We don't seem to have a slot for current wildlife news - so hopefully we will have some spring and summer news to post.
Our local Barn Owl webcam is worth a look. The pair are in the box as I post...
Enjoy. 🦉

Barn Owl family in South Lincolnshire
https://www.lenpicktrust.org.uk/owl-project/ 

 

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We don't seem to have a slot for current wildlife news - so hopefully we will have some spring and summer news to post.
Our local Barn Owl webcam is worth a look. The pair are in the box as I post...
Enjoy. 🦉

Barn Owl family in South Lincolnshire
https://www.lenpicktrust.org.uk/owl-project/ 

 

Sadly, the current wildlife news centres around the lack of it. Talking to my birding friends we all agree how much less frequently we see once common songbirds like Yellowhammers, Bullfinches, Chaffinches, even Linnets and so on.Personally I think the mass extinction has actually started and we are moving obliviously along pretending it isn't happening.  Of course this is very topical at the moment as the BBC, as with Lineker, are trying to "shut down" Sir David Attenborough, via his last episode of his new series which will only be shown on iPlayer. It is said that is due to criticisms that may offend right wing Tories and cronies in the Countryside Alliance.

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Fascinating article on the infamous false widow taking on a shrew. 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tiny-spider-fells-prey-many-times-its-size/ 

Pictures included 

Loch of Lowes Ospreys are back and busy tidying up and repairing their nest - arrived on 17th.  [Raining quite heavily as I post!]
Speakers on to hear them calling - and hear the wind! Enjoy. 👍
https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/watch-wildlife-online/loch-of-the-lowes-webcam/ 

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The Loch of the Lowes Ospreys were lining their nest yesterday. They don't hang about. The male is very determined about his DIY and the female corrects his shortcomings, repositioning any overzealous efforts. That's fair enough as she will have to sit on it!
Addictive. I saw one enjoying a fish yesterday. I also enjoyed seeing the two of them try to deal with a y-shaped twig!
https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/watch-wildlife-online/loch-of-the-lowes-webcam/ 
 

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Talking of ospreys:-
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/major-incident-declared-pipeline-leak-184804131.html 

Just in time for thee returning Ospreys to Poole Harbour. I hope whoever is responsible gets a hefty fine but it is unlikely.

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For anybody interested in conservation, the environment and birds in particular I can thoroughly recommend this book I am currently reading.
"Re-Birding" by Benedict Macdonald.
It goes back to pre-historic times and the habitat that was around then for many of the same birds we have now. How man and animals have modified that habitat over the centuries (not always detrimentally), why we are having a mass extinction of our bird life now and why the UK fairs worse than much of the rest of Europe. How new habitat re-creation alone won't bring the birds back and what type of re-wilding can be achieved economically and successfully. A fantastic riveting read and makes you realise if we don't act we will have hardly any wild birds in the UK in the not too distant future.

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An interesting take on the evolution of life over time. New Scientist.
Timeline: The evolution of life. By Michael Marshall
"The story of evolution spans over 3 billion years and shows how microscopic single-celled organisms transformed Earth and gave rise to complex organisms like animals."

Timeline: The evolution of life
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17453-timeline-the-evolution-of-life/ 

If paywalled, try:
https://www.michaelcmarshall.com/blog/bbc-earth-the-secret-of-how-life-on-earth-began 

 

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Just back from a coast hop in thick fog but chuffed to hear a nightingale in the undercliff.

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Just back from a coast hop in thick fog but chuffed to hear a nightingale in the undercliff.

Oh! Now that is encouraging! I wonder if there are some in Somerset this year 🤞

Still, we do seem to see more redstarts here than we did 👍

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Loch of the Lowes Ospreys have hatched 2 chicks so far - I spotted them yesterday.
https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/watch-wildlife-online/loch-of-the-lowes-webcam/ 

Female's been nagging the male because he is not a great provider! A bit windy there too just now!

