May Top Trumps....wildlife geeks step this way and get your spots in here!

[ArielThePiraticalMermaid]

I'll start - I'm hoping that someone will do better than an infernal wood pigeon and obnoxious noisy herring gull. Before the morning is up, hopefully.

And remember, cast ne'er a clout til May be out.

They aren't Mason Bees. They are some kind of bumble, I'm just. It sure which one yet. They aren't about much yet because of the weather. When one turns up, I'll take it's picture and identify it.
I love the tea strainer too. I might NC to TeaStrainerForMyBees

I'm impressed by the bee knowledge being displayed here

I also saw the native bluebells wot Losty saw as evidenced by my dog being in the photo.

And a tadpole.

And shed loads of wild garlic.

And the twit-towoo variety of owl that we couldn't remember apart from in now being a Barn Owl (? Tawny)

Curses

It not being a barn owl

Tawny Owl

The commonly heard contact call is a shrill, kew-wick but the male has a quavering advertising song hoo...ho, ho, hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo. William Shakespeare used this owl's song in Love's Labour's Lost (Act 5, Scene 2) as "Then nightly sings the staring owl, Tu-whit; Tu-who, a merry note, While greasy Joan doth keel the pot", but this stereotypical call is actually a duet, with the female making the kew-wick sound, and the male responding hooo.

Pair of great crested grebes, and a little egret, spotted on way to work this morning. Heard green woodpecker as I got into the car at home.

The Lady's Smock has been in flower for weeks round our way - maybe it got confused back in March?

My all time top trump is from a couple of years back - a wryneck spotted on path outside neighbour's front window, eating ants from a crack in the tarmac. I incautiously mentioned it to a twitcher friend of mine and the next day the place was swarming with binoculared types.

For spotting from the comfort of your PC/laptop, here's Nottingham Trent University's peregrine falcon cam: www.ntu.ac.uk/ecoweb/biodiversity/falcons/index.html

Sadly they lost 4 of their 5 chicks in the awful weather we had a couple of weekends ago, but the remaining chick is looking good and strong.

Oh that's fab!

I have the webcams from South Africa National Parks permanently open on my laptop, for spots of all sorts of exciting wildlife.

www.sanparks.org/webcams/

If you are interested - warthogs and ellies two minutes ago.

We have a very vocal female tawny - lots of twoo, no twit.

I heard a story that goes something like this: there was once a keen birder who started 'twitting' in the hope of hearing an answering 'twoo'. To his joy he did! Many evenings he engaged in a duet.

Some time later his wife was chatting to a neighbour: 'you'll never guess what my DH does of an evening '... friend says, 'oh, but mine does the same thing except he goes twoo in reply to a twit.... oh.... '.

DH's and DS2 are keen widllife spotters, I just get sucked in by their enthusiasm.

Much excitement at a sparrowhawk appearing in our garden.
DS2's bird box has Great tits in.
Starling's nesting in roof.
Cute wood mouse who lives in undergrowth and comes out to eat birdseed regularly, almost always as we are eating dinner.

Have heard the curlews, not seen any as of yet.

Slubber no one has been very impressed with our bluebells yet , I thought they were very exciting.

I am also referencing in on the wild garlic, tadpole and owl (that I thought was my DH messing about)

I saw about 5 red kites yesterday at different locations, do I get extra points for a multiplier?

Sorry BeeStrainer, excellent new name, I forgot to say how impressed I was.

The only thing I've seen today is the Lesser Spotted Black Labrador stealing assisting the birds in eating the bird seed off the table. I think I need to invest in a taller table.

Loving Grimma's owl tale! .

There have been bottlenose dolphins around here today. I of course did not see them, so it doesn't count as a spot. Bah.

PS I have just been watching the peregrine looking after its remaining chick. Wow! So many in cities now.

Lostinwales, I used to look out for the red kites on my way back to my student house, happy days, lucky you.

Gold finch, quite a few, searching for left over hen feed. Not as many as When we first moved here when they rose in clouds off the thistles.

Three fox cubs playing in the back garden (we have a den). I think this is the first time they have been out. Very very cute. Hanging out in the sun with mum earlier, and now they are back out playing on their own with mum popping back to check every so often. They keep doing that straight legged jump straight up thing, and lots of nuzzling each other.

I used to work at Dalguise, I loved swimming at the Hermitage. The trees around there are incredible - i have never seen Douglas fir so ridiculously big!

Oh dear, now have a reputation as the mother who can identify poo, today on school trip (as accompanying helper) DD's teacher called me over and said chix, you know all about poo, what animal did this one.....

Should say that it was only fox poo so not even worthy of a top trump (unless ridiculously cute sounding baby foxes playing in my own garden).

Three Hares playing on the humps in a potato field. They look so joyful!

Sitting here watching three tiny, beautiful goldfinches pecking their way through the dew on the lawn. I am making the dog cross his legs until they have gone away

A few peaceful minutes after taking DD to the bus stop, morning cuppa and a bit of a garden birdwatch. Baby blackbirds with parents in attendance; Mr Woodpigeon following Ms Woodpigeon but she wasn't having any; dunnock, sparrows of both types - two tree sparrows this time, hope they're a pair.

Topped off by the song thrush singing from its high perch.

My dog is still in bed (not his own!). But he seems to manage peaceful co-existence with the birds and deters cats so I'll send him out for a bask soon.