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.

Very of the fox cubs.

There is a lot of nest building activity going on here, a very noisy coal tit keeps sitting on the guttering of next doors house and goes beserk every time our cat ventures out. The house next door is an old malt kiln and is 3 very big storeys high, there is no way the cat is getting up there.

There is also a host of sparrows flitting about and being vocal. I've only done the school run today though and might not venture any further than that.

Whilst moving a pile of fence posts today, we disturbed a large vole. He was dead sweet! He shot down the nearest hole and disappeared. We also had a slightly hairy moment when something started hissing, and we were worried it might be an adder, (they are seen on the property apparently) but it turned out that we had put a post over the entrance hole to a nest of those ground dwelling bees! It was a muffled buzz!
We have a muntjac or two living in the next door property, and they were 'calling' tonight, and t was an odd sound, poke a duck but with added grunt!

Like a duck, not poke a duck! that would be just wrong!
On a slightly scary note, I moved some hay in my car today, and was standing talking to my friend, when she said "don't move". Obviously I totally freaked out, so she pinned me down and flicked a large fat bodied 'Charlottes Web' type spider off of my back!

muntjac deer in garden tonight - tiny but cute

First ducklings of the year for me, pottering about on the canal. Hard to understand how something so fluffy can also be waterproof. Those technical clothing folk need to be doing (humane) experimental work on ducklings.

Long tailed tit in the garden this morning a three robins plus our wrens (was glad to see them again). I was very pleased to see the long tailed tit as it is the first time I've seen one in our garden.

saggy...don't start on the bad habits of ducks. Just google duck+"ignobel prize" or something like that...

slubber - good point re ducklings. Not all water birds are waterproof though - cormorants aren't, that's why you often see them 'posing', drying themselves out.

Being a bit dim we couldn't work out how the number of goslings had risen after we thought some had made an untimely demise after playing in the road. Turns out there's a second family !

Kestrel taking off with little bird, :( I know they have to eat, but why not try a tasty bit of rat.

Woodepecker, I presume we can't include our 7 chickens, 4 sheep, 2 pigs, 1 dog and 1 parrot on this one.

Oh yes a heron in our garden as it was attracted to the swimming pond, but no fish.

Years ago, I worked on a farm, and a duck there managed to hatch a chicken egg. can you see where this is going?

Chicken babies ARENT waterproof!

Hares and cowslips and kingcups and pair of dippers, all in one field. That was nice. And found that garden centre sells hedgehog food which our pair love (can they be a pair? Or maybe just friends?)

Some kind of rodent which ran across the road in the fog last night.

How very exciting

Saggy (loving the political name
change btw) my mother put duck eggs under a banty many years ago. Poor chook was found frantically trying to reach her 'chickens' she balanced on a branch overhanging the pond, clucking like a hen possessed

I was wading through the long grass earlier, and a small yellow frog jumped over my foot! This thread has really made me think. I'm so lucky living where I do. I'm surrounded by so much nature.

We went to a wedding last night via the off road route. :) the primroses were abundant and beautiful. A bit later than ours, probably as it isnt very light, edging the route were carpets of forget me nots and lesser stitchwort, two deer crossed the path and we were even able to point out some domestic ducks to little wellies. Fabulous. :)

Saggy - yes, I've been more observant since we started this (thanks slubber!). I've not been anywhere today but noticed 'my' thrush singing his song again (too windy for his normal high tree, couldn't see him) and watched the baby blackbirds being fed. Actually I nearly trod on one, it was lurking under my back door sill when I went out to put out food.

Couldn't agree more, I'm less lazy and more observant, peering into the under growth muttering to myself 'must remember to post that one'.

not very good on butterflies but a small blue one, prob a Small Blue, arf. V pretty.

Crosswort and black medick on our lane, Ooooh I love this thread

Did you know what they were or did you have to look them up?

First goslings of the year (Canada Goose).

Harder to see the birds now the trees are in leaf but hear lots of birdsong all the time.

The swallows are reparing their nest at the stables with muddy stuff and the blue tit is and out of the hole at the bottom of the garage roof - except when he can see me watching in which case he flies off to random points around the garden to put me off the scent.

And loads and loads of snails suddenly.

We've still got the woodpecker eating from our bird feeder every morning. Rarely catch him at it now because he comes earlier and earlier but think he's nesting in our huge tree

We had a snail incautiously trailing past our front door this morning - another bit of wildlife I nearly trod on!

Mouse - it'd be great if you had some baby woodpeckers!

Looked them up, with a great deal of difficulty since our books are all still packed