Friday 25 August 2017

Looks like a good harvest in Cumbria.

Walking round the reserve and Thacka there wasn't a great deal in the way of wildlife, the usual ducks and gulls on the large pond, and the odd Moorhen trying to keep a low profile rather than swim in open water and become lunch for the gulls.

A couple of wood pigeons feeding in one of the horse paddocks.
A distant Stock dove, the first I have seen for a while.

Also a single Black-headed gull , again in one of the horse paddocks.
Quite a bit of colour in the area in the way of berries, with good crops of Mountain ash or Rowan both names can apply the botanical name is Sorbus, and also Hawthorn (Crataegus) so there shouldn't be any shortage of food for the birds this coming Autumn/winter.

Rowan or Mountain ash.
Hawthorn

There is a surfaced bridal way that borders the North East corner of the reserve , and can be followed all the way to Newton Rigg collage and passes under the M6 motorway. For most part it is bordered by horse paddocks,and at one point there is a gravelled drive leads off to some horse stables. Part way along this drive I could see a tree loaded with fruit, on closer inspection they turned out to be Plums, and again a very good crop, how they came to be planted where they are is a mystery.

 Yum Yum, I think I'll be back.

27 comments:

  1. Hello, lots of yummy berries for the birds. They will be happy. Pretty birds and photos. Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!

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  2. Hi Gordon. Well it may have been a bad summer for us but as you say, there seems to be the normal berry harvest. While our Wood Pigeons become ever tamer and everyday garden birds, Stock Doves remain very shy. Plum crumble in the offing I think?

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  3. Yummy fruits for birds and men!

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  4. I would be back, for sure!!
    : )

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  5. Those plums look delicious! We haven't had a single one because a late frost killed all the buds.

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  6. I do admire the stonewall in the background of one of your paddocks.
    It's the same here with hedgerows laden with haws & sloes & we've been busy blackberry picking!

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  7. Hello, stopping back to say thank you for linking up your post. I like the wood pigeons and the gull photos. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

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  8. I love hawthorn trees! And it was nice to see it next to the rowan and see the difference. Really nice post!

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  9. The red berries are bright and colorful too.

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  10. Yes, that looks really great harvest.

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  11. The Haws will pull in the redwings and even waxwings in a while - if you're lucky!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  12. Hello Gordon!:) Lovely photos, some quite mouth watering. I remember eating Victoria plums in the UK, and they were delicious. We are going to harvest our blackberries tomorrow, before the birds take them all, I'm sure they have had their fair share by now, and lots of other berries too. I have never seen a stock dove, maybe because they are so shy!

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  13. Good day! I love these birds. I don't know anything about the doves of your area so it was great that you shared with us your photos. Very very nice! Hope you have a good start to your week!

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  14. Great color. I always wonder about fruit trees that seem to be growing in a strange spot - how did they get there? How come they survived?

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  15. While the Mountain Ash fruit attracted me, Gordon, when I spotted those plums, if I were you, I would go back too!...:)JP

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  16. Beautiful pictures of berries and plums.
    It looks delicious, especially the plums that I like.
    Best regards, Irma

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  17. Those berries are a pretty color and the plums look delicious. The birds should be happy!

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  18. great food for the birds, beautiful images!!!

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  19. Beautiful bird food!! When we lived at the Lake here in Oregon, there were quite a few apple and plum trees going wild in what are now public accessible wetlands, but that used to be farmland before the flood control dam that forms the lake was put in. This would have been back in the late 30s, early 40s, so it is a small miracle that the trees are still bearing fruit. But then again, your plum tree could have just been planted by a bird flying over.

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  20. Thank you Gordon for dropping off a comment on my blog, much appreciated :)
    It looks like a colourful a yummy fall preparing in your area!
    Enjoy your week, best wishes

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  21. quite common birds where I live. Nice shots. :)

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  22. The cherries and plums look delicious! Have a great day!

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  23. Hi Gordon,
    hahahahaha .... I would definitely go back to seeing those delicious plums :-) The seagulls were well represented, but also the pigeons could photograph you. The red berries have a beautiful deep color.

    Best regards, Helma

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  24. It's the same here, the tree fruits are luscious. I bet the robins don't migrate, again! I had a baker's dozen all winter.

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A big thank you to everyone for looking in and leaving their comments, much appreciated, Gordon.