Wednesday April 28 - tales of the unexpected

 The early morning rain was the first for weeks, and I left the house very optimistic that it might have dropped something in. There was also the question of whether the birds piling up on my last visit would hang on for the West Midlands Alldayer on Saturday.

There was no sign of any Grasshopper Warblers, but the late start and cool northerly breeze was probably a factor there. Bird song was generally a little subdued, and in particular a Reed Warbler which had joined the Sedge Warbler singing from the reedbed at the dragonfly pools was very hesitant and barely audible.

There was no sign of any Whinchats, Wheatears, or Fieldfares and I had a sinking feeling as I reached the flash field. Rather like watching West Brom trying to hang on for a vital three points as the final whistle approaches, I just knew that the Avocets would be gone. Sure enough, they had. To add insult to injury, no waders had dropped in to replace them. On the other hand, four Shelducks and three Teal remain. 

No hirundines flew over the nearest flash, but just as I was giving up, a flash of colour turned out to be a Kingfisher. Quite expected later in the summer, but unprecedented here in April. I tried to take it as a good sign for the weekend, but suspect it will be a one off.

As I headed towards the "raptor watch point" above Stapenhill Wood I spotted a Fox seconds before it noticed me.

A lurking Fox.

Normally the last half hour contains nothing worth putting in the blog. But not this time. I was walking down the hedge bordering the south end of the ridge field when a thrush-sized bird burst out of a bramble patch and flew across my path before crashing into a hawthorn hedge at roughly waist height from the ground. I had no chance of getting the bins on it, but as it was only about a dozen metres away my train of thought went from "what the hell's that?" to "Water Rail" just as it disappeared from view. In that time I had noted it's tailless appearance, rounded brown wings, and long orangey bill which all added up to only the fourth Water Rail I have seen at Morton Bagot.

I peered into the hedge for some time, but to no avail. My guess is that the wet weather caught this night migrant out, and it had just landed anywhere that provided cover, notwithstanding the lack of aquatic habitat.

I've had an email from Tony. They managed a short ringing session last night in the reedbed at the dragonfly pool and caught two Sedge Warblers and a Wren. The Grasshopper Warbler was singing at the time, so it should be still around on Saturday.

Sedge Warbler

I'm not going to be able to do the GMS on Friday night because of the early start demanded by the alldayer, so the moth trap will be going out tonight instead.

PS: The trap was empty. Too cold.

Tuesday April 27 - twitching.

 When someone makes the effort to phone you about a rare bird it is very bad form to stick to whatever plans you had for the day. The correct approach is to grab your optics, kiss the wife, and rush out of the house within seconds.

Today I got a call from Dave, followed almost immediately by one from Mike W. There is a Bonaparte's Gull at Upton Warren. I have a pretty decent Upton Warren list, and this American bird was a first for Worcestershire. It was a no brainer, but still I dithered.

There is no access to the reserve at present, except for the two wardens who presumably found it. Access to the Moors Pool at Upton Warren is along the public footpath on the wrong side of the river Salwarpe, so views could be poor.

Anyway after 30 minutes I went for it.

I arrived to find two birders present, struggling to find the right bird. A helpful phone call from Mike W in the hide to another birder who was arriving behind me pointed us in the right direction. It was flying around the far side of the pool.

It was actually quite easy to pick up in flight, its white underside primaries an absolute give away even though it was a first-winter bird. A fraction smaller than the many Black-headed Gulls with a light, jinking flight recalling Little Gull. The main problem was that it kept disappearing behind willows in the foreground.

By the time I got my camera out to attempt a record shot, it had landed on an island. Cue dodgy record shots. 

Bonaparte's Gull (middle gull)

Bonaparte's Gull (small black bill showing in this shot)

It was clear I wasn't going to get any better views, so I headed off.

In true twitching style I made no attempt to look at anything else, but was vaguely aware of singing Cetti's Warblers, and Blackcaps, and watched an Oystercatcher flying over.

I just need the Bonaparte's Gull to follow a few Black-headed Gulls to Morton Bagot. Its only 15 miles, you can do it!

Sunday April 25 - It just keeps on getting better

 This morning was pretty chilly, a fresh easterly taking the edge off the temperature. 

I was still sorting myself out by the car when the first good bird made itself known. A Grasshopper Warbler was singing loudly from a patch of scrub by the stables. Dave arrived and the bird started singing again. Then it stopped, and we failed to see or hear it thereafter. The first of three Lesser Whitethroats also piped up while I was waiting.

