Grey Squirrel
Robin
Crow
Cyclamen
Wren
Wood pidgeon
Tutsan St. John's Wort berries
Herb Robert
Red campion
Winter twilight in the park
Nature Observations: Eastcliff(Mules)Park – November 2019
by Catherine Locke
Sunday 3rd November
The grey Squirrels have a lot of autumnal brown in their fur now, except in the
feathering tails and in their faces. I saw so many squirrels today in the park. I
heard a lot of Robins too, mostly 'titting' sounds to warn other Robins away from
their patch.
I saw lots of Goldfinches in the branches of the tall trees and heard them twittering
loudly. In the Dell, near a peanut feeder hanging over a garden fence I saw Great
tits, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Wood pidgeons plus more grey squirrels and Robins.
Around the back of the high wall of the Walled Garden I found King Alfred Cakes
fungus on rotting logs. In Finch Copse below the Six Sister oaks I saw a flock of
Blue tits and Golfinches flitting across the path of the natural tree tunnel. I saw
flocks of Wood pidgeons flying over the park. Safety in numbers when the trees are
bare of leaves.
6th November
An overcast, drizzly day. Juvenile grey squirrels played chase in the Monterey
pines near the park steps. Swarms of gnats under the trees. I saw Wood pidgeons,
Blackbirds, Wrens, a pair of Bullfinches plus a lone male. A lot of families of
crows, usually in groups of four, around the park. A lot of orange/red Stinking iris
berries spilling from their split green pods under the trees of Overdell Path. A family
of four Dunnocks hopping around in a pile of cut Beech branches in the Dell. A pair
of Coal tits on the peanut feeder there. A slim Beech tree near the Trip-Trap Bridge
in the Dell is a fountain of gold. On the wooded path around the Rowdens lawn I
found a Candle Snuff fungus on a rotting log under some Holm Oak trees. Pretty
pink rabbits ears of Cyclamen flowering by the path also, but in a spot where more
light filtered through. They looked such a lovely bright splash of colour against their
dark spider web variagated leaves.
16th November
Some Tree Mallow plants growing near the park steps are now around 6ft tall. I
had written about the wonders of ivy in my September and October diary and a
month later it is still providing shelter for many birds and insects, and nest sites for
Wrens and Wood pidgeons. It provides winter berries for thrushes and now I can
see there is a swarm of tiny flies taking nectar from some late ivy flowers on a large
clump growing over a wire fence. Today in the park I saw Blackbirds, families of
Magpies, pairs of Blue tits and Great tits. There were Blue tits and a pair of Coal
tits on the peanut feeder in the Dell. A lot of Wood pidgeons. I was lucky to see a
pair of Great Spotted woodpeckers flying over tall trees in undulating quick bursts of
flight. The male landed on the very top of a tall Ash tree and made noisy 'chip chip'
calls. In a smaller young Ash tree there was a Jay with a Wood pidgeon, and
another Jay further on. A pair of twittering Goldfinches flew over the park near
'Finch Copse' . There were several old Wood pidgeon nests in the trees there. Also in
the copse I saw Blue tits, a pair of Great tits, and a lovely striking male Bullfinch.
30th November
Overcast with a very strong Easterly wind blowing. Crows heading into the blast
closed their wings and almost dived into it to make some headway. Robins tried to
be heard by singing loudly above the roar of the wind and waves below. Tree-tops
swaying madly, adding to the symphony. The holly bushes were dotted with red
berries, food for Blackbird, Song thrushes, Fieldfares, Redwings and Mistle
thrushes. I can see berries of Tutsan a pale pinkish red, some have now shrivelled to
black. Herb Robert is flowering. I spotted two large flocks of Goldfinches sheltering
in trees near the Dell. Both flocks took to the skies converging from opposite
directions to make one large flock that settled in a mature Ash tree in the Dell. All
the ponds were full and overflowing one into the other in loud gushing waterfalls. Red
Campion is still flowering. A female Kestral was watching me from the very top of
thin bare tree near The Walled Garden when suddenly a Magpie harrased her, to be
joined by its mate. Outnumbered the kestral flew off. In a mature English oak by the
Overdell Path a family group of 7 Blue tits hopped around. I was pretty sure the
parents had nested in that oak tree as I had seen them going in and out of a hole
there in the summer. In the majestic Monterey pine tree above Trip-Trap Bridge in
the Dell I heard and then saw a Great Spotted woodpecker. Even from there I could
hear the constant rush and roar of the sea pounding against Brunel's sea wall.
Winter Twilight
The sun bedding down
in the West
has the blush of a Bullfinch's breast
and the sky wears the hue
of a Kingfisher's blue
and of all that is true
and is best
by Catherine Locke