Inspired by a wild Dormouse and wild about a captive Harvest mouse

It's 2 years since I wrote a blog, mostly I just write short tweets on Twitter now because most people are busy, don't follow links on Social Media and prefer short sound bites of information.  But I have something more lengthy I want to say about the BBC Countryfile Calendar competition result on Sunday

The overall People's choice was a photograph of a Harvest Mouse in a hollowed out apple. It was a lovely photo that most of us who enjoy wildlife photography would have been proud of.  At least until you find out how it was taken. The details of how it was taken were shared on Sunday's BBC Countryfile program after the votes took place and after the announcement was made - there was no going back then.

It seems the mouse was one of several captive mice held in a clear plastic tank by a licensed handler who placed them onto a small black plastic tray decorated with moss and other props such as the hollowed out red apple.  A mouse tries to get off the tray but as John Craven demonstrates if you blow on it the poor thing retreats to the apple and the photographer gets her shot.

According to John Craven this is all within the rules of the BBC Countryfile calendar competition.  You can't take photographs of Pets or animals in zoos but you can photograph captive wildlife as long as you declare how you got the photograph.  This does beg the question - what is the definition of a pet and a zoo?  It seems to me the lines are blurred here.  But leaving that aside and assuming the photograph is within the rules should it have been selected as the winning photograph and did the public know what they were voting for?  Many of us believe this is morally wrong even if it is right by the BBC Countryfile competition rule book.  At a time when wildlife is in crisis we should be encouraging people to get outdoors and discover, connect with and love wildlife in its natural habitat.  In my view Countryfile are sending all the wrong messages

But for me it is much more personal.  Last year I was awarded first prize in the RSPB 2019 'Inspired by Nature' calendar competition for my photograph of a Dormouse.  This week it happens that the RSPB announced on Twitter the opening of their 2021 Calendar competition and already people are making comments about mistrusting the results on their timeline.

I want to set the record straight both for myself and for the RSPB so I'm going to do that here.

On 24 June 2017 I was due to go on a group walk with Devon Birds to the RSPB Powderham reserve on Exminster Marshes.  At the last minute the group cancelled due to a road closure.  I lived within walking distance so decided to go anyway. It's a lovely quiet reserve with just one path taking you to a viewpoint and you return on the same path. No dogs are permitted so you don't see many people out there.  That morning I saw no one else on the reserve at all, I had it all to myself which is not unusual.  The butterflies are always a joy in the summer and I was photographing some Peacock Butterfly caterpillars.

Then as I walked a few steps further I noticed a very small brown fluffy thing hanging on the end of a tall blade of grass dangling right over the path.  I looked through the binoculars and could see it was a mouse but unsure what species I slowly moved closer, as I did the creature climbed down and further into the grass to the left of the path. I realised it had probably felt the vibration of my movement along the ground.  I had a 100-400mm lens on my camera so sat down at the side of the path about 3m away and waited ... and waited.  I could see the grass moving so I knew something was still there and gradually that something came into sight - it was a Dormouse!  It was 11am on a sunny Saturday and there was a Dormouse infront of me!!!   

The photos below are the first uncropped images I took which I've never processed, editted  or published before - to show how the mouse looked to me in its natural habitat in those first few moments.

As I sat still the Dormouse came out more into the open right in front of me.  It was feeding, grooming and appeared to be playing with its' tail. It even took short naps from time to time.  I took about 300 photos and several short films, then I put my camera down and continued to watch this utterly delightful creature looking totally at ease in its natural habitat.  I spent an hour with that mouse, right on the overgrown path.  I was frightened to leave in case someone came along the path and trod on it! In the end it moved further into the brambles at the side of the path and I felt I could leave.

When I returned home I emailed the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) to notifiy them of the sighting and Peter Otley, the site manager for the reserve to ask if he knew they had Dormice on the reserve.  On the following Monday Peter confirmed that this was the first reported sighting of a Dormouse on the reserve and it has since changed the way the site is managed.  Peter has also confirmed that further Dormice have been sighted and nests made.

