Wildlife Diary and News 2004 (July - Dec) - notes from a small wood     

Observations from Groves Bank, Groves Dyke and Groves Coppice.

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Weather for December 2004:     Rainfall 1½ inches (35 mm). Temperatures: Maximum 54º F (12º C). Minimum 22º F (- 5º C). Actual 37º F (3º C) at 0930 hours on 1/1/2005. A dry month, with almost ⅓ of the total rain falling on the penultimate night of the month. It has been sunny and mild for much of the month, with several windy days, especially in less sheltered places than here.

30 December 2004     Just dry enough to strim the farthest ⅓ of the top orchard, the bit that has been overgrown and increasingly brambled ever since the Great Wasp Nest Strimming Incident of about 5 years ago. No sign of any wasps today, thank goodness, even if the temperature was in the mid 50s F.

Today I am reconnected to the world again, thanks to a visit by the Computer Doctor North East, who sorted out the software problem. I am delighted to say that it was not a PICNIC* after all.         *[PICNIC = Problem In Chair, Not In Computer].

16 Dec 2004    A mild and dry several days, with the rain gauge still showing about ½ inch so far this month. An unexpected chance to go and take a few more days holiday in the Lake District – which I did, with much better walking weather than last time.

10 December 2004    This morning the male Sparrowhawk clung briefly to the peanut feeder then flew off. Later, 14 Long Tailed Tits did much the same thing. Later still, a Woodcock (the first I have seen this winter) flew off from the top of the wood near Flag's Folly, as I was showing the nice man from 'the Leccy' (Northern Electric plc) around. He was deciding which trees were growing too close to the electricity wires and we were agreeing what to do about them. Later in the year, his men will arrive to carry out the work and, hopefully, produce a bit of easy firewood in the process. Much later, Flag ran across a patch of pebbles at Sandsend and a small flock of waders materialised and flew along the beach. The 8 Ringed Plovers and 3 Sanderling landed in the middle of another pebble patch and de-materialised again. A very impressive trick!

Colder but bright and sunny, after a couple of foggy days.

7 December 2004    The bright, dry, sunny and unusually mild weather continues. A stroll on the beach at Sandsend produced 4 Ringed Plovers, 3 Oystercatchers and 2 Sanderling.

4 December 2004    I was reminded by this week's visitors from Holland (here on their second visit) that today is a very special day in their country, so 'Happy St Nicholas's Day to everyone!'

The feeding station was quite busy this morning. From 1025 to 1040 there were: Long Tailed Tit 9, Blue Tit 5, Chaffinch 4, Great Tit 4, Blackbird 2, Marsh Tit 2, Coat Tit 1, Dunnock 1, Magpie 1, Nuthatch 1, Robin 1 and a Bank Vole.

St Nicholas has organised a lovely, mild, dry and sunny day so I continued to carry the wood I'd cut from the 3rd Hazel coup. Trying the 'sylvan bag lady technique', I moved the 48 potential walking sticks, the 20 poles less than 10 feet long, the 20 poles more than 10 feet long, the 3 poles about 20 feet long and the innumerable short bits and bobs the 100 yards across to the main path. Then I moved a few of them to the other side of the top bridge. Then I moved a couple of them to the bottom of the slippery bit. The I moved one piece all the way down to the woodyard. Then I sat down. For quite a long time.

While in the wood, a large tit flock of about 50 birds worked its way from tree to tree and bramble to bramble,  'tseeping' constantly to keep in contact with the rest of the flock and feeding as they went.

3 December 2004    A hard frost last night, with minor roads un-gritted and very icy.

The Christmas decorations in Groves Dyke have gone up today: icicle lights hanging from the eves of the conservatory and a decorated sitting room (mini optic fibre tree, midi plastic tree and a few cut twigs of berry-bearing Holly from the wood - no dead or dying conifers in this house!), not to mention a partly decorated (and full of life) Cherry tree in the garden and a token decoration or two on a real live 30 foot tall Scots Pine in the wood.

Many years ago every room in Groves Dyke was fully decorated for Christmas - much to the disappointment of the guests, who had come to get away from it all! So now it is just decorations in one room, so suit all needs...

2 December 2004    Almost ½ an inch of rain fell last night, before dry sunny weather returned. A female Sparrowhawk perched on the crossbar of the feeding station this morning, pondered briefly on where all the little birds might have gone - and then flew off to look elsewhere.

1 December 2004    A dry, calm and cool morning, overcast and frost free. The feeding station is getting busier again and had (0920 - 0935 hours): Long Tailed Tit 4, Blue Tit 4, Blackbird 2, Coal Tit 2, Dunnock 2, Marsh Tit 2, Robin 2, Chaffinch  1, Great Tit 1. Also Bank Vole 1.

Plans for redesigning and refurbishing the bathroom in Groves Dyke sometime this winter are well under way. The big old cast iron bath tub continues to rust regardless of its re-enamelling (and it's impossible to replace the old cross head taps with modern lever taps), so it will have to be removed and replaced with a brand new but equally large roll-top steel bath. But the old bath cannot physically be removed without smashing the toilet, so that will have to be replaced as well, in which case it ought to be repositioned somewhere more sensible. Which just leaves the original wash basin, which won't match either the new loo nor the new bath, so it will have to go too. Still, if a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well...

Milder again by evening. Just before midnight a frog or toad purred quietly, and briefly, from the pond.

Weather for November 2004:     Rainfall 2 inches (50 mm). Temperatures: Maximum 57º F (14º C). Minimum 21º F (- 6º C). Actual 40º F (5º C) at 0930 hours on 1/12/2004. A dry, bright and mild month becoming frosty towards the end.

29 Nov 2004    Yesterday, when the overnight rain eased, I finished singling the third Hazel coup (all 9 of them), leaving each 20-year old tree with just 2 almost vertical stems (the weaker one to be removed next winter) and 2 or 3 low sprouting rods (to be layered in the spring, to extend the coup). The habitat pile of lop and top is now even bigger, the Walking Stick Factory of potential walking sticks hanging to season on a nearby Ash is quite impressive and there is quite an impressive stack of poles for cordwood around the base. Flag, meanwhile, dug another minor cavern.

