buzzard rescue

this morning as I was driving slowly into work along the frozen lanes a young buzzard flew out of the hedgerow straight into the front of the car, falling between the wheels. When I went back to check, it was still alive but with obvious damage to its right wing. I am never quite sure what to do in these situations, but I decided to wrap the bird up in my coat and try to save it. For a large bird it was immediately and surprisingly calm thus restrained. Steering one handed with the buzzard under my left arm we returned home, rang up the RSPCA, and with a case number and their instructions took the bird to our nearest vets (Calweton) with the help of one of my neighbours, Derek, who is holding the buzzard in this photo, and his springer spaniel Moss. The buzzard was thin and malnourished and has obviously been struggling to find anything to eat in the cold weather. The nurse at Calweton said that they have a couple of people who specialise in rehabilitating raptors but I suspect the prognosis is not good. I have noticed several buzzards recently at a much lower level in the woods than normal. It was an unfortunate way in which to see one of these magnificent birds at such close quarters.

Out for a walk

the light in the morning is lovely at this time of year. In the distance, on the other side of the Inny valley you can see the little village of Treburley (home of the Springer Spaniel pub). I think the Lurcher would also be a winning name for a local pub.

Try clicking on the lane label under this picture to get a flavour of our lanes through the year.

and it remains cold

out today we saw a fox ambling across a field which is unusual in broad daylight, the cold must be forcing them out to scavenge. We also came across deer, badger and otter footprints.

New Year 2

the first view from Kit Hill below is towards Plymouth. The English Channel is the thin sliver of bright light at the top right.
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The second view is of Brentor sitting in front of the main mass of Dartmoor. It is usually much more difficult to pick out from the background.
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Brentor is the little pimple like hill (plus church) to be seen just below the russet brown line of Dartmoor on the far horizon . It is a strange place (see link) with many legends (see link)

the New Year

It has been unusually cold for this part of the world recently. From the Saturday before Christmas until the middle of last week the roads were covered with sheet ice and many people couldn't even get out of their houses. Car travel was almost impossible without 4 wheel drive. After a brief milder spell, it has turned very cold again. The air is very calm and clear. The views from Kit Hill were spectacular and the quarry was frozen over for the first time in Spot's experience, who can be seen assessing the situation very gingerly (and no, he wasn't allowed to walk on to the ice) .

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and a better view from Carthamartha

we returned to Bishop's rock this morning (with permission) to get a better picture of this strangely quiet and isolated part of the Tamar valley

tamar flow

lovely colours in the Tamar as it flows over a salmon (?) weir above Endsleigh

bird at prey...when it stops raining

After seven weeks of incessant rain the sun has finally come out. It was a lovely misty morning. All the local buzzards immediately headed for their favourite perches on the top of telegraph poles where they can watch rabbits from a far. Unusually, this buzzard did not object to being photographed; too busy sun bathing.

down at Inny foot

if you are an avid reader of Spot's blog you may remember a picture of him standing by a tree in the middle of the Inny (see link). Here is the same tree, 10 feet under water. There appears to be a bulge in the water level here presumably because it is where the Tamar (in spate in the background) and the Inny meet. The water level rises dramatically under these conditions.

Below is a tangled wood photo. It turns out that this pond is by a very ancient road down to the ford at this point. In the mist we can hear the faint sound of footsteps of people long gone, tramping towards the future.

bishop's rock, Carthamartha

we were very lucky today because we met Mr Nigel Jonas on our walk. He owns the woodland that leads to Bishop's rock, a rocky crag overlooking the Tamar valley below Carthamartha (and also known as Carthamartha rocks on older maps). He showed us the splendid view from the top of the rocks. Unfortunately, even after all this time, the photographer forgot to reset his camera for the bright light. So this is a somewhat doctored picture of a buzzard wheeling in the valley below. This link will give a better idea of the view (link). It seems to be a very ancient landscape with numerous iron age hill forts, and a bronze age trackway leading down to one of the easiest fords across the Tamar although in this weather, to use an old joke, England would be cut off.

