Thursday 11th.December 2008

Tuesday and Wednesday volunteering on the Greensand Ridge near Westerham produced zero wildlife sighting , hence no postings .

Today , helping with habitat management up on the Common could only get better . On my way there , on a very cold morning , I stopped off at Keston Ponds , to see if anything new had arrived . Answer no , in fact , Duck , Goose and Gull numbers were well down , with no sign of the Mandarins , and what were there were confined to small areas of open water , one on each of the two main ponds , the rest being frozen over from bank to bank with a covering of overnight snow in the middle . I was just about to leave , when the grey clouds parted momentarily and a milky Winter sun shone through the bare branches , and , as quickly as it showed , it disappeared back behind the greyness again , but I did manage a shot in the brief interlude .

On the Common , the job in hand was glade creation , removing Sycamore and Ash trees that were shading out the area . With chainsaw in hand and a roaring fire going , Wildlife once again did not come in to the equation . But , lo and behold , we were joined by a pair of Robins , so tame , that you would think they were in your garden and that you fed them regularly . They really seemed to be getting a good supply of food , disturbed by what we were doing .

On one tree , I noticed a fungi that I have been looking for all Autumn , without success . It is Tremella mesenterica-Yellow Brain Fungus . It was about 3/4 mtrs. up and stood out brightly on a grey day .

Later on , I found a smaller specimen on a dead twig at ground level .

The only other thing of note was a large mixed Tit flock passing through as we prepared to leave , and on the end of it a single Goldcrest .As I arrived home , the Jackdaws were starting to roost , and about 50 , increasing all the time , were settling down in three large Lime trees , 31 alone in this one .

To finish , just three shots from the back bedroom window on Monday . The first a pair of Rose Ringed Parakeets on the Cotoneaster berries . The one on the left is actually on the same branch as the other , but seems to be doing a 'Monty Python' upside down routine .

A male Great Spotted Woodpecker that stayed for ages .

And a Wren that wanted to be seen and heard .