Wildlife Corner

[Gloria]

Swallows arrived this afternoon 11th April, they arrived last year on17th April. Summer is arriving .

[Wendyf]

Wonderful Gloria! Ours didn't nest last year and I'm wondering if they will return.

[Stanley]

That's good news..... Now all we have to do is get rid of this east wind!

[Stanley]

I saw a skein of geese flying high yesterday. Not seen many of them for a while, perhaps I am out too early in the morning....
Lots of birds about in Valley Gardens, saw the Pied Wagtails yesterday..... The black birds down their with the white collars have no fear of either me or Jack they don't move from their ground feeding until we are within about four feet of them and then they only move a short distance with no alarm calls.
In the last week I have had a bumble bee and a white butterfly in the back yard.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report into definitive proof that rabbits were in Britain by at least 1AD. A bone found at Fishbourne Palace in West Sussex in 1964 has been recognised as being from a rabbit and modern techniques have allowed it to be dated accurately. The arrival of Rabbits with the Romans has long been suspected but this is definitive proof.

[Tizer]

Mussels, barnacles and an orange sponge growing on the rocks at Trebarwith Sands, Cornwall.



The mussels march across the rocks at Trebarwith Sands.



And one for Wendy - a tree on the north coast of Cornwall showing the effects of `wind pruning' by the constant coastal wind which scorhes the buds on the seaward side of the tree leaving it leaning away from the wind.

[Wendyf]

Thank you! A donkey too.

[Stanley]

That reminds me of the trees on Anglesey. I always remember my father's comment when we first drove on to the island during the war, he took one look and said "Oh Christ!". He didn't like wind and I think I've inherited it from him.
Lovely pics of the Mussels.....

[Tizer]

Thank you! A donkey too.

Yes, I was quite pleased with myself that I realised it was a donkey and not a horse!

Stanley, I think all folk like wind less as they get older.

[Stanley]

I always hated it Tiz, even in my prime. It disorients me.....
Are the doves with a white collar Collared Doves? Very active at the moment and I had always assumed they were Rock Doves.....

[PanBiker]

Yea, as far as I am aware, I believe they pair for life.

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz relates how she and her parents, when visiting the grandparents in Glasgow, always loved to take a boat down the Clyde, stand in the bow and see how far forward they could lean against the very strong wind coming up the river!

[Stanley]

Shades of Titanic!

[Stanley]

The birds are very active in Valley Gardens this morning!

[Stanley]

THIS BBC report on the decline of the Emperor Penguin is probably a Climate Change post as well. Worth reading, these magnificent and tough birds are in trouble.

[Stanley]

Watched a blackbird less than 3 feet away in Valley Gardens dealing with two fat worms.... It tolerated both me and Jack and was totally engrossed in its own world. A very happy bird!

[Tizer]

When they've got young to feed they take much greater risks. A bit like young parents taking loans from payday lenders!

[Wendyf]

We have swallows flying around outside today, I wonder if any will nest in the barn, we had none last year.

[Stanley]

They have very little fear winter and summer Tiz.

[Gloria]

We have swallows flying around outside today, I wonder if any will nest in the barn, we had none last year.

You are about two and half weeks behind us Wendy, I wonder if that's with everything? We have two fields on our lane which will be mown in the next couple or three weeks, they are usually done towards the end of May, and they get three cuts.

[Wendyf]

Not sure Gloria, I think there have been times when our swallows arrived before yours. We had an easy winter and a warm start to spring but those cold easterly winds have set everything back. You might not feel the effects so much.

[Stanley]

When I was tramming all over the country on tramp I noticed that on average our Spring is later than anywhere in the Isles including the far North of Scotland. The latest place here is Deerplay Moor going over to Bacup.

[Tizer]

We've been doing some planting in the new garden, which was prepared with a good dosing of horse manure last autumn. It's great to see so many worms - I picked one up the other day that had wandered onto the patio and it was a foot long! I made sure it got back into a safer place. Birds are coming back to the garden now that we've got shrubs and a pond.

[Stanley]

Lovely. Minimum tillage to farm worms is coming back into favour. I remember reading a book advocating it in the 1960s......

[Tizer]

We've designed the pond with a pebble beach like we had in our previous house. Birds and other animals can then safely drink from the pond. The birds love it, especially blackbirds wanting a bath, and we have a pied wagtail regularly strutting around the edge of the pond on an inspection tour before condescending to take a dip.