Today there was the remains of an overnight frost, then a bright, dry sunny day.

27 Nov 2004    Just returned from a week in the Lake District, where it only rained twice: once for 2 days and once for 3 days! Still, the 2 remaining dry days were superb for some low level walking to the local sticky bun shops (Chesters at Skelwith Bridge and Miller Howe at Grasmere). Wet days were for driving to other famous sticky bun shops (Spinning Jennys at Brantwood, Coniston and also Lucy's at Ambleside) as well as birding, including Leighton Moss (RSPB reserve near Carnforth) and Caerlaverock (Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve near Dumfries). Very relaxing, if fattening. Why do I keep leaving the driest National Park in the UK and visiting the wettest National Park in the UK? I suppose it must be that they have proper mountains, we only have medium sized hills...

Just to add insult to injury, they tell me that the past week here has been largely dry and mild, although I note that at some stage the minimum temperature here has been down to 20° F (-5° C)!

19 Nov 2004    Sharp frost overnight, the first this winter, with a dusting of frost on the grass, a sliver of  ice in the bucket and an overnight minimum of 26º F. Elsewhere in the country there has been snow, but not here. A bright sunny morning quickly dispelled all signs of Jack Frost.

15 Nov 2004    The first Brambling of the winter appeared with a few Chaffinches at the feeding station. A female, she looked just a little bit different from her companions and her identity was confirmed by her white rump as she flew away.

14 Nov 2004    A cooler day, with early showers replaced by bright sunshine The feeding station has got much busier and a 15-minute count revealed: Blue Tit 4, Coal Tit 3, Chaffinch 3, Great Tit 2, Long Tailed Tit 2, Marsh Tit 2, Robin 2, Blackbird 1, Dunnock 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1, Greenfinch 1, Magpie 1, Nuthatch 1, Sparrowhawk  and Bank Vole 1. (1010-1025, 5/8 cloud cover, Force 2 Northerly, Cool and sunny. The Sparrowhawk made a flying visit, circling a terrified Blue Tit within the anti-squirrel bars of the peanut feeder, then leaving empty handed.

Started work on coppicing and singling the 3rd Hazel coup, dividing the cuttings and sawings into long straight poles for beanpoles and twigwams, shorter and thicker or bendy poles for cordwood, interesting and middling bits for possible walking sticks, long straight rods for hedging or 'everything else' for a habitat pile. By lunchtime 4 trees had been reduced to 2 main stems (not quite singled, but next winter I will remove the weaker stem from each) with  2 or 3 low sprouting rods left for layering in the spring (to extend the coup). A fair sized habitat pile had now appeared, a couple of dozen potential walking sticks hang from a neighbouring Ash, cordwood is stacked at the base to lose weight before carrying it down and the long poles were dragged to the woodyard. Flag enjoyed the morning almost as much as, with an abandoned anthill reduced to a giant mushroom shape and several other mineshafts started (and abandoned) nearby.

12 Nov 2004    A bright, dry and mild day ended with a squally front heading south, leaving bright, dry and much cooler weather in its wake. Last month Nutty the Noisy Nuthatch was letting the world know he was around, but now it is just Nutty the Nuthatch stocking up at the feeding station several times a day. His go-faster stripes do look very fetching! Rabbits are out and about every day in the woodyard, after a long absence and the Grey Squirrels (tree rats!) are getting rather bold when Flag is too busy elsewhere.

My daily walk around the wood gives me the chance to carry down a couple of bits of cordwood to add to the heavy and awkward lumps that are already down and part of the new (and growing) cord in the woodyard.

10 Nov 2004    After a couple of very nice days, today was just plain wet. This morning ½ an inch of rain fell, bringing the month's total up to just over 1 inch.

7 Nov 2004    The mild, calm weather continues. A 15-minute bird count at the feeding station in overcast, misty conditions produced: Blue Tit 3, Chaffinch 3, Coal Tit 3, Great Tit 2, Robin 2, Blackbird 1, Dunnock 1, Greenfinch 1, Marsh Tit 1, Sparrowhawk 1, Wood Pigeon 1 and Bank Vole 2. Just after the 1020-1035 period a flock of 12 Long Tailed Tits arrived and then a Kestrel flew into the top of the leaning Ash tree. Pity I can't mention them.

6 Nov 2004    Spent the late afternoon un-stacking the part cord and either sawing the easy bits of cordwood into firelogs for the woodshed, or adding the big bits to the top of the bendy Beech cord - for later.

5 Nov 2004    Poor Flag spent the entire evening cowering under my chair as everyone else enjoyed Bonfire Night and all its fireworks. What fun.

Weather for October 2004:     Rainfall 5⅛ inches (170 mm). Temperatures: Maximum 62º F (15º C). Minimum 32º F (0º C). Actual 45º F (7º C) at 0930 hours on 1/11/2004. A pleasant and mild month with a few very wet days and nights leading to a very high monthly total rainfall.

31 Oct 2004    A couple of dry and almost sunny days were just right for working in the wood. The last of the Captain Oak hedgelaying poles were sawn and added to the cord but there is not enough for a full cord, so I may just log it up, stack it in the woodshed and then start a full cord with the more recent, unseasoned lop and top still up in the wood.

A small Toad, about 1½ inches long, was rescued (?) from the dog dish of water beside the Stickery. In late afternoon a flock of c250 very noisy Geese flew south over the dale, their calls reminding me of the legend of the dreaded Gabble Ratchet which used to terrify lonely travellers crossing these moors. Especially if they didn't think to look up and see what was causing it!

Finished tidying up the bowsaw-sized bits of the fallen oak limbs in the orchard. I knew Flag would be digging nearby but it wasn't until a passing horse rider had some trouble getting past that I realised he was excavating the edge of the orchard next to the drive - and showering passers-by (including horses) with soil! So I completed the sawing job with a bit of sweeping up as well. Just what I wanted.

29 Oct 2004    Not windy, just wet, wet, wet! By lunchtime the rain gauge had reached its capacity of 5 inches, so it was emptied out for any more that may fall before the end of the month. By mid afternoon the rain had stopped and the sun shone.

