Battling Kingfishers

Kingfishers fighting, Alcedo atthis

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

On Sunday morning I joined my metal detecting club and found a few Georgian halfpennies, a pig ring, some buttons and a corroded square coin weight. Afterwards I visited Warnham Nature Reserve where I enjoyed watching a pair of Kingfishers, which engaged in aerial combat at one point. There were also Herons, Little Egrets and Great Crested Grebes.

coin weight 14.9mm, 3.41g

military button 26.4mm, 7.1g

pig ring 41.7mm, 10.1g

Brown Rat, Rattus norvegicus

Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus

Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea

Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea

Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea

Kingfishers fighting, Alcedo atthis

battling Kingfishers

Sheffield’s Fat Cat, Western Park Museum and Winter Garden

to view a gallery  with more photos, click here

During our recent trip north we visited some old favourites in Sheffield

Cathedral Church of St Marie

Cutlery sculpture in the Millennium Gallery

Norfolk Street

Winter Garden

Tudor Square

Tudor Square

Endcliffe Park

Ollie

Fly agaric

We have been visiting The Fat Cat since it opened as an independent pub in 1981. Their Kelham Island bitter is still superb. It is still one of our favourite places to enjoy lunch in the snug, which was the first no-smoking room in Sheffield. Their apple crumble is still excellent.

 Western Park Museum:

Woolly rhinoceros

Wildcat, Felis silvestris

Rats and a Kingfisher

Brown Rat, Rattus norvegicus

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

On Friday I visited the Brookfield Park lake and watched a couple of juvenile Brown Rats feeding and running around the bank. On Saturday during a visit to Arundel WWT I watched a Kingfisher from the Sand martin hide.

Brookfield Park:

Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus 

Brown Rat, Rattus norvegicus

Wasp, Vespula species 

Arundel WWT:

Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus

juvenile Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus

bracket fungus

Common Darter, male, Sympetrum striolatum

Gadwall, Anas strepera

Herring Gull, Larus argentatus

Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis

Kingfisher hovering above the lake

Kingfisher emerges from a fishing trip

Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus

Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus

Mute Swan, Cygnus olor