What have you seen
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Spent a while before lunch today sorting out the bird foods and feeders, stopped for a quick brew, perched on the campervans portable steps. Got that strange feeling of being watched so looked around, saw a tourist eagle*** circling at a good height but to no avail !! I ain't ordering food for them !! Still it reminds me that even Crewe ain't far from some Rough Country & the creatures that occupy it, even if the cattle fields are trimmed to within an inch of their life
*** Tourist Eagle --> Buzzard
- a nickname I learned up the Scottish West Coast long ago, back in my tenting days0 -
Saw a pair of long tailed tits in the trees by the Salisbury Rugby Club car park early Thursday evening. Not a lot of wildlife in evidence on a walk along the Avon into Salisbury though.
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An interesting visitor on site yesterday evening, just behind our van. A Bengal Eagle Owl in training, lots of info from his young owner.
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We had similar one time we were staying at Sky Barn CL, but not an owl but a Golden Eagle!!😯
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We haven't had a proper days birdwatching for quite some time so treated ourselves today to a days walking along the west coast of the Wirral from Burton Point to Parkgate. Some of it involved using the boardwalk next to the reedbed. It can get very muddy here and the boards themselves were not all there or in good shape but thanks to the recent good weather we managed it. Another good reason for using it was the lack of other people.
What a splendiferous day it was. We watched a Grasshopper warbler reeling away for well over a minute. I don't know how they can breathe and keep singing/reeling at the same time. Also got a good view of a Cetti's Warbler that didn't know we were lurking. Other great spots today were Lesser Whitethroat along with Common Whitethroat, Swallow, Skylarks, 2 Great White Egrets, Marsh Harrier, Sedge Warblers (our first of this year) and loads of the more commonly seen birds. Brill.
Plus some new Butterflies, Peacocks being the most numerous and some new Hawthorn Blossom along with a great sight of a Crab Apple tree in full bloom.Loads of walkers and cyclists on the popular bits. Furlough still in full swing by the look of it.
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Sounds like a good day out WN. We seem to be doing OK in Cornwall, busy on the main roads but not many people out and about doing the "visiting." I expect this is the lull between the bank holidays and spring break.
Some nice dog tooth violets on our visit to Trewidden. We bought a little Assam tea camellia plant...will it grow to fill a tea pot I wonder?
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Lots of butterflies down here, Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells, Commas, Orange Tips, the odd Brimstone, and a couple of small blue ones too quick to identify properly. In the bird world there are lots of Buzzards, Red Kites, both Green and GS Woodpeckers and Skylarkand Long Tailed Tits. Also saw our first Wheatear this afternoon.
Looks as if others have a good day out too.
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We had a good week spotting wildlife last week at Nene Park. Brimstones, peacock butterflies. Kingfishers, terns, dozens of swans, a lone Great Blacked Back Gull, herons galore, loads of songbirds, dozens of cormorants, geese and ducks, and a flock of noisy parakeets. Very sadly, we saw quite a few dead badgers and deer along the roadsides travelling to and from as well☹️
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Strumpshaw Fen RSPB reserve today. Cuckoo! Heard but not seen, but 1st of the year.
Lots of garganey about, more than I’ve ever seen before.
Mallards with ducklings, Greylags with goslings, all tiny, fluffy and very cute.
Now planning tomorrow’s outing 🙂1 -
OH got a shock while we were sat in a quarry having our picnic lunch today when a bright green lizard ran across the grass to the rocks we were sat on. 😯
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Another day, another Cornish garden. Trebah in spring. The Helford river was quite choppy in the strong winds but the plants were doing well. Spot the non political Sturgeon.
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Great photos brue another one to visit we we come over in September.
Plenty of lizards around here NH they do help to keep small insects at bay.
Saw a fresh Green Hairstreak butterfly yesterday whilst out for usual walk and plenty of other butterflies about.
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Lizards I can cope with but on the border next to a stone wall was a young whip snake soon as it saw me disappeared back into the wall, we have had them about before and they grow upto 2 metres long even seen dead ones on the road around here and reading about them to find they will even kill their species and adders to eat.
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I really like lizards, find them fascinating, but have never seen one in the UK, so very envious.
We went to NWT reserve at Ranworth today, a few common terns about, another 1st for the year for us.
