Close to home!

I have had a fairly quiet time recently having been ill and confined to my bed/sofa for a while but I have still managed to connect with nature on many occasions. Firstly, last Thursday we woke to noises in the chimney like things being dropped down it. Once it all went quiet hubby ventured on to the roof to put wire over the chimney pot thinking that somebody was trying to build a nest. A little while later flapping was heard in the bedroom chimney breast so he had to move all the furniture out to access the air vent that leads in to it. After a few hours of waiting with a bowl of meal worms outside the whole, a cheeky Jackdaw hopped out and fluttered round the bedroom. I managed to catch it in a towel and release it in the garden but as it was quite feisty I didn't manage to get any pictures before freeing it.

In a rare bit of sunshine last week I also saw what I thought was an injured Collared Dove in the garden. It wasn't until I got the camera out and managed to grab a quick snap of it that it then flew off and I realised it had been sunbathing! Here is the pic I took - 

It seems to be using the warmth from the slabs there to heat it up a bit. I love the way my bunny (Dylan) completely ignores the birds, particularly the Collared Doves as we have 3 that visit the garden regularly.

And finally, having gone out to let Dylan out of his hutch early on Saturday morning, I spotted a little green Caterpillar on my leg. I picked it off with tissue so get some photos and this is what I managed to get - 

It was about 12mm long and only 1mm wide. I don't know what it will turn in to but I released it on to the Buddleia in the garden in the hope it would find somewhere to get big and fat and turn in to a beautiful butterfly or moth! If you know what it is then please comment and let me know!

Cockchafers? Oh - you mean May Bugs!

I was really excited to find this strange creature in my garden and couldn't resist picking up the bits I found to get some piccies! I was even more excited the following morning when I found a live one burrowing in the grass! I grabbed it and put it on a slab to take some photo's then righted it so it could carry on it's merry way. Here are the pics of the live and dead.

From what I've been able to see I think these were both females but I'm not sure. I love the way they are all hard on the outside but furry too! So cute!

Wow what a drive!

There I was thinking this morning's drive to work would be the usual boring trip where I search the skies for something interesting and get excited only to realise it's a crow, or a gull! But today was to bring excitement and smiles, all before 8am!

As I drove to work through the little country lanes my first "wow" was when a fox trotted along the road just ahead of me then vanished through a hole in the hedge! Bearing in mind it was broad daylight and is a fairly well used cut through between major A roads, I was really surprised.

Next, only a mile or so along the lanes, 2 rabbits were playing at the side of the road on the verge. As they heard the car approach, 1 dived through the hedge and the other ran a short way up the road before following suit! They were both big, healthy looking rabbits.

And finally, just around the Shakerley Mere area, Swallows were overhead, swooping low over the car so I could clearly see the delicate tail feathers!

All of that within the space of a few miles and about 5 minutes journey! Amazing!

It's times like that when I really appreciate where I live and work, and the quality of life it affords me. This was reinforced at lunchtime when I sat in the car, in the car park at work, so I could get some quiet time out of the office. I had the windows down and barely a second passed without birdsong.

On the topic of birds. We found a shell in the garden at the weekend and I think I have correctly identified it as a Blackbird egg shell. Here is a pretty bad camera-phone picture!

My Mouse!

Well, I have finally seen a glimpse of the mouse that lives under the shed. Having put a rabbit treat in front of his entry hole and waiting to one side in the growing darkness last night, he popped his twitchy nose out, grabbed the treat and retreated to safety. I must look up wild mice to see if he is likely to be a particular type of mouse.

Today's bird watching walk at lunchtime was successful. We saw Linnets, Great Tits, Buzzard, Mallards, Swallows and a Yellow Wagtail among other things. I was particularly excited about the Linnets and Yellow Wagtail - even more so now that I have seen on the RSPB website that these birds have a Red status so are likely to be rarely seen. 

We also saw a 6 spot Ladybird, a couple of Bumblebees (Buff Tailed Bumblebees from what I can tell from the information on the Bumblebee Conservation Trust's website) and a White Butterfly which was too far away to really see what it was.

I must do more research so I can be more confident when identifying what I see but it's so hard to remember everything! I guess it must get easier the more often you see and identify things but there seems to be so much to remember!!!

Haven't posted in a while

I know I haven't posted in a while but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy looking for, and enjoying, wildlife! 

While out on our weekly bird watching walk near work last week we found this at the bottom of a hedge - 

I have been reliably informed it is a Pheasant nest and given that about 50 feet away there was a female Pheasant it seems quite likely! On the same walk we saw quite a variety of birds but unfortunately nobody had remembered binoculars that day so there were plenty of LBJ's (little brown jobs) which we couldn't identify. The list of what we did see that we could identify is below.