The PTES asked to see some of the video footage and they confirmed this was a healthy young Dormouse which are sometimes active during daylight hours. They went on to use the footage for conservation purposes and some of the photos were used by the RSPB and Devon Wildlife Trust also for conservation purposes.

I have never entered a photographic competition before but decided to enter the 2019 RSPB Inspired by Nature calendar competition with the following photo as I felt this little mouse belonged in their calendar.  They clearly felt the same way and I was so proud to win first prize!  It appeared on the front cover and in August.

There was nothing artificial about the way this photo was obtained, it was truly the result of just getting out there into nature with camera in hand.  The photo has been processed from RAW to JPEG, it was cropped and brightened a little but apart from that it's almost straight off the camera. To the left here is a screenshot of the original RAW file. Anyone could have got this photo possibly even with a good phone camera.


This little mouse has given me more joy than I can ever put into words, not just the time spent with it; the way it affected management of the reserve; the people I met as a result and the memories I have together with the photos and film I still look at from time to time.  I wonder if the winner of the BBC Countryfile calendar feels the same joy from her encounter with the Harvest mice someone put on a plastic tray on a patio outside the back door for her to photograph.

I really hope others feel inspired to get out there in the natural environment to find their own wildlife encounters and experience the joy of sharing these encounters with other like-minded people who appreciate the natural world as it should be - natural and wild.  It's food for the soul.

Note: I did not enter the BBC Countryfile competition so this is not sour grapes

Norfolk Coast Birding Trip - Part Two Titchwell to Holkham and Brancaster Staithe to Cley

Titchwell to Holkham and Brancaster Staithe to Cley

Tuesday 12 September I left Diglea Campsite at 8am and drove 12 miles North East along the coast to RSPB Titchwell.  Although there are no allocated spaces for Motorhomes, thankfully there's no height barrier and my Campervan is only 6m long, so I managed to park easily in one of the car parking spaces.

The weather was fine and the car park quickly filled up, people were obviously keen to get back outside after a showery and blustery day on Monday.  The first thing that struck me was the amount of dog walkers.  As the week progressed I soon realised the attraction of RSPB Titchwell to dog walkers - much of the Norfolk coastline is muddy or marshy.  At Titchwell the main path through the reserve is hard surfaced and leads straight from the car park to the white sandy beach.  There are nice views of the lagoons and benches well positioned along the way, there's even a nice cafe at the visitor centre to grab a coffee and cake after your walk, or picnic benches for those wishing to bring their own.   It's actually a very attractive and easy place to take a walk.  The parking is free to members displaying a membership card in the window and £5 to non-members. 

All that aside, the birding there is great.  Initially I chose to take the quieter 'Meadow' path South which leads to a large lagoon where a few Pochards, Gadwall, Little Grebes, Tufted Ducks, Shelduck and Mallards could be seen quite close to the viewing screen.  Swallows, Martins and Terns swooped over the lagoon and as I looked to the skies a Hobby flew from the South across the lagoon, had a quick fruitless tussle with a Martin and flew away almost as quickly as it appeared.  I missed the 'action' shot, but I managed a quick photo before it disappeared out of site.

Hobby

I was a little disappointed that this path just stopped after a short way at the side of the lagoon.  The sign talked about the habitat being suited to Bearded Tits and encouraged the walker to explore the lagoon side path - but the path didn't go very far.  So I returned to join the hoards along the single main path through the reserve.  The path gives great views of the surrounding marshes and it wasn't long before I saw 3 distant Marsh Harriers, one of which was a stunning male - a first for me.

Male Marsh Harrier

A short way along the path is the Island hide, which was buzzing with birders and looks out onto a shallow lagoon, which is mostly wet muds - perfect for waders and they clearly loved it!  A number of Ruff were ridiculously close to the hide.  

