks. It made the last hour very worthwhile. I also checked the remote cameras today; just a few images of a fox, no woodcock which is what I'm hoping for. The cameras are in place again.

2010-12-04T09:09:00.001-08:00

At home, I have been 12 inches deep in snow for the past 3 days until it just thawed over night last night. 12 inches just gone in a few hours!
Therefore, today was the first time I could drive anywhere near Scrag. I simply missed the most spectacular scenery and today it actually just seemed a bit dreary with slushy snow and rain.
However, the primary goal today was to feed the birds in time for tomorrow's photography workshop. They really needed doing too, all the feeders were completely empty and the area devoid of birds. Even the robin near the storage shed was absent; whether she survived the last few days I don't yet know, I gave her a bowl of meal worms to stock up on anyway. It will be interesting to see how many are around tomorrow.

2010-11-29T09:54:00.000-08:00

A couple of interesting records today.
While baiting the feeding areas before a 4-hour hide session, I saw not one but two sparrowhawks, whip round the blackthorn thicket. They were separated by a couple of metres and did not appear to be chasing each other. They then both settled in an ash tree a few metres apart. After a couple of minutes, one took off into the woodland immediately followed by the other. Whether they were hunting together, I cannot say, I have certainly never seen sparrowhawks hunt together. However, they did not appear concerned by the presence of the other. In fact, hunting together could provide an advantage for the following bird who could opportune on the chaos created by the attack of the first bird. Interesting though.
Very strangely, I also heard a curlew calling overhead!

2010-11-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

I led a hardy bunch on a Woodpeckers & Nuthatches photography workshop today; the temperature was around minus 3 degrees to start and got up to a balmy 1 degree by early afternoon. There were very good bird numbers at the feeders possibly due to the cold snap we've been having and the fact that we are now pretty much in deep winter, so there is less natural food around. I saw no evidence of the sparrowhawk today but managed to get this shot on Thursday; I spent two 3-hour sessions in the hide waiting and thankfully was well rewarded!

2010-11-23T01:02:00.000-08:00

I have been having phenomenal views of a juvenile female sparrowhawk over the past couple of weeks. She often makes her stealth runs through the various baiting areas, scattering birds, as she goes. If her runs are unsuccessful she will often just alight and perch on one of the feeder supports or baiting logs. Yesterday, the alarm calls alerted me to her presence and I watched her jink and glide through 3 separate feeding areas until she just perched in front of me, a mere 3m away! I was not in a hide, I was standing in the open. I remained motionless and managed to watch her for 2 or 3 minutes until she just glided off again.
The image was taken last week by Brian Henham as she did exactly the same thing; he, however, was already in the hide waiting for a woodpecker to appear!

2010-11-04T01:04:00.000-07:00

There was a strong smell of rotting flesh around the main bird hide yesterday and it took me a while of being a little worried to remember that I'd found a stinkhorn fungus there a couple days ago. It really was pungent though!
The goldfinches are once again feeding on the teasel heads right in front of the goldfinch hide; this is a relief as they had abandoned the site for a couple of weeks due to the squirrels repeatedly chewing apart their feeders. As well as goldfinches, the other birds are coming to baiting areas in high concentrations now. The long-tailed tits do not seem bothered by my presence at all; while stocking one baiting log they would come onto the one next to me, just a metre away!
We've had some blustery SW winds, so although the leaf colour is coming to its peak, I don't think it will stay on the trees for long. The wild service tree was looking spectacular as the leaves turned their deep bronze-red, but now they are on the floor.

2010-10-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

I have been having some nice close-encounters with sparrowhawks lately. They like to fly at super speed through the feeding areas trying grab what they can and sending the small birds screaming for the dense undergrowth. At home at the weekend, a male whisked past within inches of my face as I was digging out an old shrub; I heard and felt the rush of air! Their speed of operation is several notches above ours. At Scrag, I am actually seeing several individuals and one I saw last week had a slight chestnut tinge to his upper-side indicating a juvenile; he seems to be hunting well and its good to see that young were successfully reared this season. The two bad winters in a row have led to a decrease in small passerine numbers and this will most definitely impact on the population of apex predators that feed on them.
Great spotted woodpeckers were drumming repeatedly today as I was stocking the feeders; there seemed to be a territorial spat between 3 birds chasing each other and giving agitated calls. Great spots are generally solitary birds and can be quite belligerent with each other often chasing from tree to tree.
All niger seed feeders have been destroyed by squirrels again! Grrr! This is a real pain as it means that the goldfinches are not being fed regularly. I have just bought 3 heavy-duty feeders but they have no perches; I have emailed the manufacturers and await their response.
The first Woodland Birds' workshop is tomorrow; I am eager for it to go well.

2010-10-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

Thrashing wind and driving rain has brought down many branches over the last few days; it's the remnants of a hurricane I believe that has caused all the damage. However, there appears to be no major tree falls; always a problem when there's high wind and the trees are still in full leaf. A more extensive search will probably reveal a few birches reaching senescence on the ground but that's no real problem. Birch is an early coloniser and will regenerate in any clearings. Once they get to 70 or so years old they often just fall over which is good as it lets more light in and adds dead wood to the forest equation.
Despite the terrible weather over the past few days it was lovely today; a slight drizzle first thing gave way to weak sunshine and warm temperatures - a lovely Autumn day! During the ongoing maintenance, I found a full wasp's nest in the goldfinch hide and sadly it will have to be removed as I can't have photographers sitting next to it. Unfortunately, I react badly to wasp stings so I'm not really looking forward to the process of removal!

2010-09-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a long time; I apologise. What with work trips to Brazil and moving house, everything has been moving ahead full steam. The house move also meant that I had no internet connection for weeks which resulted in the obvious inability to update the blog.
Anyway, enough excuses; how is Scrag? Well, if I was to sum it up in one word, autumnal would do it. Although, there is no obvious golden colour yet, there is an abundance of fruit and berries from blackberries to sloes and hawthorns. There is the constant light thud as acorns hit the leaf litter. And the leaf litter is now beginning to form the yellow/brown mosaic as birch and hornbeam leaves, the first to come into leaf in the spring are also the first to turn yellow at the end of summer. The oaks are still, however, in full green leaf.
It's still very dry at throughout the woodland; I can still drive the full length of the track; my mud barometer. The stream is not even flowing, just a few muddy pools here and there. The abundance of fruits and nuts may help the badgers acquire their winter-weight but I am concerned that any cubs from this year will have great trouble getting their weight up as earthworms are still deep due to the dryness. I am thrilled that at my new house we actually have two badgers in the garden every night; a sow and what I presume is her cub from this year. The cub, named Boris (?), is worryingly small, about half the size of mum. Cubs should be much larger at this time of year if they are to survive the lean times of winter, especially if it as brutal as the last.
For me now, it's a time to prepare for the last quarter of the year; a very busy time with many woodland birds' photography workshops to run from October into December. The hides all need to be cleaned out and repaired if necessary. I have now also started to feed the birds again, this will start to get them coming in to the hides again in good numbers well before the first workshop. Anyway, it is a good time of year to work in the woodlands; that early crispness mixed with the damp smell of the leaflitter with the sound of the mewing buzzards overhead.

2010-06-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

Wild flowers are less obvious at this time of year but evident nonetheless when you look a bit harder; yellow pimpernel, wood avens, sanicle and common figwort are all now flowering. In damp areas of Scrag on of my favourite flowers is also in show; ragged robin. This flower has a torn, delicate beauty and I love finding it. In the week, I also spent some time with my wildflower key and distinguished germander speedwell from wood speedwell, both evident at Scrag. The only apparent difference is the coating of hairs around the stem.
Badgers have been out like clockwork this week and I'm proud to say that I showed 14 people badgers this week that had never seen badgers before. They have been putting on a great show with some really close views before dispersing. A couple of days ago I found a rabbit stop dug out; the occupants obviously eaten. Sorry, but badgers do this!
The tawny owls have definitely fledged 2 young in total; I have not heard a third. Their white, powdery droppings are scattered all over the undergrowth within a few hundred square metres of the nest site; they are not up to travelling far yet and just tend to squeak pathetically from branch to branch.
We should get the first purple emperor in the next week or so!!!

2010-06-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

I led a private badger watch last night and was pleased to have 3 relaxed badgers out from 8.20pm for a good 40 minutes. I say 'relaxed' because sometimes they have appeared nervous and very jumpy even for badgers. I did notice that Vincent the one-eared dominant boar wasn't present and had to ask myself, is there a link? Does Vincent make the other badgers nervous?
I was also pleased to hear a second fledged tawny owl squawking both at dusk last night and at dawn this morning!

2010-06-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

The woodland is now in a period of transition; the soft greens of spring are now hardening into darker shades as the summer progresses. It is a slightly bitter-sweet time for me as the colours of spring are so spectacular and eagerly awaited that they seem to fade just a little too rapidly. these colours were captured fantastically last week when Scrag was featured on BBC's The One Show; it was a 4 minute slot that focussed on bluebells and woodpeckers as well as ancient woodlands in general. It was certainly a fantastic advert for Scrag and hopefully more interest and workshop bookings will result.
Many of the breeding birds' young are now fledging; yesterday I saw a trail of 5 or 6 young wrens, just whirring balls of feathers, desperately trying to keep up with their parents through the undergrowth. Many great tits have fledged and blue tits seem imminently about to depart but still squeaking manically as the parents continue to ferry food to them. It is about now that the sparrowhawk's eggs will hatch so that the adults can make the most of the fresh, easy meat available!
As I've left the badger watches this week, it has been a joy and a relief to hear the squawking of the newly fledged tawny owl chick; I even managed to get it illuminated under the red light. I'm not sure if there is just one or more young owls but it does mean that the pair have successfully reared a brood which means that they should remain loyal to the breeding site.

