Big Garden Bird Watch

[Rizzo]

Heard chiff chaffs in Clumber Park woods weekend before last, and saw house martins the week before that over the canal near Soar Valley Way.

An interesting read if you are keen on natural history is a book called Hares & Hummingbirds by Stephen Moss, a month by month natural history of the Somerset village area where he lives.

[tigerburnie]

The weather is still crazy up here, there was a white out with snow at the Lecht on the Cockbridge to Tomintoul road. Summer migrants looking very few and far between.

[CJ]

heard loads more cuckoos yesterday! that's good news as they are declining in numbers.

and aren't the ever just such a sign of spring/summer? wonderful

[Rizzo]

Rarely hear them, if ever, in this part of South Leicestershire. My 22 year old daughter has never heard a cuckoo (apart from on TV and Simon King doing impressions). Have heard them in Minsmere a few years ago.

Hence my representative of spring is the chiff chaff, easily identifiable and almost always in the copse at the end of my road in springtime.

[CJ]

brilliant! I've just got back from walking the dog and I actually saw a cuckoo! He was singing his little heart out in a copse near the willow plantation along the river where I live, then I saw what I thought was him fly into the plantation. Watched and yes, it was! so chuffed!

[tigerburnie]

I was fishing at 1000 feet above sea level at the weekend and heard my first cuckoo and saw some Sand Martins, they must have had their thermals on as it was only 4 degrees and still snow on the ground.

[Rizzo]

Been out to Eyebrook reservoir this afternoon, still no cuckoo heard but lots of migrants like whitethroat, blackcap and so on, lots of long tailed tits in the sedges near the bridge and also reed warbler. Yellowhammers and chaffinch all over the meadow and hedges, and a magnificent red kite as we sat outside the pub in Great Easton. Lots of house martins and swallows around too in the villages, despite the prediction for cooler rainy weather from midweek I think we can safely say Spring is fully here.

[h's dad]

Flowers rather than birds but definitely garden:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... arden.html

[tigerburnie]

Due to being unable to travel to Welford Road I took solace in the hills fishing. Quite a few Adders around, so had to be careful where I walked, Cuckoo heard again and a Golden Eagle flew overhead. Never seen so many Mistle Thrushes in one place.

[sapajo]

Due to being unable to travel to Welford Road I took solace in the hills fishing. Quite a few Adders around, so had to be careful where I walked, Cuckoo heard again and a Golden Eagle flew overhead. Never seen so many Mistle Thrushes in one place.

Cannot remember the last time I saw sight or sound of a cuckoo or Mistle Thrush and I was in my teens (donkeys years ago) the last time I saw a Tree Sparrows nest

[tigerburnie]

The wildlife in Scotland is pretty spectacular, one of the reasons I like the place...........and the whisky. It is a bit like stepping back in time, the farming in the hills is low intensity so a lot of stuff is still quite common that I didn't see in Leicestershire for decades.