Springwatch on the golf course

Flocks of redwings gathering ready to return to Scandinavia

I hope Mrs Duck’s little brood will survive. At my last house we had resident moorhens and each year we saw the little ones disappear one by one. We then discovered we had a resident mink - which one of our GSDs dispatched.

I feed the birds every day and they are much hungrier now, eating me out of house and home! It’s a pleasure to be able to help them get ready for the breeding season and to feed their babies though. I doubt the bank manager agrees!

We saw ducklings on the village pond a couple of weeks ago, and now there are goslings too. Only four of each though.

We have a pair of swans in a local park, I was walking round the lakes this morning and wondered what the fencing across one of the paths was for before realising the female had built a nest right beside the path and lake was happily sitting on her eggs. The council have fenced around her hoping to keep people and dogs away. The male was patrolling along the lake edge. I just hope foxes can’t get to her as they stolen eggs and killed signets in years past.