A walk back down the access road gave us more warblers, including the only Willow Warbler of the day. We also had brief views of a Marsh Tit. The first of three Sedge Warblers was singing by the time we returned to the Dragonfly Pools.

But the real action started as we walked past the field formerly containing a pool. Dave scanned back towards the footpath and spotted two birds of interest. He thought they were chats, and then that one at least might be a Whinchat. I saw a silhouette which did indeed look chat-like, but at that moment we noticed someone walking down the footpath directly towards the birds. He turned out to be a birder, Martin W, and we readily agreed he could team up with us as we searched for the, now missing, chats.

Eventually we found them again, and they were indeed Whinchats. In the course of the search we heard a second Grasshopper Warbler reeling at the back of the chat field.

A stunning male Whinchat

It took a while to see both birds, and we only really did so when, after two Sparrowhawks had gone across the field, the Whinchats headed for the hedge.

Two male Whinchats

We started to walk across the parched pool bed, and kicked up a third male Whinchat. It was time to check out the flash field, although we were delayed by a very close, and almost invisible, Lesser Whitethroat. I was tempted to add some film of a singing blackthorn bush, but I think I'll spare you.

The flash field was very entertaining. The two Avocets were still present and were later joined by a pair of Shelducks. Three Teal were lurking at the edge of the sedges, and at least 10 Black-headed Gulls noisily took off when one of the Sparrowhawks reappeared. With them we spotted a single Little Ringed Plover as it flew around calling. Dave glimpsed two Snipe, and we counted three Lapwings.

They need to stay until Saturday's West Mids alldayer

With the weather remaining cold I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that the Fieldfare flock, now 50 strong, was still present. There was a black bird with them, a Blackbird. Drat.

Fieldfares

The flash field had one more decent bird hidden behind the sedges. A Green Sandpiper, only the second this year, flew out and promptly settled in a place where I couldn't photograph it.

We continued to where I had seen the Wheatears on my last visit, and sure enough we found a male Wheatear. With it was yet another male Whinchat.

Whinchat number four.

The day very nearly went into stellar mode when I spotted a fast moving falcon in the distance, it disappeared behind the ridge, only for Dave to get on it as it headed rapidly southwards. We both felt it was probably a Hobby, but the views were not good enough to be sure.

Finally, Martin spotted the only House Martin of the day as it flew rapidly north over Stapenhill Wood. All in all it was an excellent morning.

Friday April 23 - birds are on the move

If I had to pick the ideal date on which to visit Morton Bagot, it would be somewhere around April 22. This is mostly based on a great day in 2011 (before the blog) when I found two Wood Sandpipers and a Marsh Harrier. But a day or two either side should be fine.

Today was certainly fine. Wall to wall sunshine and a light easterly breeze. As I swung into the access road at Netherstead I noticed the first home grown Swallow perched on overhead wires. A good sign.

Swallow

Whilst wandering back down the path to photograph it I heard a Willow Warbler singing from across the road. Whitethroats were popping up in new places and bursting into song. The vibe was good.

A little while later I was crossing the chat field when a faint set of scratchy notes pulled me up short. This is typical of the way I get my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year. A brief period of "did I hear something or not?" Then the tell-tale rattle which confirms I was right. Just as typically however, by the time I had made my way across the field it had shut up, and further searching was useless.

I resumed my original course and hadn't got far when another familiar newcomer burst into song. A Sedge Warbler was announcing his arrival from the hedge behind the pool field, and this time I was able to record the moment.

When I got to the flash field, things got even better. An Oystercatcher was standing, head tucked under its wing at the side of the furthest flash. My attempts to photograph it were frankly pathetic, but I'm going to show them anyway because this was the first one here for a couple of years.

Oystercatcher shimmering in the haze (i.e. out of focus)

In my defence I offer exhibit A, some film of the bird designed to show how far away it was, and to elicit sympathy.

After a while it was disturbed by cattle and ultimately flew off.

Also present were three Shelducks, two Avocets, two Teal, and at least 17 Mallard. As I continued along the Morton Brook I realised I could hear Fieldfares. I spotted them in trees above the Kingfisher Pool, and got the scope out to count them and check for Ring Ouzels. There were 21 Fieldfares and no Ring Ouzels. However, when they took off I realised there were actually 42 Fieldfares (but still nothing else).

A tree full of Fieldfares

These were the first Fieldfares here since about February, and was clear evidence that birds are on the move. Next stop Norway I reckon.

