(Sunday 8th February)
Over to Loggerheads Country Park in Denbighshire this morning. An overcast morning, peaking at 7°C, it was at least dry – for the first time in several days. In fact, the sun came out temporarily, although only as we made our way home! Much of the UK has been hit by a prolonged spell of extraordinarily wet weather so far this year, with many areas flooded, so it was a relief to see that the Loggerheads flood defence works that were completed recently have proven successful. Still, the volume of rushing water in the River Alyn reflected the amount of rainfall that has fallen in recent weeks.
Snowdrops decorated the ground here and there and we saw a few clusters of Jelly ear fungus as we wandered down the Leete path.
Jelly ear fungus
On an old tree-stump at the water’s edge, we saw Nuthatches darting in from nearby trees to collect nuts which had been left by someone concerned for the winter welfare of the local bird population. They didn’t hang round long, so getting photographs was a bit tricky.
Nuthatch collecting food
We’ve seen crows feeding here before, but this was the first time we’d witnessed Nuthatches helping themselves! Slightly bigger than a Robin, these birds have quite a distinctive shape to them, having large heads and short tails. Their wings and back are slate grey and they have an orange-red underbelly. Their white throat and cheek are separated by a black eye-stripe that always reminds me of a mask-wearing bandit, although perhaps that’s just me!
There were two Nuthatches and, based on their well-defined colouring, I think they were both males – females tend to have a more muted complexion – and each of them took it in turns to land on the ‘platform’ of the tree trunk. Nuthatches, incidentally, are the only UK birds that can walk up and down tree trunks, which their strong feet and claws allow them to do. (Treecreepers and woodpeckers can walk up but not down). The name Nuthatch comes from their habit of lodging nuts firmly into the bark of trees, then repeatedly pecking at them so as to get to the edible kernel inside.
Carrion crow reminding the Nuthatches of its territorial rights
Eventually, a Carrion crow alighted on the trunk, at which point the Nuthatches sensibly took refuge in the nearby trees. The crow didn’t seem to be feeding – it was probably just reminding its avian cousins that this was its territory!
Bat hanging around
We continued down the path to the wooden bridge where the Bat likes to hang out. It’s hard to believe that, where these torrents of water were flowing so forcefully today, that the river can be reduced to a trickle, or even dry up completely during long spells without rain, particularly in the summer months.
The River Alyn at full spate
The birds were evidently enjoying this particular change in the weather as much as we were: we saw Chaffinches, Blue tits, Great tits and Woodpigeons making the most of it. We spotted a couple of our old friends, too: first, the White-throated dipper presented itself for a photo-opportunity and then we saw the Grey wagtail who was trawling along the sandy mud of the far riverbank. Always a pleasure to see these two birds.
White-throated dipper
Grey wagtail
The important stuff
Over to The Mill House café (Tŷ’r Felin), where we had our customary cappuccinos and a cake each – Toffee Biscoff for Stu and Vegan Cookie for Col. It was still dry but we sat inside by the Mill anyway. Very pleasant.
