Outdoorsy Shite - April Top Trumps

[GrimmaTheNome]

Rules as before - nature 'spots' fauna and flora, points for rarity (absolute or relative to where seen), seasonality, eloquence of description. Please declare if you're in forrin parts or a mermaid.

Did I cover everything?

Because sea smells. So it all smells the same.

Paris appears to be a wildlife desert apart from the everlasting sparrows. They do look fractionally cuter here though.

Paris? You are in Paris? Why wasn't I informed?

Yes seals smell. But not as badly as sea lions. And they're so cute I could forgive them anything. I saw one today actually. Tis one I have a special name for - I love her. She of course doesn't give a shit about me

Waiting patiently for the swallows. The nests are there waiting.

But my curlews are putting on a fabulous display everyday.

And I am sure I saw a carmine bullfinch this morning, which I haven't seen for years.

That's sealions for you. Take, take, take.

Carmine bullfinch is very impressive (to me, as I've never seen one Nd really want to).

I haven't seen 'our' seals since the birth of little Wellies, but Mr Wellies has taken him out to the end of the scaur to see them at a very low tide. No mention of pups.
Wellies jnr is 11 months and as from This weekend has started bleating. I don't know to be proud or extremely embarrassed. :)

And its blumming snowing, large wet horizontal and at extreme speed.

A carmine bullfinch - never heard of that. Is that a subspecies, ?
at bleating Little Wellies. Bless.

Nothing exotic today, just a poor dead Brock at the side of the road. DD thinks he is sleeping. I hope the commune come and fetch him away before school finishes.

Are sparrows more common in Paris than the Uk? I thought spuggy numbers were falling.

Sparrows are common in absolute terms, but there's been a decline from a very high starting point, so they're red-listed. Never forget the sad story of the Passenger Pigeon.

I can't say I noticed many when I was in Paris last autumn. Lots of cute little dogs, not much wild.

I found ANOTHER buzzard's nest today, have been seeing them from the kitchen window landing in a big tree a few fields away so headed out today and found a nest high up in the tree and a buzzard flying in with a beakful of something.
The first buzzard is still sitting on her nest, about 1/2 mile further along the valley. Its like buzzard central here and they are so noisy!

Can't believe you are having snow Violet. Very blustery here but very springlike

Even less spring like today, lots more weather of The wet variety. A neighbor lost 25 3 week old lambs in the snow we had ten days ago. It seems an eon since I (temporarily ) shed my bobble hat. It is currently in the wash due to smelling of silage. Can't see it drying any time soon :(

Poor lambs. That is so sad.

Oh dear. Where are you violet? Somewhere well north and coastal - east or west?

Oh violet :( Poor little things.

Lambs are so joyous and so heartbreaking. Remember foot and mouth? (sorry, of course you do). There was a picture of a small lamb standing in a quagmire of filth and absolutely plastered in mud on a front page of a paper - it was the picture of cold, abject misery and the paper called it our national collective shame or something. Is this our Easter Lamb, it asked. They were forbiddent to move it into the warm. I couldn't stop thinking about it for ages.

I was thinking today I was so sick of being cold and longing for some real warmth.

So sad about the lambs

Nothing to report today apart from a blue tit. There must be depressed nature sat out there in the hedges eye rolling and muttering.

Sorry to hear of your neighbour's lambs, violet. That is sad.

In more cheerful news, I saw white oxalis flowers in the woods today.

I love the progress of woodland flowers - I've been noticing oxalis leaves recently but no flowers here yet.

Me too Grimma. I love watching the trees gradually put out their leaves. We are just on the verge of that beautiful almost fluorescent green of the first beech leaves. Not that I have been out much recently .

Yes, the green of early beech leaves is extraordinary. Our local woods are predominantly beech, and the brightness and delicacy of their spring leaves makes them seem almost edible, a high-rise salad. Come summer, they are dark and flat and dull.

I like to waft my face through our beech hedge when it starts to come into leaf. The softness is just exquisite.

Ahh, a hedge-botherer. I thought the outdoorsy topic might encourage that sort. That's probably why MN were so reluctant to create it.

I know what you mean, though. I think that in his Ray Mears phase my son told me could can actually eat beech leaves. I love them (not to eat, I mean), they make spring woodland glow. I can understand hedge-bothering for sure.

Weekend in Brecon area - saw lots of cuckooflower. Didn't know what it was so had to look it up.

2 buzzard sightings - flying low down and close. Beautiful.

A real aaaah moment - first ducklings of the year on the village pond. 5 tiny fluff balls, very cute.

The horse chestnut in the garden is in flower (I'm using the term 'garden' very loosely here - but it will be one day)

Id love to tell you exactly where I am Grimma, but I'm quite identifyable (?sp) &I don't want all those rl weirdos (friends, neighbours and relatives) knowing my innermost thoughts.