Ruff

Further out in the waters were Avocets, Godwits, Dunlin and Redshank.  A couple of Golden Plover were roosting on a spit in the middle of the lagoon with some Bar-tailed Godwits.  But the big excitement were 2 Little Stint which flew in just as I arrived.  They remained quite distant and very mobile but I managed a few distant photographs

Little Stint

Further out on the beach there were a number of birders with scopes sea-watching and I felt tempted to join them, but the wind was still very strong and I had left my scope in the van, so I only managed about 10 minutes before feeling the urge to move on.  In that time I managed a couple of Great Crested Grebes on the sea and a small flock of Common Scoters flying past.  Oh and the ever-present Sandwich Terns were screaching over-head.  On the return walk a couple of Bearded Tits flew right across my path from one reed bed to another and they disappeared deep into the reeds out of sight.  I lingered here for another 15 minutes or so, I heard one single 'Ping' but that was it, no evidence of a Bearded Tit again, much to my disappointment.

By early afternoon I was on my way along the coast again, to Holkham Estate. I had read that the deciduous trees on the sheltered side of Holkham Pines can be good for migrants in September.  Well the winds weren't in my favour for this, being Westerly and the only migrant I saw was a Chiffchaff!  

The path to the North leads to a couple of hides and takes you eventually out to the sand dunes and onto the wide sandy beach.  I met a couple of birders in the first hide who pointed out to me through the scope, the first Pink Footed Geese of the year which they'd recorded feeding in one of the fields near the coast road, some distance from the hide - a nice sighting for me too.  The rest of my walk around the area and out onto the beach was a quiet one.  Plenty of dog walkers and dogs running loose all over the place, horse riders too, but apart from a flock of Linnets and the odd Skylark, the only other bird worthy of mention was this delightful Wheatear, in moult. 

Northern Wheatear

The parking at Holkham is a bit pricey and I'd only paid for 2 hours, so I never made it to the furthest hide where I'm told Spoonbills breed. Holkham is quite nice but I think it was the wrong time of year for birds, either that or too many loose dogs maybe.

My campsite for the night was to be my home for the next 3 nights as it was just so perfect in every way  Deepdale Backpackers Hostel and Campsite.  Open only to backpackers, tents and motorhomes (no caravans) this is a very quiet place used mainly by those walking the coast path and enjoying the amazing wildlife and nature in the vicinity. The facilities are superb and the new shower block offers huge fully equipped wetrooms.  The adjacent foodstore and row of pop-up shops had a kind of up-market Farmshop feel about it and the two local pubs offered both a superb restaurant over-looking the salt marshes and coast; and a more relaxed pizza-style pub, both within walking distance.  The customer service and attention from the staff in the campsite reception is superb and not once did I feel alone or insecure at this campsite, I will definitely stay here again and it is now my favourite campsite in the UK.

From the campsite it is a short walk across the road to the Norfolk coast path and a mile to the North is the National Trust fishing port of Brancaster Staithe, which is an interesting site, but is also where Curlews, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Turnstone and Gulls enjoy the extensive and very slippery(!!!) muds.  All of these can be seen at fairly close quarters. Marsh Harriers were also common here and I witnessed the odd Spoonbill flyover.  I spent each evening walking this part of the coast path and coming back covered in sticky mud as a result of my attempts to photograph some of these birds.  Luckily the campsite is well equipped with outside showers for muddy walkers!

Curlew in the sunset

Spoonbill flyover

Common Gull

Another attraction of staying at Deepdale is its' fairly close proximity to Norfolk Wildlife Trust Cley Marshes.  On the morning of 13 September the Westerly winds were blowing at around 70 mph but I had my heart set on visiting Cley and hopefully seeing the Pectoral Sandpiper which had been there for a few days.  I arrived at the reserve car park at 8.30am and was the only vehicle in the visitors' car park!  The visitor centre doesn't open until 10am and it's a ticket-only reserve but I met a member of staff - 'Gary' who at first told me I was a bit mad to go out in these winds, but also told me to go ahead and pay when I got back.