2010-05-18T01:38:00.000-07:00

Again, my apologies for the long delay; I have been working solidly for the last 3 weeks, sometimes doing 5am to midnight days.
We are in the height of the badger watching season at the moment and they are proving reliable if a little later than in previous years; last night the wind was behind the group and I did something I rarely attempt by moving the whole group mid-watch. It worked. Within 15 minutes 2 stripy-headed mammals were out foraging and scratching.
Sadly, with badgers in mind it is worth commenting that a sett close to Rusper has been persecuted with 8 snares found and one area of the sett dug out!
On a brighter note, I sat in the tawny owl hide on Saturday evening and was thrilled to witness the female owl bring food in to the now squeaking owlets. As I've already reported, I knew that a pair were nesting in one of the boxes but to see feeding behaviour, and indeed hear their contact calls, is fantastic. Owl calls at close proximity have a resonance that travels through you.
2 weeks ago I had a film crew down from Icon films to film me teaching photography among the bluebells; this is to be aired on the BBC's 'One Show' on the 26th May (I hope). It was a long day with bluebells at their peak and woodpeckers coming down on-cue for the cameras some 13 or so times in an hour. Hopefully, it will look good on prime-time television. I shall issue a blog entry with a confirmation of the date.
The Scrag Copse residential weekend was a great success despite the drizzly weather; the group were stoic to the end and thankfully managed to get some great images. The woodpeckers, I have come to realise, are a life saver when bad weather comes in to play; they are so reliable, especially at this time of year.
One female great-spotted woodpecker, however, has decided to try and tear open nest box 6! This is a large box is occupied by nuthatches who have caked up the entrance hole with mud from the stream. The poor nuthatches just look on in confusion as the woodpecker hammers away at the side of the box; against some of my principles, I have scared off the woodpecker (they are not short of food at Scrag), but she keeps on returning; I think the result is a foregone conclusion; once a woodpecker knows where a food source is, they will just keep on returning.
Apart from all that the breeding season is forging ahead with virtually every nest-box occupied. Let's just hope for nothing dramatic in the weather!

2010-04-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

It was a stunning day at Scrag yesterday; up to 18 degrees. There was also no aircraft noise due to the closure of Gatwick; I fully sympathise with anyone stranded or with ruined holiday plans but it is lovely to hear the migrant birds singing undisturbed. There is now willow warbler, another sub-Saharan migrant, joining the chiff chaffs and black caps singing from the scrubby edges. Top bird yesterday, though, would have to be the song thrush that sang solidly all afternoon; I cannot, however, find the nest site. Although you may see them regularly in gardens, at Scrag they are an ever present but elusive species!
As well as more slow worms under the refuges, I found the first grass-snake of the year; a young one from last year. Over the weekend I found several adders, not, I'm afraid at Scrag but at Ebernoe Common; I even found a freshly sloughed skin.
Last night, I carried out a solo badger shoot. It was a waste of time; I was a little too complacent and think I was too close to an entrance. Despite the wind in my face, I feel my scent was travelling down into the sett and as a result I got a brief view of a head nervously scenting the air before retreating back under ground. Must try harder!
Scrag is beautiful at any time of year but we really are entering 'special time' now!

2010-04-15T01:44:00.000-07:00

Clear but with a bitterly cold east wind. Lots of spring flowers out including some early bluebells. Blackcaps and chiff chaffs singing along with song thrushes and robins. Several parties of swallows overhead through the afternoon yesterday.
The 2nd Sussex Wildlife Trust badger watch of the year yesterday evening. After a 30 minute wait, Vincent, the dominant boar with 1 ear was out and scratching away. Over the next hour and a half we had up to 5 adult badgers back and forth around the sett. There was also, and this is the second time in a week, a fox that I actually suspect of denning in a quiet part of the sett. The group I took in were lucky enough to have views of fox and badger together, not common at Scrag. Indeed, this is the most fox presence I've witnessed at Scrag in 3 years; is this perhaps because I prevented the Hunt's activity twice over the winter?

2010-03-31T12:26:00.000-07:00

Rain all week so far and since yesterday bitterly cold winds again.
No sign of any owls; I'm sure the females will be sitting tight on the eggs anyway.
On Monday, however, I did see the first 2 swallows over Scrag; more migrants from Africa! I also saw a peacock butterfly (in the warmer moments of the week); this would have just been roused from its hibernation, amazing to have survived the winter conditions though.

2010-03-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

Its been a much warmer if wetter week and as well as the slow-worms there are also several chiff chaffs singing around the scrubby edges of Scrag. They are one of the first of the spring migrants to arrive from Africa and I think I commented last year how good it is to think that these birds and their repeated off-spring, generation after generation, make such an epic journey to breed...at Scrag Copse!
As if in contrast, there were also many redwings and fieldfare calling as they worked their way through the canopy; these are some of the Scandinavian birds that winter here. So, we have birds arriving from Africa crossing over with birds preparing to set off for Scandinavia; as a beautiful corner of Sussex, Scrag truly is a cosmopolitan wood!
I have still been seeing woodcock sporadically; they are such secretive birds relying on their amazingly effective cryptic camouflage, normally the only view you get is a rear-end view as it zig-zags off through the trees. I have only ever seen one on the ground feeding undisturbed. I have also noticed that the other birds call in alarm as the woodcock takes to the wing; with its colouring and bulk, do they think its an owl?
Talking of owls, the female tawny is regularly at the entrance hole to the box; I'm sure the eggs are now laid!

2010-03-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Today, with temperatures up to 12C and the lowest night time temperatures of around +6C since Thursday, I felt it was a good day to try for reptiles. The tins or refuges were warm to the touch and lo and behold we found 2 slow worms. The excellent image on the left was taken by Rob Baldwin, who was down for the day to photograph the woodpeckers. Sadly, the woodpeckers were not kind to him but luckily the reptiles were!
There were also several bumblebees on the wing and I caught a glimpse of a woodcock.
All in all a gorgeous spring day!

2010-03-19T11:45:00.000-07:00

The tawny owl female was as the entrance to one of the owl boxes today. I am assuming its the female as it is normally the females that sit tight to the nest site at this time of year having laid eggs within the past couple of weeks. Today she watched me as I walked quietly down the track; I stopped to view her through binoculars but left quickly to avoid any disturbance. I'm very pleased about this.
The volume of bird song seems to have increased dramatically this week with more and more species joining in. Blackbird was very evident but no song thrush; they are elusive at Scrag!
Repeated drumming from great spotted woodpeckers and at one time I had 4 individuals down in front of one of the hides.

2010-03-18T03:38:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has nearly got to 15C at Scrag a few times this week! That combined with a few frost-free nights may mean we'll see some reptiles. I have had quick searches for adders (which I've never recorded at Scrag) but to no avail. Admittedly, the tins are still quite cold and need lengthy spells of sun to warm them up.
I haven't seen the tawny owls over the last few days; I am hoping that they have now laid and are sitting tight on eggs, which is why I can't see them. I am just going to give them their space; with young birds they'll be much more loyal to their nest-sites and less prone to disturbance.
It's also about now that I get the 1st chiff chaff, the first spring migrant to normally arrive.
So, in all its actually about not seeing things at the moment; it can't be long though!!!

2010-03-05T23:22:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I came across some brutal behaviour while walking through Ashstead Common in Surrey. It was a commotion mainly created by carrion crows and magpies that caught my attention and although these birds are often noisy, it was something urgent about their calls that got my interest and soon jays and other birds were alarming too. I often find that this behaviour is often brought on by the discovery of an owl.
However, surveying the scene from a distance I could make nothing out other than the epicentre of the disturbance so I slowly approached; a lot of the crows by this stage were on the ground and fighting amongst themselves. They scattered as I got closer and it was a sad sight that lay on the ground; a tawny owl, dead, one eye missing, apparently mobbed to death. I couldn't help but find it sad that such a beautiful and specially adapted bird had met its end in this way, though why a predator elicits more emotion from us than if it had been one of the magpies dead is strange. It did give me the chance to examine the bird; it was incredibly light but it was the structure of the feet that impressed me most; 4 needle sharp talons 8mm long on each foot; a vole doesn't stand a chance!
On a much more positive note and as if in balance to the previous paragraphs, two of the tawny owl nestboxes at Scrag Copse are now occupied by tawny owls. This is fantastic news and I am over the moon about it. This is the first year this has happened although I suspect one of them may have been used last year but unsuccessfully. This year, it appears that there is a female in each box; one of them is now regularly sitting at the entrance and watches me with her near-closed eyes which helps maintain her cryptic camouflage. It is a great feeling that the boxes made by my father and installed by us both with great frustration and effort are now being used by the species intended (it has been jackdaws that have used them up to now).
They will, hopefully, remain and lay eggs in the next couple of weeks; the males will be hidden close by and although I have scanned and searched for them, I have not located them. Anyway, it is great news indeed and my intention is to steer clear at least until the eggs are laid in order to avoid disturbance.
The owls, especially the males, are very vocal as soon as I get into position for a badger watch. I have carried out a couple in the last month or so. The first was very cold and dark on the night of a new moon and resulted in fairly minimal badger views. It did, however, show me interesting behaviour of a single male that was just walking from one entrance hole to another and repeatedly making a grunting sound. This is a sort of rutting behaviour and he is trying to lure out the female(s) who will have just come into oestrous having just given birth. Although this was not the most eventful, or comfortable, watch I have done, it has added a piece of the jigsaw regarding their behaviour to my knowledge.
A badger watch with Mark Elliott on Tuesday night, however, was a much more active event with 5 adults including Vincent, the dominant boar (he only has one ear), who was out first and scratching well before using the latrine and then off across the field, possibly to secure his boundaries. The following 4 adults gave us a display of digging, bedding collection and mutual grooming before the wind changed direction and we had to leave. All in all though it was a great watch and seems to be marking a general increase in activity across Scrag as the Spring progresses at long last!