28 Oct 2004    It was windy last night but nothing very special in the way of 'damaging winds', at least not down here in the bottom of the valley. It was the south west of England which took the brunt of the storm. My rain gauge now holds 4½ inches of rain so far this month.

A 15-minute bird count from my conservatory produced: Chaffinch 6, Blue Tit 4, Blackbird 3, Coal Tit 1, Dunnock 1, Great 1, Marsh Tit 1, Robin 1 and Bank Vole 1. Conditions were 8/8 cloud cover, Force 2 SW breeze, mild, showers (0920 - 0935).

27 Oct 2004    Storm? What storm? Another fine, bright, sunny morning after a near frost overnight. Has the Met Office got it wrong, or has it just been delayed a bit...?

26 Oct 2004    A dozen Blackbirds and Redwings flitted about the woodyard from haws to bare earth to fallen leaves and back to haws, delighting in the abundance of food. A Wren scuttled along the drystone wall and a Coal Tit continued to secrete sunflower hearts in the moss and stonework around the feeding station.

Today is supposed to be the calm before the storm, so I took lots of photos of the new conservatory and decking, complete with the extended raftings, all in bright sunshine and with 40 shades of brown in the background. The autumn colours are wonderful and stretch right up the dale, with the Ash trees just bare poles, the Silver Birches are two-tone with fresh green above and bright yellow below while the Oaks are still fully clothed in russet brown leaves. The Beech are by far the best, with every shade on display from green, through yellow and brown, to bright crimson red.

As I stood in the yard to photograph the new pole barn (the pond liner was delivered last week, now I just need the roof panels to dry out for several days or else I would just be sealing in the damp) there was a sudden WOOSH of something past my head - a Sparrowhawk, so intent on the feeding station that it hadn't noticed me standing alongside!

24 Oct 2004    A bright, dry, mild and sunny day. Trimmed a fallen Elder branch from the path, removed the lop and top from the split Ash fork I had cut away a few weeks ago and then had another go at the two big Oak limbs lying twisted together at the top of the orchard. They have had plenty of time to settle down into a stable position by now, so I was able to get into the middle of the mess, cutting, removing and stacking the smaller branches to make access easier (and cheaper) for somebody else with a chainsaw.

It is good to see that today's fine, autumn weather has attracted lots of people to stroll up Woodlands Drive, where the autumn colours are almost at their best. This was always a traditional Sunday afternoon stroll for locals, until Foot and Mouth Disease forced everyone to stay away for months on end. Apparently they found alternative Sunday afternoon activities, for the number of local strollers remained low ever since. On some Sunday afternoons they could be counted on the fingers of one finger.

Only now, with Foot and Mouth Disease a fading memory for most, have country walks re-established themselves. Only now, with illegal meat imports probably to blame in the first place, have jobs been advertised this month for additional inspectors at ports and airports - 3 years after the crisis began. How's that for a quick response to a biological emergency? Good thing it wasn't anthrax, then...

23 Oct 2004    Another ½ inch of rain last night, but it's just overcast today. The first Redwing of the winter were in the wood this morning, with about 10 birds gorging on the may Hawthorn berries.

Poor old long serving 'Henry the Hoover' has been replaced by a brand new super-duper Dyson vacuum cleaner in Groves Dyke today. This one is an ultra modern, bagless, upright cleaner which includes a 'hospital-level HEPA filter'... making it '...ideal for allergy sufferers.' Good! Now to think of a name for it. HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particle something (Annihilator?), so I think it will henceforth be known as 'HEPA the Dyson' (not to be confused with Tyson the Dyson, who lives next door).

Sawed the poles I had cut last year and carried from under the big Holly last week, into 4 feet 6 inch lengths to start building the new cord in the woodyard. This means that each 4'6" length (6" longer than the traditional length of a piece of cordwood) can be cut into three firelogs each 18" long, which is what my wood burning stove will take.

22 Oct 2004    A bright, dry, sunny and warm morning after 48 hours of strong winds and heavy showers. The rain gauge now holds 3½ inches since the beginning of the month and by mid-afternoon it was raining again!

19 Oct 2004    Just a touch of ground frost last night, with the air temperature down to 36º F. Yesterday was clear, mild and sunny. A dog barking in the distance actually turned out to be a Frog or Toad 'barking' in the pond, then it was joined by another one contributing a bit of normal croaking (I have a witness, honest)!

I spent the late afternoon sawing the last few bits of 'neat' cordwood into firelogs and finally filling the woodshed. As one piece of cordwood was removed a Toad was revealed, It gave me a dirty look, cursed me for disturbing it when it has just nodded off for the winter and then dropped through to hide under the runners for the next several months. A much safer place.

17 Oct 2004    Another inch of rain fell last night, bringing this month's total up to 2½ inches so far. Today was dry, sunny and warm, so I carried the last of the logs (cut a year ago and stacked under the big Holly) to the woodyard. This has cleared the area around the Captain Oak so that someone else can come in with some heavy duty kit to saw up the two fallen limbs.

The next job, which I should have done first, is to empty the cord framework by sawing the last of the neat cordwood into firelogs, ready to create a new cord of the logs just carried from under the big Holly. But that would be in an ideal world, which this is not, so the newly arrived logs have just been stacked up against the untidy cord of bendy Beech branches until the cord frame is finally vacant...

A Newt was rescued (?) from the dog dish by the Stickery and placed alongside. Young Rabbits have been seen in the orchard, the woodyard and in the gardens. Grey Squirrels still scamper across the lawns to bury acorns, Jays are still calling as they do the same (but more flying than scampering). A Green Woodpecker has been calling from the wood and the number of birds at the feeding station has declined, probably due to the lack of food while I was away but possibly because so much natural food is available at the moment.

