They breed in Iceland and fly to the UK to spend the winter feeding.

Their name comes from the whooping trumpeting-like noise they make to regularly communicate with one another, the wildlife charity said."

Record number of whooper swans at wildlife reserve

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crezy09rw3go 

Makes me worry- greenfinches went through (& are no doubt still going through) a hard time with parasitic trichomonosis, exacerbated by bird feeders left without cleaning. Whilst they and chaffinches have been the main victims, other birds are listed. These all seem like garden seed/ feeder users.

https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/gbw/gardens-wildlife/garden-birds/disease/trichomonosis 

Fingers crossed I'm wrong...

Seabirds injured 'crash landing' during storm 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj6z77rjg50o 

Bird feeders (dirty) don't start me off on those.

And one for Retron. Govt plans for mass urbanisations continue apace.

These places never look like the Utopias the developers conjure up in paint.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gpdgjepdeo 

Reminds me of drill baby drill over the water.

I'm working on Carbon/Nitrogen offsets and House Building

Is it a Ponzi scheme? Probably not. Can you make a scam out of it? Perhaps.

Are Wildlife Trusts one the beneficiaries or useful idiots? An interesting theory that gets more and more interesting 

as I dive deeper into the murk.

God help us.

Ah, the Quinn estate - it's an interesting one, that, as unlike the myriad 500-700 house estates which pop up locally it includes some significant infrastructure. If it goes ahead, it would mean a lull in housebuilding on Sheppey - which has already lost so much as a result of those massive housing estates. The latest one, incidentally (650 houses), has gone to appeal, and will doubtless be passed - just as the 700 house one half a mile further on has.

Funnily enough the loudest objectors to that latest one were those living in the 2000 house "Thistle Hill" estate, sandwiched between the two. (It's actually built on Rape Hill, but I guess that name wouldn't sell as well). They didn't seem to appreciate being told that none of us who were already here wanted their houses built either, and they were the reason the roads are overwhelmed locally. Oh well!

This Quinn proposal is an order of magnitude bigger. On the plus side it would provide an escape route from the other side of Sittingbourne - currently the whole town gums up in the event of a crash on the A249 to the west - and although the council has had one of the relief roads in its plans for 20 years, nobody's dared to build it as they know it'd be a vote loser (from those nearby), even if it's popular elsewhere. It would also mean an end to these mega estates locally, giving perhaps a 10 to 15 year pause - very welcome that would be too. And being where it is, it affects fewer people - albeit they would be really, really pee'd off.

On the downside is the loss of farmland (high grade too) - and though it's sterile, as is most farmland, it would of course lead to a loss of habitat. And it would mean even more people cramming onto the 2-lane M2, which is untouched from the halcyon days of the 1960s.

Over all - purely selfishly - I'd hope the plans go through. If we *have* to have thousands more houses dumped on us, which apparantly we do, then I'd rather them affect fewer people.

Ideally, though, we'd see entirely new towns rather than these add-ons to existing settlements. Get the roads and railways in first, *then* build. The way we currently do it is just pandering to developers, meaning they build the houses, provide the bare minimum improvements (and no, inserting a roundabout on a 60mph main road isn't an improvement in any way, shape or form) and then bugger off, leaving the rest of us with a worse quality of life.

If housebuilding is to be broadly welcomed, it needs to improve life for everyone in the area, not make it worse.

EDIT: And unfortunately, as long as the flight from London continues, and we import nearly a million new people each year, we'll just see more of the same. Much more. If you're lucky enough to live in an area that hasn't yet seen these sorts of mega-estates popping up, count yourself lucky, very lucky... and make the most of the quiet while you can!

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/sittingbourne/news/mp-makes-outrageous-request-to-government-over-decision-fo-317227/ 

How to identify diving ducks

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife/how-identify/how-identify-diving-ducks 

Yes it's worrying. I have two seed bird feeders, one in the front and one in the back garden. I clean them in hot soapy water every week which I hope is enough to prevent disease spreading. 

I have relocated our birdfeeders to a clean area of garden and started a more frequent and serious cleaning routine.

RSPB have useful page on Bird Flu

Avian Flu information from RSPB

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/avian-influenza-updates 

Is this a good place to see water rails too Roger or more a historical name (like the River Otter?) Never seen a water rail despite numerous attempts in suitable locations over the years, but Lincolnshire might be a bit of a journey to be disappointed over (I know more dedicated twitchers will travel the length of the land for a chance at a scarlet tanager!)

