The Brightest Star of the Evening

Continuing the catch up with more on an astronomical theme – this one is from 05 December 2013.

In my previous entry I wrote about the wonders of sunsets and seeing Venus shine in the evening sky, at that stage I thought that was the best that Venus could get. A bright star within a darkening sky, but how mistaken was I?! A few days after this, Venus began to coincide with the rising of the moon and on this evening, with a sky that was clear apart from a few light smudges of remaining cloud that caught and reflected the dying oranges of the sunset, the moon and Venus were the brightest objects in the sky. Standing bright and clear, dominating the evening sky long before any of the other stars could be seen.

The Dying Rays of the Sun – 05 December 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

It was sometime later that I discovered that on the nights of the 05 and 06 December that I was seeing Venus at its brightest for this apparition. In fact at this point in time it was the third brightest object in the sky, after the sun and moon. Certainly on this evening the moon and Venus dominated the twilight skies, leading the way towards night.

The Moon and Venus – 05 December 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Lost Naturalist Goes Hi-tec

For those of you that can’t live without your technology, the Lost Naturalist has joined the 21st century, by adding a QR (Quick Response) code to the site, so that you can now read my blog while on the go, on your mobile phone, ipad, tablet etc, anywhere.

Just download a QR app (most of which I’m told are free) from your app store, scan the image – either below this entry or on the side bar, and follow Lost Naturalist on-line wherever and whenever you like.

 Meanwhile I’m returning to quill and parchment for my next entry…

Boxes

This is the third blog from the first weekend in June – taken from Monday 4th June 2012.

What will be in the box today? Tree Sparrows, Blue Tits or Wasps? Take your pick!!

So the morning saw the continuation of the bird theme, assisting the expert as we rung a variety of chicks, this time from a number of nest boxes.

The first out of the box were some Tree Sparrows. This first bunch were so mature, that as the lid of the box was opened, one, not so chick-like Tree Sparrow, exploded out and disappeared into a nearby bush, before it could be confined and ringed. Mature they might have been, but for the first time it gave the opportunity to see a Tree Sparrow up close. We don’t get too many of those in the Scottish Borders and certainly none in my garden. Its quite amazing, how much of a difference just a chestnut brown head and nap, can give a bird, taking it from the ordinary of a House Sparrow to the special of a Tree Sparrow.

 Tree Sparrow – About to Fledge – 04 June 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

The next couple of boxes, also had Tree Sparrows in them, but these were of progressively younger broods. The first box, had birds where almost all of the feathers had appeared, but they still had that classic yellow surround to the beak, that says “Feed me, feed me now”! Having handled one of these, I was just so amazed at how light they were. No more than a bag of feathers, or so they felt. The next box, also contained Tree Sparrows, and these were even younger, and had probably only been hatched a day. At this point I almost said that they were cute, but no, Tree Sparrow chicks at a day old, are not cute. At this stage they look more related to reptilian creatures then warm blooded birds!

 

Tree Sparrow – Feed Me Feed Me Now! – 04 June 2012 (Copyright – Carol Jones)

Following several empty boxes and a couple of boxes that had probably been attacked by Great Spotted Woodpeckers after a tasty snack, which it was decided not to disturb again, we found my favourite find of the day, a set of Blue Tit chicks. These chicks reminded me of little punks of the bird world, with their top knots of yellow feathers, surrounded by extremely long whiskery out-growths, that fanned their heads some what like a mad professors. These bundles of energy also refused to sit still and moved around in the hand, as though they were head banging to a silent rock song, which made all the photos taken blurred to say the least.

Oh yes! Then there were the wasps, who had readily been seen entering the final box of the day, so as the saying goes “discretion is the better part of valour”, and we decided to leave it undisturbed for another day.