25th April..... Big Garden Sit Viz Mig Session, Week Five.

My list :

Stewart's list :

23rd April..... Sowing the Seeds.

Walking from home out towards Pednor this morning, another warm day.

Orange-tip butterflies patrolling up and down the footpath which were bordered with bluebells and white stitchwort. Tortoiseshells and peacocks sunning themselves on the ground. Heard a tractor working and watched, through the dust as he finished rolling with a large gang of Cambridge rolls above Pednor Bottom.

Passed a pair of kestrels and watched a pair of distant hares.

 

 

Also came close to a pair of wrens on the narrow path, passing the alpacas on the right and shire horses on the left.

 

Wild garlic beginning to flower in the woods and passed another tractor working, this time busy drilling spring corn. Stewart.

Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.

21st April..... Starlings & Roe Deer.

Towards the end of last week the male starling started entering the box where great tits were nesting, taking out the moss the great tit had used for its nest then taking in its own nesting material.

Not good news for the great tits who also kept entering the box and bringing out the material the starling had brought in. It carried on for two days and now the box is quiet and empty. The starlings are incubating in their own box, hopefully, hatch about the beginning of May and the great tits will  find another box.

Another quiet walk from home and came across three roe deer in a state of moult, two young does and a buck who was also shedding the velvet from its antlers.

Sunday had a distant view of my first 'passing through' wheatear also noted  two lapwings in their regular field and good numbers of skylarks.

On way back home passed a holly-blue butterfly on holly, a speckled wood and green-veined white butterfly.

Later at home a male orange-tip was sharing the honesty with bee-flies.

Stewart.
Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.

18th April..... Big Garden Sit Viz Mig Session, Week Four.

My list 8-9am.

Stewart's

15th April.... Green-veined White.

Had brief visit to the garden of a pair of marsh tits.

With the day warming up butterflies appeared too. Holly blues, like the brimstone, favouring the honesty.

 

Green-veined white and a female orange-tip nectaring on the sweet rocket, Hesperis.

 Stewart.
Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.

Animal Highway : no 3 Badger.

Animal Highway : No 2 Fox.

Day time action.

Night time action.

Fox food.

Animal Highway : No 1 Muntjac.

Whilst out on my daily Lockdown walk, I've noticed several well used animal pathways, so with the landowners permission I set up my Trail Cam,  just to see what passes by, had a rough idea what would be caught on camera judging by the tracks. Any how here's No 1 : Muntjac.

Click to play video.

13th & 14th April..... Butterflies.

As well as the feeders being busy, robins were active on the lawn searching for insects and flying off to feed their young. A wren came in also searching for insects, watched it for a few minutes as it quickly moved back and forth over the lawn.

On a walk from home we soon passed a male chaffinch singing from a roadside blackthorn hedge which is in full flower at this time of year.

Another hot day brought butterflies out good numbers of brimstone, peacock and tortoiseshell were out, also a few  male orange-tip (the female does not have the orange tip, hers are black) and holly blues with their silver and black spotted underwings.

Found one comma butterfly warming itself up in the sun. On way back home passed a small herd of goats. Green woodpeckers are very vocal at the moment with their strange call, also heard a buzzard and raven having words.

The following morning walked opposite direction and more green woodpeckers heard and seen briefly. Good views of rooks searching for grubs  and, being another hot day, butterfly numbers were good.

At home a green- veined white resting amongst the brunnera flowers. Stewart.

Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.

12th April..... Lockdown Walk.

A walk from home.

Chiffchaff numbers rising and territories being established found several singing males high in the tree tops, also noticed blackcap numbers increasing.

Quietly checking for more warblers came close to a roe deer, small and on its own, last years young I guess.

On way back home passed some alpacas and later watched a coal tit checking out a possible nesting site.

A little further, rooks following the cultivator.

At home great tits seem interested in a new box, blackbirds and dunnocks nest building along with the starlings, robins, blue tits and a wren.

Stewart.












Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.

11th April..... Big Garden Sit Viz Mig Session, Week Three.