2010-02-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

Again, it was bitterly cold with a strong NE wind and a number of snow flurries today. However, the birds need feeding even more in this weather, so I dropped in for a short while.
I did manage to repair the roof on one of the bird hides; its been leaking right above the nets that hang around the viewing hatches. Its a job I've been meaning to do for a few weeks now but the weather combined with not running many workshops at Scrag over the past few weeks has meant that there is always something else to do. Anyway, its done now.
Interestingly, there's been a couple of roe deer along the stream every time I've visited over the last week and an animal that surprised me, a mink! This may cause problems at the kennels as they also have chickens; a mink will often take chickens and is even more sneaky than a fox, though the fox normally gets the blame.
I also saw my first woodcock of the winter. Last year, in the winter, I would regularly see woodcock, well, a rear-end view at least as I put them up from the leaf litter. I have only very rarely watched these birds undisturbed; the normal sighting is when they make me jump out of my skin taking off right from under my feet. I think the woodcock I see at Scrag are mainly continental birds over-wintering here. I think it would be a difficult job for a ground-nester to raise a clutch in such badger-rich woodland and I never seem to find them in the summer.

2010-02-08T08:08:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the break in posts but I have been leading a tour in the Masai Mara, Kenya and only got back a few days ago. It was a fabulous trip with 70 lions, 9 cheetah, 2 leopard and 1 caracal! I was also fascinated by the hyenas and their similarity in social structure to badgers.
Anyway, it was lovely to get back to Scrag (yes, I do miss Scrag even when I'm working in other magnificent areas of the world!) last Friday. It was even Spring-like with primrose leaves looking new and fresh and even bluebells (leaves, not flowers) now piercing through the leaf-litter and the hazel catkins have changed their appearance and look ready for action. There was bird song all around from robins and an early song thrush as well as drumming from great spotted woodpecker; this drumming is a territorial call not the excavation of a nest hole. The sky was clear and the temperature was over 11 degrees; I even checked under the tins for an early adder as buzzards 'mewed' overhead. Yes, being six weeks after the winter solstice, it is definitely spring and the signs were all around me!
Today, however, it was bitterly cold with a driving east wind and it was...snowing!

2010-01-10T04:14:00.000-08:00

I always seem to start a post with a brief synopsis of the weather; well, I think this one deserves to start with a brief mention; its been brutal! Temperatures across the UK have been in the eye watering minus 20's, though at Scrag the lowest I have recorded is minus 7.6C.
Although very beautiful, this weather has a potentially serious effect on the wildlife. Weak animals may die through starvation; birds cannot find food because the ground is covered and this will effect species from thrushes to tawny owls. Robins, often claimed to be 'tame' by gardeners are merely following us around in the hope that we'll disturb some invertebrates from the leaf litter in the same way they have followed wild boar in pre-history. During times of snow-covered ground they adopt this behaviour all the more, taking the opportunity to grab something from any footsteps that expose the ground and any tasty insect morsels. However, because I have been feeding the robins regularly on mealworms for several months, they associate me with the presence of food and fly up to me as soon as I arrive; I have to tread carefully as one even sits on the toecaps of my wellies! I must admit though, its lovely to have them around as they are so endearing, especially one who is now happy to sit on my feet or hands waiting for some food. He, or maybe she, even darts into the storage shed as soon as I open it and always seems to find a big spider within a couple of seconds; you have to marvel at their eyesight to be able to enter a very dark shed, see prey and grab it. You also have to appreciate their opportunism.
Spare a thought for other species too; all over the woodland, butterflies, like all insect species, have to survive the winter freeze in one form or another, either as egg, larva, pupa or even adult insect. So, somewhere in Scrag, near the bud tips of willows there are purple emperor caterpillars toughing it out so the regal, stunning adults can grace the canopy in late June/early July. Right now, however, that time of year feels very distant.
If the dominant sow badger was fertilised at any stage in 2009, her eggs, which go into diapause, will now, hopefully, have implanted and started to develop for a birth time of around February; the dry Autumn and cold, frozen winter may affect this though; no cubs were born in 2009.
Anyway, Scrag Copse has existed for at least 500 years or so and I'm sure it has endured tougher and colder in its history and the diverse woodland wildlife will endure.

2009-12-19T17:51:00.000-08:00

Like most of Eastern England, we have been having stunning though extreme weather over the past few days; the thermometer outside the main hide recorded a minimum temperature of minus 6.2 centigrade and that was before the snow hit!
As I arrived at the storage shed today I was joined by three robins. Every turn I took I was accompanied very close, within a metre or so, by a beautiful 'fluffed' up robin perching on a white-crystal branch. It was a touching experience even if their only motivation is food; it was still nice to have them accompany me. Unfortunately, the padlock was frozen and I had to pour coffee in the lock to de-frost it so I could get some mealworms for them. Interestingly, as soon as I got the door of the shed open, one of the birds flew straight inside the shed and appeared to be searching around. Within a minute, it flew straight out again with a large house spider in its beak; fascinating that the bird could seize the opportunity of an unusual source of prey so quickly.
Snow at Scrag gives me chances that I cannot afford to miss; yesterday, however, I couldn't even get drive anywhere as the van was blocked in by an abandoned vehicle, grrrrrr! Luckily today I could get to the wood reasonably easily and get good images of birds around the feeding area. Its a win-win situation; I feed the hungry birds and get great images at the same time.
Well, if this cold spell is a bit too much for you at the moment, it will be spring in just over 6 weeks time!

2009-11-25T10:13:00.000-08:00

Between super, heavy downpours today, as well as the odd clap of thunder, there were periodsof beautiful, heart-warming light. Luckily, I was in the Goldfinch Hide during some of these spells and captured this gorgeous goldfinch as it fed on the teasel heads. It was one of those magical hours with a superb number as well as variety of birds feeding in low, bright early-winter light. At one stage there was a nuthatch, great-spotted woodpecker, goldfinch and various species of tit including red-listed marsh tit just 4m from me! This year has been so busy for me that I have been making a concious effort to shoot more images myself and short, magical spells like this in the hides reinforce how enjoyable it is. It was also good to see the male sparrowhawk trying his luck too!

The Hunt...again!

2009-11-23T02:11:00.000-08:00

On Friday, I came across the Surrey Union Hunt comprising 20 riders in full regalia and as many dogs riding through Scrag and the surrounding woodland comprising Rusper Wood as a whole. The dogs were scattered and so were the riders. It appeared that a general search/hunt was under way. I spoke to the hunt master and pointed out that they were on private land and that they had no right of access; he apologised and stated that the dogs had caught a scent and that he and his colleagues were just trying to recover the dogs. They then wanted to leave via an area to the south. I, in short, told them to leave the way they had entered. After more apologies, they left. Strangly as soon as they were told to leave they called all the dogs together very quickly; they were obviously unable to do this until I had arrived. This is the 2nd time this year this hunt has entered and ridden through the wood; this causes a great deal of damage and disturbance; they have been informed in writing earlier in the year that they have no access .

2009-11-13T06:53:00.000-08:00

During another woodland birds' photography workshop yesterday, proceedings were interrupted when a sparrowhawk again made a deadly attack run through the feeding birds before deciding instead to take a bath in the in the shallows of the pond in front of the hide. This gave me the chance to grab just a few reasonable shots like this one before she sunk down behind the rushes to bathe properly. The shot shows that it is a female which is interesting because most of the sightings at Scrag, 95% I would say, are of male sparrowhawks especially in winter. This is actually the third time in as many weeks that I've observed sparrowhawk bathing in exactly the same spot, so it has given me the plan to maybe set up a small temporary hide at the pond edge in order to get that all elusive perfect portrait of wild sparrowhawk. I took one several years ago on transparency and have been endeavouring to do the same on digital format. My plan is to provide a natural perch close to the pond edge; a sparrowhawk is more likely to want to perch on something solid and upright before taking a bath - you can see in the image that she has perched on this log laying next to the water's edge. Raptors are vulnerable from attack when they bathe and I have noticed they often choose very small, quiet ponds to bathe in. Anyway, it looks as if this pond has been chosen as suitable, so with perch, hide and potentially a very, very long wait I may get the shot!

Badgers!

2009-11-05T07:49:00.001-08:00

Last night, or late afternoon in fact as it now gets darker so much earlier, I set up to photograph the badgers again. It was very, very dark when I got myself in place; the moon, although just past full hadn't yet risen and a hail storm and period of torrential rain had ominously darkened the sky. Sitting there cold, wet in a dark wood, I did wonder, 'what am I doing?' I often do this though on a solo badger watch or photography shoot; there's always lots of better things to do popping into my mind instead of sitting there alone in a darkening wood looking at a pile of earth!
These misgivings didn't last long though. Having settled at 5.05pm after just setting up the flash units, I was surprised when at 5.16pm, 2 then 3 stripy heads emerged; in fact they may have been out a couple of minutes before I even noticed them; I just didn't expect them so early. I was fully prepared for an hour of tawny owl vocals before I saw any badgers!
Anyway, they, or certainly one, performed fantastically, moving into the exact baiting spot and not being bothered at all by 3 flash guns firing! The shot above is one of about 20 images I managed to take before the badgers moved off allowing me to retrieved the flashes and leave.
The walk out, was lovely; the moon, now risen, was slanting through the trees and bathing the east side of Scrag in silver pools. Driving up the track I was also lucky enough to get a tawny owl perched at headlamp height. It sat there fully illuminated by the van's lights for about 5 minutes, scanning the ground and undergrowth beneath it; it is not often you get such a prolonged view of an apparently relaxed adult tawny. I shall check the same spot as I leave on Friday; if it's a regular perching spot it may prove valuable.

