July Jaunt

July 21st 2015

KEDLESTON - The Return



This month sees the return to the home of the inaugural meeting of the Gelly Babes - almost two years on. A bit of a grey day, not quite what was ordered but the sun did come out at some points and at least it didn't rain.

Two Helens, Lynn, Maggie and Jo all met in the car park pretty much on schedule. Pam couldn't make it due to her annual tidy up duties.

 

Marvellous!

 

We set off to do the walk through the woods - on the look out for interesting flora and fauna with orchids, damsel flies and evidence of badgers being the highlights but the question still remains - what does badger poo look like?

 

 Babes in the wood

 

Babes on the wood!

 

We were able to add to the bird list when we reached the lake:

Black-headed gull, Canada goose, Crow, Goosander, Great-crested grebe , Greylag goose (1^st  recorded for the year), Grey heron , Grey wagtail (1^st GB record), Jackdaw, Mallard, Moorhen , Mute swan, Pheasant , Raven, Swallow , Wood pigeon

16 for the day bringing our total up to 52 for the year - sadly no golden eagles or hen harriers!

What is life if full of care we have no time to stand and stare!

nearly there...

 

Back at the car park we set up our picnic and settled down to enjoy it along with a good long chat - a  highlight of which was Maggie's

pigeon up the chimney story!

Cheers!

 

the delicious 5am cake!

 

Another lovely jaunt, the next will be in September as the several babes are off on their travels.

 

 

 

 

 

June Jolly (the 2nd)

June Jolly

Cossall

16/06/2015

 

I am a bit late posting this due to puppies, moderation and holidays! But hopefully I can remember what we did.

 

looking to the fuchsia......

 

We all met at Reuben Shaw's garden centre for a very nice lunch and a long chat - first time in ages that all the babes have been able to join in the fun. A beautiful warm sunny day exactly as we ordered.

 

Definitely a home grown pair!

 

We had a look round the wonderful array of plants and a few purchases were made and then it was a drive in convoy to Cossall for  walk along the canal, thankfully Jo knew where she was going and Helen J made it safely round the Ikea roundabout.

 

It must be the way Jo tells them!

 

We did have. Map and a route but got a bit confused as to where we were supposed to go so to Helen J's consternation we made it up as we went along - with the help of some guidance from a nice man we met along the way!

 

Yes - there's one over there...

 

Baby moorhens

 

Baby coots - hopefully that is the right way round, they seemed to be sharing mums!

 

It was a lovely walk along the canal with lots of wild flowers to be spotted and some actually identified.

Dog Roses

 

 

Quick - add that one to the list Jo!

 

We then walked up into Cossall village which is very pretty but spoiled by the traffic and of course no walk is truly complete without a touch of culture so there was a spot of DH Lawrence and the 'Rainbow' thrown in for good measure. 

 

Forewarned is forearmed!

 

The locals were very pleased to see us.

 

Then back down through the fields to the canal to retrace our steps back to the car park.

 

Bringing up the rear!

 

 

Hard to believe this is just a mile or so from Ilkeston! Some interesting information here:

http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/articles/cossall/cossall1.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe... Maybe

Bloomin' marvellous  15th May 2015 

Maybe we can try nine mile walk in glorious weather?  Nah… ‘we’ only do gentle strolls… max 5 miles on the flat.

Maybe we could try ‘that’ restaurant?  Nah… recently closed.

Maybe we could try ‘the other one’ then?  Nah… too posh.

Maybe two of us meet up for a walk and see the rest of you at ‘the chosen’ restaurant?  Ahh… that sounds like a good plan! 

So, Jo and Helen J met at Jo’s house ready for the first steep climb of the day… parking on Jo’s drive, thank goodness for 4WD.  A hike upstairs to the kitchen with wonderful views over the garden, tempting yet another hike up to glorious views across the hills and garden.

Through the bedroom window

Jo’s suggestion of a lovely walk in Bow Woods, at Lea Bridge to see the bluebells seemed a lovely idea.  ‘I just amble’ says Jo, ‘and see where the path leads me.  It’s usually easier than following a map from an outdated book from the 1990’s!’. 