But the best was saved for last. I have been bemoaning the loss of the ploughed fields which normally guarantee Wheatears every spring, but clearly the Wheatears are willing to slum it in their favourite field, even though it's all weeds this spring.

Wheatear

I took a million photos of the three birds (two males and a female), but have chosen this one because it shows not just the Wheatear, but also how parched the foliage is this April.

Although I would lose the little muddy edge developing on the nearest flash, the landscape needs some rain to get the plants going. Just not too much please.

As you might expect, the sunshine brought out lots of butterflies, with Orange-tips being particularly prevalent. 

The moth trap goes out tonight, but with temperatures likely to be close to freezing it could be another poor showing for the GMS. Watch this space.

I caught six moths of six species as follows:

Parsnip Moth    -    1 (nfy)

Brindled Beauty    -    1

Nut-tree Tussock    -    1 (nfg)

Knot-grass    -    1

Early Grey    -    1

Common Quaker    -    1

The most exciting of these was the Nut-tree Tussock. This is a southern species common in Worcestershire and Herefordshire, but scarce though increasing in Warwickshire.

Nut-tree Tussock

The other new moth fell into the very small group of moths identified by me before I got a moth trap. In this case I recorded my only other Parsnip Moth on the kitchen window in 2017. So it now joins my moth life list for the first time (even though I've seen one before).

Parsnip Moth

I must admit that its not the most inspiring species in the book, but they all count.

Tuesday April 20

I was convinced that today would be good. The weather remains sunny and settled, a hint of easterly in the forecast. Yesterday I had a text that Grasshopper Warblers had returned to Morgrove Coppice, surely a sign that today would see further migrant arrivals.

Perhaps I had set myself up for a fall. After an hour at Morton Bagot it was just the same old stuff. Eventually I recorded three singing Whitethroats, nine singing Blackcaps (plus two females), and a singing Willow Warbler. But none of the hoped for, dare I say expected, late April migrants were in evidence.

There was change at the flash field. The Teal had all gone. Admittedly the Shelduck count was back up to three, and the four Avocets are still occupying their respective flashes. Six calling Black-headed Gulls appeared, and a Snipe took flight briefly.

Buzzard

The sight of a Common Buzzard standing in a field beyond the Kingfisher Pool gave me today's token bird shot.

The usual butterflies were on the wing, but I could find no damselflies at the Dragonfly Pool. Instead I took the opportunity to get a shot of the Common Water Crowsfoot which is forming an attractive mat in the shallow end.

Common Water Crowsfoot

Some ringing news concerns the control of a Lesser Redpoll which had been trapped on 11 October 2020, and was pulled out of a mist net at Hazeley Heath in Hampshire on 13 April 2021. This map shows the points of capture and recovery.

Lesser Redpoll control - per Tony Kelly

A movement of 124 km in a south south-easterly direction.

I'll be putting the moth trap out tonight and will add any results onto the end of this post in due course.

Moth results: 22 moths of 10 species as follows:

Oak Tree Pug    -    1 (nfy)

Brindled Pug    -    3

Waved Umber    -    1 (nfy)

Brindled Beauty    -    1

Lunar Marbled Brown    -    1 (nfy)

Swallow Prominent    -    1 (nfy)

Knot Grass    -    1 (nfy)

Common Quaker    -    10

Small Quaker    -    2

Oak Nycteoline    -    1

Some nice moths there. The Oak Nycteoline was only the second for the garden (but not new for the year).

Oak Nycteoline

Lunar Marbled Brown

Waved Umber

They are all now resting in state awaiting release tonight.

Sunday April 18 - encouraging signs

 Another sunny morning, though with some high cloud cover and no wind to speak of. Dave arrived and we set off on our usual circuit. What we needed was something new and different to give the day a boost. Step forward a Yellow Wagtail. It's over two years since I last heard one over the patch, and to add to the thrill I even managed to watch it as it bounded steadily north-westwards. About two hours later we heard another, although this time neither of us could pick it up. In truth this species probably flies over every spring and autumn in small numbers, you just have to be lucky.

Although there was no chance of photographing the Yellow Wagtail, the next new bird for the year was more obliging. Whitethroat is one of the commonest summer migrants here, but it's still great to hear its scratchy song again. This bird was somewhat distant, on the crown of a hedge, but there should be plenty further opportunities to get good views.

