Bits and Pieces

Birding is still mostly in the garden with the lockdown extended, luckily the birds are being outstanding and entertaining. Plus on a weekend we've walked a little further than the park behind the house, I don't have much time to walk before work - I can't manage to get myself up and out earlier to have anything more than half an hour! The park hasn't had the grass cut in weeks now and it's full of Dandelions and Daisies, it looks wonderful and i've seen quite a few butterflies out on the flowers.

We're still getting out early on a weekend too so it's nice and quiet walking to Dartmouth Park. Actually to be fair it's always quiet early morning on all of my walks so far! I spotted my first fledgling birds there - two Mistle (I think) Thrushes in the trees. Our gutter Starlings now have several noisy birds in the nest, I saw them taking food to the nest but it took a couple of days before they were chirping loud enough so I could hear them.

The Sparrows are going a little mad in the back garden, usually they tend to stick to the front and the window feeders but I think with the immense amount of Aphids on the plants at the moment they're making the most of the feast, there's rarely a minute in the day where there isn't at least one picking at something! There's been a fair bit of Tit activity too, the Aphids are proving popular! Plus we've had the odd visit from both a male and female Blackcap but not on the same days.

Blackcap

Blue Tit

House Sparrow

Long-tailed Tit

We've had quite a bit of warm weather over April and i've noticed Bees filling holes in the wall and Bee hotel, last years haven't hatched yet but I keep checking.

My daughter spotted this Caterpillar on some nettles behind our house

I keep checking the skies for House Martins, Swallows and perhaps a Swift but not a single one yet. We usually have House Martins that nest locally and we see them over the houses through the summer. Swallows are a bit hit and miss near the house but are probably back on the farm near work, they usually are the last week in April. It may be that I see Swifts before the others this year. I have seen a few Gulls, Red Kite and Buzzards but really the skies are pretty empty.

I've been taking photos of all the flowers I see on my walks to try and have a go at iding them for the 20 in 2020 challenge I set myself here. Here's what I have so far and hopefully i've got them right -

2. Red Valerian - this is everywhere at the moment, in my garden, down the back streets and car park near my house, I love the colour, it's quite a striking flower and good for the bees and butterflies. I looked it up and discovered this plant originally comes from the Mediterranean and has been in the UK since at least the 1500s

3. Cuckoo flower or Lady's Smock. There was just a single plant near the road side.

4. Hairy Bittercress - I found a few of these on waste ground on one of our walks

5. Black Medick - I think i've got this one correct, I did think Lesser Trefoil at first? I've only noticed one patch of this whilst i've been out.

6.Groundsel - Lots of this all over, mostly on the edge of paths

7. Herb Robert - this is poking out of walls all over the streets.











Ok so i'm adding these but I know what they are, I haven't been able to see all the Bluebells in Churwell Woods but noticed some in the grass by the entrance to the park. Plus the ones in my garden are about to flower.

Cow Parsley

Bluebells

Hopefully next time I post we'll have some Starling fledglings in the garden and the sky will be full of Swifts!