Hmmm, maybe Jo, maybe....

Tip-toe through the bluebells..

through more bluebells, tra-la-la-la-la-la....

And so, we ‘ambled’ up a very steep slope.. 

Helen J regretting not bringing her Nordic poles welcomed a gentle shove from Jo for that last little bit to the ridge. 

Point of information.  Alison Uttley born in Cromford, attended Lea Primary and played amongst these very woods. We searched high and low for Little Grey Rabbit and friends, Sam Pig, Tim Rabbit and Fuzzypeg hedgehog, but saw only  a mistle thrush hiding amongst the buttercups.

'Perhaps we aren't looking hard enough', said Jo.' Let's just amble on here a bit further'...

Just over this bit...

then under the next bit... 

Hmm, Jo.... 

Not content with an ambling walk, Jo decided to give Helen an ambling road tour.  Lea was lovely both times but we finally arrived at Lea Rhododendron Gardens. Although closed, we sneaked a look through the garden gate and it looked like 'The Stuff of Dreams'...

Through the garden gate

Tickled pink 

Finally , we paid our respects at the memorial commemorating the men of Dethick, Lea and Holloway who had fallen in the First World War. 

We salute you all...

And so to our evening meal and meeting up with Helen M, Lynn and Pam.  With exchanges of birthday presents and cards, we settled down to a lovely meal: sharing a couple of fish platters, bottle of prosecco and variety of pies.

Who ate all the pies? 

Chatter included the recent leadership contests and withdrawals; Pam’s posh pad in Paris; the lows of camping in Portugal (some of us have standards, you know) and the highs of camping in Spain (ensuite wet rooms for each pitch… that’s more like it).  

We missed Maggie's appearance.... or were we just not looking in the right places...

Our very own 'A Traveller in time' 

Marvellous March

 Hardwick

 23.03.15

 

 

With both Helens called away on family duties and Maggie preoccupied, three intrepid Babes met at Hardwick Hall on a chilly, cloudy morning.

 

The sweetly huddling lambs we passed on the meandering way to the car park were too cold even to contemplate gambolling!

 

However the early frost ensured that the bird and squirrel tables outside visitor reception were seething with acrobatic tits – great, coal and blue – and, as Jo went to fetch the binoculars she’d left in the car, a lesser spotted woodpecker, bold as you like, swooped in too. The robins, nuthatch, chaffinches and hedge sparrows cleared off temporarily, giving way. The friendly volunteer mentioned that raven and red kite had recently been spotted on the estate – Lynn became very excited! Sadly the woodpecker did not show himself when Jo and Pam reappeared, so we settled for delicious preparatory coffee and sharing photos of recent events.

 

 

 

 

Fortified, we ambled towards the magnificent Hall, agreeing that Bess must’ve been quite a girl! But we eschewed the built environment and headed down the very steep hill.

 

 We picked up speed as Jo bravely guarded us past some fierce-looking rare breed cows, and we approached the ponds. Synchronised Canada Geese performed balletically – although with their honking it was more like comic opera – and Pam attempted to capture the impressive sight in moving pictures.

 

 

 

The largest pond – why isn’t it a “lake”? – yielded great crested grebes, tufted duck, mallards and beautiful brown ducks with grey bills whose name none of us could remember, thereby identifying a further training opportunity for Helen J. We walked through a scrubby marshy area obviously in the process of being cleared, spotting goldfinches, and a pair of long-tailed tits ambitiously attempting to mate on a precarious branch. We hurried on, discreetly averting our eyes, one of us, can’t remember who, confessing that Springtime does have a rather unsettling effect ----

 

 

We had to make good time back up that same hill for Jo to leave for work, but managed to find the breath to catch up with news, spot song thrush and blackbird, appreciate the little buildings, nicely kept and well-used. Pam assured us this kind of walking (steeply uphill) is far easier with Nordic poles, and we resolved to test this at the earliest opportunity – more training necessary. It warmed us up tho’!

 

We acknowledged our needs in several areas today! We were definitely noisier than we would have been with HJ’s calming influence. Together Pam and Lynn cobbled together words and pictures, hoping that Helen M will sort the blog. Jo did the bird list – we were encouraged at the final count but we needed confirmation of identification from Helen J. And tricky terrain will be easier to negotiate for those with poles to wield.

