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 saw what I thought was my third red kite of the week. After a little disagreement with DS who was adamant that it was a buzzard, we finally opened up the field guide we were carrying with us. And we discovered that neither of us was correct. It wasn’t a kite and it wasn’t a buzzard. We were in fact looking at a pair of marsh harriers. We weren’t expecting that!

We watched in awe while they hunted low over the reef beds and congratulated ourselves on both being so stubborn that we refused to accept each other’s views. For once it paid off! 😄

Equally exciting, but a little more everyday, we spotted the first bluebell flowers today. I can’t wait for those to get properly started.

We had a gentle stroll in some riverside woods we don't go to often (too near the motorway for peacefulness, unfortunately) - lots of wild daffodils which I'd not really expected. Some of the wild garlic was showing a little bit of white so that won't be long.

The neighbour's white cherry has suddenly blossomed in the recent warmth - its colder today but hopefully that will prolong its brief splendour. The pink trees on the corner across the road aren't showing much sign yet but I'm sure will ere long so I can indulge in some hanami .

I spotted a bluebell today too. And the cherry and plum in the garden are on the cusp of flowering. Good for the bees that are staring to buzz about.

Marsh harriers is a pretty cool spot, I've only ever seen one of those.

There's a reserve quite near us with extensive reed beds where marsh harriers are often seen - I think some of them overwinter.

I don’t think I have ever seen a Marsh harrier.

No bluebells yet round our way but there did seem to be even more primroses this evening and I noticed a few violets and the blackthorn blossom is all lovely.

It’s been a week of firsts for me. I spotted the first swallow on Wednesday, two days after the first swift and wheatear. On a trip to the seaside, the seabird colony was starting to look busy with new arrivals, with razorbills, fulmar and guillemots all lining the cliffs. I’ve seen the first bats and butterflies of the season and yesterday the first terns turned up. Not sure I can stand this much excitement!

Closer to home, a little chiffchaff has started to make an appearance in my garden. I thought they were more of a woodland bird, but it seems that the few trees at the edge of my garden are enough to keep it happy for now 🥰

I can hear a chiffchaff in my garden too - there's a house behind ringed by trees, and then a farm so there's quite a variety of bird life. But woodlands will have the sound of loads of them.

I've seen a couple of goldfinches today after not seeing any for a while.

Loving all the bird spotting.

DH and I have been out sorting the garden while the weather is nice, we've spotted a pair of slow worms basking and I've finally seen a butterfly. A tortioseshell I think.

Heard the first cuckoo this morning in the garden.

@CentBoppers

Heard the first cuckoo this morning in the garden.

Lots of forget-me-nots coming out in the garden now, and the first of the honesty is showing purple.

It's really nice hearing all your nature updates and interesting to see the variety of wildlife that people are getting. We don't often hear cuckoos near the house, I was excited to hear one on dartmoor last year.

Today's Nature Notebook leads with brimstones - I now know the yellow beauties I saw last week were all lovelorn males. 'Brimstone' doesn't seem like the right name to me, they're more soft primrose than sulphur-bright yellow.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/winter-ends-when-suitors-search-for-a-mate-unfolds-l585jmh3d?shareToken=b95eb7e58155a49ff348d0d7417626d1

A kestrel landed in my garden a little while ago. It only stayed a few seconds but it's the first time! Probably more excited than I should be

a kestrel in your garden. That's very exciting.

The first signs of flowers on the garlic mustard in the hedgerows today, and even in one spot a bit of hawthorn blossom. But some of the hedges barely have leaves so I think that was a bit anomalous.

The canal towpath is no longer a quagmire, and we're a bit less worried about its somewhat inadequate width now we're both a few weeks past our first vac. Good to be able to walk it again, today we saw swans, a heron, ducks of course and were overflown by a lapwing.

A kestrel in your garden @Thirstquenching?! Wow!

My Easter walk didn’t “deliver” much in the way of exciting wildlife observations. I think I’ve been getting a bit spoilt this week, so now everything looks a little mundane .

On my walk I did come across lots and lots of skylark, which are always a joy to listen to. There were a few ravens around too and some adorable stonechats. I’ve been trying to identify a few of the flowers I saw, but didn’t get much further than wild violets as the book I bought on wildflowers last week turns out to be about American wildflowers, not UK ones. Oops!

We had a beautiful walk on dartmoor this morning. There were no clouds to be seen and skylark everywhere. We also saw 3 buzzards out circling including one swooping past us as we stood on a tor.

Butterflies everywhere yesterday, mostly tortoiseshells. Forget me nots coming out. Fruit trees still not quite in blossom yet but frustratingly close. More and more colour in the garden. The lapwings seem very busy too. Love listening to their funny song.

I thought it was too soon for the hawthorn blossom here; on closer inspection today it turned out to be some blackthorn growing right through the hawthorn hedge. Pretty anyway!
Some cow parsley (or similar, I can't tell all those carroty things apart) was showing a bit of flower though.

Just been for a 14 mile walk through a nature reserve and seen so many birds alot of I can't even name. I've never seen so many sandmartins there must have been hundreds swooping and playing on the wind right on the path we were walking. The man from the rspb said they would be trying to catch flies

The cold snap is bringing back some birds that went missing from my garden a few weeks ago.

Really happy to see a return of one of the great tits that frequently visited over the winter. I know it’s the same one, as he has a feather abnormality, which has resulted in a generally washed out look, beautiful white tail and large patches of white on his back.

He’s perfectly healthy, but sometimes birds like that can find it difficult to find a mate. I’m pleased to report that he brought a brightly coloured friend with him today. I wonder what their chicks will look like! 🥰

Lots of new leaves emerging on the trees here. New sycamore leaves are so lovely and glossy!

For the last few days, jackdaws have been raiding my garden for nesting materials. I’m a (deliberately) very messy gardener, which pays off at this time of the year when birds help themselves to old clematis clippings and fluffy Cardoon seed heads. They’re doing a great job clearing the gutters too. Yesterday moss was flying all over the place 😄

I got loudly told off by a jay in a park yesterday- I think it may have been nesting in a tree by a rarely-trodden path.

Today's Nature Notebook features bee-buzzing pussy willow:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a-world-with-more-willows-is-well-worth-fighting-for-x5zg9gtw0?shareToken=112a214ed7a2f8259628f1c50edfc65a

We have jackdaws too, a pair nest in the nook of the chimney pot every year and you can hear the young through the chimney breast.

Not much to report here apart from lots of bees buzzing in the sunshine.