Whitethroat in the distance

Same bird - heavily cropped image

We arrived at the flash field and started to tick off the regulars. Four Avocets, six Teal, six Mallard, three Lapwings, and six Black-headed Gulls. Also present was a drake Shelduck, and a Snipe which fluttered out of the sedge before disappearing once more. 

A little later a pair of Little Ringed Plovers arrived and settled on the only piece of shoreline not clogged by sedge.

Moving on we found a drake Tufted Duck on the Kingfisher Pool. This is the only pool that as any real depth to it, and as it was only the second sighting here this year it was deemed worthy of a record shot.

Tufted Duck

By the time we had finished our visit we had added single fly-over Swallow, and Siskin, and had accrued 55 species with no special effort. This all bodes well for the annual spring patch competition, which is pencilled in for Saturday May 1.

The warmer weather encouraged four species of butterfly onto the wing; Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Orange-tip, and Speckled Wood. 

In a flush of enthusiasm we decided to drive down to Haselor scrape, but it looked like it may have suffered some disturbance and all we saw was a Grey Wagtail, two Little Ringed Plovers, and a Lapwing.

Friday April 16 - Haselor to the rescue

 Another day of very light cool north-easterly breezes saw me wandering around Morton Bagot wondering what an earth I would be able to blog about. The lack of rain has had little effect on the water level on either flash, so I'm guessing that the farmer has found a way to keep it so.

Barely any muddy edge for waders

So the highlights were, er, oh yes, the Avocets are back up to four. And, er, I counted 27 Meadow Pipits. 

Meadow Pipit

It was too cold for insects and after a little over an hour I actually gave up and went back to the car.

Fortunately I had another option. Just east of Alcester, where I had to go shopping, is a place called Haselor scrape. It looks like this:

Look at all the mud

It does have its downside. Although it can be viewed from the road, there is no access allowed, and a scope is needed to see any birds at the far side of the site. Also, it dries out very rapidly during the spring and is as dry as a bone through most summers. But for a short time in April it looks great, and within a second or two of getting out of the car I saw a decent bird, a White Wagtail. The reason for the italics is that its only a sub-species of Pied Wagtail. But it's on its way to Iceland (probably), so its a true migrant.

Of course as soon as I had my scope out of the boot, camera at the ready, it was no longer there. Happily it seemed to know what was expected, and ten minutes later it returned.

White Wagtail

Although this bird was clearly not a dirty-grey backed female Pied Wagtail, the clincher is the extent of the grey on the upper rump, which one should strive to see. Once again it obliged.

The sharp contrast between nape and mantle indicates it's a male

While I was waiting for the White Wagtail to reappear, a scan of the rest of the scrape revealed a Little Ringed Plover, two Green Sandpipers, 15 Teal, a couple of Swallows, a Meadow Pipit, and a pair of Grey Wagtails.

Grey Wagtail - male

Little Ringed Plover

Maybe Morton Bagot will look like this next month. Finger crossed.

The moth trap went out, but the temperature plummeted to no more than zero degrees overnight. So my contribution to the GMS was just one moth, a Common Quaker. Actually I was pleasantly surprised that I got any at all.

Tuesday April 13 - straight down the middle

 A sunny morning with hardly any breeze. I chose to complete the first early season breeding bird survey by walking a transect down the middle of the site.

It turned out that I wasn't the only person surveying wildlife today. I finally met Sam MacVie who was teamed up with a colleague to count butterflies for HOEF. My own survey only lasted as long as it took me to make my way to the flash field. As I approached, the Curlew which has been here for the last week flew in, and this time I managed to take a couple of record shots.

Curlew

Curlew

It chose to settle about as far away as was possible in the flash field, but I would say it was a female based on the extremely long bill.

Scanning the rest of the flash field revealed that only one pair of Avocets remain, while three Lapwings, eight Teal, four Black-headed Gulls, and a Snipe were also present.

As Sam and colleague reappeared, so too did some newly emerged spring butterflies. An Orange-tip and at least two Speckled Woods. Great to see again.

Orange-tip

Speckled Wood

Despite scanning every hedgerow I could not winkle out any passage migrants, except perhaps a couple of Willow Warblers. 

But sunshine always lifts the spirits.

Postscript: Moth news. The good thing about moths is that they come in a bewildering variety of shapes and sizes, and sometimes you can get a lifer whilst lounging on the sofa watching the telly. So it was that this afternoon my eye was drawn to a speck on the front window. It suddenly took off and fluttered in a mothy way so I abandoned Pointless, grabbed a pot and popped outside to nab it.