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Wolf story - Washington State - New Scientist
"Bobcats and coyotes seeking refuge from bigger predators near towns and roads don't find it. Humans are even deadlier neighbours than cougars and wolves"
Wolves are scaring smaller predators into deadly conflict with humans
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2374106-wolves-are-scaring-smaller-predators-into-deadly-conflict-with-humans/ 

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216 hours community service for red kite poisonings. Sentence described as derisory by wildlife groups.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23534087.dumfries-galloway-man-sentenced-poisoning-hawks/ 
 

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We don't seem to have a slot for current wildlife news - so hopefully we will have some spring and summer news to post.
Our local Barn Owl webcam is worth a look. The pair are in the box as I post...
Enjoy. 🦉

Barn Owl family in South Lincolnshire
https://www.lenpicktrust.org.uk/owl-project/ 

 

Still only one egg - but another expected tonight or tomorrow!

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Still only one egg - but another expected tonight or tomorrow!

2nd egg today - next one due Friday.

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The last two of seven hatched blue tits sadly finally succumbed overnight to the weather induced food shortage and died of starvation after the parent finally gave up. The constant cold strong wind for two weeks has blown all the caterpillars off the branches and despite me putting out some live mini mealworms the parent was unable to find them before other birds got them. The local wildlife hospital was going to accept the last two and hand rear them as they were near fledging but as the parent came in late yesterday they said I shouldn't interfere with the nest.
That's three consecutive years now none have fledged, all due to lack of food.

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The last two of seven hatched blue tits sadly finally succumbed overnight to the weather induced food shortage and died of starvation after the parent finally gave up. The constant cold strong wind for two weeks has blown all the caterpillars off the branches and despite me putting out some live mini mealworms the parent was unable to find them before other birds got them. The local wildlife hospital was going to accept the last two and hand rear them as they were near fledging but as the parent came in late yesterday they said I shouldn't interfere with the nest.
That's three consecutive years now none have fledged, all due to lack of food.

What a shame FW. This morning i got back from my dog walk and found a fledged Blue Tit by the back door and wondered how it ended up there. I decided it best to leave it to its fate as i wasn't sure if it was being fed still or had perhaps taken a knock from the window (I did elevate it off the ground to give it half a chance). 

The relentless cold wind and dry conditions here in E-Sussex have wreaked havoc with my garden and the wildlife. Our bird numbers are down, especially so the Tit species, we've lost our marsh tits and our coal/blue tit numbers are significantly down too. Our Wisteria Sinensis has bloomed and finished with barely a bee or any other flying insect present to collect the nectar. Same can be said for the foxgloves which are nearly always a guaranteed top tier bee watching location. Very few butterflies and moths too. My wildflower meadow, on the face of it, looks great but is conspicuous by its almost complete emptiness of life.

It would be lovely if we could just catch a break, every year i think the same around March "will this be the year?" just a couple of years on the trot where our absurd climate just calms down a bit and gives nature a chance. 

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Just had a quick look at some foxgloves and apart from a couple of ants near the top of one spike  that's it. No bees but spotted a damselfly on one of my raised pools. A start perhaps.
I'll be watering again the whips we planted around the new lakes across the road later today. Without this irrigation they would have been long gone by now I think. A watering can per tree and there's a hundred or so to water. Good exercise.
But when does feeling a tad concerned about this years insect paucity become full blown paranoia? However, yesterday pm I saw a fair number of these odonates over there. There's hope at least.

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That's a good cubic metre of water NMA! Make sure you swap arms or you'll be unbalanced by the end of the summer 🤣

A warmer day yesterday notable by the presence, finally, of red tailed bumble bees buzzing about the garden. Its set to be warmer this weekend so I'm hoping the next couple of days see an uptick in numbers. A pair of Nuthatches have moved on to our feeders in the last few days muscling out the house sparrows and robins.  

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By chance Spotify plays Blackbird by Tash Sultana as I read this thread.
The real life Blackbirds in and around the garden have had what I think is a couple of broods this year. Raised just in time when the garden was full of bounty.
However there is a large fat grey cat that sometimes hops over the gate.
The blackbirds then sit on a roof making the noise that only blackbirds make when alarmed as they monitor the beast.
The same sort of thing happens when a buzzard is overhead but it’s then mobbed by the rooks. If the birdsong stops completely I know there is a smaller predator like a sparrowhawk very close by.

Swapping arms is essential in the watering game and life in general or else as you suggest the danger is you become unbalanced.
Music helps too.
Nick

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