2009-11-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday started with a total drenching; fortunately, the group who had turned up to learn about woodland bird photography were a pragmatic group and made the most of it. The weather improved as the day progressed and in the end we had some good light and some good bird behaviour topped when the sparrowhawk made a pass and then perched on top of one of the feeders just 4m from people in the hide!
The weather today, by contrast was beautiful though a little colder than it has been over the past couple of weeks. I took this image of one of the many fly-agaric fungus that has emerged outside the bird hides.
While I was having my lunch and watching all the birds at the feeders I was again treated to a close fly-by from the stunning male sparrowhawk; what a bird!

Halloween!

2009-11-01T00:18:00.000-07:00

Last night was halloween night and I thought the best way to spend it was with a badger watch. There was a slight mist over the meadow and the nearly full moon was slightly hazy as it rose, though still easily bright enough to cast long shadows through the trees. The tawny owls were very vocal as they tend to be at this time of year. We caught a glimpse of a female perched behind us and she repeatedly called from the general vicinity of the sett; this is good news as she seems to be holding a territory where one of the tawny nest boxes are.
The badgers came out at 5.50pm; I was expecting them at 6'ish. They fed noisily on the peanuts and raisins I had laid down for them; I had to lay this outside the main sett entrance as I haven't been laying anything for them down since June or July. In the end, we got about 30 minutes of fairly relaxed viewing before they were spooked (no pun intended on Halloween night!) by something and retreated to the sett.
Another eerie sound in the night but a very, very welcome one was the chilling scream of a barn owl as it hunted across the meadow! I just hope they start to use the barn owl boxes again.
It was a fantastic way to spend the evening; deep in the woods and the badgers performed well as usual maintaining my 100% 2009 record, however, it was the owls and their evocative calls that, for me, were the highlight.

2009-10-27T04:07:00.000-07:00

Scrag is now looking particularly beautiful; the autumn is rapidly approaching the peak of colour and fortunately we haven't had a blow so the golden leaves are still firmly on the trees. Field maple is probably the first to go really yellow, followed by hornbeam and then oak. I have been out capturing the colour on camera and will attach some images in the next day or so.
I have also been busy trying to coax a robin to a regular perch; I have done this before very easily in gardens where the birds are habituated to people, but in Scrag it has been taking some time. Eventually, however, the resident robin around the storage shed has started taking the bait, mealworms in this case. So, I intend to keep this up and re-build the unsuccessful robin hide nearer this location; this will provide another shooting hide for photographers.
The birds in the general baiting area are now in good numbers after a slow start at the beginning of the month. I think the chilly nights, sometimes down to freezing a couple of times have triggered this. The cold nights will be killing off some of the invertebrates so the feeders are becoming more attractive to them. All groups on the woodland birds workshops are getting plenty of great spotted woodpecker opportunities. The nuthatches, however, are proving less reliable; they are very much present in Scrag generally but are visiting the feeders less often than they have in the past, possibly it is just a question of time.
The group of photographers I had last Thursday were lucky to witness a sparrowhawk kill right in front of the hide. After a scream of alarm calls and frantic commotion in the edge of a hornbeam, the male sparrowhawk then swerved across the front of us showing his cinnamon barred underparts and prey gripped in his talons. He took his meal to the back of the hide area to consume before gliding, 10 minutes later, down to the pond for a post meal drink. Dramatic stuff!
As far as work goes, the badger platform now has a set of safer steps running up to it instead of the step ladder; I always had my heart in my mouth as members of public negotiated the step ladder in the dark! I have also stapled chicken wire to the bridge where the public footpath crosses the stream; another dangerous spot, especially in the wet! I want to get all these jobs done well before the winter takes hold.

2009-10-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I have neglected the blog and a couple of people have reminded me of this. I apologise but I was away in Brazil as usual at this time of year and returned to unreasonable jet-lag and the start of the beginners photography workshops for both Sussex Wildlife Trust and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.
Anyway, what about Scrag? Well, I have been very surprised at just how dry it has been there of late; in fact it is the driest I have ever known it. This is great for getting the van closer but perhaps not so good for the wildlife. At this time of year the badgers put on another 50% bodyweight to help get them through the winter (although badgers do not hibernate). They will often get this from the harvest of nuts and berries but as usual they do rely on the worm supply and with it being so dry the ground is rock hard and cracked and I assume the worms are deep. This may affect the badger's mortality over the winter if they struggle to get their reserves up and if we have another brutal winter like last year.
Anyway, the drop of rain we had today was very, very welcome though I think it has only managed to soften the surface; at least when we get a decent amount of water it won't just run off. I noticed today as well that there was an explosion of fungi due to the rain; I'm hoping to see a few good species over the next few days as this moisture seeps down.
The woodland birds' photographic workshops have started again and there are fairly good numbers of birds coming down to the feeding areas. There do seem to be less woodpeckers this season though, but that just may be because I haven't seen them. I had a great view of the male sparrowhawk as it made a killing run towards the feeders; it came in 'contour hugging' just a foot or so off the ground before darting up past the nut feeder. On this occasion it missed but last Thursday I saw him successfully devouring one of the small birds. Apart from that all the usual suspects are there and the marsh tits are back; they always disappear from the feeders during Summer.
Overall, there is a general yellowing of the leaves, especially the field maples and hornbeams. The bracken is also yellowing and giving the whole place an autumnal feel, especially with the low slanting sun. Despite this there are still dragonflies zipping around and slow worms under the refuges when it is sunny. However, I sense there is a definite advancement of autumn now that we have had a couple of cold nights and a bit of rain.

2009-07-20T01:07:00.000-07:00

This badger image was taken last night by Graham Saxby during a badger photography one-to-one session. It was taken using manual flash and is the first time Graham has done this. I think he would have preferred a lower viewpoint for a more intimate portrait but the wind was not friendly and we had to change position to the top of the viewing platform. However, I think he's done an excellent job and was surprised at how easy it was once certain rules were obeyed.
If you wish to learn more about badger photography please email me via the website www.davidplummerimages.co.uk

2009-07-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

The heat wave definitely seems something in the distant past with much lower temperatures and reasonable amounts of rain, especially last night. That being said there is still plenty of woodland butterfly life with many silver-washed fritillaries and white admirals mating and laying eggs. I have a brood of white admiral caterpillars in a breeding cage in the kitchen feeding on honeysuckle, their larval foodplant. I've also got a couple of commas muncing away on nettles
The image is of a silver-washed fritillary; I often get asked 'why are they called silver-washed when they're mainly orangey?' All fritillaries are 'orangey', so they have to be named after more subtle markings and in this case its the lovely effect of silver washed over the hind-wing. Its a tough butterfly to photograph and you can often chase after them in vain. My tactic is to set up at just one flower and wait for the butterflies to come to me.
I have just bought a load of native pond plants from Pete the Pond. He has a fantastic small garden with 42 ponds in it! they are packed with pond plants so if you want to buy from him call him on 07970 891711; he also refurbishes and sets up new ponds. All my plants are now in the mud around the edges and I'm hoping they at least get half a season's growth this year to become established. I'm seeing at least 4 dragonfly species around the pond and I saw southern hawker laying eggs in the margins. I also had a sizeable grass snake and 2 baby 'boot-lace' grass snakes under a couple of the corrugated iron refuges. I've come to realise how important these refuges are for the reptiles and also how they get used; if the metal is either too cold or too hot the creatures are in the surrounding vegetation and with this in mind I now know how important it is to have log piles and piles of bracken close by to allow the snakes and slow worms to move around making the most of each feature. In the late autumn, therefore, I shall be enhancing and adjusting what I have done so far.

The return of the Emperor!

2009-07-04T05:20:00.000-07:00

With a combination of factors; cold winter, warm progressive spring, the recent warm/hot weather, there has been an explosion of woodland butterflies; white admirals, silver-washed fritillaries, purple hairstreaks and of course most spectacular, or at least the most elusive, the noble and royal purple emperor!
I have now, amazingly and beyond my expectations, identified at least 3 master tree areas resulting in some incredible aerial and ground level views. This butterfly does not nectar and normally just stays high in the canopy which is why they are so elusive. Yesterday at Scrag I counted at least 6 adults including violent aerial clashes between territorial males. This is indicating that there is a good population in the wood complex overall as I am only able to see the insects from ground level vantage points where there is a clearing that allows me a view; there are probably many more areas that I cannot see.
I am not ignoring the other butterflies though; I have a female white admiral that has laid eggs on some honeysuckle in a breeding cage in my living room. I'm hoping to watch the life-cycle right through to emergence next year; its a good way to learn more, get some photographs of various stages and release a good number back into the wood.
Anyway, I'm back up there now to chase the emperor!

2009-06-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

Last night was the last of the Sussex Wildlife Trust badger evenings of the 2009 season. They were enormously successful this year with most being fully booked and all producing badgers meaning a 100% success rate. I must admit the continued success on each watch was meaning more pressure for me to produce badgers and thankfully it ended last night with no dissatisfied customers and no disturbed badgers. Private watches are still continuing if you are interested as well as one-to-one photography evenings.

2009-06-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

I must admit after the bluebells have gone I feel a little sad at Scrag. Its silly really, there is plenty of other flowers to find just not quite as overwhelming as the blue sea of bluebells. Once again ragged robin is in flower; this is one of my favourite wild flowers and I have managed to find a couple more spots where it is hanging on at Scrag. There is also plenty of herb robert, foxgloves, sanicle as well as honeysuckle.
The canopy and under-storey is alive with fledgling birds cheeping and tseeping away. I have already seen young blue, great and long tailed tits, nuthatch, wren, robin and today goldfinches already hanging around the niger seed feeders. Not surprisingly, I have also seen and heard a lot more activity at the sparrowhawk nest; sparrowhawks eggs are timed to hatch at the same time as the fledging of the small woodland birds; it means easy meat for the predators!
I have a sneaking suspicion that a tawny owl pair are occupying one of the tawny nest boxes (yippeeeee! about time too!). I have disturbed an owl there several times as I have tracked badger paths as well as finding white-wash beneath some of the field maple surrounding the oak that has the box. The female will just sit close by and keep vigil during the day. I can hear movement from the box itself but I think the young are too small to get to the entrance hole. At the moment I am steering clear of the site; I want this pair to breed successfully and maybe develop some loyalty to the site - too much disturbance may lead to abandonment. But I shall check it periodically and hopefully a couple of fluffy owl chicks will poke their heads out soon.
In the last 8 days I have spent 7 of them with the badgers; on one evening, a solo photography session, I had 9 adult badgers, the most I have ever counted!
So, in summary, it is all happening at Scrag as usual!

