Happy St George's Day.
This morning, before the annual Bluebell Walk, I was at the wood circle having a cup of coffee and sharing my breakfast with the resident Robins. Today we had raisins.
I'm still trying to get a photo of both Robins together, and hopefully in a few weeks I may even get a photo of their youngsters.
One of the nesting Magpies nearby also came down for a treat.....
whilst its partner stayed on guard duty on the favoured perch above the nest. Just before I took this photo below the Magpie saw off two Stock Doves that had dared to land there.....
At 11am a good sized crowd of us set from the Information Centre for the Bluebell Walk led by Bob Barton (and not Alison Shipley as I incorrectly stated last weekend).
For those that couldn't make it today, here are some Bluebell facts...
It takes at least five years for a seed to grow into a bulb.
Bluebells are an important early source of food for bees, hoverflies and butterflies.
According to folklore, hearing a 'bluebell ring' is a sign of impending death !
Nearly 50% of the worlds bluebells are found in the UK.
and another fact, bluebells can also be white or pale pink. These rare individuals lack the same pigment that gives the bluebells their distinctive colour......
Also along the walk I saw my first Red Campion of the year. Also known as Pink Campion, this is a wild flower that often starts flowering just as the bluebells are going over, but sometimes for a few glorious days both are in flower at the same time and create a beautiful natural display....
Most of the trees are now in leaf.
The bluebells green leaves emerge early in the year, long before the leaves of the trees open. This means the bluebell does most of its growing with plenty of light and so replenishes the nutrients stored in its bulb.
After the walk ended (thank you Bob, it was very informative) I made my way back to the Headland area where there are quite a few Hawthorn in flower. I say Hawthorn but it could be Blackthorn.
I noticed when I was there last week that these flowers aren't only attracting birds, but lots of insects too. Today however I couldn't get any photos of any insects, and I didn't have much better luck with the birds either.
Below is the eye and head of a Blackcap.....
The one below is a Common Whitethroat.....
and even the Blue Tits were finding the flowers interesting......
I checked several times on the Buzzard nest today but saw none and heard none. I know that female Buzzards start laying eggs mid April, so hopefully the lack of sightings means the female is incubating eggs. I'll keep checking.
There were plenty of Thrushes around today. This Song Thrush was pottering about by the Oaks....
and this Mistle Thrush was by the wood circle....
Not long after this I bumped into Sheila and she put some seed out for the Robins. We were catching up on a bit of gossip when one of the Magpies came down for the seed and all hell broke loose. Both Mistle Thrushes shot out and mobbed the Magpie, eventually chasing it away with loud angry calls. This happened a couple of times while we were there, and I managed to miss photographing all of the action, but the angry Mistle Thrushes when returning to their nest in the evergreen tree, were all puffed up so they looked almost double their size. This behaviour confirms to me that they almost certainly have eggs or even that the eggs have hatched. Magpies are known nest raiders, but then again they have their own young to feed too. That's nature for you.
Earlier in the day Martin had told me about a nest he had found and he showed me where it was. As we approached it a Wren flew off calling. And after watching it for an hour this afternoon, it definitely is a Wrens nest. From a discreet distance I watched a Wren taking in feathers and moss. Male Wrens are quite promiscuous. They will make several nests, and court several females. The nests are initially made of dried leaves, but if a female inspects a nest and likes it, the male will then start lining it with moss and feathers. At the same time, he will probably have another two or three females nearby and will be doing the same for them too.
So as I observed the Wren taking in feathers and moss (sorry no pictures, I didn't want to disturb the bird) it must mean this nest has been approved by a female. She'll shortly move in and lay eggs.
I did grab a photo after the Wren left on one occasion, just to show how well camouflaged the nest is......
and a heavily cropped photo showing the nest of brown leaves tucked behind the ivy......
Thank you Martin !
Although the sun was out for most of the day, it was still fairly chilly and I didn't see many critters. The only two butterflies I saw were a Green-veined White and a male Orange-tip and neither settled long enough for a photo shoot ! There were lots of Buff-tailed and Common Carder bees around, but again they weren't really in the mood to stay still for long.
The only critter that I did manage to photograph was this Common Green Shieldbug....
However I managed another critter when I got home. For the last two evenings there's been a beautiful Angle Shades moth sheltering in my front yard.
Not a bad day at all.
Other birds seen today but not photographed were many pairs of Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Blackbirds, Goldcrests, Chiffchaffs, Chaffinches and the usual mobs of Jackdaws, Carrion Crows and Ring-necked Parakeets (aka Marmites).
Other birds heard today but not seen or photographed were Little Owl, Nuthatch, Green Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
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