Off to Fakenham Racecourse site, tomorrow, Barleywood CL was completely booked up, should have tried much earlier.
Hopefully some good birding on the North coast, usually excellent at this time of year. 🙂2 -
Have seen 3 Swifts flying over today and had quite a few House Martins go over last week.
When I lived in Shropshire as a child we used to go for picnics about 2 miles from where we lived and there was a stone wall facing south and used to see lizards in and on the wall probably none there now.
Had Mr and Mrs Pheasant on our wall at the bottom of the field this morning having time out for cleaning their feathers etc.
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We’re at Fakenham Racecourse site.
Amazing to see lots of Chinese water deer, grazing around the site, assume they must have moved in during the months of lockdown when the site would be empty.But, not too happy, we’ve been allocated the most awful “pitch”, not a pitch at all, just a small parking space, parallel to a brick wall, at the side of one of the site roads. Next to some broken plastic barriers and a very large satellite dish thing.
Had a word with the lady at reception, she said that pitches are allocated by unit size. So our 2 berth Swift 480 pays the same £25 / night as something twice the size, that has a “ proper “ pitch. 🤔
Won’t be staying here again, would have left already but payment is now in full, in advance.
Rant over 🙂, we spend very little time on site anyway, planning to go to Cley tomorrow, should be good 🙂🙂🙂
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We noticed a new CL at Blakeney, Villeroche, that we thought we might try next time we're down that way. It sounds from the blurb that we may well have stayed on their Mothers cL site, an Orchard, in the middle of Blakeney quite some time ago.
Did you use the CAMC site at the Broads for your Strumpshaw and Ranworth visits?
Sympathy for your present predicament. Hope the birding makes up for it.
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I just had to post this. Our eldest daughter and her husband made the move to the Isle of Lewis & Harris (Outer Hebrides) a couple of years ago. They have been renovating a cottage. They were sitting looking out of their large window/ french doors and were greeted by the following looking back at them......
David
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No cuckoo here sadly, we seem to have lost them in recent years. The swallows are coming in slowly, apparently individual males arrive first, I love to hear their chatter.
First night without a frost, we have a lot of plant damage. Finally some rain!
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Heard the cuckoo a lot yesterday whilst out on my usual walk and have had them flying over here.
The nightingales are singing and the different sounds they have is incredible at present we have two singing either side of us also heard some more on my walk.
Have seen swifts swallows and house martins flying around but not as many so worrying as numbers are getting lower each year not seen any crag martins yet so will have to wait until we go to friends after the 3rd May as they have more cliffs where they live, we have got a cherry tree for her 60th which was two weeks ago and not been able to see them hence the trip next week.
No frost here just rain but the ground needs it, at least the local frogs will enjoy the rain and they certainly busy croaking at night time.
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Good view of Jack Snipe this morning at RSPB Titchwell reserve, quite surprised to see lots of Brent Geese still about, thought they would be long gone by now 🤔.
Wherenext, thanks, we will certainly check out CLs for our next visit to Norfolk, we like Barleywood, but so do many other people so they get booked up quickly.
I suggested to OH that we stay at Cley Windmill next time, seems it’s OK as long as I’m paying 😱.
🙂
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Pliers you could also try The Sheiling at Cley. Bit of a slope but you can walk down "Old Woman Lane" (real name) to the reserve. About a mile from the CL. A while since we've stayed there but it used to be fine.
Sat in the complex that is Arkwright Mill today having a cuppa when I saw 2 Swifts flying high overhead. Dippers and Grey Wagtails on the River Derwent.
Fish - We've seen Swallows, Redstarts and heard a Pied Flycatcher all in our local area in Flintshire. They do seem a tad delayed but heard plenty of Redstarts yesterday along the River Dove.
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Some very strange oystercatcher behaviour seen today 🤔.
We’ve been to Holkham, walked through the woods and the dunes this morning, then moved on to the hall after lunch.
There were at least 50 oystercatchers strolling about on the beautiful manicured lawns in front of the building, completely oblivious to the passing cyclists, dog walkers etc...
Back at Fakenham Racecourse, and our scenic “pitch”, and there are 2 oystercatchers strutting their stuff on the roof of the Grandstand.
I’ve taken a couple of phone photos, but they are rubbish so won’t post them.
Turnstones have certainly changed their habits in recent years, maybe oystercatchers are doing similar...🤔
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