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There has been a lot of activity during the past ten days as the breeding season has got under way for many creatures. On the 22nd, I
spotted a long-tailed tit collecting moss from the base
of the stone wall on the old laundry. I watched as it
flew into a nearby privet bush and worked its way up
through the bush to where a nest was obviously under
construction. During the next two days, two birds were
very busy flying to and from the nest. It is now complete
and is a very neat rugby ball-shaped structure with a
small entrance hole at the top. Another
interesting find, on the 23rd, was of a kingfisher nest.
I spot kingfishers regularly along the banks of the Went
but I have not seen a nest until this year, although I
have had a good idea of where they breed. This week I
went to the area and Warm weather on the 16th and 17th brought out the first bumblebees and butterflies of the year. The butterflies were high up on a building and I did not have binoculars with me but they were dark in colour and this would indicate tortoiseshell or peacock butterflies, both of which hibernate in cool places in old buildings such as the barn. Frogs in Great Garden have at long last, and six weeks later than those at Fitzwilliam, managed to produce spawn. the first appeared on the morning of the 22nd and there is now a large patch of it. The water was teeming with frogs early in the week and searches by torchlight revealed the presence of many newts, both mature and immature. |
found
a hole in steep bank which looked as though it had been
excavated recently. The shape of the banks allowed me to
stand so that I could just see the hole but remain out of
sight of the exposed tree roots near the hole which have
obviously, judging by the number of fresh droppings
beneath them, served as perches for the birds. Before
long, a kingfisher arrived. I could not see it but I
heard it calling from one of the perches. A little later,
a second bird emerged from the hole.