Sadly it is a play on words rather than an ornithological fact, Bert. The Cycle route from Lincoln to Boston follows the route of the old railway along the river bank. We do get water rail reports in the county, but they are by no means frequent. You would be more likely to see one at a wetland reserve here. It's a scarce resident, fairly common passage migrant, and winter visitor. A couple of examples:

https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/wolla-bank-reedbed 

https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/huttoft-bank-pit 

https://www.lincsfenlands.org.uk/lincolnshire-fens/baston-fen.php 

https://www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/site/index.php/information/birding-sites/546-site-name-5 

Could be in the gardening thread though perhaps not.

The current re-wilding trend/obsession?

https://www.noemamag.com/lords-of-the-untamed-wild/ 

Indigenous knowledge systems acknowledge the role of human beings in creating our shared landscape, but they do not make us uniquely privileged to command and marshall its future. Put another way, as Callicot writes, “Human beings are not specially created and uniquely valuable demigods, any more than nature is a vast emporium of goods, services, and amenities. We are, rather, very much a part of nature.”

Rare black seal pups born at nature reserve

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c07g0g8k8d5o 

1,329 tiny snails released on remote island

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gxqep4zk3o 

"Bumblebees have been found to be starting nests in the depths of winter due to climate change, say conservationists.

The charity Buglife said active worker bumblebees, which do most of the work in a nest, were spotted in Aberdeen during mild weather over the Christmas break. It said a previous survey had recorded bumblebees and honeybees between Christmas and New Year at locations across the UK, including the Highlands."

Bumblebees winter nest-building 'due to climate'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg17mwnx73o 

Meanwhile....

Hare filmed playing in the snow with deer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cjdndgp9npko 

🤣🤣🤣

Meanwhile, a little wren was foraging in my garden this morning. 

Presumably this would have been something the bees might have done during any period of milder weather, climate change or no climate change??

A question with an agenda, West. [Notice I put no "spin" on my post.] One swallow does not make a summer. Organisms cope with many variations in seasonal and other environmental factors, or they don't. It is one of the drivers of evolution. The point of concern is when such conditions change significantly and sufficiently for new and possibly permanent consequences to become clear. That's also when new questions emerge. I'd say to you,

"At what point would such a change impress us enough to convince us there was meaningful environmental change rather than normal and expected environmental fluctuation?"

"How do I know the universe is like this?

By looking!" [Lao Tzu]

A huge assumption on your part I think. The article refers to two periods of milder weather (one now and one in the past) where bees have been affected by milder weather. Why do you dismiss my question as to whether this might be "normal" behaviour for bees in milder weather? I never said that climate change won't affect species but seem to have read that point into my question for some reason.

You asked a question, west, and you got a considered answer from an experienced beekeeper and enthusiast. The key question we all wonder about: "Is this observation usual or is it something new and different?" I have not attempted to answer that, but instead have stated it because it is important.  I repeat:

"At what point would such a change impress us enough to convince us there was meaningful environmental change rather than normal and expected environmental fluctuation?"

There are 2 issues to consider. Whether conditions will allow flight and foraging and whether adequate food will be available? Food supply will of course also be weather-dependent. All depends on what actually happens weather-wise and with timing. You might find these websites of value - tho they mainly apply to honeybees. Bumblebee capability to forage in winter varies between species. I have see queens in flight this winter.

https://www.beelistener.co.uk/beekeeping-in-scotland/how-to-recognise-a-nectar-flow/ 

https://lbka.org.uk/flowers_month.html 

The answer I got from you started off with "A question with an agenda". That was your assumption. There was no "agenda" in my question.

That agenda underpins every discussion of typical vs changing climate, west - it is implied even if you don't specifically mention it. You did not even condescend to respond to my reply. No more time wasting please.

Were you a teacher in a former life? They have a way about them. Perhaps you'd send me to detention if you could.🤣

If you want evidence that some MP’s in Britain are beholden by money, perhaps greed and ignorant of arguably the greatest ongoing environmental disaster in Scotland read these pieces.

It’s a shocking, no damning report that still manages to almost gloss over this catastrophe.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/17/scottish-government-must-do-more-to-control-salmon-farming-inquiry-finds 

https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-6-rural-affairs-and-islands-committee/business-items/salmon-farming-in-scotland 

And then this travesty that the MP’s seem unable to see.

https://thefishsite.com/articles/scottish-salmons-on-westminsters-breakfast-menu 

for the ignorant bit or rather the people involved. They should be ashamed of how they've managed to destroy wild salmon stocks and runs through methods of farming that should have been banned two decades ago.