A little bit. The map just struck me as funny but the free version is never very accurate. There was a Hoopoe at Newport Wetlands yesterday and a pair of Spoonbills just down the road from there. I've used my Get Out of Jail Free Card for this month already though so unless they want to come and visit me they might as well be in another country.
I'm not complaining though, my weekend was great. I was up at sunrise on Saturday and this seal was snoozing so close that I could have frisbeed my morning toast onto his head.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Birding can be a frustrating hobby. I was on holiday on the North Wales coast a few weeks ago. It turned out to be a stormy week so my ritual of pre-breakfast walks was curtailed. On one of those days when I stayed in bed followed by a leisurely breakfast I managed to miss a Grey Phalarope which was sitting in a puddle in the road just a 100 yards from our cottage. It had been blown in off the sea and was found by the bloke who empties the bins on the promenade. He's a keen birder and he took great pleasure in telling me all about it the next morning!
As luck would have it though another one of these birds got blown well inland by Storm Agnes the following week and I managed to see it when I was back home in Cheshire.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
She parked herself there about 2 hours ago and has been chewing the cud ever since. Mum is wandering about elsewhere in the garden. Their coats are beginning to thicken and darken as the seasons change.
Lovely moments, @steephill and @wild edges. Sadly deer round here are not that peaceful at this time of year - hunting season has started
Bat update - it has a broken left wing, and some inflammation that has already reduced a little overnight. There is not too much they can do for the injury, the bones are so tiny, other than trying to keep it quiet and hope. He said to call back next week for an update, it will either be improving or not. They will do what they can for a week then reassess.
The nuthatches have returned to my garden after an absence of several years. They 'live' in the nearby NT garden, so they don't always have reason to venture anywhere else.
Greenfinches have also returned which is good, as they don't often come into the garden. A bit of handbags at dawn with them and then they learned to share The feeders have been ridiculously busy, yet the weather's been so mild.
The pigeon was enjoying the biblical rain at the weekend
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
24C in London today. 15 overnight. Then 1C forecast on Sunday night. Crazyland.
Ridiculous, isn't it?
I'll confess we don't have bird feeders, very few feeder type birds in the area and with the forest over the road there is plenty to eat. I do leave seed heads a lot, and the goldfinches love it - cosmos, both scabious and the smaller sunflowers are picked clean. Astonishing what 6 small birds can eat! Anything on the floor is hoovered up by the sparrows.
I remember an article in early spring time that the starling population would be down. I noticed a huge increase in starlings this spring time in my garden when 20 to 30 starlings were either in my or neighbour's garden for at least 2 weeks. Looking at the RSPB, I learned that many starlings arrive from Eastern Europe in spring time and because winters are colder over there, many starlings remain in the UK. While walking my daily steps through the close neighbourhood, I noticed that there are other groups of starlings not just our one. Here just one example. Forgive me the poor picture quality, taken with one available arm/hand only, but when passing this, I had to take out my old phone. I haven't even taken pictures from all surrounding roofs and poles. There was a hell oh noise...
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In the last few weeks Wales has seen the greatest influx of American Warblers the UK has ever seen.
With the following turning up and everyone a Mega.
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Canada Warbler
Black and White Warbler
Bobolink
Alder Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
Plus many others.
As luck would have it though another one of these birds got blown well inland by Storm Agnes the following week and I managed to see it when I was back home in Cheshire.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
Bat update - it has a broken left wing, and some inflammation that has already reduced a little overnight. There is not too much they can do for the injury, the bones are so tiny, other than trying to keep it quiet and hope. He said to call back next week for an update, it will either be improving or not. They will do what they can for a week then reassess.
Fingers still crossed.
Greenfinches have also returned which is good, as they don't often come into the garden. A bit of handbags at dawn with them and then they learned to share
The feeders have been ridiculously busy, yet the weather's been so mild.
The pigeon was enjoying the biblical rain at the weekend
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'll confess we don't have bird feeders, very few feeder type birds in the area and with the forest over the road there is plenty to eat. I do leave seed heads a lot, and the goldfinches love it - cosmos, both scabious and the smaller sunflowers are picked clean. Astonishing what 6 small birds can eat! Anything on the floor is hoovered up by the sparrows.
I noticed a huge increase in starlings this spring time in my garden when 20 to 30 starlings were either in my or neighbour's garden for at least 2 weeks.
Looking at the RSPB, I learned that many starlings arrive from Eastern Europe in spring time and because winters are colder over there, many starlings remain in the UK.
While walking my daily steps through the close neighbourhood, I noticed that there are other groups of starlings not just our one. Here just one example.
Forgive me the poor picture quality, taken with one available arm/hand only, but when passing this, I had to take out my old phone. I haven't even taken pictures from all surrounding roofs and poles. There was a hell oh noise...
I ♥ my garden.