Outdoorsy Shite Top Trumps: March

[Slubberdegullion]

Flora or Fauna.

Extra points for a photo.

Handicap will apply to those in Forrin. Monthly win will not automatically go to, for example, a Cougar spot. The Cougar will need to be doing something awesome, like fighting a bear or doing sudoku.

Sorry, reference to a Classic thread

Not spotted anything today, I think I'm trying too hard, or maybe I'm just saving my good ones for April...

Its funny how soon we get blase about what would be 'spots' at the start of the month (butterflies, catkins, lambs, same-old, same-old)

Going up to the southern lakes for the weekend, see y'all later

Bit late but just getting my March spots in:

Marsh harriers (several)
The back end of a hare disappearing over a field
Great crested grebes in full mating display
Cetti's warbler (heard not seen, they are a bastard to spot)

Also, thousands of ladybirds most of whom engaged in sex, basically a huge ladybird orgy

I saw a shelduck.

I saw some interesting orange beetle things on heaps of sheep dung.

This week I have seen lambs, Sika deer, Soay sheep, other sheep, goats (including lickle babies), seals, rabbits (normal ones, black ones and dead ones), have heard skylarks singing and seen lots of birds that I wouldnt have a clue about, but included pied wagtails, guillemots, seagulls and Manx shearwaters (apparently). Have also been shown three moons of Jupiter.

Its been a good week

Soay sheep? Have you been to St Kilda this week? Shearwaters? Guillmots?

That's my dream destination by the way. It's the place I want to go to most in the world..

Been to Lundy Ariel - they brought the sheep from St Kildas apparently. What a magical place.

I really want to go to St Kilda's too. Thread trip!

Straggly catkin

A single ladybird

Still no lambs

Lots of great tits peering in and out of birdboxes in my parents' garden. And some dunnocks pecking about in plant tubs.

Took a road less travelled by me normally, rounded the corner and a whole field of rape in full bloom. Did look good in the sunshine.

Also some fabulous magnolia trees flowering in nearby village.

I've been cutting back a currant bush right in front of a hole in our garden wall where a blue tit has been popping in and out with great gobsful of moss for nesting. Do you think I will have disturbed him/her? I hope not

Final spot of the month; an entire fish tank full of wriggly wriggly tadpoles on my landing. My LANDING. I am most displeased about this, every single year DH collects them for his class and every. single. year. I have to look at them over the Easter holidays as they wriggle and grow, eat each other and turn into tiny tiny frogs which escape and die in my house until DH remembers to take the one remaining giant (it's a bit like the hunger games ) back to the school pond. I'm not that keen to be honest!

Can I come on the thread trip to St Kilda? I used to look after some Soay sheep and they were lovely....but impossible to herd up. The lambs were like little deer.

My final spot for March is a lovely walk in the woods through a carpet of wood anemones, was very lovely and the promise of even better to come with masses of english/welsh native bluebell leaves but not a flower bud in sight yet.

And the winner is????

But it's the taking part that's important...

We're all winners just from reading all these lovely sightings.

And I still haven't seen a fecking lamb.

Everybody print out the next paragraph and fill in your own name. That way you will have a real sense of achievement, like the sense of achievement that all children really do have oh yes whenever they are given "certificates" by any old random activities organiser:

This is to certify that took part in the Outdoors Shite March Challenge. Congratulations and well done!

My sightings for Mar 31st on South Walney nature reserve in Cumbria were two Eider drakes (the first wild eiders any of us have seen, DDs favourite bird) and a pair of Emporer Geese. I wasn't expecting those - they aren't a British bird. It transpires that they are the descendents of escapees from Piel Island where there was a wildfowl collection.

There were loads of shelduck, black backed and herring gulls too.

And as an early April entry I saw a stoat-or-weasel today. We just stood there staring at each other, and since he didn't do the decent thing by scarpering after a few seconds it all got slightly embarrassing, with neither of us quite knowing how to bring the spot to an end.

Hahaha Quatada.

Well I have printed out my certificate and stuck it on the fridge.

New thread then for April?

Whoa up there AIBU - hasn't anyone started an April thread yet? If I don't find one in the next 10 mins I'll do it shall I?

Do we need a new thread for April?