Tarka Returns to Thetford

We stood on a muddy river bank, under a dull grey sky, with the threat of snow in the air but there was a smile on every face.  The otter had found a group of photographers and was putting on a show for the cameras.

When we arrived there had been one lone photographer but no otter.  Two more guys were wandering up and down the bank and in the distance we spotted two more looking excited as an otter frolicked on the bank in front of them.  We quietly hurried across and caught a brief view as it swam away.

It was when we were returning from our walk we got the best views.  There were about fifteen photographers following this lively creature along the river as it swam and dived and ate and popped up to look at us.  Brilliant!

Otters were on the brink of extinction after their numbers fell by 95% between 1950 and 1970 but our rivers are now cleaner and the otter is a protected species so the population is rising again.  It is doing so well some fishing groups are calling for a cull!

Further down the river we found the Black-bellied Dipper.  It was first spotted by the BTO Director of Services, Andrew Scott, back in November 2012.  It has stayed in the same location ever since and has

become one of the most-recorded individual bird in the BTO BirdTrack in 2013.

On the home front I spent an hour tidying up a border yesterday and spotted all the jobs I wanted to get on with if only we didn't have a forecast for snow over the weekend!  So frustrating!  The greenhouse is in full swing though so plenty of pottering to do and a giant hole to fill in ....

All the photos by Andy Mason because I forgot to take a camera!

BARGAINS

ALDI are selling packs of vegetable plug plants for £1.99 this week - choose from tomatoes; lettuce; peppers and cauliflowers.  They are also selling fruit plants - pack of six Elsanta strawberries for £2.99 or fruit bushes in 2lt pots for the same price - redcurrant; raspberry; red or green gooseberry; blackberry; blackcurrant or blueberry.  For £4.99 there's a choice of ten ornamental trees or for £5.99 there are five different Rhododendrons in 5lt pots.

Rooko at Don't Lose the Plot tells us B&Q are selling off seed potatoes (£1.50 per bag of 25 pots).

Dipping & Diving

Blandford Forum is a market town on the River Stour in Dorset. Last Monday I spent a few minutes standing on the new bridge over the river and could not believe the wealth of wildlife. I was within walking distance of a Morrison's and a busy carpark yet a kingfisher was sitting in a tree watching us whilst we were watching the otters.

 It is a well known urban site for otters ... even more so now it has been featured on 'Winter Watch'.  We were only there a few minutes when we spotted this one feeding near the bank.  It posed for a few shots then teased us by pretending it was swimming closer but dived every time my camera was focussed.  Suddenly a Black Headed Gull swooped in and screamed for re-enforcements and the otter had to swim for cover. 

A few minutes later we were watching a male swan lovingly mimic his mates movements until her tail went up and he was able to show the world how much he cared!
 

We were in Hampshire to see the Dark-eyed Junco -



Dark-eyed Junco



only the thirty-eighth recorded sighting for Britain so

quite a rare bird.  We made our way to the Hawkhill

Enclosure in the New Forest and joined a small group

of birders.  There were plenty of Chaffinches and

Reed Buntings and Common Crossbills ... but no

Junco ... until  we arrived!  If only it was always that

easy!  He is a first winter male who should be in an

American forest right now but somehow endured

the long flight and has been drawing the crowd since Christmas.

Then it was off to see the Spanish Sparrow.

Spanish Sparrow

  
I saw a number of these last October on Fuerteventura ... a long way from Calshot.  This one was in the middle of a housing estate.  A young woman had been feeding the birds and noticed a strange sparrow.  It is a stunning bird.  He looks magnificent in his breeding plummage .  Such a shame.
 

Before heading home on Wednesday we took a two hour detour to see a Common Yellowthroat. The rain began as we crossed the toll bridge into Wales.  We found the field and joined thirteen birders prepared to brave the elements for a view of this little North American warbler.  We waited two and a half hours in the wind and horizontal rain.  We had dipped out so we headed home.  It was a disappointed man who drove me back.  He is even more disappointed now because I found this blog from a man who saw the bird just thirty minutes after we left!  


DALE FARM GUEST HOUSE

Dale Farm Guest House, Dibden

  

We stayed in this cosy 18th century farm house at Applemore Hill near Southampton.  Surrounded by beautiful gardens and woodland it is a lovely, peaceful place to stay if you are planning a trip to the New Forest.



Old bridge at Blandford Forum





Common Buzzard



River Stour Blandford

 


Robin in the New Forest



Photographs copyright Andy Mason