Nature Notes

[ErrolTheDragon]

There's a gardening thread which may overlap with this one but I thought people might like to share nature sightings as the season changes. What we see if we can get out for a walk, plants coming into leaf and bloom, creatures in the garden, birds flying overhead - whatever.

Yesterday along the canal: busy wrens, 3 butterflies (tortoiseshell I think). Lots of Lords and Ladies arrow-shaped leaves. A little bank of primroses, lots of celandines and some wood anemones. Yellow iris leaves starting to shoot up in the edge of the canal.

I live on Pink Street right now. It's a week earlier than last year.

There were duckings on the pond today, under the eye of their parents.

Bluebell woods today again - didn't get as far as the marsh marigolds because there were cattle out, clustering in a gateway so we decided that was far enough.

It's a bit hard to see which photos I'm attaching from the app - I think there's 2 of bluebells and one of violets and wild strawberry.
The other flower making its first appearance here this year is wood sorrel (oxalis)

Beautiful Errol . We know it's summer when the cattle are in the field opposite .
The swallows have arrived next door though.

Our local steers are in the fields now, and they are fairly frisky. They'll calm down once they get used to the footpath running through their field.

Yesterday the dog and I saw four drakes on the river. I also heard a cuckoo, and today I saw my first swallow.

The cattle we encountered were steers too, they looked a bit too curious for our liking. We once got chased by a lone youngster further up this valley, we think he'd got lost from his herd and was discombobulated but it was quite scary for a few moments.

I have the radio on earlier than usual this morning and discovered they have a 'Nature Notes' segment - R4, 8:25 today. Frank Gardiner, usually the security correspondent, was talking through various woodland bird songs eg blackcap. It was preceded by a reading of 'Adelstrop' with its lovely evocation of birdsong.

www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53744/adlestrop

We have baby robins!!!

Mum and dad busy all day in and out the nest. They're using the seed feeder themselves and I've put live mealworms out today but not taken any yet.

So exciting!!!

The RSPB website includes birdsong/calls on the page for each species. It's a useful check if you think you know what it was you heard.

I've seen four species of butterfly so far this year: peacock, small tortoiseshell, orange tip and large white (at least, I think it was a large white).

Oh, and Guy, enjoy your robins. There must be a blackbird nest near us as the parents are out foraging constantly.

Yes I'm feeding dried insect mix and the blackbirds are constantly in it.

Been vegetating on the patio all day watching them feed the babies. They're ignoring the live mealworms but looking at them today they've got a good supply of bugs!!

The sparrows are breeding in the rafters of a nearby house and are using the seed feeder a lot, along with the robins. It's a total joy.

I'm noticing lots of insects this year. My garden has loads of bees and unidentified midge type things. Butterflies too. Maybe it's the warm weather but I'm definitely thinking there's more bugs. Which is great for nature.

Something has been killing big rats in the local meadows. I've seen three over the past couple of month, usually in the middle of the paths. Foxes, maybe? We certainly have plenty of those. I saw a magnificent fox, the biggest I've ever seen and in superb condition, around the meadows in January and there was a smaller one around on the same day. They were criss-crossing the meadows and there was a lot of noise so I assume there are cubs now.

There was another rat yesterday. I looked for it today, to steer Small Dog away from it, but couldn't see it. Walked on, looked back for him and saw his feet waving in the air - he'd found it in the rough grass. I've only known him roll in fox poo before but apparently dead rat is also delicious. It was bath time when we got home.

He regrets nothing.

There are lots of butterflies around - peacocks, whites, orange tipped, sulphur, a red admiral and some small brown ones that I couldn't get close enough to identify. The land belongs to the local authority and it's a mix of mown grass, unmown grass, wetland, streams, managed hay meadows and woodland. The bird song's fantastic.

The sloe flowers are all finished and I'm crossing my fingers that we don't have another frost this Spring. Last year's late frost meant there were hardly any sloes despite the bushes being covered in flowers earlier. There are a lot of wild apples flowering too, the fruits of which will go into jelly with the sloes and also into blackberry and apple jelly.

We went a bit further up the little river valley this morning. More bluebells, big butterburrs, enchanters nightshade. Birds heard but not seen included peewit, curlew and - I need to check , because it surprised me - willow tit. Last year volunteering on the local nature reserve we did a willow tit survey, the leader played the call and song to see if it elicited a response (it did). I'm not good at birdsong but we listened to the recording quite a lot that day.

Had a big walk yesterday and saw the big bracket fungus in the photo. And today I noticed just how much hawthorn was out. During yesterday's walk, I saw a cormorant with a fish being mobbed by getting on for a dozen black-backed gulls. It managed to land on the river and gulp it down. Gulls are really thuggish, it's not the first time I've seen them being brutes.

Spent today sat in the garden watching what was going on. Saw a few bee flies, a brimstone, small blue and cabbage white butterflies. Noticed we have two sparrow nests in the house roof, another and a dunnock nesting in the arch way. The pond is buzzing with life. The green woodpecker nesting in the willow must be sitting on eggs as they are taking it in turns to go in and out of the nest. My wildlife area is full of wild garlic (good for tortoiseshell butterflies). The foxes are squashing my plants as usual 😂

Oh and the wren is using one of my nesting boxes. I saw if was wonkey, so thought the squirrel has moved it. Went l straighten it and a face peered out at me and flew off. I beat a hasty retreat but not sure who was scared more lol

The hawthorn blossom is still only just starting here which seems odd as other plants seem ahead of themselves. The oak leaves are maybe half out, and today I walked under some lovely fresh beeches.

We've been seeing hedgehogs on the patio for some weeks now as we put out dog food for the foxes. On several occasions we thought we were going to see a live sex show! This evening, two appeared so I went for a closer look and realised there were actually 4 adults. No wonder we thought they were getting through the dog food at some rate.

Oh wow, you lucky thing. I must remember to make some holes at the bottom of the back fence - I've only ever seen one hedgehog in our garden but it probably doesn't help that many years ago we made sure there were no holes a dachshund puppy could escape through!

I meant to include in my summary of what has appeared recently, water avens and wood avens. (Where they grow near each other they can hybridise so there are sometimes in-between flowers.)

Greater spotted woodpecker on the tree opposite our house this morning.

I've heard a woodpecker here before, but this is the first time I've seen it.

Brilliant!

The welsh poppies - yellow and orange - are coming out now in places. Also today a lot of fringecups ... I had to ask what they were on the Gardening topic.

We saw our first swifts yesterday. So pleased they have returned and hoping they will make use of the nest box we installed last year.

I heard my first turtle dove if the season this morning, and yet another cuckoo. Saw a very lichen-grown hawthorn just coming into flower, and noticed the oaks and willows too. I've just finished a book about hedgerows and it's really making me look at trees and shrubs much more.

And I'm sure most of you know what this is.

Nope... never seen anything like that before. the shape looks like maybe some sort of gall but not the colour.

I've just seen an almighty kerfuffle in my back border - several blackbirds mobbing a magpie. Presumably it was after eggs or chicks. They'd seen it off before I could get outside to shoo it.
Oh... just saw it fly over the garden pursued by a female blackbird.