BTO project: Satellite tracking of cuckoos:

https://www.bto.org/cuckoos 

No.

I have yet to see a swallow.

Lincolnshire Latest Bird News

https://www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/site/index.php/sightings/latest-news 

Plenty of "coo-coo" noises in my garden, but that's from the resident woodpigeons!

I can't say I've ever heard a cuckoo here, but the owner of the wolf centre said last week she's still waiting for the first one there, and they've always appeared before now.

https://ukwct.org.uk/images/updates/2404/12.jpg 

https://ukwct.org.uk/weather/bee.jpg 

EDIT: And apparently there are badgers out and about at the wolf centre too. Here's Nuka pushing his neck down really, really hard on a fresh deposit from a badger... it's a good job there's no way to transmit smell over the Internet!

https://ukwct.org.uk/weather/nuka.jpg 

The mining bees make those small earth "volcanoes" on bare patches of ground. You may well have noticed these at the Wolf Centre and assumed they were worm casts. Could yours be the Ashy mining bee (Andrena cineraria)?

Check this link and also the one to the Bee Fly which is a kleptoparasite or brood ectoparasitoid. [Look it up!] I hope Beast won't - it might give him unhealthy ideas! 🤣

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/blog/ryan-clark/identify-solitary-bees-uk 

https://www.lnhs.org.uk/index.php/articles-british/613-bee-flies 

Now that's interesting - yes, even though my phone's zoom lens mangled the detail, that mini bee matches the look and description of an ashy mining bee. I'm ashamed to admit I didn't realise you could even find such small bees in this country, my knowledge started at bumble bees and ended at honey bees!

(I have a nest of bumble bees in the garden again this year, albeit a few metres away from last year's effort).

I may well have to poke around my garden a bit more closely this summer... I've a feeling there's a heck of a lot of "minibeast" life that I simply haven't noticed, and the same will apply at the wolf centre too! (Albeit there, we're generally focused on much bigger wildlife, such as the roe deer which burst from a hedge yesterday... made a change from the odd-looking muntjac deer we usually see).

https://www.lancswt.org.uk/blog/spring-bees-identification 

Besides the Ashy mining bee as picked out by Roger, the Early mining bee (Andrea haemorrhoa) looks possible.

Could be. Photos not always as useful as one might hope. To get into this group of insects BWARS is a useful site:

https://bwars.com/ 

https://bwars.com/information_sheets 

17 invasive species causing problems in the UK - humans not on the list.

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/facts-about-uk-invasive-species 

There were also several birds of prey, one was a kite and a couple of others may have been hawks, but I am not so hot on my ability to identify exactly what they were. There's also an owl near to our accommodation, as I could hear it last evening whilst looking for "shooting stars".

We're fortunate to have quite a lot of deer round us so see them regularly on my walks. Red kites are also our most popular bird of prey, due to the breeding programme at Harewood House which is local to us.

Red Kites recently arrived but buzzards are the ones you often see going around in circles on thermals. They mew like cats too.

There is a peregrine nest in a pylon across the road but I'm not sure if it is occupied yet.

And lastly, the ospreys in Poole Harbour. Almost forgot the Sea Eagles. Haven't seen one yet though.

This morning's adventure was out to the Piskey Hall, "Fogou" in Cornish, which is on the farm land where we're staying. It's a small cave with glow in the dark lichen, a pretty little place.

https://acornishjourney.uk/early-medieval/fogous/piskey-hall-fogou/ 

Their holiday let is top notch too (and suitable for those in a wheelchair) and I highly recommend as it was cheaper than a static caravan for this time of the year (and probably throughout the year) and a lot more comfortable all round. 

We're off out Marazion way this afternoon, in spite of the light, passing showers, which is the first rain (if you can call it that lol) we've seen so far this week. The husband and I have been blessed 😊

https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/userpics/20240426/20240426093605.jpg 

Working with the RSPB, it's interesting that the gannets which contracted avian flu and survived have now got black pupils in their eyes.

Whether this affects their ability to fish, is unknown.

https://www.alderneywildlife.org/wildlife/webcams/gannet-cam 

Also heard the cuckoo again.

We used to get frogs in the old pond at the top of the garden (which was so silted up I converted it into a bog garden last year) but I haven't seen a frog or toad in the garden for years which I assume is because of the cats that visit or the foxes who seem to use our garden as one of their homes.

And until today, never a newt. So a good day 😀

Frog

I'm also pleased with my propagation of Sea Kale from root cuttings. Little purple shoots appearing. These will recolonise the shore at Kimmeridge Bay in due course where they used to grow.

Sea Kale

They are flapping around the garden and one managed to land on my back yesterday and clung on for a bit like a pirate's shoulder parrot. The parents gave me a strident scolding but then another one managed to spend the night in the shed as it got dark. I've managed to release it and it's back to flying lessons after its parents fed it on release. This damp/soft weather is good for grub hunting, because the parents don't need to go deep to find food.