Now that the cooler autumn weather has arrived it is reassuring to know that the pole barn is almost finished and ready for its first delivery, the woodshed is nearly full of well seasoned  fire logs, there is a completed (if untidy) cord of bendy Beech branches and enough year old logs to build a second cord, various mini stacks of logs and poles waiting to be carried down from around the wood over the next few weeks, a Hazel coup waiting to be singled and a another length of hedge to be laid over the next few months and two massive Oak limbs waiting for someone else to cut up and deliver to the pole barn. My wood burning stove is now lit for the winter, creating a wonderful warmth throughout the whole house and, once again, there is the satisfaction of watching 'the shadow of smoke on the woodshed.'

16 Oct 2004    Just returned from a week's holiday in and around Edinburgh to find that another 1¼ inches of rain have fallen here, all the trees in the Esk Valley are now showing some autumn colour and the new concrete path on the back lawn has been completed.

Edinburgh, on the other hand, was dry, mild and very green, making it ideal for visiting:

* the superb Seabird Centre at North Berwick (remote CCTV cameras on Bass Rock and on the Isle of May, showing the very last of this year's Gannet chicks just learning to fly and the very first of this winter's Grey Seal pups newly born, respectively);

* the new National Museum of Flight nearby at East Paradise airfield (including the last British Concorde, now parked in an old hanger which is next to the control tower where my father Tom Carson served with Air Traffic Control in the Second World War);

* the fabulous Falkirk Wheel on the central canal (the only revolving boat lift in the world, complete with superb new visitor centre and cafe from where you can watch 100 tons of boat, water and steel swing up and over your heads from one canal to the other, some 115 feet above);

* the wonderful visitor centre at the RSPB's Vane Farm reserve on Loch Leven (where you can sit upstairs in centrally heated luxury, sipping coffee and eating home baked cake from the cafe while simultaneously keeping a telescopic eye on the first 41 Whooper Swans which had arrived overnight);

* the new Scottish Parliament (designed in the shape of a fallen tree lying on Holyrood Park, with a floor of Aberdeen granite and Caithness flagstones joined by a sinew of Scottish Oak and with 120 roof beams of Scottish Oak - except there wasn't enough suitable Oak in Scotland, so they had to use some from England and some more from Europe)

* and, last but by no means least, paying two different visits to the unforgettable Aberlady Bay Nature Reserve (half an hour east of Edinburgh) to sit spellbound in the car park and watch skein after skein after skein as 22,000 Pink Feet Geese flight in to roost at sunset. This must be one of the very best 'wildlife spectaculars' in the UK (not on the same scale as 1 million Wildebeest migrating across the Serengeti, but very beautiful nonetheless and a dam sight more accessible. Strange that there were only half a dozen other people there to appreciate it).

7 Oct 2004    No wind today, just a fine, sunny, dry, calm day - and very pleasant, too. The frame of the pole barn is now complete, the roof is sheeted in plywood and has had 2 coats of preservative. Now to order enough pond liner to cover the roof completely, then cover it with tannalised planks. Pond liner? On a roof?? But of course! Why ever not? What else is waterproof, easy to put on and has a 30 year guarantee against Ultra Violet deterioration? (Just ask me in 2034 AD if it really was such a good idea).

6 Oct 2004    BT have kindly reconnected my computer to the rest of the world, so I am sure they would like to apologise for any delay in my replying to your emails and updating this website.

The last several days have been very windy and occasionally stormy, but mostly dry (only ¼ inch of rain so far this month) and mild. Clearly, for BT at least, this was the wrong kind of wind. First it blew from the South, then veered through SW to West, now NW and lessening but the forecast is to be from the North by the weekend. And colder. Electricity to all of Whitby (and Sleights, etc) was off for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon.

One night, I can't remember which, the temperature dropped to near freezing and now the trees in the dale are just starting to change colour. Lots of leafy twigs have been blown off but most trees are still in full green leaf, which makes them more vulnerable to storm damage. In the wood a 20 year old Gean has toppled onto an Ash and elsewhere another young Ash has split at the first fork. I have tried to saw through the most damaged stem to save the other half, but more work is required to bring it down cleanly.

A close inspection of the giant limb snapped from the Captain Oak reveals a much bigger problem: the falling limb ripped another one off as it fell and now the two are lying on a steep slope and badly intertwingled. (Yes, I know there is no such word, but there ought to be and all credit is due to Whitby teacher Mrs D, who invented it). The largest limb is about 18 inches butt diameter and the other not much less, so between them there is probably well over 2 tons of timber to deal with. It is not going anywhere, thanks to the mature apple tree just down-slope of it, but any attempt to start cutting it into manageable logs will be for a much better qualified and technically equipped man than me!

What else has happened in the last week? Grey Squirrels are scampering across the ground (and lawn) to bury acorns. Jay are also active and noisy in the same line of work. The Sparrowhawk has visited the feeding station once and sometimes twice a day. House Martins have disappeared, with all their cousins. Last year's hedge-laying poles have been carried from under the big Holly to the woodyard, to make room for someone else to work on the fallen timber from the neighbouring Captain Oak. C and K are putting up the framework for the pole barn roof, which I will finish off later.

Weather for September 2004:     Rainfall ½ inch (15 mm). Temperatures: Maximum 78º F (26º C). Minimum 34º F (1º C). Actual 52º F (12º C) at 0930 hours on 1/10/2004. A largely dry month with day after day of warm and blustery winds from the south.

30 Sept 2004    The first wet day for weeks and the JCB returned to excavate the post holes for the pole barn. Flag watched in jealous admiration as it quickly scooped out each 4 foot deep hole, before moving on to the next. Now I know exactly what to get him for Christmas: a small JCB of his very own! In golden yellow, of course, and preferably with a squeaky horn.

By late afternoon the four pairs of poles were up, the concrete was setting and the site was a sea of mud. The conservatory is now completely glazed and looks (and feels) much better.

27 Sept 2004    Work started yesterday and continues today on removing the conservatory's wooden end panels and glazing them instead. Already this has created a much 'lighter' and more 'open' feel to this room. The conservatory roof has also been extended with new 'raftings' over most of the deck to give overhead protection from the sun - and from the House Martins nesting under the eaves!

