Monday 5th May 2014

Weather :- Cloudy with sunny spells and some wind.

Woods :- Fairly quiet. Jay put up a brief but good show, nuthatches feeding their young, in the same nest as last year.

Raza :- Again quiet. Coots, male mallards, 3 great crested grebes, herring and lesser backed gulls.

Canal :- more male mallards and 1 female, moorhens and 2 Canada geese.

Netherton Hill :- Female kestrel hunting over the hill till she landed, behind a tree. Thought she had caught something so went for a look, but actually landed on nest. Male blackcap singing well and a whitethroat bobbed out of a tree for a couple of seconds. Several linnets displaying over the gorse - at  least 3 pairs. Grey heron on pools.

Flowers :- include bluebells - thousands of them. You can see why it's listed as one of the best places to see them.

Also herb Robert, cow parslay, red Valerian, cowslip, red campion and giant hogweed.

Insects :- orange tip , small white, peacock, speckled wood and small tortoiseshell butterflies. White tailed, red tailed and tree bees. 

One of the many paths you can explore.

Red Valerian .