30 March 2021

 

Headed up for a walk around the back nine of the Red this morning and played 12 holes on the Green this evening.  Great to see the flags back in.  

I found a Drooping Star-of-Bethlehem in the rough short left of the 15th tee on the Red.  It is an introduced species, but quite a striking one.  

Drooping Star-of-Bethlehem Ornithogalum nutans [15th Red]

Lots of Linnets around at the moment.  Look out for these noisy finches in the gorse and in the birch trees.  There were flocks around the 15th and 5th of the Red this morning.

Linnet [5th Red]

A pair of Red-legged Partridges seem to be centred around the Greenkeepers hut on the Green.  I'm not sure if it was the same pair that I saw around the clubhouse over the winter.

Red-legged Partridge [6th Green]

Lots of Stock Doves around the course.  These three are usually around the Greenkeepers' hut on the Blue.  Another pair is often on the left of the 2nd on the Blue.

Stock Doves [16th Blue]

27 March 2021

 

Last weekend of lockdown, so had a long walk around all of the courses.  A couple more flowers to add to the list.  Field Mouse-ear is starting to flower on the edge of the 15th fairway on the Red.

Field Mouse-ear [15th Red]

Thale cress is a rather inconspicuous weed, but it is notable for being the first plant species to have its genome sequenced.

Thale Cress [5th Red]

I notice that the area to the right of the 10th tee on the Green is taped off.  I would imagine that this is to protect the Maiden Pink which grows there and which is one of the rarest plants on the course.  Look out for it from mid-June.  

There were 4 species of birds of prey on a thermal above the 17th Blue - Red Kite, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Peregrine.  The Peregrine was a long way up, but is just about identifiable from this heavily cropped image:

Peregrine [17th Blue]

Lots of Crossbills about still.  I think that they must be nesting somewhere nearby as they are usually very early breeders.  This male was by the greenkeeper's hut on the Blue.  

Crossbill [16th Blue]

When feeding on pine cones they use their unusually shaped beak to prize apart to the cone and extract the seeds with their tongue.

4 Greylag Geese flew over the 4th on the Blue, including a white one at the back.

Otherwise I had distant views of the Kingfisher on the 1st/2nd/3rd of the Blue and the normal selection of common birds.

Woodpigeon [16th Blue]

Hedge Sparrow [3rd Blue]

23 March 2021

 

Had a walk early the last couple of mornings.  Plenty of Crossbills and Siskins about as usual.  Also managed to spot a couple of new flowers.

Colts-foot is always one of the first flowers to appear at the end of winter.  This one was to the left of the pond on the 3rd Blue.  It is a slightly unusual plant in that the flowers appear well before the leaves.

Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara [3rd Blue]

Rather unobtrusive and difficult to spot is Hairy Bitter-cress.  It is actually all over the course, but particularly near the wall around the 7th tee on the Green course and the Doghouse range.  

Hairy Bittercress Cardamine hirsuta [5th Red]

A couple of people have related that there were otters on the 1st on the Blue last year and the greenkeepers recently mentioned to me that they appear to have returned as they found fish remains on the trail between the pond and the nearby stream.  I put up a trail camera to watch this for the last few nights.  I appreciate that it's not exactly Planet Earth - but I think that the two moving white dots in this video are an otter....

The photo is marginally more convincing..

Otter [1st Blue]

There were 3 Reed Bunting on the pond on the 4th Blue with two males (bottom) fighting over a female (top).

Reed Buntings [4th Blue]

and the Song Thrush singing on its usual branch to the left of the 3rd green on the Blue:

Song Thrush [3rd Blue]

I spotted a Kingfisher above the pond on the farm behind the 2nd tee on the Blue.  I photographed this for a while before realising that it was a garden ornament (it was quite a long way away.).

20 March 21

Had a walk around the boundary of the Red and Blue and the Doghouse range this morning.  A few more signs on spring, including some frog spawn in the fen on the 16th Red.