2009-06-02T01:42:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a fantastic solo badger photography session. As well as getting some great shots, I had 6 badgers out feeding, playing and even climbing (sort of) trees! When I'm photographing badgers I normally like to get my shots and then get out swiftly and quietly so I can leave the wood before its too dark. However, their behaviour was so compelling I just sat there watching, I was a little concerned at one stage when they were chasing each other that they were going to crash into me! I think I managed to get a documentary shot (haven't checked yet) of Vincent (after Van Gogh) because he only has one ear.
At around 10 after a slight lull in behaviour I decided to leave. In order to not disturb any badgers I move trying to mimic badger sound, shuffling leaves with my feet rather than left-right stamp of human foot-fall. In this way, I managed to retrieve both flash units and get away from the sett. I think, however, that my movement was so convincing that I had three badgers join me on the way out. They playfully sprinted past me and had a couple of fights before disappearing from sight, but not hearing. I take not disturbing my badgers very seriously and it consequently took me another 40 minutes of walking like a badger to eventually leave!

2009-05-22T02:37:00.000-07:00

Something seems to have happened at the badger sett. I'm not sure what it is, but I think there are only 3 adults at the main sett and their emergence is very, very slow and nervous. Whether this is as a result of inter-group politics or some form of human disturbance I am not sure. Somewhat chillingly, I found an old shotgun cartridge on top of the sett at the weekend.
Anyway, it has gone from 6 or 7 animals emerging confidently at around 8pm to just 2 or 3 slowly poking their noses out up to an hour later. Running badger events is fantastic, especially as last night none of the 8 SWT attendees had seen a live badger before, but it can be very stressful when they are nervously emerging so late.
I shall be there on my own this evening to photograph so we shall see.

Badgers

2009-05-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

It has been a mixed week of badger watching mainly dominated by the weather. Tuesday 12th was a great watch; very typical with up to 6 badgers out , nice and relaxed. Thursday, however, it poured with rain from the moment the group was on the platform; it was a disaster for the poor but stoic people with me. There were perhaps sightings of 5 badgers, but they were brief and elusive. In essense I learnt that they don't bother coming out in heavy rain. Although I probably already knew this, it was good in a sense to witness it directly. Badgers would appear at the sett entrances and sniff as usual but then just sink back down as if to say, 'no way, not tonight!' The best thing to see for me though were the puffs of 'smoke' that appeared every few minutes at the front of the main sett mound. It took me a while to realise that it was puff ball fungi being hit by the rain drops creating an ethereal cloud or spores. Dispersal in action.
Friday's watch was cancelled from the track due to another prolonged downpour as soon as I met the group, grrrrr!
Tonight's (Saturday's), however, was perhaps the best badger watch I have ever witnessed. We were on the platform for just 10 minutes when 3 badgers emerged relaxed and confident. This number grew to 6 with lots of behaviour and feeding. During a lull in activity a fox marched up confidently from the north and also started feeding around the sett! We had excellent views from 5 or 6 metres; in one view of my binoculars I had 2 badgers and the fox. The two badgers then trotted off SW followed by the opportunist fox.
We then had 4 badgers out feeding close to the platform. The finale was a play-fight and chase between the last 2 at the sett before they trundled off west.
Pure magic!

2009-05-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

I have just run the first Scrag Copse Photographic Experience weekend and it went a hundred times better than I hoped. The weather was fairly good; it didn't rain at least. However, the group were fantastic and the social aspect around the camp fire blended with some great wildlife made it for me. In the evening there was a badger watch which turned up at least 5 badgers despite being interrupted by a spooked roe deer doe.
We also got a couple of grass snakes, slow worms (which were ignored in favour of the grass snakes), butterflies and a few woodpeckers, nuthatches and goldfinches. Despite the bluebells being just a few days over the flowers were spectacular with yellow archangel, wild strawberry and bugle coming to a peak.
In essence it was good to see everyone relax over the weekend and start to enjoy the smaller stuff in the woods such as the moths that I trapped overnight; it wasn't a great catch but was the first time I had done this at Scrag.
I am pencilling in next year's event already; please email me if you wish to be considered for this.

2009-04-21T04:12:00.000-07:00

Wow, Scrag is looking spectacular at the moment; the bluebells are beginning to form that mist of blue across the woodland floor. These drifts blend into the rich green of dog's mercury and all interspersed with primroses, wood sorrel and golden saxifrage. The hornbeam is in leaf, an almost acid green along with hazel and hawthorn. The main bird hide was shrouded in blackthorn blossom for about a week. This blossom has now turned yellow-brown to be replaced by the leaves.
On sunny days the rides and paths are the fly-ways of orange tip butterflies. There seem to be a lot more this year and this could bode well for all the other butterfly species yet to emerge. Pray for a settled spring.
The badger watches are producing between 5 to 7 adults on each watch. No cubs yet, but I feel they are imminent, maybe tonight! The adults, however, are enough entertainment for the evening; as well as feeding they scratch, play-fight, dig, scent and just generally look in great condition.
This afternoon I am trying to photograph the orange tips followed by a badger watch for Sussex Wildlife Trust.

2009-04-10T01:14:00.000-07:00

I think it is fairly typical April weather at the moment; bit of rain, bit of sun, pleasant temperatures. With this in mind there seemed to be more birds at the feeders yesterday after a worrying drop off during the warm sunny weather last week. I only say worrying as there are more 'woodland birds' events to go over the next 10 days or so and I like to get the birds for the customers! However, breeding season is well under way with nest material being stuffed into the tit boxes; sometimes they are a little over-ambitious with the wad of moss they try to get through the 28mm hole!
I watched a pair of great spotted woodpeckers mating at around 6pm; excellent, please make more woodpeckers but please excavate your nest hole at head height and in good light, so I can set up a hide on it, thank you.
Did a badger watch with my parents yesterday. After a slow start, we happily watched up to 5 badgers out around the sett. They came out a little later than on Tuesday, so I had to use the red light on them. This doesn't disturb them and allows easy viewing as I don't have to hold it. Terry Goble gave me this light for my birthday last year, thanks Terry, it's great! I think he gave it to me because I borrowed his previous light for the whole year, sorry.
So, in the end it was a lovely watch and we left as the full-moon was rising.

2009-04-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

After a day teaching woodland bird photography at Scrag Copse, I met Dave and Penny Green for a badger watch. This was, surprisingly, my first watch of the year so I was excited to say the least. We only had to wait 30 minutes before the first badger, the dominant sow, emerged and dragged a big pile of bedding underground. She soon reappeared and mooched around the sett mound, quickly joined by two other males. We watched for about 50 minutes, testing the reaction to using laser dots (no reaction at all), red lights (surprisingly wary) and we even used a thermal imaging camera which was a great way to count the badger numbers.
Overall it was a fantastic start to the season and I'm looking forward to the next one on Thursday. If you are interested in a private badger watch for a group of up to 6 people, please contact me via the website www.davidplummerimages.co.uk
Alternatively, contact Sussex Wildlife Trust on 01273 497561 to book onto an organised watch. i suggest booking soon as all the events and available nights are filling up quickly.

2009-04-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, but I have been so overly busy I have not had a slightest chance of updating the blog recently. I have been dashing into Scrag to get jobs done but my main task at the moment is finishing the woodpecker hole survey at Chidingfold Forest before the leaves obscure vision too much. Combine this with teaching many photography workshops and I have not had a day off since January!
However, I'm sorry for the lack of updates so here's a synopsis of events at Scrag:

5 slow worms and a grass snake yesterday
blackthorn is just flowering nicely
chiff chaff singing repeatedly around the hide
goldfinches are now joined by 6+ siskins, this is super!
lesser celandine, wood sorrel, golden saxifrage flowering
wren carrying nest material
woodland floor is now green with dogs mercury and bluebells (not yet flowering)
hawthorn and hornbeam just coming into leaf creating a light green blush

In short Scrag Copse is entering the advanced stages of spring and things are getting very, very exciting. I am badger watching this Tuesday and I hope very soon to be able to update you about how many badger cubs there are this year. Thanks for sticking with the blog.

1st Migrant

2009-03-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

Today, I heard the first spring migrant bird at Scrag, a chiffchaff. It has flown from its wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa to arrive at Scrag sometime Saturday night/Sunday morning. I heard no chiffchaffs on Saturday at Woods Mill reserve while I was working but heard one yesterday and have heard 3 more today so I feel I can safely estimate their arrival time. They have a very simple call, even irritating after a while, but it is certainly a notable day when I hear the first one of the year.
I also found the first slow worm at Scrag today under one of the reptile refuges I put out. I thought I would find some reptile evidence especially as it got up to 15 degrees today.

