Sunday 18th March - Spring edging in

Another weekend which was spent mostly near home, with mid-week weather being glorious but Saturday morning delivering the first deluge for several weeks. Hannah returned from a successful French trip on Saturday afternoon and with Mothers Day on Sunday I stole a couple of early hours on Sunday morning returning before the household had surfaced.

I've seen a Firecrest at home on a few occasions since we arrived here last Summer, but they have largely been fleeting glimpses. On Saturday I saw a male in song and following several more sightings over the weekend I've worked out its holding territory. Good for it's well being, it's fairly hidden away, which is unfortunate with regard to photo's and it'll be interesting to see progress here.
Also in the morning 2 Mandarin Ducks alighted from the stream and flew off over the fields. Another new bird for home bringing the total to 62 ! Great spotted Woodpeckers, Green woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Treecreepers were all active.  Around the feeders, 5 Brambling (3 males), 10 Lesser Redpolls, 6 Siskins, 18  Chaffinches, 2 Greenfinches and one Bullfinch provided the seed-eating interest, whilst Great Tit numbers had increased, Blue Tits, 2 Coal Tits and 4 long-tailed Tits frequented. Buzzards were again visible and Robins,Dunnocks, Wrens, Song Thrushes and Blackbirds have been very vocal especially early morning. A brief Chiffchaff calling Sunday morning was probably my first Spring bird.

Early on Sunday I ventured out for a local walk. I again heard Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (called 3 times) but failed to locate and saw Canada Goose, Tufted Duck, Mandarin, Moorhen, Little Grebe and a Grey Wagtail on a local pond, 2 Skylark, 2 Crossbill and a distant song which I thought was Woodlark (but a burst of Crossbill song can surprisingly be similar at distance) but will have to wait until I find the bird or hear again at more recognisable distance.  4 Chiffchaffs on the walk made it a little spring -like.

The Badgers are still nightly visitors, but not often the 3 together.

Badger Feast

Field behind house with early morning frost

Local Woodland Pond  

Nuthatch

Another male brambling shot - they'll be off North soon , so I'm making the most of it.

A Woodland Fern

Lesser Redpoll - a paler bird, but structurally this is a Leseer Redpoll not a Mealy.

Brambling so fantastically colourful - Don't normally do feeder shots but so attractive.

A Greenfinch - 'Don't normally do feeder shots' but just to prove they haven't all died out around here

Bumble bee on Rhododendron - whilst waiting for the Firecrest to show.