I walked (or battled against the wind would be a better description as it was really difficult to remain standing up!) down to the very exposed East Bank where the sandpiper had previously been sighted and after scanning the first pool on my right I was delighted to glimpse the delightful bird feeding in the muds among the Ruff.  The sun was against me and the winds made it almost impossible to hold the camera still, even the binoculars became challenging.  So the only option was to sit down on the ground, raise my knees and hold the camera firmly against them to try and get a few shots.  Having taken sufficient photos to have a good record of the sighting I moved on further down the East Bank to the first hide which looked out onto a larger pool full of Grey Lag Geese, Teal and common waders.  At this point I decided to give in to the wind and return to one of the hides nearer the Visitor Centre. Again, there was a variety of common waders but they were quite a long way from the hide and a couple of birders said the birding at the other hides weren't very good today as a digger was doing some landscaping works nearby.  After paying my £5 at the Visitor Centre I returned to the campervan content that I'd seen the Pectoral Sandpiper and knowing that Cley is without doubt somewhere I will return to explore further one day.

Pectoral Sandpiper

Norfolk Coast Birding Trip Part One - Snettisham

Snettisham

This time it was just me, my camper and my camera for a week's birding.

Despite the forecast of strong Westerly winds and heavy showers, I chose to visit the Norfolk coast for the first time.  Being the 2nd week in September, Autumn migration was beginning to get underway and I knew ideally NE winds would bring the best results for spotting migrants on this part of the East coast, but I had always wanted to see the Wader Spectacular on The Wash from the Wader Viewpoint at RSPB Snettisham.

At the highest of tides, the waders are pushed off the vast mud flats of the Wash and into the air in great flocks, making an impressive spectacle.  Many will then take refuge in the lagoons behind the sea wall on the RSPB Reserve where you can watch from one of several water's edge hides.

On Monday 11 September, the High Tide was at 10.18am and over 7m high, whilst not the highest of tides - I had missed these in August - there was still a good chance of witnessing the spectacle.

On Sunday 10 September I set off on the 6 hour drive from Devon to Snettisham, armed with maps of the main places I hoped to explore during my stay in Norfolk.

• RSPB Snettisham with its adjacent Beach and Country Park
• RSPB Titchwell Marsh
• Branscaster Staithe
• Holkham Beach and Pines
• NWT Cley Marshes

My first stop was Diglea Caravan Park just 100m from the entrance to RSPB Snettisham.  I checked in for 2 nights, had a quick cuppa then quickly set off to familiarise myself with the RSPB reserve in preparation for the following day's adventure.  It's about a 3 mile walk from the car park to the Wader Spectacle point and back, but I think you could view the spectacle reasonably well from anywhere along the beach path.  The tide was low this evening and through the binoculars I could see waders such as Grey Plover, Oyster Catchers, Red Knot, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Dunlin and Ringed Plover scattered all over the vast sea of mud, but to fully appreciate the extent of the numbers you need a Scope. There were hundreds of Greylag Geese in the fields adjacent to the reserve car park and on the lagoons; with at least 50 Egyptian Geese scattered amongst them.

Eqyptian Geese

It was getting dark by the time I returned to the camper, but I now felt comfortable with where I had to go and how long it would take the following morning to be in situe ready for the high tide wader spectacular.

At 7am the following morning, head bursting with excitement I set off for the reserve, taking a slow stroll through the sheltered scrubby areas which lead onto the beach path. The wind was cold and strong, but visibility was good. I was first onto the reserve but others soon caught up with me and by the time I got to the beach path several others joined me.

About an hour before high tide, the waters started to show signs of coming in over the muds and the waders started to gather in larger numbers nearer the shore.  Around 40 minutes before high tide several huge clouds of birds took to the skies in the distance on the far side of the Wash, towards Frampton Marsh area. 

Meanwhile, large numbers of Oyster Catchers were gathering on the remaining strip of mud in front of Snettisham Beach.  Starting at the North end of the beach they gradually marched their way along ahead of the tide as it quickly spread towards the West end of the beach and the Wader Viewpoint.




Moments later the Oyster Catchers' race against the incoming tide was lost and as the one at the rear appeared to bump into the bird in front, the whole lot took to the sky like a set of Dominoes.



The Oyster Catchers took refuge in a grassy area of mud flats in front of the wader viewpoint and moments later, just beyond them a huge flock of waders took to the skies right in front of us. Thousands of birds jostled for their space in the sky.  It was incredible they didn't all crash into each other and it left me thinking if this were humans there would be a mass of bones and blubber everywhere!!!

