Nature Walk - What Have You Seen Today?

There are quite a few of them in this part of The West Midlands SeaWoozle. We get the occasional one in our garden

Kate1949

Walsall Arboretum today. Not a great pic as my phone is useless. What a beautiful place in the middle of Walsall town. There are miles of tree lined walks, lakes, one with a fountain, streams with little weirs and bridges, play areas, a very reasonable cafe. Today we saw parakeets in the trees.

Lovely. I've only ever seen wild parakeets in Spain. They don't half make a racket! But quite cute all the same.

@ nanna8
I’ve got used to cockatoos after visits to family and now understand what a noisy nuisance they can be but I do like seeing just how agile they are in flight.

The first sticky buds on the horse chestnuts opening!

Walsall Arboretum today. Not a great pic as my phone is useless. What a beautiful place in the middle of Walsall town. There are miles of tree lined walks, lakes, one with a fountain, streams with little weirs and bridges, play areas, a very reasonable cafe. Today we saw parakeets in the trees.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202402/medium-133416-pxl-20240229-130138926-mp.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202402/medium-50650-pxl-20240229-125315467-mp.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202402/medium-950826-pxl-20240229-124217654-mp.jpg

Had to go to the tip this morning and afterwards decided to go on a slight detour home, round the lanes. Came across a field full of ewes and their lambs. These ones ran over to the gate to say hello. It's a shame I can't add video because in the distance there were five lambs playing together, headbutting each other and leaping all over the place. An absolute joy to watch. This duck (I believe it's a Muscovy duck!) was just in a watery ditch at the side of the road, by a farm. Also saw a juvenile buzzard sitting on the hedge but wasn't quite quick enough for a photo. I really was in another world for a while.

Greyduster

I was finishing my breakfast in the kitchen being entertained by a lovely flock of goldfinches in next door’s holly tree. We get them in the garden regularly in summer, but I haven’t seen them this early before. No time to set the camera up this morning but here is a photo I took last year. They like the spent lavender seeds!

Beautiful. Love goldfinches. We get them occasionally here. Where I used to libe there was a large flock of them lived in the woods. As you walked along, they'd fly up and move with you.

I was finishing my breakfast in the kitchen being entertained by a lovely flock of goldfinches in next door’s holly tree. We get them in the garden regularly in summer, but I haven’t seen them this early before. No time to set the camera up this morning but here is a photo I took last year. They like the spent lavender seeds!

There are a lot here SeaWoozle I’d sooner the red kites anyday . You get them further north but haven’t seen them down here.

Oh wow! Beats my red kite! Would quite like to see a wild one, but not one chewing my windows!

White cocky up a tree. Not to be particularly encouraged because they eat wooden window frames! Loud,though!

Well, 10 actually!

Canada's 8 Seasons

Winter
Fool's Spring
Second Winter (we are here now)
Mud and Allergies
Actual Spring
Summer
Fall
Second Brief Summer
Fall Storms
Hello Darkness My Old Friend

I saw a little owl at a local nature reserve today, along with long tailed tits (my favourites), bull finches and assorted garden birds. Buds and blossoms appearing on the trees, Spring is in the air!

GrandmaSeaDragon

A robin was serenading me as I walked through the village to our church coffee morning. I always think of lost loved ones when I see robins. On an ancient brick wall, the aubretia is an absolute picture. Lots of daffodils, snowdrops and hellebores flowering now too. Natures is amazing after so much rain recently, when roads were like rivers and fields like lakes!

I have robins nesting in my garden. I was sorting plants out yesterday to take with us and one was bobbing backwards and forwards taking the worms I'd dug up.

A robin was serenading me as I walked through the village to our church coffee morning. I always think of lost loved ones when I see robins. On an ancient brick wall, the aubretia is an absolute picture. Lots of daffodils, snowdrops and hellebores flowering now too. Natures is amazing after so much rain recently, when roads were like rivers and fields like lakes!

Out of my kitchen window I saw 2 woodpigeons, one chasing the other round the garden - spring is in the air!

keepcalmandcavachon

Loving these, aren't we just so lucky to to have all this on our doorstep
I thought I was watching a cormorant down by the (very muddy) river bank but it was a branch. My little (white & fluffy) dog was rolling in every thing before I realised
A friend's little grandson was overjoyed to find frogspawn!

🤣 I've seen so many creatures which have turned out to be branches or rocks. I've even thought a herd of deer was cows! Good job I've got some new glasses. Lucky boy finding frogspawn. I've yet to see any this year. Was hoping to see our toad in the garden yesterday but he wasn't around either. We've also got a newt which hides under the pots and pretends to be dead. Until you turn your back and it scuttles away!

Yes, we're very lucky 🤗

Loving these, aren't we just so lucky to to have all this on our doorstep
I thought I was watching a cormorant down by the (very muddy) river bank but it was a branch. My little (white & fluffy) dog was rolling in every thing before I realised
A friend's little grandson was overjoyed to find frogspawn!

Storm Arwen took down all the trees in the rookery. I felt so sorry for them the following day, they were like little lost souls. They have rebuilt it since though. When I do my evening walk ( which is a bit spooky) I always like to know that the rooks are up there in the trees. What amazes me is that, as soon as I put food out for them they see it even though they are nowhere to be seen.

I’m the same May my thought/hope being that if I feed the corvids, they won’t prey on the little ones.

shysal

Around here it is the rooks who intimidate and mob the kites. They feed on similar carrion so are in competition.
Here some of the fields where they would normally search are flooded, so perhaps your visitor was just hungry.
Enjoy the sight, it won't harm your cat!

When my daughter and I both had tiny puppies at the same time we both noticed that when we let them into the garden it seemed to attract buzzards. It was worse for my daughter as her garden is much larger than mine but we were both scared that a buzzard would fly off with our dogs. However the rooks did a really good job of scaring away the buzzards at my daughters. I feed the corvids when I’m at my partners place ( it’s part of my zero waste policy, they get stuff that would normally get thrown out) and love watching their pecking order.

I’m still reeling from the piles of 🐶💩 on my walk yesterday.

However, I’ve a pair of rooks on my bird table this morning, with my usual flock of 8 feral pigeons and 9 jackdaws. They all give way to 3 wood pigeons who strut around warning them off.
I’ve little birds too, so I wait for the big ones to re-fuel, then take another lot of food out for them.

shysal

Around here it is the rooks who intimidate and mob the kites. They feed on similar carrion so are in competition.
Here some of the fields where they would normally search are flooded, so perhaps your visitor was just hungry.
Enjoy the sight, it won't harm your cat!

That's a good point shysal

Very flooded around here too. And I know the cat's fine, just made me jump as we both stepped outside and it being so close! Hope it dries up soon.

Around here it is the rooks who intimidate and mob the kites. They feed on similar carrion so are in competition.
Here some of the fields where they would normally search are flooded, so perhaps your visitor was just hungry.
Enjoy the sight, it won't harm your cat!