Cloudy, dry but windy.
Very quiet about on the bird front lately. Two Great Spotted Woodpeckers were seen in the garden yesterday prior to flying off into Oak trees nearby. Buzzards are seen pretty much on a daily basis, sometimes sitting in nearby trees , at others riding high on the thermals. Plenty of babies about with Robins, Hedge Sparrows and Blue Tits much in evidence in the garden. Blackbirds and Song Thrushes seem to be very plentiful all around the village.
There are large numbers of small Rabbits seemingly everywhere, I don't doubt that the Buzzards will thin these out as some seem to be infected with Myxamatosis.
The two Fallow Deer are still around the village frequently. This morning , when I took the dog out for her walk, they were feeding near the main road. Did I have my camera, no. I walked home, about 150 metres, picked up camera and set off again. They had barely moved when I got back. I took several shots of the buck, moved about six inches to my right to line up on the doe, they were gone. About a week ago they were posing under a nearby street lamp at about 11pm. I definitely was not carrying a camera at that time.
We had an unwelcome visitor this morning. A Hornet came in through an open bedroom window. My wife quickly vacated same bedroom. I managed a couple of not very good pictures before it flew out through the open window sounding like a small helicopter.
There still seem to be plenty of Painted Lady butterflies about, lots of Speckled Woods around here, too.

They have been haunting me.

Dry, sunny and warm.

During the last month I have sighted two Fallow Deer, about the village, on four or five occasions. Every time I have seen them, I've not had my camera with me. Today I was prepared. I didn't have a brilliant sight of them because they were in the area of Forestry, recently replanted and were partly obscured by the plastic tubes which cover the young trees, to protect them from damage by deer and rabbits. They were sadly, some distance away and I had Polly our GSD hanging on my left arm, trying to see what I was seeing.
Last week I saw them in the open from a distance of only about 10 metres but no camera. Today they were about 150 metres from home close to the main road through the village.

I'm sure that eventually I will get some better shots but these will do for starters.
Lovely to see them amongst the Foxgloves which are putting up such a good display at the moment.

Very wet and misty.
A miserable day after the sunny days that we have had recently. At least the high winds have dropped meaning that it is a lot warmer.
Many of the first broods of chicks are out and about now. Robins and Hedgesparrows were seen this morning following parents, calling persistently.
Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a Treecreeper were the most unusual birds seen today with most of the more common species either seen or heard. There did seem to be a lot of House Sparrows down the lane today, certainly making plenty of noise. There are hundreds of small Oak trees popping through the grass in the woods. These are probably as a result of Jays forgetting where they had buried acorns during the Autumn.
Highlight of the day today was to see two Fallow Deer browsing on a Hawthorn tree. I guess they ere only about twelve metres from where I was standing. They soon caught sight of me and melted away into the undergrowth. I saw them again about five minutes later as they came into the Oak wood further down the road.

Warm and Sunny after overnight rain.
Yesterday afternoon we paid a visit to a nearby Wildflower Meadow, run by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. What a sight. The floor is almost covered in an abundance of flowers. All the shady parts, under the hedges etc. are filled with Bluebells with a smattering of Lady Smock. The bulk of the open spaces are a mass of colour. Dandelions both in flower and loads of fully open seed heads. Plantain, Cowslips in large numbers and loads of species that I cannot name. What we had come to see of course were the Green Winged Orchids. Were we disappointed, no we were not. GWT say that there could be 50,000 flowering in this one meadow, about three acres. I know that I haven't enough fingers and toes to count them all. What a sight. Mostly dark purple in colour, there are a few that are pink and we even found a white one. Orange Tip Butterflies abounded, I have never seen so many in such a short space of time plus there were a few Peacocks, Tortoiseshells both large and small.
Nettles grow profusely around the edges of the meadow and Buttercups are everywhere. There was also a lot of Dock, of which some of the larger leaves were covered in Flies. What that was about, I cannot imagine.

The Ring Necked Pheasant above is a very dark breasted individual, the first I have seen like that around here. Mistle Thrush feeding a youngster was the first fledgling that I had seen this year.
The above is I believe a Crab Spider hiding in a Narcissus "Cheerfulness". I guess it won't be so cheerful if some unsuspecting insect arrives looking for nectar.

Dry and Sunny.
A fairly uneventful few weeks have passed since I last added an entry. Many of the Summer visitors have appeared over the last weeks, not least a Cuckoo could be heard from the garden last week. The first I have heard here for several years. There are plenty of Swallows and House Martins about the village too. I have heard a Blackcap singing in the hedge at the bottom of the garden, although I've not seen it. Several Chiff Chaffs are about the area making their presence known with their distinctive call. A pair of Hedge Sparrows are nesting in our large Clematis Montana " Rubens ". They are making dozens of visits a day, now, to the nest so must have youngsters there.
Only one unusual visitor to the garden recently, a Green Woodpecker, on the feeders.Quite a few Butterflies about now that the weather has warmed up. Peacocks, Orange Tips and a Speckled Wood have all been noticed, along with a few Red Tailed Bumble Bees. Many young Rabbits about the verges too, with a lot of them failing to out run the traffic.
The first fledgling I have seen this year was a Mistle Thrush being fed by one adult in a small grass paddock nearby.

Mild but damp after overnight rain.
I really must try to keep this more up to date. Most of the local birds appear to be busy singing and nest building. Almost everything is carrying bits of stick, moss, grass, feathers etc. depending on size and species of course.
I have seen a single Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on several occasions, sometimes drumming and usually high up in large Oak trees. Also one sighting of a Greater Spotted Woodpecker in the Oak wood near our village football field.
Members of the Thrush family seem to be very much in evidence probably because I see them feeding out in the open. A Mistle Thrush was seen chasing a Jay this morning, I hope it hadn't lost eggs or young to this colourful member of the Crow family. Song Thrushes and Blackbirds seem to abound at the moment, I guess it is easier feeding now that we have had an appreciable amount of rain. When it is very dry they seem to spend a lot of time rooting about under shrubs and through the accumulated leaves on the ground, looking for sustenance.
A very unusual sighting from my window yesterday. A pair of Mandarin Ducks flew in and landed in an Oak tree before dropping into the recently replanted area of Forestry land adjacent. I guess that they were nest site hunting. There are surely plenty of nooks and crannies among the piles of treetops etc. that are to be found on that piece of ground. It is a long way from any water and that is only a tiny brook that leads off towards the A48.

Cold and misty early, hot and sunny later.
Plenty of birds singing now. Our resident cock Blackbird is certainly letting everyone know that he is about. There is a Robin singing almost all day long, I guess he must stop to feed at times. There are several pairs of Hedge Sparrows in the garden and you can usually hear one singing. I'm sure that one pair are nest building near the house, although I haven't found a nest yet. Wrens have nested in the Ivy covering a fence in past years, so may do so again. There are definitely Jackdaws busy in one of our chimneys.
I watched some Jays this morning, searching under oak trees,no doubt looking for acorns that had been hidden during the autumn. Magpies have been busy nest building, or at least adding to last years remaiders. Some of them are becoming quite enormous, nests that is, not the birds.
Blue and Great Tits seem to abound, so much so that they appear to be the only birds about at times. Starlings seemed to be much in evidence today after going some days without seeing any. Greenfinch numbers seem to have picked up here and Goldfinches are very numerous.
Plenty of squirrels around today and rabbits, including youngsters. A Peacock butterfly was also sighted this morning just sunning itself on the ground.