Dunnock - 2
Blackbird
Wood Pigeon - 2
Blue Tit - 2
Chaffinch - 3
Great Tit - 3
Magpie
Fieldfare
Crow - 2
Buzzard
Tufted Duck
Wren
Robin
Pheasant - 2
Peacock Butterfly - 2

On the home front the garden has been a very exciting place to be. We have burrowing bees (trying to get a photo), hedgehog (possibly more than 1 and most likely living under shed) and a mouse of some type (again, possibly more than one and living under the other shed!). Hubby is trying to work out how to rig up some night time cameras to see exactly what we have so will update if and when that happens!

Everything seems to be coming to life now with the rain then a bit of sun and then the occasional shower, it seems to be reinvigorating everything. I am especially pleased that the Forget Me Not seeds I scattered randomly last year have taken hold and are flowering now. We also seem to have a few Bluebells coming up too which I hope will flower but it's just leaves so far.

I'll try not to leave it so long between posts next time! Off to see if I can find anything living in our Bee House or Bug House yet! 

A lovely Lunchtime Birding

Lunchtime today was the first meeting of our Bird Watching group at work. There were 5 of us and we made the most of the hour scouring the grounds at work and seeing a long list of birds as well as insects. I'll have to post the list another time as I forgot to bring it home with me!

I do remember some of what we saw and I have to say I think my favourite was the Nuthatches we saw. I love their colours and they are such sleek, pretty little things.

The mystery birds I saw the other day have been identified. The looked like this - 

They are Guinea Fowl. The field they were in is part of a farm so I assume they are part of the farm but it was the first time I'd seen them there and I've not seen them since!

Bees, Butterflies and Birds!

It was an exciting day today. Mad busy at work so I took half an hour at lunchtime to walk round the buildings with a colleague and saw the following - 

Male Common Toad

Red Admiral Butterfly

Greater Spotted Woodpecker

Treecreeper

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Wood Pigeon

Bumblebee

On the drive home I saw some birds that I haven't identified yet. It was only a glance that I saw but I think they were at least Wood Pigeon size but possibly as big as a Pheasant. They had white/grey feathers with black edges to make it look like they had scales and had red on their beaks/faces. I'll keep trying to work them out!

And to top it off, walking the dog tonight I saw my first House Martin of the year. There is a nest under the eaves of a nearby house and as I passed it popped out of the nest and flex overhead. Fantastic! It really feels like the year can only get better when you see those cheerful little chappies flitting around!

Any guesses on my mystery birds, please let me know!

First sightings

I thought I would bring you up to date with the "birding" I have done today. I only spent about an hour out and about and went to the locations below - 

The X shows where the field is flooded and at this location, between the flooded field and the river I saw - 

Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long Tailed Tits (2)
Shelduck
Lapwing
Grey Wagtails (2)
Mute Swans (2)
Mallards (2)
Garden Warbler

I then moved to the lake/pond near the Y and there saw - 

Lapwings (3)
Coots (2)
Mallards (2)
Tufted Ducks (5)
Unidentified Swan - It was asleep so I couldn't see it's head to work out which type of Swan it was.

When I came home a Grey Heron landed in the back garden trying to get to next door's pond! Spectacular sight close up but I did give hubby a heart attack when I squealed with excitement at seeing it land!

I'll keep you posted! 

In the beginning....

I remember finding a dead bat when I was about 5 and taking it in to school for the nature table. I'm not sure if that was my first time of being truly in awe of nature but it's one of those early memories that has stuck. Since then I had my passion for nature fueled by brilliant parents who thought a good long walk in the countryside was the best activity for a Sunday afternoon rather than going to the cinema, or sticking us in front of the TV while they did whatever they wanted to.

The fact that they were both thrilled to see new types of birds in the garden or that they loved to point out different types of plants or insects probably also helped. And now I have my own garden and have married a lovely man who is as keen on nature as I am it seems only right that I start trying to expand my knowledge of the natural world.

I call myself a Novice as I don't think the past 35 years of staring at things in wonder really count! From now on I will not just look and think things are amazing, cute, or wonderful then move on to the next thing! From now on I will make an attempt to record as many of these fascinating things as I can and will make a conscious effort to go looking for them.

My exploits will be recorded here for posterity (and to help my memory!) and if I manage to get any pictures those will be shared too.

I also owe a mention to the excellent Nick Baker (http://www.nickbaker.tv/) as I recently  saw him do a talk for Cheshire Wildlife Trust and his infectious enthusiasm made me realise there was no reason to continue admiring wildlife from afar. Whether it is noting the birds in my garden or looking for frog spawn in the local pond, just taking the time to look and really SEE, is worthwhile.

Please feel free to comment with your own sightings, experiences or thoughts as I would love to hear from others that are as fascinated by nature as I am!