RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted May 7, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 7, 2019 On 19/04/2019 at 13:37, choo1choo said: First cuckoo of the year this morning....awfully early isn't it? Last year was May 4th. Craig. The cuckoo comes in April Sings his song in May Changes tune in the middle of June And then he flies away Phil 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted May 7, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 7, 2019 1 hour ago, Phil Bullock said: The cuckoo comes in April Sings his song in May Changes tune in the middle of June And then he flies away Phil What happened to the "kicks the other chicks out the nest" bit? 2 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted May 7, 2019 Share Posted May 7, 2019 Not in the garden but a couple of hundred yards away on the canal I saw a Cormorant this morning. I have seen one before but not that common 25 miles north of London. Bernard 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted May 7, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 7, 2019 1 hour ago, melmerby said: What happened to the "kicks the other chicks out the nest" bit? I suppose it isn't the adult that does that, it is the newly hatched huge ####### that commits the deed? P 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted May 7, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 7, 2019 2 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said: Not in the garden but a couple of hundred yards away on the canal I saw a Cormorant this morning. I have seen one before but not that common 25 miles north of London. Bernard Hmm - Rutland Water https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=rutland+cormorants&fr=yhs-itm-001&hspart=itm&hsimp=yhs-001&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fc2.staticflickr.com%2F2%2F1937%2F45523250571_6ccd67fffb_b.jpg#id=2&iurl=https%3A%2F%2Fc2.staticflickr.com%2F2%2F1937%2F45523250571_6ccd67fffb_b.jpg&action=click Phil 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 18 hours ago, Phil Bullock said: Ever since we moved in to this house I have told SWMBO that if we create a garden suitable for wildlife they will come. Our trees have grown and the shrubs give cover - and sure enough the prophesy has come true this year. Nothing spectacular ..... but a shuttle service by the great tits and blue tits, blackbirds have nested, robins and wrens, doves and pigeons, starlings and sparrows (House although they live in the hedge over the road!) and jackdaws - and unwelcome magpies, inevitable I guess. And best of all - hedgehogs for the third year running They all really do bring the garden alive Phil Ah yes, hedgehogs. One appeared in our garden a few years ago, and I christened him Herbert (after Herbert Nigel Gresley). 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeysarefun Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 I found these old pics when tidying up my PC. During nesting season the magpie would fly in from the far distance, take a cat biscuit and fly off back to wherever its nest was. A few minutes later it would return and repeat half a dozen times a day. It learned when feeding time was because it always arrived about 10 minutes after. Its 2 inches of pointy beak kept the cat from raising any complaints with it. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted May 9, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 9, 2019 (edited) So not our feathered flying friends - but a great display none the less! Sounds like Mr Blackbird was slightly perturbed.... Am used to pipistrelles but these look bigger Cant watch them without my head going here: Bats take to wing, like puppets on string Prancing through cool evening air In a sightless glide, no reason to hide Away from the sun's blinding stare In twilight time, dream with me awhile Phil Edited May 9, 2019 by Phil Bullock 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted May 9, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 9, 2019 A couple of Pied Wagtails & a Bullfinch yesterday, neither are regular visitors to the garden but we see them occasionally. Why is it about Pied Wagtails are common in motorway service areas? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted May 9, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 9, 2019 On 07/05/2019 at 19:53, Bernard Lamb said: Not in the garden but a couple of hundred yards away on the canal I saw a Cormorant this morning. I have seen one before but not that common 25 miles north of London. Bernard Get them up here in North Notts Bernard; at Idle Valley nature Reserve and elsewhere. They are adapting to inland waters as did Gulls. Phil 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted May 9, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 9, 2019 22 minutes ago, melmerby said: A couple of Pied Wagtails & a Bullfinch yesterday, neither are regular visitors to the garden but we see them occasionally. Why is it about Pied Wagtails are common in motorway service areas? Yup, and Industrial estates and our Town pedestrianised main street, even during busy time. Service Stations usually have grass and tree areas and thus insects (probably not covered in spray stuff as in farm areas?)as well as copious amounts of grit and 'bits'. They also seem to enjoy roosting on building roofs of the typical sort found there and other 'service style' areas; maybe a bit warmer than rural roosts?. They obviously don't mind fumes! P 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted May 9, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 9, 2019 Another flying creature(s). A shrub in my garden is currently covered with bees. At least 3 species, honey, bumble and one other that I can't identify. Sorry that I can't remember the name of the shrub but its evergreen with oval dark glossy leaves with blue/purple thumb like bracts of minute flowers. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Mallard60022 said: Get them up here in North Notts Bernard; at Idle Valley nature Reserve and elsewhere. They are adapting to inland waters as did Gulls. Phil Agreed Phil, they are not rare on inland waters. They are regular visitors to various areas of open water in my rea but it is quite unusual to see them on a narrow stretch of the canal. We also have many Black Headed Gulls, originally these just overwintered, but are now resident. There is also a colony of Common Terns. Bernard 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted May 9, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 9, 2019 41 minutes ago, Bernard Lamb said: Agreed Phil, they are not rare on inland waters. They are regular visitors to various areas of open water in my rea but it is quite unusual to see them on a narrow stretch of the canal. We also have many Black Headed Gulls, originally these just overwintered, but are now resident. There is also a colony of Common Terns. Bernard Oh, good to have the Terns. They just visit us but we have had Commons nesting some years. We have a Black Tern on our Reserve at the moment. P 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted May 11, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 11, 2019 On 09/05/2019 at 11:17, PhilJ W said: Another flying creature(s). A shrub in my garden is currently covered with bees. At least 3 species, honey, bumble and one other that I can't identify. Sorry that I can't remember the name of the shrub but its evergreen with oval dark glossy leaves with blue/purple thumb like bracts of minute flowers. Sounds like a ceanothus Phil - otherwise known as Californian Lilac. We have two - one of which is christened the Lampeter Bush for self evident reasons! Always alive with bees when in flower Phil 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jbqfc Posted May 11, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 11, 2019 got mother starling and two fledgling feeding in the garden this morning John 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted May 11, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 11, 2019 More Housemartins today but only 6 or 8. Ten years ago we would have had more than 40 pairs locally by now. P 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 Loads of swallows all arrived this week just gone, we get them every year in the old farm buildings at work, certainly don't seem to be in decline at all that I can see....so no doomsday here... 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tim Hall Posted May 11, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 11, 2019 We've had a blackcap singing in the park over the road for a couple of weeks now, and another one a few hundred metres away. Usually only get one for a couple of days on passage, as we also seem to with chiffchaff and willow warbler, both of which passed through very quickly a few weeks ago. Elsewhere, have caught up with quite a few summer visitors, and have twitched green-winged teal locally, my first ever citrine wagtail (stunning male) in the Brecon Beacons, and 3 dotterel a few mins from M4 J26 last Monday (they've gone now). 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted May 11, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 11, 2019 8 hours ago, Phil Bullock said: Sounds like a ceanothus Phil - otherwise known as Californian Lilac. We have two - one of which is christened the Lampeter Bush for self evident reasons! Always alive with bees when in flower Phil That indeed is what it is, the memory needs a little prod now and then. Not so many bees in the last few days as its been a little too cool for them but as the shrub is up against a west facing wall in the warm weather dozens of bees cover the wall taking in the evening sun. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted May 12, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 12, 2019 "Where have all our Garden Birds gone?" Well one Blackbird has definitely not gone anywhere as this morning, at exactly 03.57 (checked the digi clock as the bird started), it woke me up with its' singing, closely followed by another some distance away. Lovely of course, but 03.57 FFS. I was just breaking dawn to the NE of us as well, hence the early start presumably. Windows open because it was quite warm here in north Notts last night. Phil 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 ...cheap air rifle, 49.99.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted May 12, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 12, 2019 Blackbird always starts the dawn chorus! Phil 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 The dogs start mine.. wanting their breakfast.. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted May 13, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 13, 2019 Swifts are back. Summer must be on the way. 7 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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