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?

Some of you lovely outdoorsy people must have dogs. Any of you have any advice re this entanglement experienced by my snappy terrier today?

OOh, are you in an area known for reds?

Yes, where are you InAny.

Ariel Must you lower the tone?

What can you expect of a pirate?

Red kites along the M4.

Ok, after DH's golden eagle spot last week I can now deliver my very own best wildlife spot of the month and probably my year. Here it comes....

Out on my bike this morning, on a very busy track near Aviemore, not more than 2m from where I screeched to a halt, a massive capercaillie, doing it's full-on 'lek', to try and attract the lady capercaillies. I could not see any females but there was one around somewhere because it was replying to calls of the male that was strutting around in front of me. Was amazing to see - in 20 years of coming here on holiday I've never seen one until today.

Very, very jealous of your Capercaillie piff.

Wow, I bet that's the winner this month! I would think beats the golden eagle even.

Wooh, hats off to the capercaillie. I would love to see one of those beasties!

It was making the most brilliant noises Soil. It was such a bizarre experience, I saw it and stopped to watch it, then three walkers came along and we all stood and watched and then about 8 mountain bikers and we all just stood there watching as it continued to prance around right in front of us! I had thought that they were shy and really hard to spot but this was on a forest road that is always really busy with walkers, runners and cyclists.

And at the risk of being boastful - red squirrels too today.

Sorry Exit

A capercaillie! I barely knew what one was - just that is was a big, plump Scottish bird! Are they the ones which are white in winter?

No, the ones that turn white are ptarmigan. Big plump Scottish bird sums it up pretty well!

Anything today? Anything? Anyone?

No fauna (other than an exceptionally wet dachshund. Firstly because DD prefers walking in streams to beside them, secondly because once we were back on terra firma it pissed down), but all the spring flora mentioned so far (except alexanders - I still don't know what they are). Lovely wood anemones, some pure white, others quite deep pink, bluebells, celandines, violets, marsh marigolds, butterburr.... Lots of fresh growth of Enchanter's Nightshade. also, less good, lots of seedlings which I've been wondering about, look like they are Bloody Himalayan Balsam.

deer in field behind us this evening

Lovely litany of plant names, Grimma.

I am transported into meadows and a woodland by a stream just by your description, Grimma!

Enchanter's Nightshade... shiveringly interesting.

Yes, shiveringly interesting is a very good description. That's how the term makes me feel too. Do you walk your dachshund in the Forbidden Forest grimma?If so, don't forget to post here when you spot a unicorn.

I've just googled Enchanter's Nightshade, and what pretty flowers it has.

"In classical mythology Circe the witch is said to have used this plant to turn the shipmates of Ulysses into pigs - hence the scientific or botanical name. It does not appear to have been used in folk medicine, except for a charm given unknowingly to male lovers as an aphrodisiac in the Highlands of Scotland."

I found half a blackbird's egg on the path this morning I think its from a nest in the garden. The most beautiful pale blue with little brown specks. Hopefully it means some baby birds.

No where near as many plants on ou woodland walk as Grimma but heaps of alexanders!

A Chough
Golden Hair Lichen
A Mason bee
A Spotted Rock Rose

After a week of fevered spotting on the Lleyn I saw exactly none of these jewels in the peninsula's Outdoorsy Shite crown.

I did see
A rook
Just, you know, plebeian lichen
A Bumble bee
Primroses

[very disappointed face]

However despite not being technically fauna nor fauna I am going to contribute spotting Saturn PLUS RINGS (through an impressively large telescope). Having never seen it before I was properly excited. Oh and Mars too.

of Saturn. I really want to see those rings.

Enchanter's Nightshade... shiveringly interesting.
TBH the most interesting thing about it is the name

Will someone please give me a link to alexanders? Seems impossible to search for because of all the flipping people of that name.

Nothing out of the ordinary flora and fauna wise today, but a really lovely stretch of the Ribble we'd not walked before.

A little while ago a female pheasant flew thump into the window - when I looked outside she was standing looking stunned, but managing to do it on one leg. She wandered off after a few minutes.

DH has polished the lenses on our bins and scope prior to our outing to Hilsbre Island (I got the spelling wrong when I mentioned it before) so he must think we're going to see something!