On closer inspection I decided it was from the group Mompha and being a rather drab one I assumed it would be subbistrigella a species I have recorded in the garden before. After persuading it to enter a smaller pot I couldn't make much of it through a hand lens. It was extremely active so I had to calm it down by putting it in the fridge for five minutes. This allowed me just enough time to take one (not very good) photo of it before it resumed its enthusiastic exploration of the pot. I decided to let it go, still suspecting it was something I'd seen before.

However, a closer look at the photograph and at the books suggested it might actually be a moth called Mompha langiella. I could imagine the moth recorder pointedly asking me if I had retained a specimen, which of course I hadn't.

Mompha langiella

Fortunately a thing called Twitter exists, and I follow a chap whose moniker is UK Moth ID. He knows his stuff, and when I sent him the picture he concurred with my identification.

So another moth sneaks onto the garden list.

I was tempted to put the trap out, and as a result caught an additional 13 moths. The full list including the langiella was:

Mompha langiella    1    (nfg)

Light Brown Apple Moth    1    (nfy)

Brindled Pug    1

Brindled Beauty    2    (nfy)

Early Grey    1

Clouded Drab    1

Common Quaker    5

Hebrew Character    2

Brindled Beauties are large and quite spectacular moths. One was in the trap, and the other on the wall of the house. Here is a picture of the latter.

Brindled Beauty

Who says moths are dull?

Sunday April 11 - spring inches forward

It was initially cloudy with some light sleet, but this soon stopped and eventually the sun came out. A light north-westerly breeze. Dave joined me and after being spotted by the Netherstead Hall whippet we chose to start by walking along the road to avoid having to take it for walkies.

As usual this route offered up little better than Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, but things improved when we reached the flash field. All four Avocets were still present, along with eight Teal, a Lapwing, and a Little Egret which flew in from the back field after being disturbed by a quad-bike.

Little Egret

Ten years ago this would have been a very exciting arrival, but nowadays they are regular while the Tree Sparrows, Grey Partridges, and even Yellowhammers which were such a feature of visits a decade ago have largely gone.

On the other hand, as Dave and I started to move on, a Curlew call had us scurrying back to the viewpoint. Another blast from the past. We scanned around in vain, hearing it one more time, before spotting a couple of newly arrived House Martins and a Swallow as compensation. A Willow Warbler sang from further up the hedge, and suddenly it felt as though spring wasn't so very far away.

The rest of the morning was largely uneventful, the highlight being a singing Marsh Tit in the ridge field. 

We saw no insects beyond a few bumblebees, but this reminds me I did put the moth-trap out on Friday night for the GM Survey. The results were:

Common Quaker    -    3

Hebrew Character    -    1

Meanwhile, on Saturday morning the ringers were on site, and I now have their results. It was evidently a quiet morning, but they did catch a Willow Warbler.

Willow Warbler - per Tony & Leigh

Their totals were:

Blue Tit        -    5

Great Tit    -    6 (4)

Long-tailed Tit    -    1 (1)

Chiffchaff    -    1 (1)

Willow Warbler    -    1

Blackcap    -    1

Wren    -    1

Goldfinch    -    3

I didn't notice a ring on our Willow Warbler today, so that will have been a different bird.

Thursday April 8 - walking the perimeter

After sitting at home moping about the cold weather for the last three days I was glad to be taking advantage of slightly milder, calmer conditions this morning. I had a plan.

I used to regularly survey the breeding birds here. This involves a fair degree of effort, and in the last few years I'd dropped it to once every two years. Then covid came along and last spring's count was deferred to this year. I'm still not overly enthusiastic about counting all the Wrens, Robins etc and I have now reduced it to two early spring counts and two late spring/summer counts. The first involves a walk around the entire perimeter, while the second will be a transect down the middle.

Anyway, I started at the church and headed for the flash field. I hadn't gone very far when a Curlew-like call brought me up short. There has been a Blackbird producing such a call in the church area this spring, so I was prepared to let it go. Then I heard it again, and it sounded very convincing. A quick scan and there it was, a Curlew heading north away from the flash field. There was no chance of getting my camera out in time, so I just watched it go. A real April speciality, but massively in decline in the county (and elsewhere) I can't help wondering if I'll see another here.

Down at the flash, the biggest surprise was a second pair of Avocets. So there was one pair on the furthest flash and another on the nearest.

