January 2014

2nd January 2014
Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire

Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)

After a dull, dark and wet New Year's Day, it was a welcome relief that the following day was beautiful and sunny with clear blue skies. To celebrate the start of what I hope will be a fantastically exciting year filled with lots of long trips to exotic locations, I spent the day taking advantage of the beautiful weather by photographing the woodland birds in the nearby Sherwood Forest.

Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)

The day didn't get off to a great start when I realised I had forgotten to bring the birdseed with me (Doh!) and none of the official feeding stations had any food in them. Thankfully, a few of the numerous dog-walkers regularly bring along food for the birds and it wasn't too long before there was a constant stream of bird coming to one of the bird tables.

Coal Tit (Periparus ater)

Great Tit (Parus major)

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Away from the feeding station, the forest was generally very quiet, with the birds well dispersed and difficult to find unless you stumbled across a feeding tit flock, so this patch of beautiful orange fungi growning on the end of a cut tree trunk provided a welcome diversion...

Velvet Shank or Winter Fungus (Flammulina velutipes)

December 2013 2014 index 8th-9th January 2014