A nice Spring day

We have a nice start to the Spring today, after some of the "drear" we've had this week....

Last night the Wikileaks were around... possibly in the meadow... for those that don't know us, the Wikileaks are Stone Curlews [Burhinus oedicnemus] Oedicnème criard...
their call sounds like "wikileaks...wikileaks...wikileaks"!

Today, in the warmth....19 Centigrade.... the Brimstones [Gonepteryx rahmni] le Citron and other butterflies were all around us...
male [probably] Mason Bees [Osmia rufa] l'Osmie were hanging around in front of the insect hotel...
Pauline sat deafened by one of the Wrens [Troglodytes troglodytes] Troglodyte mignon...
it ignored her presence and pumped itself up into a frenzy of song.

Wall lizards were out in force... and to cap it all on the reptile front...
a Viperine Snake [Natrix maura] Coulevre vipérene was soaking up the warmth on the barn door!!

I decided, given the warmth, to set up the moth trap....
even though the moon is almost full I will catch something....
on my way back to the house from turning it on... I saw a bat...
so sat with the bat detector on my lap, my back warmed by the house wall...
a useful ten minutes...
Common, Kuhls and Nathius's Pipistrelles all registered as top bat choice....
as did a Lesser Horseshoe!!


Photos/corrections to follow...

First Cuckoo of Spring...

Almost the end of February and things are moving....
I heard a Cuckoo as I walked back from checking the post...
fortunately there was none as it would have ended up on the ground.
It was most likely passing through on its way North...
but nice nonetheless!!

Also GrusGrus are saying that large movements of Cranes are occurring in Gallicanta...
so keep your eyes open!

And just now [19:13] we've seen the Barn Owl hunting over the meadow in the evening dim!
I went out to get a better look and followed it over the bief into the field next to the potager...
at which point I had to check my eyes...
something else white was moving...
yes!
There were two, wheeling around each other...
and then they separated and one came back across the meadow...
the otherhunting over the fields either side of the road...
too late now to get them to use the barn owl box...
or the owl slot...
they'll have found a nesting point... and it must be near!
We'll keep you posted.

Until then, here's another of my brother's Barn Owl pictures to keep you entertained...

Nick took this at Sculthorpe Moor near Fakenham in Norfolk

The Sculthorpe Moor flickr site is well worth a visit... 

Nick took this picture on February 8th.

A red letter day

Today was special in more ways than one. It was a lovely spring day, although still with a bit of a sharp breeze. The young sparrowhawk was up early and enjoying the sun.

What do you do on a cold and frosty morning... spread yourself about a bit!

While we were admiring him, a pair of red squirrels whisked by, going from branch to branch along the river bank without touching the ground (the first time we've seen them down there). This afternoon, Tim planted out the last of his rooted willow cuttings, seventeen cultivars and over 100 plants in all. He still has to plant out his marker stakes, cut from our own willow trees and which grew just as well! While I was erecting a meagre barrier to the ragondins composed of blackthorn clippings jammed into the straw, I came across what looked like a hare's lying-up nest (a form).

The form.

Then a pair of freshly minted brimstone butterflies zoomed up and down the riverside, such a bright yellow they seemed almost green.
Meanwhile, an orange-tipped bumble bee was getting spectacularly drunk in the crocus flowers. It spent some time in each of the flowers, but never seemed to get any farther, like a toper on market day staggering from one pub to another.

Hic! Loverly drop o' nectar this!

When touched, it waved one leg blearily in a sort of "I'm havving a wunnerful time!" way. A riddle from my childhood: what's the difference between a sick elephant and a dead bee? Answer: one's a seedy beast and the other's a bee deceased.

More gratuitous Sparrowhawk shots....

Warm enough... now what's for breakfast!?