26 Sept 2004    A female Sparrowhawk visited the feeding station twice today. The wind has dropped and, armed with my 4th and final wedge, I was soon able to split the Knotty Ash into 2 manageable lengths. Looking for an easy way to drag them out I discovered a previously unexplored area of mature Holly trees on the steep sides of the beck, instantly christened 'Hollywood!'

This month has continued dry and warm with no sign of autumn colour, so I was surprised to see what appeared to be the dead brown leaves of an old Apple tree in the big orchard. On slightly closer inspection it turned out to be the dead brown leaves of a massive Oak limb fallen from the Captain Oak by the first Hazel coup. (The Captain Oak is only slightly junior to the 225 year old Major Oak at the bottom footbridge). Those endless days of blustery Southerly winds while the trees were still in full green sail did do some damage after all and this poor tree in the South west corner of the wood was the most exposed of all. By the look of it there is about a whole winter's worth of firewood there, once I saw it up, let it dry in situ and then carry it from one end of the property to the new pole barn  - right at the far side, of course!

25 Sept 2004    A digger arrived and spent a couple of hours lowering the old caravan site behind the small orchard by a couple of feet. He will be back in a few days to dig the 8 holes for the new pole barn and then back again to spread 10 tons of hardcore. Once the framework is up and I have added the roof, there will be my nice new car port and woodshed, all open sided and big enough (and high enough) to swing an axe, split, saw and store logs, even when it's pouring.

22 Sept 2004    Still blustery today as I pottered in the wood, ably assisted by Flag. The felled Ash trunk is heavily branched, full of knots and refused to split easily. Eventually I had all 3 wedges firmly wedged and little sign of progress. I decided to leave this Naughty Ash for a few days to let the natural stresses and strains do their work.

21 Sept 2004    A young Rabbit dared to be out and about as I walked Flag around the wood this morning. It'll soon learn.

Tawny Owls were noisy yet again last night. Yes, it is forecast to rain tomorrow but also it must be difficult enough to catch your food in the dark without the constant buffeting of this non-stop blustery wind from the South east making it nigh-on impossible. I should think the poor owls are pretty hungry by now!

19 Sept 2004    Today I worked on the two self-sown Ash trees which I dropped last winter because they were growing underneath the electricity wires. The smaller one has yielded a small stack of poles in addition to the 6 inch diameter trunk, but the other one is quite substantial. Its branches are now stacked by the path while the 12 inch diameter trunk is still buried under this summer's brambles. Either I pay someone to tackle it with a chainsaw or, better still, I get to work on it with a sledge hammer and a couple of wedges. Once split into quarters it should be easier to manhandle it all down to the woodyard to start another cord of firewood.

15-minute bird count at the feeding station: 1250 - 1305 hours; mild, dry, 2/8 cloud, wind Force 4 Southerly. Blue Tit 7, Chaffinch 4, Great Tit 3, Coal Tit 2, Dunnock 2, Greenfinch 2, Long Tailed Tit 2, Marsh Tit 1, Nuthatch 1, Robin 1, Wood Pigeon 1. There was also a very aggressive Chiffchaff or Willow Warbler (a 'Chillowiff' or 'Willowchaff') which hung around the feeding station, not eating anything but just chasing the Blue Tits away. Very odd behaviour!

This evening two well grown Rabbits appeared in the woodyard, the first I have seen for many a month. Flag will be pleased (when he stops digging long enough to notice).

18 Sept 2004    The strong, blustery Southerly winds have reappeared these last few days, with apples falling from the branches and rolling down the drive - much to Flag's delight: 'Tennis balls!' Snapped-off twigs litter the ground, each with a few still green leaves, but the trees themselves remain clothed in green as the dry, mild weather continues.

15 Sept 2004    I have been emailed by the Historian and Newsletter Editor of the Nevil Shute Foundation, who found my reference to Stoupe Brow near Ravenscar in this web log. He asked for its location, as Nevil Shute carried out glider tests there and also at Ingleby Greenhow, in the west of the North York Moors National Park. This internet thing is a bit scary, innit? It seems I am now the Foundation's informal 'official Yorkshire geographical expert' - I knew that Geography A-Level would come in useful eventually!

c100 House Martins circled high over the Salmon Leap weir, each feeding-up (and psyching-up) for their autumn migration to Africa. Oh dear, we all know what that means...

14 Sept 2004    A Sparrowhawk dined off the feeding station this morning and a Roe Deer scampered off through the wood. The warm, dry blustery winds continue to batter the area. Patio chairs are scattered across the lawn, the big sunshade is still laid carefully on the grass, Woodlands Drive is carpeted in snapped-off leafy twigs and the occasional small branch.

Only the bigger fishing boats are still in Whitby's lower harbour, all the others have moved into the upper harbour for shelter and the sea is awash with white horses - but Runswick Bay is sheltered and sunny. T, C and I strolled to the far end where a few Oystercatchers, Turnstone and a Redshank fed amongst the sea weedy rocks. Sandwich Terns fished offshore, an Atlantic Grey Seal popped its head up a few times just offshore and Flag ran like the wind and then lay in the shallows to cool off.

Just over ¼ of an inch of rain fell this afternoon, the first appreciable rain since the beginning of the month.

13 Sept 2004    A lovely day birding in Filey with T & C. The South Westerly gales continue to blow, but warm, dry and blustery so walking on the top of Filey Brigg was very enjoyable and exhilarating. A snack in the Country Park cafe is always a good starting point, with a glance at the Bird Log to see what is about. An Osprey had flown over in the early morning, nor did we see the Little Stint out on the Brigg itself, but there were a few Gannets, Fulmars and Cormorants flying offshore, with Swallows and House Martins drinking from the pond and a Dunlin at the water's edge.

Filey Dams Local Nature Reserve had a small flock of Dunlin, plus about a dozen Snipe, lots of Mallard, some Teal, 3 Ruddy Duck and a Dabchick.

11 Sept 2004    Strimmed the path around the wood this afternoon, as well as a fifth of the beck.

9 Sept 2004    I carried out some serious hedge trimming today, cutting the hedges on both sides of the back lawn right down to size. Lots of clearing-up to do afterwards and then a stroll on the beach to recover. Flag continued to be 90% reliable throughout the day and right up until the point when I had just enough energy left to climb back up the steps to the car - and then he ran off to play with someone throwing stones in the sea and just would not come back again for about 25 minutes. Just what I wanted at that point.