Wader Spectacular

And that was it, the end of a fantastic wader spectacle and worth the long drive; the long walk; the strong, cold winds and the early start.

With the main event over, we all took to the hides overlooking the lagoons to see what birds might have taken refuge here now the tide covered most of the muds. However, as it was not the highest of waters many birds were still on the remaining area of muds left at the very West end of the Wash.

The big excitement from the Shoreline Hide was a Spoonbill which had decided to roost and preen itself close to the hide and in the distance on the far side of the lagoon a juvenile Black Tern was hovering and dipping into the water.

Spoonbill

The Black Tern was too far to photograph, but three days later I returned to the reserve as I wanted to explore Snettisham Beach and Country Park areas further North, this time I had more success as no less than 3 Black Terns were present and one kindly landed on the island in front of the Shoreline hide on the Southern lagoon, just as I had been photographing a nearby Common Tern.

Black Tern Juvenile

Another highlight of RSPB Snettisham is the Terns.  Common Terns breed on the lagoon and it was an absolute joy to sit in the hides and watch parents feeding their young.  Out on the main beach it is easy to spot Sandwich Terns feeding and often landing on the edge of the water.

Common Tern parent feeding juvenile

Common Tern juvenile learning to fly

Common Tern parent encouraging juvenile to fly

Common Tern juveniles

"Where's mine Mum?"

At the end of my Wader Spectacular day at Snettisham I enjoyed superb fish and chips just along the road from the reserve entrance and a short walk back to the camper where I finished the day with Strawberry and Lime Cider whilst downloading my photos of the day.  A very blissful and successful day at Snettisham.

As mentioned earlier, 3 days later I returned to Snettisham to explore the beach and country park further North from the RSPB Reserve.  There had been reports of a juvenile Red Backed Shrike in the country park, but it was some distance further North and I wasn't sure if I'd get that far as I was keen to spend time photographing the waders along the shoreline as the tide receded.

There was a great deal of weather during my stay in Norfolk and on this day I got the whole variety from warm sunshine to thunder and hail storms, always accompanied by strong Westerly winds. Thankfully I'd invested in good waterproofs before my visit and being unable to find a Ladies waterproof jacket in any colour other than pink or purple, I'd settled for a small man's olive green jacket, which thankfully seems to be designed for a beer belly and loose enough to tuck my camera inside during the worst weather.

Whilst photographing Sanderling running along the frothy waves in the sun, I spotted a Purple Sandpiper with them.  Turning the camera to the Sandpiper the skies suddenly blackened, the wind blew stronger and hail began to hammer into me and the birds I was photographing.  Struggling to hold the camera and lens still enough to keep photographing, I frantically clicked through my settings trying to maintain enough light and shutter speed to continue capturing what I was seeing - the Purple Sandpiper and the Sanderlings were fighting against the weather with the same agonising expressions on their faces as I must have had on my face as the sting of the hail and the force of the cold wind attacked us all.

Purple Sandpiper in the hail storm

Purple Sandpiper drying out after the storm 

Sanderling running along the frothy waves in the sun

Sanderling battling against the hail storm

As quick as the hail had came down, the sun reappeared at such speed, but all the time the Westerly wind blew.  I crouched on the beach fighting to keep my handheld camera and 400mm lens fixed firmly on the birds I was photographing. It was the toughest photographic challenge I'd faced for many months but I was loving it!  I've always thought of the (Red) Knot a fairly plain bird when I've seen them in the winter, but these juvenile Knot looked quite stunning in the late afternoon light.

(Red) Knot Juveniles

There was a nice variety of waders along the shoreline and as the tide receded further, more and more birds flew onto the muds.  Ringed Plovers and Sanderlings were the first to appear, but the Knot, Curlew, Oyster Catchers, Dunlin and Grey Plover soon followed.

It was a treat to see a few male Grey Plover still sporting their breeding plumage and looking anything but 'Grey'.

