A Very Local Update

We are of course still in lockdown here, local exercise only, which means i'm yet to spot a Mallard or a Coot this year, both of which would be early list birds and common as muck on my normal travels! At the end of the month rules will relax a little so we should be able to travel places......but of course so will everyone else!

In the meantime the garden has been filled with activity as has my walk to work. We've had a week of snow and ice back in February, which was great for bringing Redwings to the garden and even a couple of Song Thrush - rare visitors. 

Redwing

Song Thrush

House Sparrows flocking to the bird bath after I defrosted it for the third time that day!

Starlings

A Blackcap pair have been around the gardens for the past three or four weeks, mostly the male with the odd appearance from a female. This happened around the same time last year too. The male has devoured the berries on the honeysuckle and they have both gone through a lot cotoneaster berries. The male has even treated us to his song a few times. 

Male

Female

This past week a pair of Bullfinch have been at the feeders, more rare garden visitors, beautiful ones too! We've had the odd Chaffinch and Greenfinch, both also infrequent visitors.

Chaffinch

Bullfinch

I spotted Hedgehog poop in the garden at the end of February and a few days later spotted the actual Hedgehog itself drinking from the water dish we have in the garden, i've seen it regularly since, followed recently by a second. Here's hoping they do as well as last year. 

The gutter Starling has been singing from it's gutter perch and has been clearing it's spot out, i'm assuming it's the same one again? A large conifer at the end of our house row has been chopped down in recent weeks, lots of Starlings and Sparrows roosted and nested in there, I wonder if it will have any effect on their numbers over the coming months as both did very well with lots of young last year. Woodpigeons have been carrying nest materials into the same tree as previous years, nothing much seems to come of it though.

Long-tailed Tits

Collared Dove

Woodpigeons & Feral Pigeons

Starling catching the early morning sun

Elsewhere around town several pairs of Magpies are nest building, one pair in the supermarket car park right above a busy spot! As of last week a few Redwings are still around in the park, I think the lastest i've seen them there is early April. I heard my first Skylark near work recently too, despite the increase in traffic!

I'll leave you with our inquisitive Squirrel!

Around the Patch

A few weeks back I unexpectedly came across a Barn Owl on my travels, it stayed around the same field most of the day. I think due to the previous two/three days of almost solid rain, it must have been glad to be out for food. Since then my husband has seen two in the same place. To say I was chuffed to find it was a bit of an understatement considering my luck with them over the years!

Back on the patch and spring has definitely sprung with birdsong galore and already in the past week fledgling birds appearing - Magpie, Blackbird, Robin, Woodpigeon and House Sparrow.

Blackbird

House Sparrow

Woodpigeon

Just recently a female Mallard with ducklings has appeared by the bird hide in Churwell Woods, possibly from a pond in a park at the top of the woods. This is a rare patch tick (surprisingly) so I made a couple of trips in the rain and managed to spot 4 ducklings under the branches. 

Earlier in the year we spotted a Nuthatch in the woods with an extremely long beak, it's obviously managing to eat fine with it and we've seen it on several occasions. There's quite a few Nuthatch around the woods now and they do seem to be nesting.

We also keep seeing a couple of Blackbirds with white speckled amongst their feathers but they are usually skulking about in the darkest part of the wood, I've only managed to get one decent photo so far.

One morning we watched a pair of female Great-spotted Woodpeckers chase each other around the woods, one ended up taking a breather by hiding behind a trunk!

Just a pair of Woodpigeons out for a stroll

I've been taking a photo of this spot each week just to see the difference in the foliage as the weather gets warmer (or tries to). 

Elsewhere flowers are blooming and everything is looking very green, we've had a lot of rain recently, much needed after a fairly dry April. 

A few Chiffchaff and Blackcap have been singing regularly, along with the usual Robin, Wren, Blackbird etc

Birds in hiding - Chiffchaff

Blackcap

Nuthatch, although it did keep sticking it's head out and showering bark down from the tree

At home the garden is also looking very green and lush, my Peony Tulips flowered briefly, they never last long enough! Bluebells, Japonica and the Quince in the hedge is all in flower, Cornflowers are starting to bud too, the Japonica is slowly winding it's way up through the Buddleia by the window. 

Next doors Flowering Cherry has flowered and faded 

I've been on the look out for Swallows and House Martins, finally over a week late Swallows are back on the farm near work. A couple of days later a House Martin flew over the garden and finally today 6 Swifts were circling the sky over the house!

The garden has been full of birds......Starlings, Sparrows, Woodpigeons, Collared Doves, Blackbirds, Robin, Dunnock, Blue and Great Tits, Goldfinch, a pair of pushy Magpies who try and scare everything in the garden but have been known to jump a mile when a Squirrel pops up! Also we've had a few visit from a pair of Greenfinch and on occasion a pair of Bullfinch. Hedgehogs are visiting nightly, we've had two together over the past week, there has been a fair bit of courtship going on, which is a good sign. 

House Sparrows

Starling

Collared Dove

Blue Tit

Robin

Goldfinch

Great Tit

Blackbird

Greenfinch

Bullfinch

One morning I spotted a Sparrowhawk hiding in the Laburnum and on the sunny Easter weekend I saw Peregrine, Buzzard and another Sparrowhawk over the house. 

That same weekend I also watch bees investigate holes in the wall of the house - Mason Bees I think - one seemed quite settled and pushed another one out that tried to move in. A few Butterflies have been around the garden - mostly Holly Blue and Orange-tip with a few Speckled Wood too. 

This turned out to be a bit of a longer post than planned but it's been a while since I last did a patch update!