Nature Notes

[ErrolTheDragon]

Yesterday walking around Martin Mere WWT on a beautiful first day of May with the air full of bird song (squawk/screech/bark/quack and honk) it occurred to me to start a thread here for nature lovers to share what's going on through the seasons around the country - and indeed, other parts of the world. (Helps if you can give some idea of location!)

So - whether you're out in the country, suburbs or urban jungle, what have you heard and seen this week?

Speaking of firsts, I saw my first ever hooded crow in Britain. I’ve seen them in Ireland, but never around here.

We are nowhere near their usual range, so I think this one may have just followed the coast and ended up here.

I saw it off the pier in Llandudno, which often throws up unusual things -I’ve seen Eider, black guillemot and now a hooded crow, as well as most “standard” seabirds. It’s a bit of a shame that the only bird most people notice are the herring gulls when they come for their chips!

That's interesting- last week at foulshaw moss there were some guys discussing what they'd seen in north wales (iirc Anglesey) - they mentioned seeing 'normal'/hooded crow hybrids around there.

Norfolk broads this week... lots of bird life of course! Ducklings, goslings, cygnets and grebe 'humbugs' including one being given a fish too large for it to manage by a parent and having to return it to them. Some of the birds are heard rather than seen so far (reed, sedge, willow and Cetti's warblers) but several reed buntings singing at the top of stalks. Herons of course, and an egret, swifts and swallows swooping.

This week has seen an influx of baby blue tits in my garden - they range from old enough to use the bird feeder by themselves, to so freshly fledged that all they do is sit on my washing line and look gormless while waiting for their parents to come and feed them.

I’m really pleased to see blue tits have had a good nesting season where I am. I know it can be very hit and miss for them some years, but this appears to have been a good one.

Yesterday we took a little electric boat to Hickling broad and Horsey Mere. The hire boats can't get under Potter Heigham bridge so it's quieter and there's some fantastic wildlife. We were told there was a Black Kite around, we saw it a few times -once (appropriately) being harried by a Marsh Harrier in a spectacular aerobatic duel. Lots of wildfowl, grebes with humbug babies and a a couple of sightings of swallowtail butterflies which are a rare treats.

Today lots more birds including some splendid views of marsh harriers.

We set off before 6am this morning as we wanted to go under ludham bridge at low tide. Perfect sunshine, albeit cold, with herons flying low in front of us and birdsong all around. Among the nature sightings (getting blasé about marsh harriers) was a pair of shelducks with a lot of tiny shelducklings , a great white egret in flight and, at How Hill nature reserve astonishing numbers of damsel and dragonflies including seeing some emerging and newly emerged. I'm not at all good at identifying these but there was a ranger in one of the hides who said we were seeing black tailed skimmers and four spotted chasers (sounds a bit like Quidditch players!). I managed to get a photo of one the latter resting on the grass - I thought it's wings weren't fully out but zooming in the veins on the transparent parts are visible

That's lost resolution, I'll try cropping it to see if that looks more like the original

Not so exciting, but the house martins are feeding young ones here (Derbs/Yorkshire border). Year 14 in the same nest. Love to see them and hear them chattering early in the morning.
House sparrows are collecting yarrow leaves and thyme flowers to line their nests.
ErrolTheDragon I think there might be Swallowtail butterflies (sub species) over Norfolk way.

Meet the neighbours!

Not sure if those attached.

Try again...

No idea why my attempts to attach a couple of photos of a swan family with half a dozen fluffy cygnets looking like they either wanted to board or eat the boat failed to attach.

Today we had some splendid sightings of kingfishers

Today we're at Ranworth, there's a lovely boardwalk through 'carr' (where wet woodland is establishing with grey willow and alders), another brilliant kingfisher sighting from a hide, he was posing on dead branches over a pool. Then at the visitors centre they had scopes on an osprey! They had a young pair appear last year, so they've built a platform, a pair is here again and have built a bit of a nest though I don't think will be breeding this year.

I was reminded of this thread by visiting Foulshaw Moss nature reserve - we saw one of the ospreys, and I nearly walked into an adder basking on the boardwalk - fortunately for all, it turns out I'm still able to turn a stride forward into an abrupt backwards jump.

It's a great little reserve, just off the A590 a little way beyond the turns for Sizergh castle and Levens Hall - highly recommend dropping in if you're in the Southern Lakes.

I was very pleased with a photo I took yesterday - such an exotic looking beastie to find on a path in a park. The wonders of image searching tell me it's a sycamore moth caterpillar.

Have you tried the Obsidentify app?

I'd never heard of it.
At the moment I've got Merlin for birds and flora Incognita for plants (not sure if that's the best one but it seems ok). For this beastie I just used the identification on my apple photo app, and checked what it says - it seems to do a decent job if I've got a clear photo of something distinctive as in this case, but sometimes is hilariously wide of the mark. For one thing it doesn't seem to use location data.

I've got those two apps as well, but use Obsidentify for bugs etc.

I paddle on the Thames at Richmond and there are several grebe families with youngsters, they seemed to have done really well this year, as some years the pairs dont have chicks

I saw my very first starling murmuration this weekend at Shapwick Heath Nature Reserve (my photos don't do it justice - I was too busy enjoying it). I was just blown away by it...and the sound the starlings make - the flapping of so many wings. Just incredible.

Nice to see this thread pop up again! I've not seen - or heard! - a murmuration for a while, they really are quite a thing.

Enjoying all the bird song at the moment. I saw a corn bunting and a stonechat today - both identified via the Merlin app, as I wouldn't have had a clue otherwise. But my bird knowledge is definitely expanding.

Oh hello again! Yes, this is prime time for bird song.

I wish I’d remembered this thread last week, when we were on the Caledonian Canal. Rare treats included a pair of blackthroated divers, an osprey carrying a fish low over Lock Ness, and briefly an eagle right over the road as we drove home. There were plenty of bluebells still out, complemented by the most brilliant yellow gorse and Scotch broom.

Saw snails eating the bird food yesterday....think the welcome rain got them out

I'm really concerned about bat numbers locally to me this year. I usually get dozens of pipistrelle bats over my garden on evenings by this time of year....this year only the odd one or two on some evenings. It's sad to see. I don't know if there is a general decrease in number or whether it is a local issue. There is a ruined house which is now being rebuilt and I worry a bat colony has got disturbed from there. Either way it's sad.