What have you seen
Comments
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Did wonder where the Redstarts where and a male Common Redstart appeared on top of our wooden gazebo complete with his white bar across the top of his head then 10 minutes later a male Black Redstart appeared on the end of ours clothes line must have heard me talking to OH.
Then earlier today saw a movement in one of the garden troughs only to look closer and see a vary small Grass snake so will keep looking to see where it goes as I am not keen on snakes close to the house hopefully if the weather warms up it may move elsewhere.
Still no Swifts seen around here yet.
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Well at last just had 2 Swifts flying around a bit late here this year also see 1 Small Pearl Border Fritillary butterfly and Southern White Admiral butterfly and yesterday 3 Black Veined butterflies so things are moving in the right direction as weather improves.
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Doing some gardening and looked up just in time to see a Goshawk flying over me, very quickly. We do see one every so often in the area but always a pleasure. They look so much bigger than the garden loving Sparrowhawk.
Only heard Swifts up to now, not seen any. Very unusual, especially as I was in town at the market today and they are normally wizzing around there.
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We visited Balgavies Loch today and we were fortunate to see both of the resident Ospreys in flight. The female was on the nest when we arrived at the bird hide, and shortly afterwards the male flew in and perched on his favoured branch on a dead tree close to the nest. Then the female took off and flew around a couple of times, probably for a comfort break, before landing back on the nest. We then had a walk around the reserve and heard lots of birds song including Blachcaps, Chiffchaffs and Garden Warblers.
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We get a lot of wood pigeons in our garden but for the last three weeks or so they have been attacked - by a crow! I've never seen this behaviour before. The crow doesn't make physical contact, it just swoops in very low and closely follows them as the pigeons fly off. Very strange.
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More about 'gardening' than wildlife but something unusual. A new road was built near us and is about a quarter mile long. All along one verge the council seeded with wild flowers. Last year it was a mass of white daisies, something yellow, and red poppies. It really did look good. However, this year there is not a poppy in sight. A mass of daisies and whatever the yellow flower is, but no poppies. However, all along the opposite side of the road at the bottom of the fence that runs the length of the road there are thousands of poppies, not there last year and presumably not seeded there by the council, but why none whatsoever on the opposite side of the road?
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When the A11 Barton Mills to Thetford was opened a few years ago the first year for poppies was wonderful however driving on the stretch the mowers were out cutting the verges before the poppies and daisy’s had seeded. Obviously no gardeners employed
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Poppy seeds have a specific germination process. They need ground disturbance of the soil and aggravation to ‘shake’ them out of their natural dormancy. This means the seeds can lay dormant for several years hidden in the soil. Hence they flourished in the fields after the shelling of the Somme and hence its place in Poppy Appeal. Some other wildflowers also have other specific germination, some need periods of frost while others need to pass through animals. Some seeds also germinate on a rota of several years ‘hibernation’ in the soil until conditions are right.
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Walking alongside the bay towards Conway from Llandudno today, passing by a golf course. We were surprised, to say the least, to have a female Merlin fly about 12 feet above our heads and then disappear back onto the edge of the course. Hope it didn't spot the lovely pair of Stonechats that were nearby or the Whitethroat that was holding forth from various gorse bushes.
The wild dog roses and ox-eyed daisies were everywhere. Very pretty.
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So true, that’s why NMM should be extended where appropriate to a time when most species have set seed. Some years ago there was well known roadside verge near us which was covered every year with several orchid species, some quite rare. Folk from near and far came to see them. The council managed it well until one spring a worker sprayed it with glyco. Despite local protestations the reason why and the culprit never came to light. They never grew back. Today folk are far more aware and NMM has helped this by spreading the word and changing practices and attitudes. It just needs to go on longer where possible.
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On the way to the Brenne for a lunch at a local Auberge we like and saw a Male Hen Harrier quartering a local field and the lake opposite the Auberge there were plenty of Swans and cygnets of different ages and plenty of other water birds about.
Saw a couple of stonechats on the cables on the way here.
On our way home tomorrow.
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I have been fortunate in seeing and hearing quite a few less common creatures over the last couple of days. A Weasel ran across a path I was walking at Loans, last night a Badger ran down the road in front of Flyte and I during our last walk out here at The Brough and today while we were having lunch a Hare ran out in front of the car. We have also seen another Red Squirrel run across the road as we drove down here. There is a family of GSW feeding on the feeder opposite the van, and while at the reserve, as well as the Osprey and chick, we saw Reed Buntings, and heard both Serve and Willow Warblers, and this afternoon just up the road from the van there was a Greater Whitethroat calling ( so my Merlin app said at least ) as well as a Blackcap and Chiffchats.
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As everyone here knows I am not an advocate of the release of predators and a bit of a climate sceptic. Having said that I have noticed quite a few encouraging signs this spring/summer. Here the weather has been cooler and wetter in the main. There are many more martins, swallows and even swifts about.Today there must have been 20 or so over the fields. Cuckoos were however scarce. The fly catcher has successfully reared. The robins and wrens have broods. There has been a blackbird and two thrushes in the hedges again successfully reared. Fly life is noticeably more abundant with splots even on the car. Today fishing a mountain lake the Osprey came over but seemed more interested in my terrier than fish. but they would have been 8oz brownies. Easier feed at Clywedog, not far away. This was probably an unattached lone bird. So all in all the cooler/wetter weather has been beneficial to bird life, but too early to talk of a cycle change.