The pair on the nearest flash

Teal seem to be down to seven birds, a pair of Lapwing flew in, and two Snipe flew from the marshy area between the two flashes.

The rest of the morning was hard going. I counted 20 Chiffchaffs although these may have included some passage birds, and four singing Blackcaps.

Blackcap

The commonest birds were Robins,Wrens, and Jackdaws but I won't know exactly how many there are until the end of the season. A flock of 80 Linnets remain in the weedy field at the south end, and cannot be counted for the survey, although about eight pairs were dotted around elsewhere, and are probably intending to breed.

Linnet

By mid-day the temperature was just warm enough for a Small Tortoiseshell and a Peacock to be on the wing. I also noticed a small group of Butterbur plants.

Butterbur

One of the more striking plants.

It sounds as though the colder weather is set to return over the next few days. Very annoying.

Sunday April 4 - One Swallow doesn't make a summer

 A beautiful sunny morning with a very light westerly breeze. Dave joined me for the first time since January. Tony and Leigh were ringing on site. Surely between us we would be able to conjure up a few birds. 

There were certainly plenty of Chiffchaffs singing, and also a couple of male Blackcaps defied my attempts to photograph them. We also saw one of two female Blackcaps the ringers had caught in the hand.

By the time we reached the flash field it was looking like being another quiet one. Then a Swallow flew north, hastily heading home. We counted three Shelduck, 17 Teal, two Lapwings and a few Coots, Moorhens, and geese before a closer look at the nearest flash revealed that the pair of Avocets were still present, and a Little Ringed Plover too.

Lapwing, Coot, and Little Ringed Plover

A few butterflies were on the wing, but it was a bit too cold, so I switched to photographing a few flowering plants.

Silver Birch catkins

Coltsfoot

I am making (yet another) attempt to teach myself plant identification this year.

The ringing data are now in.

Song Thrush - per Tony & Leigh Kelly

Blue Tit    -    2

Great Tit    -    6 (4)

Long-tailed Tit    -    1

Chiffchaff    -    3

Blackcap    -    2

Song Thrush    -    1

Dunnock    -    2 (1)

Goldfinch    -    4 (1)

Reed Bunting    -    2

They also caught a Bullfinch, but unfortunately it showed signs of disease to its legs, so could not be ringed. The disease in question is typically caught by birds like Chaffinches which feed on the ground beneath feeders, so it's rather surprising that a Bullfinch should contract it. They prefer not to feed on the ground.

A good tip for preventing this problem, as well as regularly cleaning your bird-feeders, is to periodically relocate them within your garden. This limits the build up of discarded seed in one spot. I move mine about every three or four weeks.

Friday April 2

 A cloudy morning with the wind swinging around into the north-east. It was rather chilly. My main plan was to try to catch up with the Little Ringed Plovers which Dave saw earlier in the week. Disappointingly they appeared to be absent. A male Sparrowhawk perched on a post next to the furthest flash was probably a deterrent.

Sparrowhawk

The 16 Teal, two Coot, and three Shelducks seemed unphased though. Sam saw four Shelducks in the early afternoon.

So, to pass the time I chose to try filming the Avocets which were still present, swimming around the nearest flash. Check out the Wren, and Chiffchaff singing loudly in the background.

Although I recorded 12 Chiffchaffs and three Blackcaps as I walked around, there seemed to be little chance of any new migrants. It was also too cold for many insects to be on the wing, so I settled for photographing a few plants.

Either Blackthorn or Cherry Plum blossom (not sure)

Barren Strawberry

The Bluebells are starting to flower in Bannams Wood

As you can tell from the last photograph, I was walking back along the road. I heard a Siskin flying over, and also a couple of Redpolls, before a Red Kite put in an appearance.

Red Kite

And that was about as good as it got.

However, the last few days in the garden have been quite entertaining. All the usual bees appeared when the temperature was warm, and I spotted this tiny snail. I posted a picture on Twitter, but received no feedback whatever, so I guess I'm not the only person unable to identify it. Maybe some kind of Glass Snail ? Thanks to irecord expert it was identified as a juvenile White-lipped/Black-lipped Snail.

Juvenile Cepaea ag (White-lipped/Black-lipped Snail)

It is Garden Moth Survey Day, so the trap will be out tonight. Don't hold your breathe...too cold.

But I did catch some moths, as follows:

Early Grey    1

Common Quaker    7

Small Quaker    4

Hebrew Character    1

All are species I have already caught this year, and all are common.