Started a new thread for the Spring.
I saw a super site at 6pm tonight. About 30 Whooper Swans flew over my house heading North east. I didn't see them coming or the camera would have been out.
had some great tits in nesting box with web cam in taking out the saw dust not sure if they are collecting for there own nest or making room for there own nesting material first year of nest box with web cam so excited ;D
2 great big fat bees
a flock of 8 chaffinches the most i have seen in months :D
oh yeah and heard:
http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk187/thifasmom/?action=view¤t=MVI_2182.flv (http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk187/thifasmom/?action=view¤t=MVI_2182.flv)
Still getting lots of Siskin and Goldfinch on the feeders, counted at least 100 this morning, about 15-20 Goldfinch and the rest Siskin. The Siskins keep up a constant twittering all day long. I guess soon they will leave to nest in the local forest. Also get a lot of other birds species. The male Robin is putting the finishing touches to the nest being built in my garden shed prior to the eggs being laid. Luckily it is not going to be in the way.
Tadpoles all hatched out now and have congregated in a mass in the centre of the spawn. Presumably this gives them some protection until they decide to swim freely. The Great Diving Beetle is already patrolling the area as are the newts.
We have has this "white" black bird in the garden for 2 years now but this is the best photo I have managed so far. It is very wary so I had to take from a distance and then enlarge.
(http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9521/whitebird.th.jpg) (http://img11.imageshack.us/my.php?image=whitebird.jpg)
hi,
I'm not to good with birds but definitely spotted a robin in the garden today singing to another a couple of gardens up. Also a wren (i think) i described the beautiful bird song to my nan and she informed me that was what it was.
I just love hearing them sing first thing ;D
Lucy
A flock of long tailed tits; robins, blackbirds, squirrel, even more frogs spawn now in our allotment wildlife pond, a slow worm (very slow and sluggish this morning as it was quite cold but it was under a compost heap cover - and a rat(!) on our allotment bird feeder (so have put down poison in a special dish which birds can't get to) in the hedge where it ran into.
The white Blackbird looks amazing do you see it often?
Today at my allotment the wrens were singing very loudly again...what a powerful voice for such a little bird.
This morning the robin sat on my washing line and looked in the window at me...seems to be his new habit.
Gosh everyone's seen some lovely things.
Beautiful young male sparrowhawk in the garden the other day. It didn't have any success with "my" little birds thank goodness - not pretty to watch when they do but aren't they magnificent? Top of the garden food chain.
In spite of this occasional visitor we had siskin, brambling, redpoll and goldfinch on the feeders today :). Not bad for a small suburban garden... but we do bribe them shamelessly with sunflower hearts ::).
QuoteAlso a wren (i think) i described the beautiful bird song to my nan and she informed me that was what it was.
There's nothing beautiful about the wren's song. Sounds more like a polish builder hacking through a lump of wood with a rusty saw.
My current sightings and or hearings are pipistrele bats, tawny owls, comma and peacock butterflies but no ladybirds.
Two herons going over. They're an everyday sight, going to and fro from a lake the other side of the canal.
Yes we see it most days and it has been around for almost 2 years. I did not realise how they stay in a such a small area. Very seldom does it stray from an area of about 50 sq yds. sorry I am too old to guess mtrs. but I think it would be about the same.
Quote from: Kea on March 24, 2009, 17:05:25
The white Blackbird looks amazing do you see it often?
Today at my allotment the wrens were singing very loudly again...what a powerful voice for such a little bird.
This morning the robin sat on my washing line and looked in the window at me...seems to be his new habit.
Today on my lottie my mate Robin was nearby watching me digging, a fat bee was getting in the way, one of the squirrels was scuffling about on the rooftops and the crows and wood pidgeons were making themselves heard, noisy gits. ;D ;D ;D
The ring-necked parakeets are back, screeching over my allotment this evening.
seen today :-X at least it was on its own
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk187/thifasmom/IMG_2378.jpg)
Got into work today to find that something had triggered an (unconfirmed) alarm activation in the front area of the office. Turned around to be greeted by a rather flustered little robin who'd been trapped in there when my boss was loading up his equipment earlier that morning! I don't know who was more startled, me or the robin as he watched me dancing in and out of the office door trying to show him which way to freedom!! ::) ;D
saw the resident peacock butterfly (resident because it always comes back to the same location to sun itself)
also saw my first ever yellow brimstone ;D
and my first comma butterfly for the season.
the tadpoles in my pond have finally broken free of their spawn nest and have migrated to different areas of the pond.
Saw herons nesting high in the trees in the island on the lake at Regents Park (London) today and observed them quite close up. One of them snatched a baby duckling and flew around for about 30 minutes with it in its beak but was unable to swallow it. Glad they're not in my pond! Was able to take pictures which I will post when I've downloaded them.
A male RedPoll on the feeders showing some superb red feathers. Stillgetting about 40 Siskin each day.
Saw my first Swallows of the year today.
On the way to work Friday a partridge shot out infront of our car and then about five minutes down the road, a pheasant did the same thing! I shouldn't laugh but they both looked so funny trying to decide which way to run! ;D
Walked around Lea Valley Park this afternoon for about three hours or so and saw:
Green Woodpecker
Mr & Mrs Reed Bunting
Long tailed tits (making their nest)
Mr & Mrs Coot - with babies!
Moorhens
Geese
Swans
Hawk (we think a hobby)
Water vole
Herons
Little Egret
Lapwings
Chaffinches
Blackcap (male)
Robins
Various members of the tit family
Comorants
(http://xs538.xs.to/xs538/09140/coots152.jpg)
Had to zoom a fair bit to get this pic and we saw that there were more little ones in the nest :)
A marsh harrier's nesting site, out on a reedbed ;)
I watered a pot of hardy plants this morning, and very shortly afterwards noticed that holes had been dug into the compost. I filled a plant pot tray with soil, added water to make a fairly stiff mud and put it near the pot and stood back to watch. Within minutes a female blackbird appeared and proceeded to collect a beak full of mud and fly off. I watched where she went and was able to find the nest she was building.
we got a blackbird building a nest beside the front door, in the passiflora! ;)
Frogs breeding. Definitely frogs since I saw the spawn. There was also a dead toad in the lane, so they're on the move as well.