 

 

Our timekeeping, however, was exemplary! At midday, Jo departed for work, Pam and Lynn had lunch together, the woodpecker did not reappear, and we hadn’t seen red kite or raven (although we got quite excited about what was probably a carrion crow). Pam finally headed off towards the Leabrooks Gallery to check out Helen’s exhibit, and Lynn went back to resume domestic duties.

 

 

Bird List:

Robin

pied Wagtail
Jay
Magpie
Buzzard
great tit

 chaffinch

 blue tit

 nuthatch

  canada geese

 Mallards
Thrush
Coots
wood pigeon

 dunnock

 teal

 Wren
great crested grebes

 swans

 goosander

 tufted ducks

 moorhen

 gold finch

 blackbird

 long tailed tit

 coal tit

 great spotted woodpecker

 Bird of the day – Great Spotted Woodpecker – but we only have Lynn’s word for that---------

 

 

February Foray

 ATTENBOROUGH ANTICS - THE RETURN

February 23rd 2015

 

 

This months outing sees the Babes returning to Attenborough - our birding skills are going to be tested to see if we have made the required levels of progress over the year. Unfortunately Maggie hasn't been able to join us this time so she will have to be tested next time.

Despite the dire weather forecast the outlook was quite good when we gathered at the visitor centre for coffee. We had plenty of time for a good gossip whilst we waited for Pam to arrive - the folly of following the satnav and ignoring the road signs!

 

These ones come to meet us!

 

Egyptian Goose - enjoying the sun 

 

 

These ones were  bit harder to spot!
 

Lynn has built in binocular vision

no artificial aids for her!

 

The wind was extremely cold so we were very grateful for the shelter of the hides, thankfully there was nothing untoward happening in them just other mad birders. The oystercatchers were a highlight although I think they were probably a little bit disappointed by the lack of oysters.

 

Spot the Goldeneye

 

Now you see it.......

Now you don't!

 

Such a pro!

 

Jo had to leave us at this point to go to work - I think she probably knew what the weather had in store for us later. We walked on along the river, still in he sunshine and thankfully out of the worst of the wind.

 



 Come on girls - time for lunch!

 

We headed back to the café at the visitor centre for lunch - it was extremely busy - why aren't all these people at work? But we finally got served and found a sheltered spot on the veranda outside to sit. The food was very good - broccoli soup was very tasty - and warming!

And if we weren't feeling chilly enough Helen J taunted us with tales of Tobago!

 

Scarlet Ibis - a very rare site at Attenborough

 

After lunch we gathered in the visitor centre to plan the afternoon activity but the weather took a very dramatic turn with rain, snow, sleet and hail blowing in.

The weather!

 

It was decided that coffee and cake was called for as none of us intended venturing outside - even Helen J wasn't tempted by talk of the elusive bittern!

 

The cake!

 

Bird  List for the day:

 

Black-headed gull

Blue tit

Buzzard*

Canada geese*

Chaffinch

Cormorant (‘spotting’ the one in full breeding plumage; also renamed a ‘Liver bird’ and confusing all non-GBs in the hide!!)

Crow*

Dunnock

Egyptian goose (escapee)

Feral pigeon

Great crested grebe (flirting a bit)

Great tit

Grey heron

Goldeneye (duck of the day; a dipping and a diving and being somewhat elusive )

Goosander*

House sparrow

Little grebe*

Long tailed tit*

Magpie

Mallard (scrapping quite a lot)

Moorhen*

Mute swan

Oystercatcher* (noisy bird of the day)

Pied wagtail

Red crested Pochard (escapee)

Robin

Shoveler*

Teal

Tufted ducks

Whooper swan (GB first)

Wood pigeon

Wren*

(32 birds in total for the day (including a feral pigeon which doesn’t appear on our spreadsheet)

45 for the year and it is only February!

Those marked * are new this year. 

 

This one gets my vote for duck of the decade!

 

All in all a lovely day and we all seem to be achieving our targets!