2009-03-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

I apologise for my somewhat sporadic blog entries of late; I have recently started phase 2 of a big woodpecker survey across Chidingfold Forest in West Sussex. It is actually a woodpecker hole survey and involves finding and mapping as many woodpecker holes across all the Forestry Commission owned woodland in the area. In this way, the trees and possibly the surrounding areas can be saved from felling. This is not actually to preserve woodpeckers as they make many holes through the year and always nest in a new one; instead it is to preserve the trees so they can be later occupied by 'secondary hole-users' such as bats. The area to be covered is great and the terrain hard. Combine this with the need for it to be done before bud-burst due to the visibility and it means I am spending as much time as possible surveying.
Scrag, however, is looking very spring-like at the moment with increasing numbers of primroses poking through the leaf litter. Hawthorn is just bursting into leaf; it leafs before it flowers, whereas blackthorn flowers before it leafs. There is a lot of pair-bonding behaviour among the birds with groups of birds chasing eachother through the canopy. As a reminder of winter though, there are still flocks of redwings and fieldfares flying over. One fantastic sighting on Tuesday was the lesser spotted woodpecker feeding and calling in the top of a birch! I wish it would come down to the feeding area.
In all spring is really here, very obviously now and heart warming; I just hope with all the other work going on I can enjoy it!

The Hunt!

2009-03-04T09:16:00.000-08:00

On Monday, as I was trying to find a woodcock that settled just in front of me, I caught sight of a man on a quad bike speeding across the neighbouring area of woodland; I think he realised I was there. This is the reconnaissance run.
Then, yesterday, according to a local resident, the whole hunt went through with up to 30 dogs. This has chewed up a the public footpath as well as the access track that we all rely on to occasionally get vehicles into the woodland for the 3 months of the year that it is not too wet. I have not followed the obvious trail to see if any gates or hedges have been destroyed as I am waiting to hear from other woodland owners to see if they have given permission. The worse hit area appears to be my neighbour at Tilgate Wood.
Apparently, at one stage there was so much squealing that it is felt a kill was made.
This angers me on a number of levels; the damage, the disturbance to wildlife as well as to my photography workshops that form part of my income. It is also the sheer arrogance. Maybe I should turn up at their stables and drive across their fields churning it all up, driving through fences and hedges! Maybe they will rely on their argument of being 'custodians of the landscape' - yeah right. Can you detect that I am somewhat annoyed?

2009-02-21T11:58:00.000-08:00

I taught another woodland bird's photography workshop today at Scrag Copse. The weather was spectacular with stunning blue sky and mild temperatures. I took a couple of reconnaissance walks to try and find adders. I had a report of one found at Pulborough Brooks yesterday and although early it certainly felt like perfect conditions to find them today. I have never found one at Scrag before and I was out of luck today. I even lifted some of the corrugated refuges I've laid for them but no luck at all. Oh well, I'm sure they are here, it may just take a bit more searching!
Overall the day went well with lots of woodland bird activity; I was, however, a little disappointed with the woodpeckers, they just were not as co-operative as usual. A nice development though is the return of regular goldfinches; I now intend to shift the niger seed feeder to the front of the new hide to provide excellent late in the day entertainment. This shift will have to be done slowly and gradually as I do not want to lose them again if there is a break in feeding caused by the finches not finding their usual food source.

2009-02-18T01:44:00.000-08:00

This is a perfect time of year to learn your bird songs; there are still only several bird species singing so you don't get the April/May cacophony that can be very confusing and overwhelming. Another key point is the lack of leaves on the trees meaning that you can actually see the bird producing the song. My process for learning bird song was to hear the bird singing, then go through the process of locating the bird. I would then spend time watching the bird singing and so the whole process stamped the song and species in my brain. Doing this when there is a veil of leaves obscuring tiny birds can make the task very frustrating. Using CD's or tapes is best done when you get home just to reinforce what you've heard earlier in the field and not, I feel, to be done to learn bird song before you go out.
Robins will sing pretty much throughout the winter after a silent phase in August/September but in February they are gradually joined by song thrush, dunnock, blackbird, great tit and I even heard tree creeper at woods mill last week.
If it is a cold, wet or blustery day the general singing is much reduced; why would they bother expending energy to fight against the prevailing conditions. However, a mild, still period such as we're having this week will trigger more song. Sometimes, birds such as robins, song thrushes and blackbirds will sing repeatedly from regular singing posts. I found a good one used by a song thrush on Monday, unfortunately, it is very high in the top of an ash so no chance of photography. Oh well, I must carry on searching as it is a shot I have always wanted. Song itself is a pronouncement of territory and probably serves two purposes, 1) Hello ladies, I'm here! and 2) Be aware guys, I'm here, so stay away!
Casual observation of all the nest boxes, even the ones I put up just a few days ago is revealing interest and visits from both blue and great tits. The nest box I put up outside my bedroom window is regularly being visited by a blue tit pair; I may regret this in May when the young start begging at 5 am!
So, I think the pair-bonding and nest-site phase of the breeding season is well under way, so if you have nest boxes to go up, get them up now!

2009-02-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

Well, the snow is all gone now but it has still been bitterly cold especially at night. I think last night was the first frost-free night since December. Fairly mild frost-free nights are now forecast for the next few days at least and I feel that this may be the trigger for some amphibian movement. I'm going to be checking the ponds around the area for the appearance of frog spawn; it would be great to get this in the new pond!
I have finally managed to erect all the outstanding nestboxes in the week. This is a very satisfying task as it will hopefully mean a lot will be occupied in a couple of months time and help the bird population overall as well as providing fantastic photographic opportunities as the birds approach the boxes in the breeding season with their beaks full of caterpillars!
I actually lost count of the boxes but think it is about 25 or so. I know I should have recorded it exactly but I forgot the permanent marker pen so couldn't number them as I went around. I will do it this week though and I'm even going to get GPS references for each box so I can find them all in the future. This year I have put up a lot of open-fronted boxes as well as tit boxes in order to hopefully get more thrushes and robins nesting. I have also placed 3 open-fronted boxes along the banks of the stream in the slim chance that the grey wagtails nest; it would be a great bird to add to the breeding list!
If you intend putting nest boxes up in your garden then I suggest that you do it soon; I have seen many birds already checking out the boxes not to start the breeding season early but they will certainly be staking a claim on territories and surveying prospective breeding sites well in advance of the breeding season.

2009-02-05T01:52:00.000-08:00

Well, what a spectacular couple of days we had at the beginning of the week? As soon as I saw the snow at 5am on Monday, all other work was cancelled and the decision was made to spend the day at Scrag. With the conditions though this was no simple undertaking as merely getting out of Brighton was hard enough let alone dealing with the remote roads near the wood itself. However, once there, I took images of the wood itself in a bit of a rush; I was worried that it would melt away all too rapidly. I need not have worried though as the continuously falling snow and low temperatures meant that it was there to stay for the day at least! This also gave me the opportunity to shoot all the usual woodland birds but in snow; this increases my stock collection and also possibly makes them more saleable - everyone likes the 'robin in snow' shot after all. During the day I was joined by Keeley Bishop who comes on a lot of my photographic workshops; she also couldn't get into work! It was a fantastic day and absolutely magical to be in the wood. On Tuesday, I taught 2 students woodland birds photography who were originally booked for Thursday - the once in a decade conditions, however, made it easy to make the switch of days. Conditions on the day were more settled but with brighter sunlight, so sadly as the afternoon progressed the snow was visibly melting through the viewfinders. We all managed to get some fantastic shots before making the slushy drive home.

Yipppeeeeee! snow!

2009-02-02T12:51:00.000-08:00

2009-01-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say thanks to my friend Patrick Roper for the gift of his book 'Chequer - wild service tree' written by Patrick. I know you'll get this Patrick as I've included the words wild service tree, so thank you. The book is published by Sage Press www.sagepress.co.uk and there are others available such as Oak, Hawthorn, Ash etc. They are excellent reference points for the history of our trees.

2009-01-27T10:46:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful day at Scrag, cold and misty at first but once the sun broke through, it was lovely to construct the new bird hide. I built this one with my father over Christmas in his big garage and its aim is to provide an alternative shooting position for up to 3 photographers when the later afternoon, light is more dominant. The main hide can get a little shady from 3pm onwards in winter when the sun is lower, so this one should really enhance the woodland bird's photography workshops. If you are interested in attending one of these superb days please visit the website www.davidplummerimages.co.uk.
All day there were 2 robins singing from the blackthorn area as well as the occasional great spotted woodpecker drum. Spring is approaching and if you look at the woodland floor it is obvious with the new season's primrose leaves emerging as well as bluebell clusters appearing (not the flower, the plant) and dog's mercury too! By my reckoning the start of spring is in the first week of February, but everyone moans at me when I say that. However, if you spend enough time in the wood there are so many plants beginning to emerge it can't really be denied that growth is starting.

2009-01-18T09:04:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy week at Scrag this week. The warmer temperatures have meant that I have been able to get on with some nagging jobs before the start of teaching in February. I started a bit of thinning along the south side of the stream. It is a potentially lovely strip of woodland with areas of good ground flora, but it is being shaded somewhat by young hawthorns and blackthorn. They are only a few centimetres in diameter so I brought them down with a bow-saw and worked up the brash with billhook. Its very satisfying work and I've been using the resulting brash to create a brash hedge along the edge of the public footpath which is better than burning it.
Last year a large hornbeam came down in a storm and it created a gap in the canopy and a nice light glade which had a resident speckled wood butterfly guarding the area territorially. However, there is still a huge pile of branches and dead vegetation shading it out still so I have been gradually clearing that up and again using it in the hedge. Creating a lighter glade will result in more ground flora and maybe some grasses which will be beneficial for butterflies.
I have now treated all the bird boxes I previously made from recycled floorboards so there are about 25 boxes now to go up as soon as possible.
On a negative side the bridge that floated downstream after a flood into the neighbouring land has sadly disappeared!! I was waiting for the ice to melt and water level to drop so I could float it back upstream but annoyingly someone got there first.
During an afternoons work, I heard a loud commotion from a couple of dogs that went on for some time. Later, I also found the freshly severed leg of a roe deer. Not very pleasant but I was surprised at the damage to the bone and considering that we don't have any wolves around here I assumed it was caused by the dogs. These are another pair of dogs that are annoyingly being allowed to run wild throughout the local area. On Friday, I saw them again at around the same time of day chasing another 2 roe deer. The deer seemed to be staying well ahead but the dogs seem relentless. I think I know where these ones come from, so if there are any more problems I will have to pay a visit.
A little more positively, the jay that now feeds at the baiting area gave me some nice opportunities the other day. This will be good for the upcoming woodland birds workshops.

