Eastcliff (Mules) Park



Teignmouth, Devon

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Blackbird
Magpie

1. Jews Ear fungus

Dunnock

Crow

Daffodils at Rowdens House
Long Tailed tit
male Pheasant
Great Spotted woodpecker
Blackcap


Nature Observations: Eastcliff(Mules)Park – January 2020
by Catherine Locke

8th January


Overcast, but mild today. In the park I have seen several families of Crows,


abundant Robins (at least 25), and 5 pairs of Blue tits. The Wood pidgeons have


begun calling to each other, in the build up to Spring. Alexander plants are growing


again prolifically on the banks. I heard and saw a lot of Great tits today, that


familiar type pumping repeated call. I noticed over the winter the Great tits have


quite a repertoire of different calls, but nearer the Spring they begin the 'tea-char,


tea-char' calls to each other. The blackbirds are tossing fallen leaves about with their


beaks in search of worms and beatles. In the meadow are families af chattering


magpies and a flock of twittering Goldfinches in the trees at the edge. I heard


a pair of Song thrushes calling with their varied repeated and very loud calls


unmistakeable as they sing far up in the tall trees. Several families of Grey squirrels


are foraging for nuts and seeds amongst the trees on the ground. So much bird song


today as the weather is mild and Spring-like. Dunnocks hopping around in


undergrowth near the peanut feeder in the Dell. Bright green heart-shaped leaves of


Butterbur which is beginning to flower now, the pale pink flowers looking like sweets


covered in dessicated coconut, as do the similar flowers of Winter Heliotrope. A cut


down and sectional trunk of a dead Fan palm was covered in 'fur' the same


orange/brown as that of an orangutan. The stream pouring under Trip-Trap bridge


in the Dell was bubbling gently, flowing into the top pond. In the woods of Rowdens


edge path I found Jews Ear fungus, like brown monks hoods, on a cut trunk of


laural. It is an edible fungus, best used in soups and stews. Found all year round,


mostly on the living or dead wood of Elder and other trees.


15th January


The wind had died down after yesterday's mad gale force winds from storm


Brendan. In the park abundant Robins, and a lot of pairs of Blue tits. I also


heard Dunnocks singing their Spring songs again, or calling with one short note


followed by two short notes together. Their song is so sweet and cheerful, evolving the


promise of Spring.


A commotion in a tall Sycamore at the edge of the park, by the boundary of


Cliffden's grounds, showed 10 Magpies attempting to remove a pair of very


stubborn crows from the tree. Obviously a territorial dispute, but the crows ignored


the noisy magpies, which eventually dispersed in ones and twos. I was happy to spot


a pair of Bullfinches in trees by Overdell Path. Near the peanut feeder above pond


no.3 , I saw a pair of Robins, a family of Great tits, and a group of 6 Dunnocks. I


heard the snorring whistles of a Bullfinch and the little stuttering calls of Long-


tailed tits. I also heard the 'shwee' call of a male Greenfinch. The daffodils all along


the edge of the neat garden of Rowdens House are actually in flower, their sunny


bonnets nodding in the breeze. These are always first to flower as they are planted


next to the sunny wall which keeps the bulbs nice and warm.



27th January


I took part in the RSPB Garden Birdwatch today. I did mine in the park as I


have only a little garden, and with two cats next door, I don't get birds in it often.


I went to the park quite late at around 4pm. Teignmouth had a sudden hail storm


earlier and there were piled up areas of hailstones in the park. I was glad for dry


weather and saw so many birds, which made me think 4pm is the best time of day


for bird watching in the winter apart from early in the morning. I saw so many


Blackbirds. They were everywhere, in pairs, alone, or in groups competing for the


loudest 'pinking' calls (these were all males) . In all I counted 27 throughout the


park. So many Robins too. I counted 25 of these. Other birds seen or heard were


Wood pidgeons, Magpies, Crows, a family of Jays, a male Pheasaant, Great tits, a


lot of Blue tits,  a couple of pairs of Coal tits, a couple of pairs of Long Tailed tits.


I saw two Bullfinches together, and then a male in his finery; black hood, sunset


reddish pink underside, grey back, black wing tips and tail, bright white patch under


the tail. A very handsome fellow.


At the top of the park, near the top meadow I saw a Great Spotted woodpecker


flying over head towards the top of a tree. He made a 'chip' noise as he flew. I got a


look at him in the tree through my binoculars. Then he was joined by a female and


their juvenile youngster that hatched last summer. Great to see all three of them.


I heard a raucous family of Jays in the woods, but couldn't see them. At the very top


of the park, as the light was beginning to fade I saw a group of noisy male


Blackbirds, some chasing others away, or using sound to dominate. Amongst all the


Blackbirds other birds had arrived to listen to their chorus; a pair of Chaffinches


(seen rarily in the park), a pair of Long Tailed tits, and a Blue tit. Going down the


edge of the park by a hedgerow, I heard the sharp 'tack'of a male Blackcap and I


watched a Song thrush as it sang it's clear, loud phrases of repeated notes. A Wren


rattled in the undergrowth. Dunnocks sang their pretty warbling song as dusk


approached. The last birds to be heard are always the Robin and the Blackbird,


just as they are often the first.

 

                                                                                          Catherine Locke


                                                                                          go to February diary



Photo credits
1. url https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Auricularia_auricula-judae_Lodz(Poland)(js)01.jpg
attribution Jerzy Strzelecki / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

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