Monthly Archives: October 2020

Peaceful at the coast.

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Out and sea it was all happening in the Solent last night. Seven people were detained after Special forces boarded in darkness an oil tanker off the Isle of Wight following a suspected hijacking by stowaways within minutes a tense 10-hour stand-off was over. Concerns over the welfare of the crew of the 28-metre long Nave Andromeda were raised soon after 10am yesterday as the ship headed towards Fawley refinery in Southampton.

Visiting the sea today all was peaceful and without last nights newsfeeds and this mornings news we would have been none the wiser of the drama out at sea.

Sanderlings are now a daily visitor to the shore and will remain here until they return to their artic breeding grounds in the spring. The problem for these small birds is the number of people curently visiting the beach due to COVID restrictions and lack of indoor things to do – many visit the beach totally unaware of these visitors pushing the birds off from their resting spots as they charge along the beach.

Ringed Plovers are also along the shoreline but often only 3 or 4 birds are usually present.

Many UK birds live here all year round, but birds from Europe and birds from Greenland and Canada pass through on migration.

Gray Heron in Titchfield Haven

Some Mallard Ducks in close ups.

Bumper crop!

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It has been a bumper year for Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) toadstalls. I have seen many large clumps of this atractive fungi in many locations normally I consider myself luck if I see one or two.

    B is for Bee.

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    In the UK Ivy is one of the latest flowering native plants at this time of year. This makes it an extremely important source of nectar for honeybees, wasps, hoverflies and butterflies. The flowers have a distinctive scent which I find quiet unpleasant.