Herons enjoy hailstone (11:30)

I set off yesterday in just leggings and a t-shirt as the sun was out and it looked like it was staying for the day. Unfortunately, just as I got to Cummersdale, so did some grey clouds. Since hardly anyone was there, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see some more wildlife.

I walked around Cummersdale for quite some time hoping to find something new. However, I didn't seem to find much more than some robins, black birds and the odd duck.

I walked down the river for a while when I heard a large splash so I turned to see large ripples in the water. There was nobody else around so I'm pretty sure it was some kind of animal. However, with the slight murkiness of the water and the light on the water I couldn't see what it was. I waited for a long while. Suddenly I heard the splash again and of course, it came from the opposite way I was looking. I saw the large ripples but nothing else. I felt like it was mocking me, knowing that I wanted to see whatever it was.

I decided to follow the river Caldew and venture further into the trees at the back of Cummersdale. This is my favourite part as not many people seem to go there. You can hear the river flowing, numerous birds singing and you're surrounded by trees which are beautiful shades of green. There were lots of chaffinches about and many other birds singing their songs.

Two things really annoyed me. One was the amount of dog feces as it was everywhere I went. And the second was the amount of littler. Litter could be spotted in the bushes at the other side of the river and dotted around in the river. I even found the classic shopping trolly in a river. Disappointing.

I headed out past Cummersdale to see where the river would lead me. Unfortunately it wasn't very far. I followed a public foot path for a short while and walked through some fields. I did find a small little waterfall thing which looked quite pretty. Although the land owner seemed to have fenced off the whole area and I couldn't follow the path any more. 

I suppose that was for the best as it started hail stoning and I was a good hour walk away. Fortunately I had packed a jacket which sheltered me somewhat but it wasn't waterproof. It hailed/heavily rained all the way back to and through Cummersdale. I did get to see a dipper sitting on a rock for a long while.

Just as I was leaving Cummersdale I saw movement to the left of me. I looked to find a heron looking at me, taking shelter in part of the bank. He slowly stretched his wings and flew off lazily. I was so close to him, I could have reached out and touched him. He landed landed in a tree and I saw another heron fly over head. They both flew next to each other and then headed off in different directions. I feel privileged that I got to see two of them together. Apparently they didn't seem bothered about the hail and carried on as normal.

I got home drenched and of course, the sun came out (and stayed out) as soon as I stepped through the door. I am glad I went as I probably wouldn't have got to be so close to a heron or see two flying together. It's just a shame it was raining so much and so I couldn't take my camera back out.

Summer is starting to push it's way through (15:00)

It's been a while since I last went to Cummersdale holmes and since it was nice and sunny again today, I thought I'd head out for a bit. The day didn't start off quite as I would have liked it to. I ended up getting there later than I wanted, I left my SD card at home (which means no pictures :( ) and then I fell over and hurt my arm - oops.

However three things did make me very happy:
-Bumble bees
-A dead crow
-Tadpoles or fish? (I hope tadpoles)

At first I saw no more than the usual: gulls, crows, tits and ducks. I could hear a woodpecker but try as I might, I could not find him. I also got to see a coot, which was nice because I haven't seen one there yet.

I started to get quite disappointed that I hadn't seen anything different yet when suddenly a large bubble bee started flying around me, not too happy that I'd walked so close to him. I know bees might not be the most exciting thing in the world but I love them and it is the first one I've seen this year. That means it's getting warmer and summer is coming! I saw another two as I was walking around, each a pleasure to see.

A dead crow. Why would a dead crow make me happy? Well something had eaten it. The rib bones seemed in pretty good shape, as were the wings, but all of the meat had been expertly taken off. One wing was still there and I found the other a few steps away although I couldn't seem to find the skull. Seeing this of course begs the questions: What had eaten it? I know otters live at cummersdale and I'd say there are high chances of foxes and badgers. Or could it have simply been a cat from one of the nearby houses? Or maybe something else, I'll have to keep my eye out and see whats about.

I took a couple of pictures on my phone (since I couldn't use my camera)
(Sorry if you don't like looking at dead birds)

Finally, possible tad poles? I'm sure that's enough to make anybody happy. I was stood by the river when I saw a cheeky little robin hopping about looking for some food so I stopped and watched him for a while. I then noticed some movement in the water. Frogs are my absolute favourite animal in the whole world and so tadpoles excite me to no end. I tried looking closer but I couldn't see very well as the water was quite muddy and murky in some places and the bank was quite high. They could have been tiny fish I suppose but there were loads of them and with the way they were swimming, I'd say tadpoles. However, it's a bit early for tadpoles and I haven't seen any frog spawn, so maybe just fish - unfortunately. I guess I'll see in a couple of weeks.

Just as I was leaving, I saw my first mammal there. It ran off very quickly back into an old fallen tree. I went over to investigate but it was either long gone or it wasn't coming back out any time soon. It was light brown and too big to be a mouse, maybe it was a rat.

