Nature Walk - What Have You Seen Today?

We have a reed bed a mile and a half’s walk from here. This is not rural Norfolk, but a former coal mining area and the reeds were planted to sweeten the water that came up out of the mine workings after they were closed down. It’s grown quite extensively and for a number of years we’ve had reed warblers breeding in there. It’s such a joy to hear these elusive birds. I stood on the path evening just listening to them and recording them on my phone. There’s only one path on the edge of the bed, so they’re well protected.

We walked 6 miles today in the rain with the dog( it rained all day but not heavy rain) .....
We saw blossom budding on many many trees....lovely !

I love the sun bathing squirrel picture.

I feel very lazy, we haven’t been out today (well DH popped out to the shop to get some bread and milk.) We had a busy weekend, that’s my excuse.

An awful lot of mud and puddles!!!! Seriously it is good to see the spring flowers and green shoots appearing on what appeared to be dead twigs.

The peregrine falcon pair have laid their first eggm we can watch them live. www.stalbanscathedral.org/peregrine-live-cam

My plum tree has produced the first of its flowers! We never get any plums, but hey, it’s trying!

Sitting in the garden today my daughter noticed what was either a weasel or a stoat watching us from under a tree! I haven’t seen one for years! What’s surprising is that the children were running around making such a noise.

On a walk last Sunday week we saw a whole carpet of periwinkles. I took a photo but my knees wouldn't let me get down really low to get a proper idea of the blueness of it, so I just had pictures of a scattering of the flowers among the leaves.

This weekend wasn't so photogenic.

I haven’t gone to see them yet this year, but the storks are back at Knepp and have laid their first egg. I love the clacking they make. Spring is truly here!

Out for my daily stroll and saw a Robin, some magpies and crows.
Daffodils growing in the wild, tiny purple violets growing in the grass and lots of trees with blossom. Sadly also saw lots of litter on the local common even though plenty of rubbish bins available. Plenty of people out with their dogs and young folk on the skate park. Even though it was a grey damp day it didn't stop folk going out for an airing.😊

Lots of signs of spring here in south Glos. We have a large clump of frogspawn in the pond, the rooks are busy nesting in the beech trees along the road and I saw a muntjac with her fawn yesterday when walking the dog.
So much wildlife around here, we regularly see deer, foxes, buzzards, red kites and the usual birds found in the garden, including jays.

Steller's jay B.C.'s provincial bird. Dark blue birds with a triangular crest and a long tail. I heard a couple before spotting them when walking my dog this morning. They are very noisy birds!

CocoPops

Thanks for starting this thread Seawoozle. It's lovely.

Awww, thank you so much. I'm glad you like it. It's been lovely for me as well, actually. In the throes of moving house so haven't been out much at all. Have really enjoyed my fifteen minutes of scrolling through all these lovely posts. Thanks to everyone for contributing 🤗

Thanks for starting this thread Seawoozle. It's lovely.

We did an 8 mile hike today in Hockney country, sadly it was cold and overcast.
We did however see mad March hares, Sika deer, black kites, yellowhammers,skylarks singing and the first blossom on the hawthorn.
In 8 miles we met just one man and his dog…..bliss.

CocoPops

A cute young raccoon spotted yesterday evening

Oh wow! Lucky you.....well, I know they can be known locally as Trash Pandas, but even so!! They're my daughter's favourite animal and we did a Meet the Racoon for her birthday a couple of years ago. It was fab! In the UK now, though, they've changed the status of them and they're now classed as invasive so they have to be kept behind locked doors and out of the public's eye......

We have both red kites and red squirrels in our neck of the woods.
As an aside I remember someone with Aspburgers syndrome calling it " my corner of the field "

A cute young raccoon spotted yesterday evening

The Canal and Rivers Trust are working on the canal near us. Today they have dyed it green! It looks very strange but better than the usual murky brown.

One of our local parks is full of ring necked parakeets. Their numbers are on the up. I’ve also noticed that as a result we don’t see so many nuthatches, treecreepers and woodpeckers☹️.

SusieB50

We used to get redwings in the garden of our old house. Pretty little things but weren't around for long.

Wheniwasyourage

Wonderful. We've just had the usual robins, pigeons, bluetits and occasional pied wagtail here. Oh, and our usual blackbirds of which I think there are usually three pairs nesting around our garden. They don't get on! Found some mice nesting in a box in the garage last week, too. Very cute with their little beady eyes.

We have a large group of parakeets (outskirts of E London) that make a dreadful racket but I noticed yesterday in the sun what a brilliant green they are . I presume they are in their mating attire . Two redwings in the garden this morning getting the last of the ivy berries.

Over the past week or so we've seen 2 dippers, a grey heron, 2 mallards, a hare, a wren and what I'm pretty sure is a yellowhammer on our walks. Also heard woodpeckers. There aren't as many birds as there used to be, sadly.

It's a glorious day here. Went for a walk up the lane earlier and had to wait for a while for a farmer to hustle his ewes and lambs into a field. They were having none of it, quite happily munching on the grass verges! Babies just skipping about. Saw a few very bouncy squirrels and a flock of jackdaws suddenly landed in a tree above where we had a rest before our return. Just nice to see the 🌞