8 Sept 2004    Hot, dry, sunny weather returned yesterday and today. A 15 minute count at the feeding station produced: Blue Tit 6, Chaffinch 6, Dunnock 2, Great Tit 2, Blackbird 1, Coal Tit 1, Greenfinch 1, Magpie 1, Marsh Tit 1, Robin 1, Wood Pigeon 1. There was also 1 Bank Vole and 1 croaking Frog. (0915 - 0930. 1/8 cloud. Calm, dry, warm). Later, a party of 6 Long Tailed Tits visited the feeders and a Nuthatch called in the woodyard.

6 Sept 2004    Today is cool and overcast, in complete contrast to the hot, dry , sunny weather during the week. Yesterday I finished removing the 50 yard length of redundant fencing, leaving just the old strainer post and its two props - far too well planted and too well protected in the middle of its bramble clump to attempt any uprooting!

4 Sept 2004    The hot, dry, sunny weather continues. Interesting how it starts immediately after the August Bank Holiday Monday and just when the kids have gone back to school. Poor things, with the temperature now over 70º F!

A Golden Aeshna Dragonfly is patrolling the beck and the pond on a methodical basis, flying across the patio every few minutes, as a magnificent male Golden Retriever stalks Lion-like across the savannah which is the lawn just behind the watering hole, totally intent on some small mammal scurrying through the grass. He raises a paw, leans forward, takes another step, inches closer, nose down, tail up, head tilted, listening intently, another slow and careful step, another listen, another slow and careful step and then a sudden pounce to grab some unsuspecting Shrew or Vole, a quick flick of the head, tossing it up in the air and watching it fall - straight into the pond with a resounding splash! Either the poor thing sank without trace or it scrabbled through the pond weed and escaped into the stonework, but either way poor Flag was left standing with a puzzled look on his face, wondering where his gazelle-flavoured mid-morning snack had gone...

1 September 2004    Yesterday and today have been the very first consecutive hot, dry, sunny days for weeks. Just what was needed to dry out the long grass and make strimming possible, so I did half the woodyard, half the silt pond, half the wildflower bank, a fifth of the beck, the orchard side of the drive, half the front bank, all the path along the top of the big orchard and down to Woodlands Drive, then all the way back along the top of the orchard wall. 3 hours it took (mad dogs and Irishmen)! Then another 1½ hours raking up the fallen bits of grass and brambles from Woodlands Drive. Then recover...

Weather for August 2004:     Rainfall 5½ inches (150 mm). Temperatures: Maximum 84º F (29º C). Minimum 38º F (4º C). Actual 56º F (13º C) at 0930 hours on 1/9/2004. A exceptionally wet month, one of the wettest Augusts ever recorded in England. Local hay making and grain harvests have been very poor, with crops flattened or the fields too wet for machinery. Many local agricultural shows (eg Danby and Egton) were badly affected, with fewer entries  in the flower and produce classes, cars having to be towed on and off the car park fields by a fleet of powerful tractors, and smaller crowds wading through the muddy showfields.

30/08/04    Had interesting chat with an American couple who knew Tom Whittaker the Gnome Man of Littlebeck, maker of the table and chairs in Groves Dyke Holiday Cottage. Click here for details...

29/08/04    A good weekend for a bit more gardening and for removing another 20 yards of redundant fencing in the wood. Pity the old fence is entirely overgrown by Bramble, Wild Rose and the occasional tree, most of which have to be removed to get at it! Except for the tree, of course, which had grown up through the mesh of the rusting  pignet, so it made much more sense to cut the wire instead.

28/08/04    After a very wet Egton Show on Wednesday, and another ¼ inch of rain in the rain gauge, the hot, dry and sunny weather has returned.

26/08/04    The Met Office has already proclaimed August 2004 as 'the wettest August ever recorded in England' - and there are still several days to go!

I saw Nutter the noisy Nuthatch on the peanut feeder while Redhead the young Green Woodpecker pecked and yaffled his way up the path from the car park to the wood, where a hungry young Tawny Owl was calling loudly for more parental attention. Not a bad selection while washing up at the kitchen sink!

24/08/04    Itinerary for a lovely day out on the purple moortop: To Fords the Butchers in Glaisdale for a small pork pie each, then to the village shop next door for tomato bread (from the Stonehouse Bakery in Danby), as well as some proper Wensleydale cheese and some fruit. Then to Lealholm and along Oakley Walls road from above Lealholmside towards Danby. Park at the left hand bend for a short stroll on the old 14th century Monks' Trod to the top of Lealholm Moor, then left across the open moor to the old stagecoach road. Left and left again to get back to the car, then on to the National Park's wonderful visitor centre at The Moors Centre, arriving in time for elevenses at the cafe, as well as a good look around the Centre and a chance to admire their nice new wild bird feeding station by the terraced garden.

Drive over the River Esk at Duck Bridge, up past Danby Castle into Little Fryup Dale, across Great Fryup Dale (how was breakfast?!) via Street and up onto Glaisdale Rigg. Turn right towards Rosedale but park with that magnificent view down the whole length of Glaisdale ('the Queen of the Dales') while you have your Purple Picnic in the middle of 192 square miles of Heather in full bloom.

Drive on to Rosedale, then up Chimney Bank (Gradient 1:2½, but they don't have a sign for anything steeper than '1:3!') and park in the nice new car park at the top for a level stroll past the remaining 8 giant kilns and along the old ironstone railway line around the moor edge to the new carved seat by the long abandoned Sherriff's  Pit. The rain fell and the thunder rumbled ominously, but we were delighted to meet a gentleman with his umbrella fully raised - how kind of him to attract any possible lightening strikes, as we walked safely in the opposite direction!