My list 8-9am.
Wren
Robin
Bullfinch pair on feeder.
Wood Pigeon
Chaffinch
Blue Tit
Magpie
Jackdaw
Blackbird Female gathering nesting (moss) from the pond.
Chiffchaff singing.
Blackcap singing & in Cotoeaster.
Dunnock
Carrion Crow
Song Thrush
Starling
Stock Dove
Nuthatch
House Martin 2 at nest & above house.
Goldfinch 2 on feeder.

Stewart's list 8-9am.
Carrion Crow                2 over
Magpie                          3 over
Jay                                 3 over
Raven                            1 over
Wood Pigeon                 3
Pheasant                       1 f
Moorhen                        1
Mallard                           1f 1m over
Great Spotted woodpecker 1f 1m
Nuthatch                       1
Starling                         1f 1m
Blackbird                      1f 1m
Robin                            2  posturing/fighting
Dunnock                       2
Chaffinch                      1f 1m
Goldfinch                      3
Blue tit                          8  ( need more nest boxes )
Great tit                        3
Long tailed tit               2

8th April..... Super Moon.

Image Copyright : Stewart Dennis.

To Governments, Decision Makers, Movers & Shakers.

In the last twelve months we've experienced Fire, Flood & now pestilence, do you not think Nature is sending us a message?? Things need to change & fast, all this environmental destruction needs to Stop. It's causing untold damage. You as decision makers need to change the path you're on, can you not see you're killing the planet & the people.

Still it seems things may change after a prolonged Lockdown due to this pandemic, as it appears the internet is now on the cusp of a second revolution (the first being the internet retail revolution), with employees forced to work from home due to the current travel restrictions, many companies & individuals are already discussing the prospects of working from home in the future, realising this to be more cost effective for both employers & employees alike. If this is to be the future of business, it will mean vacant office space, which could be converted to reduce the housing shortage, plus less traffic on the roads, rails & in the air, leading to less pollution & a better life for everyone.

Which would beg the question why build High Speed Two when we have High Speed Broadband?? for less cost & less destruction.

4th April.... Big Garden Sit Viz Mig Session, Week Two.

My List 8-9am :

Great Tit  Pair.
Bullfinch  Pair
Wood Pigeon
Robin
Chiffchaff  Singing first of the Spring in the garden.
Blackbird
Dunnock
Goldfinch
Carrion Crow
Blue Tit
Magpie
Mallard  2 over, later on lawn.
Coal Tit
Collard Dove
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Song Thrush  Singing from it's song post in Oak.
Wren
Jackdaw
Starling
Nuthatch
Green finch
Jay
Chaffinch
Red Kite

Later in the afternoon a Goldcrest was gathering nesting material.
Tried a spot of Nocmig after dark as others are doing, listening for the calls of migrating wildfowl, particularly Common Scoters, all I could hear was the ringing of tennitus in my ears, the result of to much loud music in my youth I guess.

Stewart's List  9-45-10-45am :

carrion crow  1       over with nesting material
magpie           1
wood pigeon    3
stock dove        1
red kite             1
pheasant           1m 2f
moorhen           2
greenfinch        1f
chaffinch        3f  1m
goldfinch       5
long tailed tit   3
blue tit         5
great tit         2         inspecting new box        
coal tit         2            
robin           3
dunnock      2
blackbird     2f 1m        one female nest building
starling          2             one picking up nest material
great spotted woodpecker   1
nuthatch       1
tree creeper    1           1st in the garden

3rd April.... Fox.

While out this afternoon, peered through a gap in the hedge, just a short distance away sat this beautiful Fox.

We engaged in a bit of a staring match, 'til the Fox slowly turned & crept away.

A bit of a shaky video clip.

Here's another large nest.

Heard my first returning Chiffchaff of  the Spring singing from across the valley in Ballinger Woods.
Don.

3rd April..... Misbourne Valley.

  

Cock pheasant looking good these days, coming in close to the house picking up spilt seed from under the feeders while trying to impress the hen pheasants. The moorhens too are busy courting.

Two nuthatches are also coming in to the garden to feed.

The starlings continue to nest build.

On Wednesday walked down to the Misbourne, which is flowing well.

Enjoyed the view from the other side of the valley, (that is until HS2 ploughs right  through).

Watched at least 20 kites and a couple of buzzards pick up a thermal and rise.

Later came across 7 roe deer.

Stewart.

Images Copyright : Stewart Dennis.