[Johnny Brown]

We stayed near Bowden for Feb half-term and the hares were a real treat.

Broadly, though, I was a bit surprised and disappointed at the wildlife inland, huge empty green fields, pheasant feeders along every hedgerow and copse, just pheasants everywhere, and then at night - rats! Fucking rats all over the roads, no doubt living off the pheasant grain.

[SA Chris]

Big Fucking Rats with Cocks this Fucking Long!!! (punchline to an old joke)

[webbo]

Whilst having a rest between sets when doing weights in the garage. A Red Kite glided by the window about 20 foot away probably after the Hares.

[ali k]

Never seen one before in my life but during lockdown I’ve seen TWO stoats. Or were they weasels? I did google the difference but still none the wiser!

[robertostallioni]

A weasel is weasally recognised and a stoat is stoatally different.

[gme]

We stayed near Bowden for Feb half-term and the hares were a real treat.

Broadly, though, I was a bit surprised and disappointed at the wildlife inland, huge empty green fields, pheasant feeders along every hedgerow and copse, just pheasants everywhere, and then at night - rats! Fucking rats all over the roads, no doubt living off the pheasant grain.

All heavily keepered. I have not seen a fox up here in years but used to see them a lot. Guess in some weird way they used to leave them for the hunts to chase but now just shoot them all.

[Johnny Brown]

Surprised they didn't just carry on hunting.

[fatneck]

Happily seen more Swallows than usual in the local park for the time of year. Also treated ourselves to a trip to Garston Coastal reserve next to the in-laws house on the Mersey after dropping essential supplies off for them at the weekend. Loads of Whitethroats, Blackcaps, House Martins, Stonechats, Chiffchaffs, a variety of waders, first Wheatear of the year and lots of Shelduck... Might try and fins time to post some photos up.

[JamieG]

Seen some nice birds on my dog walks around the local park. Normally I just see the usual contenders, robins, tits, etc. But occasionally it throws up some treats.

Saw a pair of bullfinches which I always love. Male was looking absolutely shabba! 

Saw a blackcap male giving it full beans. Lovely song.

And even more weirdly there is a male american wood duck on the canal. Been there for a couple of months. Probably an escapee but still great fun to see him doing well.

But best of all. Five swallows flew over. First of the year. Genuinely lifted my spirits. Just can't help but associate them with good memories.

[SA Chris]

And even more weirdly there is a male american wood duck on the canal.

Is an odd one. Local park in Aberdeen gets a Mandarin Duck turn up regularly.

[JamieG]

Yeah we get a Mandarin duck in the park in Stalybridge, but hadn't seen a wood duck before. I think they are both commonly kept in waterfowl collections and hence the occasional escapee.

Interestingly Mandarin ducks and wood ducks are closely related and the only two members of the Aix genus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aix_(genus)

[Ru]

Goldfinches in the neighbourhood for the first time. Seen a few this week (or the same one several times).

[SA Chris]

Goldfinches in the neighbourhood for the first time. Seen a few this week (or the same one several times).

If it's been followed by the same black cat several times, it's a glitch in the Matrix.

[SA Chris]

Heard a woodpecker when out running this morning, first time I've heard one in ages. Also spotted a yellowhammer  among flowering gorse yesterday, almost a perfect colour match, you have to wonder about evolution.

[AMorris]

I am lucky to have a wonderful gorse/woodland niche 5 minutes down the road where I have been birdwatching a lot recently, compiling a list of species in the area. Standard array of common woodland residents and summer migrants (Blackcaps, whitethroats, willow warblers). To my surprise, I walked past a gorse bush a couple of days ago and heard a Sedge Warbler belting its lungs out from the middle of it  I stood there for a few minutes and took a recording to verify that this was not a very convincing mimic (chaffinches can occasionally throw out borrowed vocalisations), since this is a rather unusual place to find one. Had I been next to a reed bed on a wetland it would have been a simple ID, but it took me by surprise!

Anyway, thought I would upload the video if anyone is interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmjZlZE_VLM&feature=youtu.be

[fatneck]

Sounds like a Sedgy to me! Nice one!

Spring migrants can turn up anywhere at this time of year. We've had a Common Sandpiper, Pied Flycatcher and Snipe turn up in our exceedingly urban and busy park in the  last few weeks...

On a non-migratory note there seem to be more Greenfinch about that I've ever seen before lately.

Anyone seen a Swift yet? Plenty of Swallows and House Martins around these ways but Swifts are my favourite

[AMorris]

Spring migrants can turn up anywhere at this time of year. We've had a Common Sandpiper, Pied Flycatcher and Snipe turn up in our exceedingly urban and busy park in the  last few weeks...

those are some fantastic sights! That is why I love getting out with some binos this time of year. I remember many years ago I was at a hide in Slimbridge with my father, gazing out at the wetland. I looked down and there was a Water Rail on the birdfeeder about 4m from the hide!

Anyone seen a Swift yet? Plenty of Swallows and House Martins around these ways but Swifts are my favourite

None over this way yet, that I have seen.

[JamieG]

No swifts over here in Tameside. In fact only seen swallows once then they’ve disappeared again. Wife did hear a cuckoo in the park today which is the first of the year for us.

[Nutty]

Anyone seen a Swift yet? Plenty of Swallows and House Martins around these ways but Swifts are my favourite

The swifts have arrived down here in Reading, cheers me up seeing them whirling around overhead.

[AMorris]

Walk down by the river today and watched a pair of kingfishers hunting for a good 20 minutes. I have been keeping an eye out round there because it seemed like prime kingfisher habitat, but it is the first time I have seen them. Very happy!

[SA Chris]

Rockpooling with the kids, and saw 2 or 3 little flatfish (flounder / plaice / sole?) swimming about, transparent and about the size of a fingernail. Really cool, got on video with my phone.

[ianabbot]

That’s a coincidence Chris, we were down on the shore rockpooling yesterday too - the field behind our house drops down to the Cromarty Firth. It was a really low tide (0.2m) so able to get right down onto the lower shore. Found loads of butterfish, which seem to be able to survive between tides in virtually no water – we found several under damp seaweed. There were a few flatfish scudding about in the shallows and we caught a small plaice by scooping a net through the sand. Their ability to match whatever substrate they’re on is amazing; within seconds of being in the bucket it had changed colour and developed white flecks to mimic the shell fragments in the sand. I think the ones you saw are at the stage where they’ve just metamorphosed from free-swimming ‘normal’ shaped pelagic fish into bottom-dwelling flatfish.
Also saw a hare in the field on the way down, and on the way back up too, so a pretty good trip all round!

[SA Chris]

Great stuff Ian. I know they change shape, but thought it happened when they were a lot older.

Really low tides right now, and weather was great yesterday, flat calm.

[SA Chris]

Dolphins! Last Friday on family walk around local hill (Cranhill), and I just happened to looked up the coast at the right time to see the distinctive fin pop out. We were right by a gate into a farmers field, so legged it down the edge of the field to the top of the seacliffs (Craig Stirling if anyone knows it) and had a 270 deg birdseye view of the whole pod going up the coast. They stopped moving just north of CS and starting swimming about possibly looking for fish, it's really deep water there (hence great fishing and DWS) I reckon between a dozen to 20. Just gutted i didn't have camera with long lens with me, which i had taken out every day that week, there were a few tail waggles, but not much leaping.

[Will Hunt]

There was an irresponsible deer swimming in the canal near us last week. It ended up putting additional strain on the emergency services when the fire brigade attended to pull it out. Covidiot.