squall over Dartmoor

and still it rains, the ewes must be soaked. Dartmoor is on the far horizon, Hingston Down to the right.

where's my ball

Spot in his autumn colours, and Cassie showing no sign of fear in pursuit of an old football lodged beneath the waterfall.

traveller's joy

our native wild clematis, showing why it is sometimes called old man's beard.

one of my favourite birds

a pair of nuthatches arrived at the bird table today, probably blown here by the gales. I don't know why but they are amongst my favourite birds. Very busy and quite aggressive with everyone else.

it's getting wet

much more rain on the saturated ground and it will flood. Very strong winds blowing today, the English hurricane season has started.

easter island comes to Bodmin moor

carved out of the granite, quarry on Bodmin moor

and fieldfares too

one of a tired flock, fresh in from the continent

starlings return

more from Giverny

autumn colours

all blogged out

no, not a scene from the valley but an image of the stunning beauty of Monet's lily pond at Giverny which we visited on our recent travels via Santander, Haro, Alquezar, Rodes, Apchat and Chevreuse. It is reassuring somehow to see how similar our own beautiful valley can be to Giverny. And to realise that Monet was truly the father of digital photography.

Giverny

Kit Hill Quarry (!)

What with the wind and rain, poorly knees and Harriet managing to cut her hind leg badly it is time to take a break from blogging for a bit.

If you are visiting the blog for the first time there are many pictures of the Tamar valley and its flora and fauna within the blog, best viewed by using the labels in the list on the left hand side of this page, or by searching on a specific word or phrase.

We will be back when we are all strong enough to go for a proper walk!

woundwort and hawkweed

hedge woundwort flowers through to October and is often this deep purple. At this time of year most flowers seem to be yellow or purple. Below is a common but striking flower the brilliant yellow narrow leaved hawkweed.

a sawfly (or hover fly ... more research required) eating the pollen off the anthers of some late flowering wild honeysuckle

damsons

it has been a bumper year for wild plums. These are growing in the hedgerow at the bottom of our garden. The plums are called damsons, possibly because they originate in or around Damascus, and were introduced to Britain by the Romans (see Wikipaedia).

carletta comes to visit

Carletta came all the way from Maine to visit us. As you can see she was very easy to train, and we quickly had ourselves eating out of the palm of her hand. The woods and meadows are a bit drab at the moment, but it was nice to have a visitor. Anyone else for a guided tour? (please bring own biscuits).

and a late comma

and a late comma, with very pretty markings on the border of its wings. This is the second generation, and usually they are darker. I thought this specimen was lighter but when I checked for earlier images it is actually darker which may be why the markings on the edge of the wing show up more clearly.

field full of scabious

the meadows are full of scabious. I think this is devil's bit scabious, rather than field scabious, Devon in the background. The scabious in these meadows seems quite variable and comes in two distinct colours, dark blue purple and pinkish, and some in between.
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a seed is born

himalayan balsam spreads its seeds by exploding the seed pod when it is touched. The fragment is the remnant of the coiled spring after it has released the seed pod. Great fun, but very invasive.

more green from the valley

everywhere seems to be a very luscious green at the moment. This is taken at one of our favourite places to take a dip before the serious business of the long walk begins. A tree has fallen into the river adding to the sense of lush vegetation on the river; sometimes with the birds singing in the canopy it feels almost like a tropical jungle.

goldenrod

goldenrod (an american import) and willowherb (rosebay) seed heads, described as tall and aggressive (!), is this fair I ask myself. Sun has shone for 9 consecutive days, this is a record.

and a swim in the Lynher

the light shining through the trees along the banks often creates these beautiful dappled scenes

on the moor

it has been a lovely warm clear blue-skyed day today and there is no where better to enjoy the day than up on the moors. The standing stones are the Hurlers.