Back at the car we drove down towards Hutton-le-Hole, but turned left to Lastingham and searched-out the well hidden Lastingham Grange Hotel for some of their famous Afternoon Tea with proper homemade scones with proper jam and proper cream. The armchairs in their comfy lounge are strangely magnetic and held us captive for a while, but we broke free eventually and drove to Hutton-le-Hole. Then right to go up, up and away along a very purple Blakey Rigg, past the Lion pub (almost unchanged since its packhorse days), crossed the watershed by the medieval Young Ralph's Cross (logo of the North York Moors National Park), then down, down and down an equally purple Castleton Rigg to the bridge beyond the village, up the other side of the Esk Valley to the A171 at Lockwood Beck reservoir and right for home.

Wonderful!

23/08/04    This morning's heavy rain reached the top of the rain gauge so I emptied out the 5 inches so far this month... By tea time, another ¼ inch had fallen!

22/08/04    Over the weekend the weather behaved itself and I got some weeding done at the front of Groves Bank, as well as removing a length of long-redundant fencing from the wood.

The feeding station attracted: Blue Tit 4, Chaffinch 2, Dunnock 2, Great Tit 2, Nuthatch 2, Robin 2, Wood Pigeon 2, Coal Tit 1 and Green Finch 1 (1020-1035, 2/8 cloud, hot, dry and calm). Immediately after the 15-minute count, a Bank Vole and a Marsh Tit appeared.

20/08/04    Another 1½ inches of rain fell last night, bringing this month's total to 4¾ inches. Another ¼ inch and my rain gauge will start to overflow!

18/08/04    The fine sunny weather ended with another ½ inch of rain falling last night (3¼ inches so far this month).

Not nearly as bad as Boscastle in Cornwall, where 5 inches of rain fell in 8 hours this week, overwhelming the river, blocking the bridge with trees and debris, flooding the streets 10 feet deep and 150 people had to be plucked to safety by 5 Air Sea Rescue helicopters! Boscastle lies at the mouth of a narrow valley where short rivers drain the high ground of Bodmin Moor, rather similar to Whitby really - except Whitby, the River Esk and the North York Moors are on a bigger scale, and still we put new houses on the remaining flood plain and plan for even more buildings with the new Marina development...

When the River Esk flooded in July 1930 the old bridge at Sleights (3 miles upstream from Whitby) was soon blocked by fallen trees. It then acted as a dam, causing the river to rise by 24 feet and eventually the weight of water washed the bridge away completely. The plaque on the 'new' high level bridge in Sleights records the event and the same also happened in that flood to the old bridges at Egton and Glaisdale. Lealholm bridge survived, but the water level on that day is still recorded by a carving on the wall of Lealholm chapel.

All Whitby needs will be the wrong combination of a very high tide, low atmospheric pressure or onshore winds, prolonged heavy rain on the moortops, a few fallen trees and the odd drifting pleasure craft or pontoon to get jammed under the swing bridge...

15/08/04    Hot, dry and sunny weather for Whitby Regatta this weekend, but Danby Show was almost rained off last week. The damp summer has created a good crop of assorted fungi in the wood. The first Lords and Ladies have turned red, Fleabane is now in flower and two Rosebay Willowherb have appeared (and been weeded out again) near the viewpoint.

A new species for the wood today, with giant humanoid footprints appearing here and there on the paths. Big Foot? Sasquatch? Who knows? (Although I recently saw something very similar for sale at the Victoria Farm Garden Centre, Whitby...).

I layered a few more Hazel trees in the Second and Fourth Coups and also severed the branches I had pegged-down last year. This is the traditional way to extend a Hazel coppice, as Hazel cuttings just do not take.

14/08/04    My email is misbehaving again, so please be patient...

Today is hot, dry, fresh and very sunny (for a change). Has this has been the dullest, wettest, muggiest August ever? The rain gauge is now showing almost 3 inches of rain so far this month, but I did hear on the regional news that some parts of Northumberland have just had a month's worth of rain in 24 hours. Poor things!

Strimmed the path around the wood (again!), as well as half the Woodyard, half the Silt Pond margins and a fifth of the Beck. This has been the first day for weeks and weeks that the long grass has dried out enough to strim properly. The orchard is still waiting for the right combination of weather, availability, energy and inclination...

13/08/04    I heard today that a horse had been found dead in a field near Sleights - apparently struck by lightening in Wednesday night's thunderstorm. Strange that it  happened a couple of days ago, since today is Friday the thirteenth...

12/08/04    Horray! I got another letter from Everest today! Click here for the latest...

11/08/04    Another inch of rain fell overnight as the remnant of a tropical storm crosses over the UK. The weather this morning is no fresher, just overcast, hot and humid again - but less wet.

By teatime the weather broke and a magnificent thunderstorm rumbled across the moors. Impressive lightening flashes lit up the black sky and Flag retreated, shivering with fright, under my chair.

10/08/04    Heavy rain and thunder last night has brought the rain gauge up to ¾ of an inch. Today the recent pattern of hot, muggy weather continues, so the long wet grass never dries out enough to be strim-able, it just gets longer and longer. The path around the wood could do with yet another strim already and the orchard remains completely un-strimmed since last year!

08/08/04    Last night a couple of Froglets, about thumbnail size, set off across the vast inhospitable expanse of the back yard towards the car park - and were rescued by Grace, who ferried them to the long grass at the far side.

07/08/04    Finally got another (disappointing) reply from Everest: click here.

06/08/04    The noisy Nuthatch is now a daily visitor to the feeding station. A young  Woodmouse joined the 2 Bank Voles gleaning below the sunflower hearts feeder and the young Green Woodpecker continues to yaffle in and near the woodyard. Hot, dry, sunny weather continues but the ground is still too damp to slow down the ever-growing grass.

03/08/04    Heavy showers have started the month off with almost ½ inch of rain in the rain gauge. Mild, overcast weather continues and everything is growing apace - including the Bell Heather on the moortop, which is looking magnificent already.

01/08/04    Fifteen minutes birding this morning in mild, calm, overcast, dry weather showed: Blue Tit 4, Chaffinch 3, Dunnock 2, Great Tit 2, Coal Tit 1, Marsh Tit 1 and Wood Pigeon 1. A Bank Vole and a Wood Mouse appeared later, as did a very noisy and very hungry Nuthatch.