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Good to hear things going well in your part of Wales, Fish. Over here in Flintshire I have noticed a lack of insect life, butterflies and especially Swifts. The Sand Martins returned to their breeding area in the bank wall of the estuary just down from Flint and seem to be doing ok.
We seem to have had a normal "garden" bird breeding program with early broods of all of the usual suspects but no Garden Warbler this year, a sort of regular on/off bird here. Not sure what the situation is at the Black Grouse breeding site on the moors as I haven't been able to get there this year. We do have breeding Great White and Cattle Egrets on the Dee
I tend to take my view of climate change from nature, such as seeing those Egrets mentioned. Plus a now common scarcity of Bramblings in winter. These once were regular visitors to our garden. I've seen 2 in 5 years and none in the garden. I don't tend to go off 1 or 2 year changes but 10/20 years. Things have certainly changed but the weather seems the same. Of course weather and climate change are 2 different things.
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Last evening, when out for our walk with Flyte, I spotted a quite young Magpie chick on the ground, by some trees with an adult Magpie screeching above, and flying around above was a Herring Gull. I guess that the gull had knocked the chick from a nest in trying to take it. The full flew off when we walked by, and there was no sign of the chick this morning, although I doubt that it was old enough to fly.
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There is a very interesting nature reserve not far from the Boroughbridge C&CC site, with good paths and numerous bird hides, Staveley Lakes Nature Reserve. Lots of orchids, including Marsh Helliborines and Common Spotted, and many songbird, Reed Buntings, Sedge Warblers, Blackcaps, Greater Whitethroats, and many Chiffchats. Definitely well worth a visit.
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cats cats and more bloomin cats, we have blackbirds, robins, hedgesparrow and a wren, all with youngsters, some on the ground so i spend my early morning coffee break helping to shoo the cats away,lovely cats and of course they are only doing what nature intended them to, so far i think i have been successful and the owners are sympathetic to my cause
this font is cracking me up, so unprofessional
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We have cats early morning and night time as our cameras show but they are here for mice etc so no problem with birds rufs.
Whilst out on Monday near Villefranche there was a lot of Red Kites about and then on a tree stump and getting ready to fly of was a Honey Buzzard great to see also a few Cattle Egrets and they seem to like this area and when we first came here you would not have seen any of the Egret family now they are everywhere.
Glad I have newish glasses as this font is beyond a joke now.
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I tried to post these photos last night, but without success, flowers from yesterday's walk, Betony, Marsh Woundworth a d Marsh Helliborines. Here goes again
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Thanks ADP.. The nature reserve is well worth a visit at this time of the year if you want to see orchids, not just the Helliborines but there are also masses of Common Spotted Orchids too. Common Terns nest on platforms in the lakes, old gravel and clay pits, and many other waterfowl too.
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We were walking along the coast path near Bolton le Sands, we could here the Curlews, one then took flight from the field next to the path, it flew past us within a couple of feet. Never been that close to one, they are bigger than I thought too.
Have seen buzzards and quite a few kestrels this trip.
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Nellie I am so lucky to live less than a mile away to such a place called Bodenham Wildlife Park and it features such pleasures including Orchids. It was once a working Quarry and when worked out it was landscaped, Osprey Platforms built and bird hides made and then it was handed over to Hereford Council.I was area Sales Manager during this time so very familiar with the abundant goodies it holds which although I have not mentioned includes 4 species of Deer.
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ADP, You are very fortunate to live so close to that Reserve. It is not one that we have visited, but hopefully we will sometime in the future.
Helen, on my afternoon walk today, near Masham, a Curlew flew across in front of me too. There has been Red Kites on the journey up to here, and while packing up we were serenaded by a couple of Greater Whitethroats.
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We regularly see Red Kites and also Buzzards and often the crows mob them, however the other morning it was a gull mobbing the buzzard, the buzzard was making quite a racket too, they circled over the house a few times before the gull eventually gave up.
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As well as Buzzards, Curlew, Lapwings, Swifts and Skylarks I saw a Barn Owl flying over the Green outside the site, a Weasel ran across the road in the village, and have also come across a Hedgehog on 3 occasions over the last couple of days, once in the village at night and twice today on the fields behind the site.
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Yesterday while out walking we watched a Red Kite coursing above a field where a tractor was turning the hay, then it suddenly swooped down, grabbed something off the ground and flew off ,I guess to its nest to feed its young.
Came across this patch of Conical Brittlestems, Parasol Conopilus, glistening after a shower of rain.
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Very hot here but over the last fortnight we have seen Mourning , Turtle and Laughing Doves, Crested Larks, Chukar Partridge, Long-legged Buzzard and many more birds, some I’ve yet to identify. Also chameleons, various lizards, snakes and both green and loggerhead turtles. The excessive heat and humidity have curtailed our wildlife spotting just a tad mind.
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