Grey Plover male in breeding plumage

As predicted, I ran out of time to fully explore the Snettisham Country Park, but I took a walk along the beach path beside the park with the wind behind me and returned via the sheltered route back through the park to the Camper which on this occasion I'd left parked in the Beach Car Park at £3.50 for the day as I was no longer staying at the Diglea campsite, I had moved 12 miles further South along the coast to a very nice Campsite at Brancaster - more of that in part 2 of my Norfolk Birding Trip blog.

A couple of Whitethroat appeared from the brambles in the Country Park but I never spotted the juvenile Red-backed Shrike, despite keeping an eye on every Dog Rose bush I passed.  Having seen and photographed plenty of Red-backed Shrike in the Cevennes in France earlier this year, I wasn't too upset about it, but it's always nice to see a bird like that in the UK.

As I drove away from Snettisham I knew it had got under my skin, I would be back and hopefully soon!

Big Birding and meeting Noah on Avalon Marshes, Somerset

It was time I visited the RSPB Hamwall and adjoining Natural England Shapwick reserves.  Well that's what several other birders suggested recently.  So we decided to get our Campervan 'Patience' into action for a few days.  A quick bit of research uncovered a distinct shortage of caravan sites near the reserves, but there was a large site just outside Glastonbury 'The Isle of Avalon' near the cycle route running past the reserve.  So that's where we stayed.  It was fine, the facilities were quite good, but it was noisy and busy being August.

An attractive 20 minute cycle through quiet droves and tracks took us to these very nice and very BIG reserves.

Image from RSPB.org.uk

 

They are so vast that everything feels kind of distant. In our 3 days we covered only a small part of the reserves, even though the first two days were on bike. On the 3rd day we took the Campervan to the RSPB Car Park and walked into the nature trails off the main paths.  This was delightful and the reed lined ditches along the tracks were twittering, shrieking and squawking with life.

It's easy for me to spend many hours alongside a ditch or a hedge watching birds going about their business as I find it all captivating.  But oddly many birders seem to be on a mission to bypass these little gems to get to a particular hide, with the biggest and best gear to capture photos of the biggest and best bird that their phone has alerted them to.  This week at Shapwick it was an Osprey called 'Noah'.  Well we called him Noah because apparently he had spent the last 3 days or so in the same dead tree on the lagoon overlooked by a very small hide called 'Noah's Hide'.  Maybe it was 'Noah's Lagoon' I don't know because we abandoned the map on day one, finding it inadequate for the task of navigating around the reserve.  

I'm not a tick box birder or a collector but eventually, we decided we should at least go and check out 'Noah' as undoubtedly Twitter would be asking if I had bagged a photo of the celebrity Osprey on my visit.  

We followed the bumpy track into the woods and found the hide to be heaving, hot and small.  It was overflowing with regulars who seemed to know Noah's every move for the last 3 days.  Some of them had been up since 4.30am to get that unique shot which no one else had captured. I wondered if Noah was aware of his dedicated fan club.

Noah was in his tree, a long way from the hide and my 300mm zoom lacked the oomph required for the job.  I balanced on the steps to the hide and took a few wobbly, distant shots.  Luckily Noah had just caught a fish and decided to circle the tree with it, showing it off, before settling down for his lunch.  So my distant shot did at least show him stretching his wings in full glory and you can kind of see a fish at his feet.

Having got the ‘Noah’ thing over with I was eager to get back to see what else was happening on the reserves.  There were a couple of distant Glossy Ibis, a Marsh Harrier and I managed to spot one Bittern – apparently I had missed no less than nine ‘flyovers’ by Bitterns the previous day.  Such is the nature of ‘Birding tales' – much like ‘fishing tales’.

So with all the ‘Big Birding’ out of the way I got down to enjoying what I enjoy most, watching the little things going on around me.  There were too many of these to mention – Black Caps rustling in the Elderberries, Reed Warblers frantically fattening up their late youngsters ready for the long migration South and Cetti’s Warblers tormenting me from behind the thick layers of reeds with their exotic call. Just a few of the fascinating things going on in this fabulous reserve.

One of these special moments happened to be a dear little Chiffchaff who seemed as intrigued by me as I was by him (or her – I can’t tell these things with juvenile Chiffchaffs).