A visit to my local Sand Martin site had dozens of them digging out their nesting tunnels. They are quick moving birds and from the camera aspect the best photos are some time off yet when their young are leaning out of their tunnels.
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While many of our garden birds have left to breed in the woodlands we still have up to four Redpolls coming to feed several times a day. There are two pairs and the males have very impressive areas of red feathers. On the other hand our resident male Sparrowhawk has only been once in the last month when he perched on the Nest-box before he was seen off!! www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
With nine out of ten Long Tailed Tits nests being predated it is some years since I have monitored a successful nest. This year I have only found four nests and already three of those have been destroyed by either Grey Squirrels or Crows. However, the fourth one was in gorse bushes and when I checked it this week-end young Long Tailed Tits were all over the gorse! I took what photos I could and was also rewarded with a photo off a cock Linnet as a bonus.
Global warming has been blamed for many of the present crises in wildlife including the predicted extinction of Adders in the next ten years. I have been familiar with our nearest colony of Adders for 62 years and as recently as six years ago I found 14 during one morning’s inspection. However, this April I visited three times and only found one female and one male Adder. Is it more than a coincidence that during the whole of this period the population of Buzzards has exploded and, of course, Buzzards love to eat Adders? www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
Those of you who followed me on the Little Owl last year will know that this male Little Owl was due to lose his nest-site due to the barn being converted to a house.It was with disbelief as I drove past it last week to find the male on the roof looking for prey and no sign of any further development of the building. So lets hope that nothing happens in the next two months and that another brood of young fledge successfully.
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With a return visit to Rivercatcher I was treated to some more prolonged observations on the forest Crossbills.
The bird books will tell you that the breeding male Crossbills are red and the pair nest in January and February. So in late March you might expect to see a pair accompanied by fledged young. This is exactly what I was treated to but the male orange not red! To confuse matters even further I watched a female Crossbill collecting nesting material accompanied by a male that was yellow/green. And yes it was a male as I witnessed them copulating!! So what were they doing nest-building in late March – this should have happened in January!
Clearly there is a lot to clarify so another visit to Rivercatcher will be required! www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife