Yellow Wood Anemone

Yellow Wood Anemone Anemone ranunculoides, Drayton Beauchamp Churchyard (21/04/2012)

A little colony of Yellow Wood Anemone grows in a quiet neglected corner of Drayton Beauchamp Churchyard, close to Wilstone Reservoir. This delicate little plant, also known as Buttercup Anemone is related to Anemome nemorosa, the familiar Wood Anemone or Windflower that decorates sunny roadside banks in early spring. Yellow Anemones are widely cultivated in gardens especially by rock garden enthusiasts and are frequently escapes, often naturalising in shady places and rough ground.

Yellow Wood Anemone Anemone ranunculoides, Drayton Beauchamp Churchyard (21/04/2012)

Yellow Wood Anemone Anemone ranunculoides, Drayton Beauchamp Churchyard (21/04/2012)

Ivinghoe Beacon

A couple of weeks ago I had an uncharacteristic rush of blood to the head and leapt out of bed at 5.00am on Saturday morning and headed excitedly to Ivinghoe Beacon, my plan to try and find the Redstarts that had been seen on the hills late the evening before. As I drove up the winding road to the Beacon car park I noticed that the temperature gauge in the car was reading only 3 degree and my enthusiasm rapidly started to wane. The hills were swathed in low cloud and murk and looked decided unappealing, and as I stepped out of the car my worst fears were realized. It was bitterly cold and the stiff north-east wind soon told me in no uncertain terms that I was badly under-dressed. There was little chance of a Redstart emerging from the bushes in such miserable weather, so I trudged up to the top of the Beacon to try and find a Ring Ouzel, without doubt one of my favourite birds. There had been up to 13 Ouzels on the rabbit scarred southerly slope of the Beacon over the previous week, and I had been lucky enough to witness 10 of these enigmatic birds rise up from the hill and gather into a noisy flock over my head - an unforgettable moment. I managed to locate 3 birds in the gloom before heading back to the car, the icy wind still nagging at my back, my fingers numb and consumed by the feeling that I should have stayed in bed. Ironically, later that morning, on the way home, I saw a beautiful male Redstart flitting along a hedgerow in the cold morning sun, near Drayton Beauchamp village, only a mile or so from my house.

The view from Ivinghoe Beacon, early morning, (14/04/2012)

Grasshopper Warbler

For a couple of weeks this Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia showed well from Willows next to the Grand Union towpath at Marsworth Reservoir. In typical fashion the bird spent much of the time reeling from deep in tangled bushes or from low in the reeds, but occasionally it would perch half way up a small Salix and let rip. Despite the tree being so close to the busy towpath the bird seemed completely unconcerned by the noisy passers by and would often reel in the open for several minutes before flitting down into cover. Grasshopper Warblers are not easy to photograph at the best of times but this showy little bird gave all the local photographers a fighting chance to get some good shots, many of which far outshone my efforts. As time passed the bird became more and more elusive but it may still be around, although there have been no reports recently.

Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia - Marsworth Reservoir (14/04/2012)

Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia - Marsworth Reservoir (14/04/2012)