So Much for Squirrel Proof!!!

2009-01-14T10:49:00.001-08:00

Well, I think the picture says it all! This could be Houdini the squirrel but he got stuck. I found him trapped and struggling inside this supposed squirrel proof nut feeder at around midday today and when I finished he was still there at 4pm. Now, although I don't want squirrels at Scrag due to the damage and the effect they have on breeding bird populations, I felt it was no way to die for any creature; freezing to death. So, with a thick pair of work gloves and throwing my coat over the feeder to prevent him panicking, I dismantled the whole thing to let him out. Fortunately, it all went smoothly as I had no desire to have set of sharp teeth hanging from one of my fingers. Hopefully, he has learnt from his experience. I now have to take the nut feeder back for a refund; they are not cheap and I do not want to turn up to find a frozen squirrel in a cage next time I arrive.

2009-01-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday saw a spectacular hoar frost across Scrag Copse with every tree was frozen into a crystal sculpture. When I first arrived at the wood every single branch and twig was coated in feathery, translucent ice crystals. I think the overall temperature rose to a maximum of 1 degree and as the morning progressed, some sun broke through causing exposed areas of the hoarfrost to melt, however, most of the wood remained frosted in ice throughout the whole day. Looking through the icy chaos of the branches towards the sunlight was a spectacular sight!
It was good to crunch through both the leaves and the frost and has the added advantage that my boots aren't getting heavy with mud. I have to make the most of this as thick mud is a fact of life at Scrag. At one stage throughout the day I was alerted by the sound of rustling leaves and I thought someone was approaching. When I scanned with my binoculars, however, I realised it was a large flock of redwings. They were rolling along the woodland floor throwing leaves behind them as they searched for invertebrates. It was difficult to estimate the size of the flock but I would say close to 100 or so and collectively their leaf sifting activities caused quite a lot of noise even from 30m distance. The normal view of redwings in the woodland is as they fly overhead, 'hupping' so it was a pleasure to watch them so engrossed in their feeding. They're a dynamic looking small thrush with orange-red underwings and flanks. They have a pale stripe above the eye with a similar pale moustachial stripe and this gives them a slightly annoyed or angry look. As I watched them, leaning against a birch, there were some sudden alarm calls from the canopy from magpies and jays and then the whole redwing flock took to the wing in fright. They all flew directly past me just above the ground so close to me that I could hear their wings. I scanned for the avian predator that had clearly caused the commotion but got no sighting. Overall though it was a lovely winter experience in the woods.

Capture to Computer Workshops

2009-01-05T11:23:00.000-08:00

There are still a couple of spaces available on the next Capture to Computer workshops. These workshops cover photography and Photoshop techniques to get the best from your images of wildlife. They take place at Woods Mill the headquarters and reserve of Sussex Wildlife Trust near Henfield.
If you are interested in attending this workshop please visit www.davidplummerimages.co.uk and click on the courses page.

2009-01-05T10:33:00.000-08:00

Bitter, was the only way to describe the weather today at Scrag! We have now had a very cold 2 weeks and in fact this winter overall so far has been very cold; I have heard it is the coldest for 30 years and tonight is forecast to be the coldest yet.
As a result, I have not been visiting as often as I would like despite having jobs that need to be done. However, there is little point in expending the petrol just to be there for a couple of hours. I feel that my only responsibility is to ensure that the birds are fed. The bird population at Scrag is an asset and as such helping their winter survival is important. Besides, imagine being a tiny bird trying to get through this arctic spell, they deserve our help.
The squirrel-proof feeders have certainly proved a worthwhile investment. Previously, a stocked feeder would last 1-2 days at most before being ripped open by a squirrels. Now they are lasting up to 6 days. This is good for me as I don't spend so much on nuts and certainly good for the birds as they have a prolonged and guaranteed supply of energy-rich food.

2008-12-23T08:59:00.000-08:00

It was a balmy 15 degrees C yesterday when I went to feed the birds. It was a nice change to just work in T-shirt and jumper and still feel quite warm. I actually felt spring-like and there was a noticable change in the sounds of the wood; a blackbird had decided to sing! It was a lovely sound and blended in with the robins that will sing at this time of year anyway. Balmy spells like this can trigger behaviour in wildlife most of which will adapt and survive if it again turns cold but it can also cause problems. There was a hedgehog in my parents garden yesterday that had obviously been disturbed from its hibernation by the warmth and today I saw a bumblebee nectaring on ivy flowers!

2008-12-21T05:29:00.000-08:00

Well, today is mid-winter and the shortest day of the year. So, looking on the bright side, the days now start getting longer again and impossible as it seems, it is the start of Spring in 6 weeks! The change in day length will trigger things and even in January there will be evident changes in the woodland to both plant and animal life. For me it has been a fascinating year and I have never observed the seasonal change in one location so much as this year at Scrag. It will be interesting to observe any variation in the coming years as well as to see whether any of my changes have worked to improve the habitat to the benefit of the very special species list there. Happy mid-winter!

2008-12-13T04:59:00.000-08:00

The arctic front has really hit the area; Thursday night it was down to minus 5 degrees at Gatwick and the airport was closed due to the ice! This extreme weather can only have it's toll on the wildlife at Scrag Copse, sometimes this toll can be devastating with probably a high mortality of small woodland birds. It also leads to local or national migration; the whole wood complex is alive with redwings, Scandinavian thrushes, uttering their 'hup, hup' calls. These thrushes have possibly drifted down from further up north in the UK as conditions have worsened. They are always evident throughout the winter but it is during cold spells such as this that the numbers get larger and I would say there are several hundred of them now.
I checked out the badger sett yesterday morning, hoping to see plumes of steam issuing from the active areas. Unfortunately, the air had warmed by the time I got there so steam wasn't visible but there were several new and very fresh latrines just outside the sett entrances. I got the impression that the cold weather has meant that they poke their noses out of their warm, cosy home and think, 'no way, not tonight, let's have a duvet night!' Still, they have to do what they need to do, so they travel as short a distance as possible dig a hole, plop and then run back to the warm again. Who can blame them.
While having my lunch in the main hide yesterday, I watched a nuthatch just perched on the top of a log, not moving but evidently alert. This is a little unusual but I've noticed in the past that they do this when a predator is around. I kept watching and within a couple of minutes a male sparrowhawk came through flashing it's orange underparts. It was closely pursued by a female! They then had an aerial spat with some 'hekking' before settling in a dead birch just within my sight. After a few minutes the male took off and swerved around the clearing in front of the hide, again pursued by the female before they dodged through the hedge and continued their chase until they were lost from sight. Again, this behaviour confuses me as I would expect that individuals were perfectly capable of staying out of each others way. So, are they a pair from last year still loosely bonded or are they siblings, parent and offspring? I need to research this more. Still, it was a great spectacle and I was also pleased that the nuthatch's behaviour alerted me to their approach even though they were initially completely out of my sight.

2008-12-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

I managed to drop into Scrag for a couple of hours this afternoon before the weak winter sun set behind the bare trees. In that time I managed to knock up another blue tit box. I raided another skip yesterday and managed to get a about 5 metres of good quality floor boards that had been thrown out. All I do is pull out all the nails and screws and the wood is fine after a bit of a brush off with a wire brush. It's only going to be used for landfill, so I think to be recycled into nestboxes is very worthwhile. One problem I'm having though is drying out the boxes once they're made so I can coat them with preserver; the storage/tool shed has got so many holes and leaks that everything is damp in there. I think I'm going to have to stack them in the bird hide for a couple of weeks as it's much drier in there.
If you intend putting up a nestbox, don't wait until the spring, do it now. Woodland birds check out potential nest sites much earlier than most people are aware, so get it up now so it can settle in and weather a little and the birds will hopefully make the most of it as soon as the breeding season starts.

2008-12-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

After making 2 new nestboxes using my new 'workstation' (it's great!), the weather changed from cold and dull to cold and bright! It was that low slanting winter sun that can be very lovely, so I thought that's enough carpentry it's time to see my birds!
I explored an area to put a new hide to make the most of late in the day mid-winter sun. It will just be a small 1- person hide but will allow new, different shooting opportunities, not just for students but for me as well; I think it pushes your skills to try new areas and set-ups.
Once that was done and having fed the birds, I sat, had a coffee and watched them. One interesting sight was a female sparrowhawk gliding past with prey in talons closely followed a couple of metres behind by another female sparrowhawk. I would say that the second was clearly following the first because of the prey but the 1st didn't seem overly concerned or evasive . This raises a couple of questions; was this a case of klepto-parasitism (nicking another birds food) or was the second a relative of the 1st and was hoping to beg a share? Either I would say is unusual as normally sparrowhawks are solitary except in the breeding season and this is a behaviour that I have never seen before. Watching sparrowhawks is very difficult as their very nature is 'stealth' and as such an overview of sparrowhawk behaviour is normally grasped by tiny snapshots of witnessed events that just grow the more you see them. I would also add that the more you are out in woodland and the more alert you are to any warnings of a sparrowhawk approach the more you see them, however briefly.

2008-12-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

I spent the bitterly cold but bright morning shooting winter images of birds for a magazine article. I arrived just after dawn and set up some potentially good shots but stupidly missed a jay that was perched on a log; to keep out the cold wind I had only opened 2 hatches which meant that I didn't see the bird until I frightened it off!
After the weather changed to a short shower of rain followed by a dull bank of cloud meaning no more shooting, I went to the storage shed and constructed a work station to build a batch of nest boxes. I find that using a tressle it is too low, causing back-ache after a while, so I wanted to build something sturdy and at a comfortable height. I just used off-cuts of wood and timber from other jobs. The task only took me about an hour but will mean I can get to work on all those floor boards I acquired last week and get a couple of boxes made per week. It was a very satisfying task.

