Saturday 22nd April 2017

Day off and time to make the most of the lovely,sunny, spring weather.

Woods:- usually bunch around including male great spotted woodpecker, wren, chiffchaff on tabletop, goldcrest collecting caterpillars and 3 buzzards soaring.

Raza:- mallards, coots - one pair nesting, 2 great crested grebes and usually gulls.

Canal:- include coots 2 pairs nesting, greenfinch, mallards and one with 9 ducklings, whitethroat heard, male and female blackcaps showing well, song thrush, another chiffchaff.

Netherton Hill:- include buzzard and 2 swallows, linnet, pair of whitethroats showing well, grey heron, female kestrel.

Insects:- include several orange tip butterflies, speckled wood butterfly and painted lady butterfly, carder/buff tailed and red-tailed bumblebes, holly blue butterfly, small tortoiseshell butterflies and an unidentified red damselfly at the settling pools.

Flowers:- include buttercups, germander speedwell, pond water crowfoot, cowslip, red champion, herb robert, white nettle and of course lots and lots of bluebells.

Coot doing his/her daily aerobics

Sunlight bracken

ok, not wild but the goats were around

Netherton church and gorse in full flower

Bluebell