[Fleecewife]

I'm hoping we have frogs and toads too this year after all the frozen ones in my ponds.  No sign yet but it's usually mid March here before they start croaking.

[Fleecewife]

Forgot to mention, I hear curlews all the time at the moment.

None up here yet, nor oyster catchers or larks.  Those three plus the buzzards are what make this place sound so remote.  It isn't really, but I can close my eyes and pretend 

[Fleecewife]

We suddenly seem to have a lot of yellow hammers around - either that or one pair keep popping up all over the holding    I love them - they are like little spring flowers 

Lots of lapwings and oystercatchers now but still no curlew.........

[northfifeduckling]

yellowhammers, here, too. I think most of the geese have gone now. No lapwings this year yet but didn't have any last year, either. 

[Fleecewife]

This morning I saw my first curlew of the year    Then, while we were having breakfast, I looked up to see the sparrowhawk sitting on the cross bar of our bird feeder, right outside the window, having a good peer in.  I wonder if she was hoping to get some toast crumbs, or maybe she was seeing if she could manage one of us    A very beautiful bird   
All is speeding up here, in spite of the snow - which has now all been washed away by the drizzle.  OH found a blackbird sussing out where to build her nest in his workshop.  Three built nests in there last year and had more than one brood each, so poor OH could barely move for young fledgelings sitting around on shelves, on motorbike handlebars, on the canoe, even sitting beside the old stuffed parrot which lives (or not  ) in the workshop. I have seen birds collecting feathers and bits of sheep fleece for their nests, although there is no leafy cover for them yet - I suppose they are just getting started for when the time is right.

[Cinderhills]

I too had a sparrowhawk sitting on the wall outside the lounge window eyeing up the bird feeding area.  Beautiful bird but up to no good I'm sure.

[Fleecewife]

Depends on whose viewpoint of course     By feeding the small birds we have increased numbers quite a bit so I think of our bird feeders as also supplying the sparrowhawk - which I really like, especially after I saw her crash into a tree by mistake once She adds a whole lot of drama to the area    Of course I don't like seeing the little birds being taken, but mostly it's chaffinches which are numerous.

Another interesting sight today - well, sight and sound.  One of the small trees in our garden was full of cheeps, squeaks and chirrups, like Kindergarten.  Eventually out flew at least two dozen Siskins, leaving lots of tits, finches, yellow hammers, sparrows etc behind.  It was quite a confab.  We have seen 6 or 8 siskins at a time before but this was the biggest flock.

[northfifeduckling]

1st peacock butterfly this morning, loads and loads of suicidal toads on the road (what a drive home last night  ) and SUNSHINE!! 

[faith0504]

we have alot of suicidal toads also, bless em.

I have been watching the buzzards doing there courtship flight display, mr and mrs leighton buzzard i call them  what a fantastic sight watching them woo each other 

[Beewyched]

Oh dear, this has got me started now!

A very sad song we used to sing in the Girl Guides ...

Oh Tom the toad, oh Tom the toad
why are you lying in the road?
Oh Tom the toad, oh Tom the toad
why are you lying in the road
You did not see the car ahead
& now you're marked with tyre tread ...

Oops!

[faith0504]

do you know anymore short songs from your girl guide days?? esp about wildlife, i cant remember any   

[tizaala]

Last week we had our first red admiral butterfly trying to mate with the car mirror, today we saw our first bumblebee , a few of those yellow horseflys, lots of mosquitos biting the missus, a couple of orange tips flapping about, celandines out in the hedges, spotted horehound in bloom, quickthorn in leaf and a few frogs making their way to the pond. we do have a red kite that seems to have teamed up with a buzzard and the odd pair are regular visitors to our area ,I did notice them last year, does anyone know if they interbreed ? the two are always seen hunting together.

[Fleecewife]

Hi Tizaala.  I see you are in Wales where it looks as if Spring has arrived  

That is amazing about the Buzzard and Kite - I'm pretty certain they couldn't breed together but I wonder if it's a couple of young males which have teamed up together until they are old enough to find a mate and breed. Do the local ornithologists know any more about them?    About 35 years ago we lived in Anglesey and there were red kites there - since then they seem to have become much more numerous.  Here in the south of Scotland we have lots of buzzards, kestrels, sparrow hawks, Peregrines occasionally and a couple of Merlins (tentative ID) which I haven't seen for a couple of years.
I haven't seen a single butterfly here yet this year, although it has been surprisingly warm in the day - the mozzies are here but - shhh - no midgies yet    I saw a huge bumble-type bee in the garden centre yesterday and wondered if it was a cuckoo bee.  None at home, or any other bees yet.

[Beewyched]

do you know anymore short songs from your girl guide days?? esp about wildlife, i cant remember any   

Now you've got me going Faith ...

The one I loved the most was " Land of the Silver Birch", but the "I had a Little Chicken" one is funny, if not a little sick 

[Fleecewife]

There is the 'going down the garden to eat worms' song - you must remember that 

It has been glorious today, with the lark singing, bumble bees buzzing on the pussy willows, blue tit investigating the nest box, even a tortoiseshell butterfly - all just in time for several grey and rainly days