Slow arrival of Spring

With Spring being held back by the sudden arrival of cold winds and rain. I have been waiting for the sign of Toads breeding which has not taken place yet this year as when this begins it means the Otters will be feeding at a spot where I discovered them hunting Toads in the early mornings. It's lovely to see the reeds and plants growing back alot slower this year in my local countryside.

Misty sunrise at a local lake

 Bridge of light on my local canal at sunrise

The green slowly coming through

 Mallard and her Ducklings on the canal tow path

Back in my garden the Blackbirds first brood of chicks have just fledged from the hedgerow. They are now on there second brood with eggs laid a few weeks ago. The Robins have returned to there nest in the Ivy after there eggs were predated by Mice. They laid 5 eggs a week or two ago and hopefully this brood will make it to fledgling. To make sure the eggs are not predated this time we are keeping out the live mouse trap near to the nest which we will check daily so any more mice caught can be released in a local meadow.

We had a few dry days last week where I finally got to visit my Badger sett to see if I could see the cubs playing around the sett. We managed to see 2 Badgers but they were quite wary at being out in the early evening light. I'm hoping once the warmer and lighter mornings return I can get out more in my kayak on the river to get some low level shots of some of my favorite seasonal events.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Update on the Robin pair...

With Spring beginning and the beautiful lush green color returning to our countryside, I thought it was about time for a Spring update. One thing I need to update on is the unfortunate loss of our Robin eggs from the pair who were nesting in my garden. I am 100% positive that the eggs were eaten by the wood mice that have moved into my garden over the winter months. I have noticed that the other birds like the Blackbirds, Dunnock's and Robin have re nested in the nearby hedge at the bottom of my garden.

Due to the amount of babies the Wood Mice have had I think I need to live catch a few to reduce the population in my garden to give the nesting birds a chance. I'll take the ones I catch to local woodland or meadow where birds of prey and Owls hunt. By doing it this way it means the Mice don't get killed by a trap and possibly feed the chicks of a Barn Owl. If they survive they will breed and increase the rodent population in the countryside which will help out any birds or mammals that feed on them. Hopefully there's time for the Robins to reuse there old nest later in the season. I have also have put up 2 new nest boxes for the local Tits to use. I really do love this time of year I just wish some of these local wildlife poachers would disappear and let the birds and mammals breed in peace.

Next time I'll post about one of my latest biking encounters where I found a wading bird at sunset 

 Stay safe and protect Nature where and whenever you can

Cheers Mike

First nest of 2016 in my garden and theres eggs!!!

Over the past few weeks we have been watching a pair of Robins building a nest in my garden and I was quite surprised how early they started. It seems other birds are slowly starting to follow the Robins lead as I've seen the Sparrows emptying there old nest material out from under the eves of my home. On Saturday 28th February I was looking out of the kitchen window and I spotted the male Robin calling from a branch near the nest. The female came out and was fed by the male bird a few times before it returned to the box hidden in some thick Ivy outside my bedroom window. As there's been lots of cold frosty mornings lately you think I would be concerned but as the nest is in a deep section of Ivy the nest is well hidden and protected. Once the pair left to have a sing I decided to check with my Iphone which took a second and then I went inside to allow the Robin to return which she did.

I was pleased to see 3 eggs in the bottom of the nest and I think this may be the earliest report of Robin eggs laid this year and may be the first to hatch.

If the Robins run into any really cold whether I'll be off to the local fishing shop to buy some maggots which should help them through the worst of the weather if there is a lack of insects but I think they will be fine due to the amount of Gnats flying around in the nearby cemetery.

Updates to follow as well as photographs of the nest location and possibly some video footage from the nest camera if the one I installed last year still works.

Thank you for reading 

Mike

 Stay safe and protect Nature where and whenever you can