The Magpie's Hoard

Bombycilla Bonanza!

Today I finally caught up with the huge flock of waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus) that has been stripping the berries from roadside trees in the High Storrs district of Sheffield.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, waxwing numbers have been building steadily since late October. Sheffield Bird Study Group reported 300+ birds at High Storrs yesterday, but I only counted about 120 today. It looks as though the birds are now dispersing across the city, with large flocks turning up at Sharrow, Heeley and elsewhere.

The flock at High Storrs was rather jittery, only settling to feed for a few seconds at a time. This was due partly to the presence of patrolling sparrowhawk, and partly to the close proximity of a gang of ornithological paparazzi (including myself)!

[Please note: All of the images that I publish on the web are copyrighted: © Roger Butterfield, all rights reserved. Please do not download or use my pictures in publications, presentations, websites or blogs without first obtaining my express permission. If you do wish to use a picture, please contact me and I will respond as quickly as I can.]

Shooting Stars

A few weeks ago I visited Potteric Carr Nature Reserve to photograph fungi. I was particularly keen to get some pictures of earthstars (Geastrum sp).

As it turned out, my visit was very well-timed. I was able to photograph specimens of collared earthstar (Geastrum triplex) at various stages of development:

unopened...

opening...

freshly opened...

mature...

I also found a few specimens of a much smaller earthstar - possibly Geastrum fimbriatum.

[Please note: All of the images that I publish on the web are copyrighted: © Roger Butterfield, all rights reserved. Please do not download or use my pictures in publications, presentations, websites or blogs without first obtaining my express permission. If you do wish to use a picture, please contact me and I will respond as quickly as I can.]

Winter Visitors

This lunch-time I saw my first waxwings of the season. The were ten of them, perched in the crown of a lime tree on Cemetery Avenue, Sheffield. Although I had my camera with me, the birds were too high in the tree for me to get a decent shot. After a few minutes they flew off towards Berkeley Precinct.

Waxwing numbers have been building slowly since the first ones were spotted locally on 24 October. According to Sheffield Bird Study Group, a flock of 40 was seen at Dobbin Hill yesterday.

Meanwhile, in our garden, the first continental blackbird of the winter appeared a few days ago. Today I saw a song thrush too - the first since March.