Pastures new!!

Sorry for the lack of posts but have had some big decisions to make.....
So i went on holiday. One to get you going then more to follow.

Will update soon...

Heinz 57+

Had 3 hours on the local patched and bagged over 57 different birds, 2 hares, and a roe deer.

I thought this time of year on my patch was a bit quiet but how wrong am I, how about this lot and I have probably missed a few.
Curlew, Yellow wagtail, Pied wagtail, Chiff chaff, Blackcap, Willow warbler, Sedge warbler, Oyster catcher, Mute swan, Greylag goose, Mallard, Grey Heron, Long tailed tit, Coal tit, Great tit, Blue tit, Bullfinch, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Jay, Blackbird, Song thrush, Mistle thrush, Tufted duck, Linnet, Greenfinch, Goldfinch,  White-throat, Kestrel, Chaffinch, Wood-pigeon, Crow, Jackdaw, Moorhen, Reed bunting, Tree sparrow, House sparrow, Dunnock, Yellow hammer, Redshank, Red partridge, Pheasant, Mute swan, Wren, Robin, Gad-wall, Black headed gull, Swift, Swallow, House martin, Sand martin, Snipe, Buzzard, Marsh harrier, Peregrine, Rook, Great crested grebe ,Little Grebe.

The highlight was probably 4 separate Cuckoo, and two separate White-throat families.

Its there if you look!!

Yellow Peril.

 As i have said previously May June are a little difficult to report on as birds and other wildlife are well on with their first batch of offspring and the last thing i want to do is disturb them or highlight their location to, lets say persons who lack the skills to appreciate our countryside!. A quick walk around the local patch and as you will see from above the buttercups are in full bloom (Not the yellow peril! Oilseed rape).

 Rewarded with this Skylark at one of my usual spots.

 Oyster catchers showing well but no sign of a brood yet.

 Sadly Greenfinches are few and far between around my local patch they used to be 10 a penny.

 This hare was a nice spot but what you might not see is not only his partner to the right but the fact that all the wood pigeons had completely surrounded him/her. (very odd)

And a new visitor on my garden feeders this morning!

Unseasonal weather as usual, temperature nowhere near where it should be and gusty winds but thats not going to stop me.

Best garden tick so far?

Sorting out the car on the drive yesterday afternoon I heard two corvids making some odd calling noises,I looked up and at about 100 feet up I had not one but two Red Kites!! Could not believe my luck and what a garden tick! well happy with those two.

Today was much more grim 9 degrees C and feeling more like -3C I set off to see what was about managed to arrive at one of my top spots and under bright but cloudy skies managed to get Sanderling, Dunlin,Plover,Avocet,Terns,Shelduck, as well as the usuals Sand martin,Swift,Swallows,House Martins.

And then the heavens opened so I went home.....
But I will be back tomorrow.

Skylarks Galore!!

Spent most of yesterday watching first two Coal tits systematically devouring my bird seed in the garden and then second watching a great tit trying to dodge 3 cats as it fed its young in a nest it had made in a stone greek wine vessel which was actually on the floor!!!  Why do they build nests in the most inappropriate places?

Today I stayed local and came across these two enjoying themselves on a local pond..

Linnets were well happy calling in the trees and then i noticed a huge number of Skylarks there must have been over 50 birds in one field it was amazing to see and so vocal.Also ran into 70-80 greylag goslings it must be a bumper year for them and then two of the biggest Hares I have ever seen (greyhound size) Honest!

Onto the NDC.

Its hard to believe how the North Duffield Carrs have recovered after the hit it took this winter.

 I cant believe this is the same spot that was under water less than 3 months ago.And then onto a real heinz 57 duck god knows what this is a hybrid of?

 Not the same pic it was just nice to see the Terns in the background.

Spent the last hour in the GS hide at north duff and was rewarded with Snipe, Blackcap, Shelduck,Marsh harrier,Curlew,Sedge Warbler and Redshank.

Swifts and snakes...

First time out for a couple of weeks due to home and work stuff.Nice to see the Swifts have finally arrived screaming there heads off as they fly through the sky.

Had a walk around the local patch and came across this young snake.

Chiff Chaffs sounding off but very nice then a walk down the lane produced a superb Jay could not get near for a pic but thats twice i have seen this Jay in the same place.

 These two took some getting but it was a joy to watch and listen to them.

 Its a tricky time at the moment I want to keep up to speed with the activity on the area but as you will appreciate as this is in the public domain I can not be too specific about what I see and where i see it.

Will be back out for some more this week.

Thanks for viewing.

Peregrine or Kestrel?

When is a kestrel not a kestrel? When its a peregrine.

Had an amazing 3 hours late afternoon watching this peregrine which was behaving in a very odd way.
It was hovering like a Kestrel and then landing in ankle deep water trying to what I can only assume was to flush out some prey.

The photos are untouched and not that great as the bird was over 500 yards away.

Also had a stunning Marsh harrier,2 roe deer and 2 hares.