Weather for July 2004:     Rainfall 3½ inches (87 mm). Temperatures: Maximum 82º F (28º C). Minimum 43º F (6º C). Actual 60º F (16º C) at 0930 hours on 1/8/2004. A mild and very wet month. Occasional hot, dry sunny days ended by a thunderstorm, then again and again. Then lots of mild, overcast weather with a sea mist and occasional showers.

29/07/04    Very hot and sticky today, so I took Flag onto the beach this evening after the crowds had gone. Later and safely home again, the weather broke with a magnificent thunderstorm, lots of lightening and another ¼ inch of rain.

28/07/04    In the relative coolth of the evening I strimmed half the wildflower bank by the Stickery, a fifth of the beck, half the silt pond surroundings and half the woodyard. Phew - far too hot for any activity! Later, Flag enjoyed hunting small game in the newly mown area and finally came up with a Common Shrew.

27/07/04    Back to hot (80º F) and sunny days again. A large bronze Slow Worm, the biggest I have seen (about 12 inches long), was basking on the warm concrete steps by the Stickery. What a pity it has such an inappropriate name, being neither slow nor a worm, but rather a lizard with no legs (any jokes about a drunken lizard being a bit legless are not required, thank-you)! I introduced it to Flag and told him to leave it alone. Not that it could do any harm, but I didn't want him to hurt it.

25/07/04    Several hot, sunny days and then, this afternoon, a real thunderplump, with another ¼ inch of rain falling in just over an hour. That brings the running total for this month to 3¼ inches.

23/07/04    This morning a Roe doe leapt past me and continued down through the wood at top speed. The staghound was elsewhere, became aware, ran around a lot but to no avail and then came when I called him. What a mature, sensible and reformed character he is!

After lunch the first large tit flock of the season worked its way along the drive. It contained all the usual suspects (Blue, Coal, Great, Long Tailed) and 2 Treecreepers, which spiralled their way up the trees, rather than dangling from the twigs like the rest of the gang.

22/07/04    Strimmed the path around the wood (5th time this year!), plus the site for the new woodshed (where the caravan used to be), half of the wildflower bank near the Stickery and the verge fronting the drive. Phew!

Thunder, lightening and heavy rain this evening brought the hot, dry sunny days to an end, for the moment at least. The rain gauge is now showing 3 inches of rain this month.

19/07/04    Another dry, hot and sunny July-like day! Yesterday was even hot enough to take a very wet Flag to the 'walled garden' at Witz End cafe in Sandsend for lunch (mine, not his) after a morning on the beach. Its almost like summer, which is a very welcome change. The Upgang Sand Martin colony how has about 70 nest holes, probably not all of them occupied. Earlier this season there were only about 30.

17/07/04    Not only is the rain gauge now reading 2½ inches in 17 days, but yesterday I had to abandon hedge trimming when rain stopped play, then I found a young Rabbit with advanced myxie and had to do the decent thing and this morning a Tree Rat has been inside my conservatory and chewed the edges of the feed bin full of peanuts. That'll teach me to leave the door open overnight.

15/07/04    I heard a feature on BBC Radio 4 'You and Yours' consumer  programme about Everest and the Advertising Standards Authority's ruling on their advertising claims. More details under today's date on my Windows page (click here).

12/07/04    Back again! Not as soon as expected, so lots of catching up to do. I will fill in the gaps over the next few days, so watch this space... Everest do. Not so fast! My email still isn't working properly, so replies may take a little longer. Sorry.

A male Sparrowhawk swooped onto the feeding station this morning but missed everyone. He perched for a moment on the cross bar, then flew off.

The nice trainer for Yorkshire Tourist Board spent the morning here, showing me how to set up and manage 'live' realtime online bookings for Groves Dyke Holiday Cottage. By lunch time the new system was up and running - and my poor brain was down and out. Never mind, I'll get the hang of it - its only a jumped-up typewriter after all! If you want to check availability and book instantly, just go to Bookings, then Dates & Prices (soon to be renamed Availability). Don't worry, you can still book via all the old fashioned ways, as well.

11/07/04    Bright, calm, cloudy but DRY (at last)! A 15-minute count from my conservatory (1025-1040 hours) produced: Blue Tit 8; Great Tit 3; Chaffinch 2; Greenfinch 2; Bullfinch 1; Coal Tit 1; Collared Dove 1; Dunnock 1; Long Tailed Tit 1; Marsh Tit 1; Robin 1; Swift 1 and Bank Vole 1.

10/07/04    My rain gauge has now collected 2 inches of rain so far this month.

8/07/04    Cool northerly airflow continues, but not as cold as Birmingham and Nottingham, which had their coldest July day ever recorded. Perhaps 'Climate Change' is a better term than the misleading 'Global Warming.' Up here we were just plain wet, with another 1¼ inches of rain added to the Groves Dyke rain gauge today alone.

5/07/04    The heavens opened this morning in a most spectacular thunder plump. Sitting in a cliff top car ready for a walk, we waited for a full 15 minutes as the rain and hail (yes, hail stones) fell relentlessly. Within a few minutes the car park was awash. After 10 minutes it was a couple of inches deep in fast running water and the cliff top didn't seem such a sensible place to park. Another 5 minutes and the rain had eased enough for the windscreen wipers to catch up, so we were able to drive to a more reliable parking place. Still, its only July...

2/07/04    Flag and I were startled by a sudden 'flump' noise, as a Kestrel landed on the edge of the lawn just outside my conservatory. The noise was made as its out-stretched wings hit the ground. Perhaps it was using its wings as shock absorbers, thus freeing its feet to grab a small mammal instead. It must have been hovering overhead, silent and unseen, until the sudden impact startled Flag, who thought it was a Wood Pigeon, so rushed out barking and chased it away. No sign of any prey, so it may have been a worthwhile crash landing for the poor Kes.

This evening a Green Woodpecker hopped about the woodyard, then flew up onto the wooden electricity pole, called and was joined by another. And then another! All three of them clung to the pole for a few moments and then the whole family flew back into the wood.

Click here for 2004 (Jan - June) Wildlife Diary & News