Took a friend along today with some more botanical expertise who deduced that the violets in flower were Sweet Violets rather than Early Dog Violets and was able to point out some Field Wood Rush on the Doghouse range.

Sweet Violet Viola odorata [Doghouse range]

Field Wood Rush Luzula campestris [Doghouse range]

There was a pair of Reed Buntings in the reeds in the pond on the right of the 4th on the Blue.  This is a male, not quite in full summer plumage yet.  Its three note song is quite characteristic, if not particularly musical.

Reed Bunting [4th Blue]

Large numbers of Crossbills all over the course, Siskins, Redpolls and Stock Doves by the Greenkeepers hut.

17 March 2021

 

Had a day off today, so had a good walk around all of the courses and the Doghouse range.  The courses are looking good and it will be good to have the camera back in the golf bag again in a couple of weeks.

I had a good look for flowers today.  Most notable were the Violets which I found next to the 18th tee on the Green and in the Doghouse range.  Three different patches of plants with three very different colours - all seemed to be the same species - Sweet Violet. 

Sweet Violets Viola odorata [18th Green]

Sweet Violet Viola odorata [Doghouse range]

A couple of attractive garden escapees were also flowering.  Siberian Squill, on the edge of the 5th and 12th on the Red and Oregon-Grape around much of the boundary of the Red course.

Siberian Squill Scilla siberica [Doghouse range]

Oregon-Grape Mahonia aquifolium [12th Red]

More mundane, but perhaps more authentic, were the Ground Ivy and Dog's Mercury to the left of the 13th tee on the Red.

Ground-Ivy Glechoma hederacea [13th Red]

Dog's Mercury Mercurialis perennis [13th Red]

Other flowers visible included:

Green Alkanet Pentaglotis sempervirens [Doghouse range]

White Dead-nettle Lamium album [Doghouse range]

Red Dead-nettle Lamium purpureum [12th Red]

Common Whitlow-grass Erophila verna [Doghouse range]

Lesser Periwinkle Vinca minor [Doghouse range]

A few Bumblebees were around the gorse at the back of the 16th tee on the Red.

Buff-tailed Bumblebee [16th Green]

There were also a few birds around.

Pied Wagtail [reservoir]

Nuthatch [9th Red]

Green Woodpecker [2nd Blue]

15 March 2021

Had a quick early morning walk around the range and reservoir in the sunshine this morning.  The pine trees around the Greenkeepers' hut were full of Redpolls, Siskins, Crossbills and Goldfinches.  The usual pair of Stock Doves were also close by.

Redpoll [4th Red]

Siskin [4th Red]

Stock Dove [16th Blue]

14 March 2021

 

Had a quick trip down to the 2nd on the Blue early this morning to have a look for the Kingfishers.  Having caught glimpses of them over the last week or so and spoken to the greenkeepers, the most reliable place to see them is the stream in front of the green on this hole.

Kingfisher [2nd Blue]

It is always a privilege to see Kingfishers. There was a pair today, moving between the hazard posts and in and out of the stream and then onto the bridge.

Kingfisher [2nd Blue]

In the bottom photo you can see the iridescent feathers on the back that provides the flash of turquoise when a Kingfisher flies past - as you can see at the end of the brief video below.

A pair of Grey Wagtails also frequent this area.  Here they are on top of the same bridge.  

Grey Wagtails [2nd Blue]

There really are a lot of birds in this area of the course, whilst watching the Kingfishers I also saw a pair of Moorhens, Goldfinches and Siskins feeding on the fallen seeds, Mistle Thrushes, Redwings and Blackbirds feeding on the fairway, a Wren flying between the stream and its nest, a Great Tit singing and Green Woodpeckers flying across the fairway.

Great Tit [2nd Blue]

I had a quick look at the reservoir on the way back to the car park and there were a pair of Greylag Geese in addition to 5 noisy Canada Geese.