2008-12-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

Over the past week, because I have been running the Beginning Nature Photography workshops for Sussex Wildlife Trust, so I have only managed to drop in to Scrag a few times and for relatively short times to just feed the birds. All workshops are now finished for the year and re commence in February 2009. I love teaching all the varied workshops throughout the year but I am also looking forward to the break; its time to carry out all the small projects I've saved up. Many of these are photographic projects or writing magazine articles but there are also a lot of jobs to carry out in Scrag such as building a few more nest boxes and clearing some paths.
Tomorrow, however, my goal is to shoot some more birds around the hide and hopefully in wintry conditions. I plan to get there at dawn so that the perches are frosted over and will add another element to the images. I can tell how the birds are struggling with this cold weather because the level of peanuts in the feeders was very low after just 3 days, they normally last 5! As I arrived today, lots of birds congregated in the trees and on some of the perches; they associate human disturbance at the hide with food and so they were just waiting for me to produce the goods. Even a couple of woodpeckers waited in the top of an ash calling and came straight down onto one of the baiting logs as soon as I'd walked away. Oh well, they'll be getting a lot of food from me this week, I just hope they perform well for me!

2008-11-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

It was the final Scrag Copse woodland bird's workshop today for the year and what a bitterly cold one it was too! It started at around minus 1 and snow but deteriorated into sleet and then pouring rain. It did not look good. However, a sudden break resulted in spectacular light for more or less the rest of the day. It was that low slanting sunlight that just pushes under snow laden clouds that has a certain special quality. With the light came the birds too; all species performed well and we even had a redpol come to feed on the ground just in front of the hide, which is a welcome first. So, despite the day it was a successful one and I'm a little sad that there are no more workshops until 2009, however, there are many other jobs to be done before the spring.

2008-11-20T11:25:00.001-08:00

Many thanks to the builders just round the corner from where I live for letting me raid their skip and take out a load old floor boards. These will be perfect for making more bird nest boxes over the next few months in time for breeding season in 2009. The builders seemed happy that I was using them to make boxes for little birds and were decent enough to try and find more decent lengths. In all I recovered about 24m which should be good for about 15 boxes!
At Scrag I made sure all the feeders were full and all the logs were baited with lard. There is an Arctic front coming tomorrow and although in the past I have enjoyed extreme spells of weather, these are the events that decimate small woodland bird numbers and these days I feel a bit more responsible for their survival. I remember once working from a hide during a very bitter spell a couple of years ago. A blue tit fluttered strangely to the ground and just appeared unwell, so I walked out and gently picked up the tiny ball of feathers. It was obviously unwell to allow me to do this. I cradled it in my hands but within a few minutes it appeared to tremble and then just died leaving me holding the still warm body. I'm not sure it was the cold but whatever it was killed this poor tiny bird and it was an incredibly sad and poignant moment. In good times they appear healthy, energetic and robust but throw in a few days of bad weather and their chances of surviving each night plummet.
So, please go and feed your birds.

2008-11-16T01:59:00.000-08:00

I taught a group about fungi photography yesterday at Scrag Copse. Despite recently finding a colourful fly-agaric and a lovely shaggy ink cap, big bold fungus specimens were thin on the ground yesterday. I think it is because the late summer and autumn has been fairly wet over a prolongued period, meaning we haven't had that burst of fungi associated with still warm weather and moisture. They have, in effect, come out in dribs and drabs. However, if you think small, there is always fungi to find and photograph on the woodland floor and I'm pleaseed to say that the group really worked well managed to get some fantastic shots. In fact after a couple of hours we had all got our eyes in and adjusted for the task and we were all finding some great subjects.
For me it was an unusual opportunity to wander of my usual path in search of something new and discover fresh or re-discover rarely visited corners of Scrag. Interestingly I found some dead thin trunks of sweet chestnut with what appear to be small woodpecker holes; possibly an old lesser spotted woodpecker nest site!
I think the recent winds have meant that the autumn colour is about a week beyond its peak but there were still field maples with their bright yellow leaves glowing out and many oaks are still cloaked in bronze. Hazels are still surprisingly green and so gaining an advantage from the overshadowing ash and hornbeams having already lost their photosynthesising cells.
From around 3pm a female tawny owl was repeatedly giving its Kivick call although would not come in to my poor male impressions! I have also heard a female around the same time of day near the car parking area so I feel that there are definitely 2 females in this section of the overall woodland block. It is around now and certainly going into December that tawnies establish their territories for next year's breeding season and I plan to do a nocturnal walk in the next month or so to get some idea of numbers.

2008-11-13T10:05:00.000-08:00

Another day teaching woodland bird photography today. It was fairly bright in the morning but got darker and damper as the day progressed. Everyone got woodpeckers and nuthatches thankfully; they are so reliable now. Interestingly, there are also log-tailed tits and even jays coming in to some of the baiting logs. This is very good news as it means more species to photograph and they are very colourful birds. Yesterday, I was pleased to see a single goldfinch back on the niger seed feeder; I hope he goes and tells all his friends!

2008-11-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

I had a fantastic day yesterday with Will Cheung, editor of Photography Monthly, who joined me to photograph woodpeckers at Scrag Copse. The birds performed superbly and I think Will, a veteran of many photographic events, was genuinely impressed with the proximity as well as the natural situations we were able to put the birds in. We managed to photograph 8 species in all including full-frame portraits of nuthatches and great spotted woodpeckers. Hopefully, the piece that Will puts into the magazine will mean a lot more bookings in 2009 on the Woodland Birds photographic days.

2008-11-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

Grey and still the weather was today and that suited me just fine. I'm writing a 'how to' article on photographing fungi at the moment so I spent the afternoon doing just that. The article will only be submitted for next year's fungi season but if the images aren't taken now there won't be any new ones for the article. It means a very long lead-in time but that's the nature (no pun intended!) of the job. It involves taking the typical 'beginner' shot and then doing step-by-step improvements and demonstrating each improvement in each successive shot. I found some really nice fungus specimens including good brackets and puff balls, however, the only fly agaric I found had been well and truly nibbled, so not worth shooting but I'm always on the lookout for fresher ones. If you want to learn more about photographing fungi join me on the fungi photographic day at Scrag Copse on the 15th November.
While slowly progressing through the wood today there was a very welcome visitor, well, lot's of them actually. It appears there's been an influx of goldcrests; I counted at least 30 throughout the day. These are the smallest British bird and although a resident species we get high numbers of them from the continent, especially Scandinavia, in winter. They are lovely birds, sometimes a little hard to see, but once you do they really are interesting almost resembling hummingbirds as they hover and glean tiny insects from the foliage.

2008-10-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

There was a bitter east wind cutting into the trees and Scrag Copse, being on the east side of the overall woodland block, feels it the most. However, I still had to ensure all the feeders were stocked as well fill the woodpecker logs with more lard. Thankfully, the new squirrel-proof feeders, despite a few teething problems (no pun intended!!) now appear to be working well and are lasting, as far as a fill of seed or nuts are concerned, around three times longer. This is great news both for the birds, who have a more continuous food supply, as well as for me as it means I don't have to drive so often to Scrag just to stock the feeders and the overall cost is lower as I'm not feeding the squirrels.
Please take a look at the image of a nuthatch on a feeder I posted several days ago and compare it to the one on the left which I took this afternoon. This is what I teach on my Woodland Birds workshops at Scrag; how to take natural and intimate images of woodland birds and not on feeders! Please visit the courses page on the website www.davidplummerimages.co.uk
to book a place on one of these workshops, there are just a few places left.

2008-10-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

Another spectacular bright autumn day though with a decided chill in the air today. Most of my attention is around New Meadow at the moment in ensuring the feeders are stocked and the baiting logs are full of lard for the woodpeckers. This is a relentless task especially trying to repel the squirrels who are repeatedly tearing open nut and seed feeders. They cost me a lot of money in feed as well as the damage they do. I am now seriously thinking of control measures!
On a brighter note, there were some new faces around the feeding area today with coal tits joining the usual suspects. These appear to be at the bottom of the pecking order, getting out of the way of just about every other bird. However, they have a trick up their sleeve; they cache food and as such have incredible mapping skills in their brain. This has actually resulted in an enlarged hippocampus in coal tits, an area of the cerebral cortex responsible for mapping. London cab drivers have an enhanced hippocampus apparently. Anyway, although coal tits get pushed off good feeding sources easily, they can resort to their substantial caches dotted around the woodland and so circumvent the avian bullies. I like that nature of behaviour.
A nice sight and sound today was of redpols in the tops of birches and one drinking from the pond. There were also the sounds of goldfinches all around the area and my suspicion is that they will imminently start feeding again from the niger feeders. I have missed them being around and it will make for good and certainly easy subjects for photographers on the Woodland Bird's workshops. I am looking forward to the worshop tomorrow.

2008-10-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, the van broke down last week, so I've been unable to get to Scrag for about 9 days! Anyway, I got there today and what spectacular autumn weather it was. The birds were all around me including woodpeckers and nuthatches constantly. The squirrels, however, have destroyed a couple of feeders and even removed one without trace!! Grrr, where's my air-rifle! I have now repaired several old feeders with heavy-duty wire, how long they will last I'm not sure but I have 2 new 'squirrel proof' feeders to put up but they are locked in the back of the van which is sadly still being repaired.
All the leaves are sadly off the wild service tree but the woodland floor is now a beautiful gold bronze mosaic.
I ended the day with a lovely view of the barn owl sitting in the sun outside the barn owl box!