Overall, today was lovely. I didn't get to see a heron, kingfisher or otter but I think the bees and the first signs of summer make up for that. There's always next time to try and find them!

Exploring more of Cummersdale (15:30)

I am a little bit late with posting this as it is actually Sunday 8th I went to Cummersdale, not today. It was a beautiful day on Sunday and so I went with two friends, Freya and Verity, who are also on the same course as me. Freya took us around and showed us some more interesting spots of Cummersdale that we hadn't noticed before and so we ended up being out for about two and a half / three hours. The day was much more pleasant than the previous time I went as there were no disturbances by man - even the dogs and dog walkers were being good!

We had only been walking through for a couple of minutes when we spotted the heron, I was glad to see him again as I didn't get to last time. Although as quickly as we saw him, he flew off and didn't make a return for the time we were there. I have added a picture (below) to show him. I know that the picture couldn't get much worse if I tried but he flew off before I could take another one so it can just be for proof.

After following the river for a short while we decided to go into the trees next to the river to see what we could find. The locals always talk about the otter and king fishers that they see and I would love to get a photo of them (although I'd have to actually see them first). After ducking and climbing over branches (And jumping over a small bit of the river that Verity had to help me with) we made it to a spot where we had a good vantage point of the river. I heard the excitement in Freya and Verity's voices as they saw a king fisher, unfortunately, I was just coming out of the trees and I missed it flying off. I'll just have to try and see it next time!

We decided to leave the trees and follow a path that I had never explored before. It led to a lovely area. We were still traveling alongside the river but now we were surrounded by older trees and lots of greenery. We were soon greeted by a male chaffinch sat high up on branch, he stayed for a minute or so before flying off - he was lovely to watch. Walking down the river for a short while longer, I got to see three dippers in different areas. All of them stuck around for a long time and I got to watch them flying around, standing still and going in the water.

After this we walked over to the other side of cummersdale, towards the graveyard. There were plenty of great tits and blue tits to see. There was a lot of activity from them, many hopping from branch to branch or sitting and singing. We even got the added bonus of seeing a rabbit hopping away under a bush. From where we were, the sky was very clear and you could see the hills in the distance. However, the sun was starting to set and we were loosing light so decided to start walking back. 

Everywhere was covered in a blanket of gold, the light made everywhere look beautiful. I turned around to see the sun setting behind the trees, giving the sky a final golden glow and then we headed off back home.

A walk through Cummersdale Holmes (13:30)

I woke up this morning to find the sun shining and the birds tweeting. Today has been the nicest day in Carlisle that I've seen for a while - Perfect for starting my blog. So off I went to Cummersdale Holmes in hope that lots of animals will be out enjoying the sun.

Cummersdale Holmes is in Carlisle and is directly south of Denton Holme and takes about five minutes to walk there. It is a flood plain with farm land and dwellings surrounding either side. From walking through Cummersdale you can tell that the area is in an urban setting. You can see buildings along one side and at either end with structures such as man made bridges and you're likely to see other people no matter what time you go. However, if you just stop and look around, it is a large area with lots of natural beauty.

The sun setting over the buildings at
Cummersdale a few days ago.

I walked along the river Caldew from Denton welcoming the new colours that have pushed their way through the dull, brown grass. Yellow and purple crocus flowers mixed with snowdrops and daffodils made a lovely change from the brown brambles and grasses. Up ahead I could see black birds digging about, trying to find their lunch and I could hear the gulls circling above me. The sun shone brighter and I was excited to see what I would find once I finally got into Cummersdale.

Some snow drops showing that spring is on it's way

Unfortunately, man had other plans. I spent a good hour walking along the river Caldew (which runs through Cummersdale) and ended up finding less wildlife than I usually do. At one end of the river, work men were doing some work on a bridge making too much noise for anything, other than some mallard ducks, to stick around. Walking along further I could hear robins singing and watched them hop from branch to branch. Although, soon their songs were drowned out by two noisy, low flying planes and shortly after, a helicopter.

Walking further down the river I still kept hope that I would see some more wildlife, although it was nice to see the robins. Other than some more robins, the occasional gull and crow, I didn't see anything else. I was highly disappointed.

Some of the path I followed through Cummersdale
(Although it got very muddy after this!)

I realised that the sound from the work on the bridge, the planes and the helicopter could have scared quite a few species. Along with this, there were a lot of dog walkers out and the dogs were barking and running in and out of the water, probably scaring anything else that was left.

The cows in the field next to me were very curious and they watched every move I made. I decided to get closer and watch them for a bit before I headed back. On the way back I saw a wood pigeon roosting in a tree and a couple of blue tits singing in the tree above me.

A curious cow

Every time I have been to Cummersdale before, I have always seen a heron. Would he decide to show himself on the first day I do my blog? Of course not. Hopefully next time I will get to see him or maybe even a kingfisher.

Even though there didn't seem to be much wildlife out today, it was still lovely being able to walk along the river, in the sun, hearing occasional bird songs.