Nature Walk - What Have You Seen Today?

Lots of honeysuckle out now in the lane at the end of our garden. Lovely smell

LucyAnna, I love honeysuckle, and I don't think I've seen a white one, ours here are all red/orange. We had one along our fence years ago, but it got so tall, climbing up the neighbour's holly tree, that we finally chopped it down.

I did see some cedar waxwings this morning while walking the dog; they are beautiful birds.

Was at Dungeness today. Amazing drifts of vibrant blue vipers bugloss. Never seen so much growing in one place. Also went to the RSPB bird reserve. Saw a great crested grebe on it’s nest. A stunning bird - one of my favourites.

I was really excited to see an otter at our local lake yesterday. Kept meaning to get up early to try & spot one, & then he was out at 4pm while I was walking the dog. Not good for the goslings & cygnets though.

Mayflies and damselflies around my wildlife pond. The pond has been there for 4 years and this is the first year I've seen them. There's also frogs, newts and toads that visit the pond. The garden is wildlife orientated and I think there's a hedgehog that sleeps somewhere in it, last night he was out before dark scoffing calciworms that had been left for him and the other hedgehogs that visit.

That sounds lovely, NannyPT
Our neighbours have a wildlife pond and we sometimes see dragon flies and damsel flies over in our garden. They can keep the frogs! 🐸

Having mentioned that we must have missed the flying ants this year, as they usually go off mid-July, I'm sitting in the garden and watching them emerge and fly off.

Not as many as usual so far but the birds have been very busy eating ants lately.

gangy5

Was at Dungeness today. Amazing drifts of vibrant blue vipers bugloss. Never seen so much growing in one place. Also went to the RSPB bird reserve. Saw a great crested grebe on it’s nest. A stunning bird - one of my favourites.

We seem to have a bed of piper's bugloss in the top of the garden, no idea where it came from!

Today's visitors to the canal behind our house today.

Sheep, sheep and more sheep. We are in N Wales

Lovely and sunny again and had a big walk in the mountains. Saw 5 deer by the forest behind us as I got in the car. Buzzards, kites and kestrels, and a lot of starlings.

In the garden, nuthatches feeding on the sunflower seeds with the usual sparrows and many different tits. And dragonflies buzzing over our pond. And of course the bees from our 2 hives enjoying the late autumn sunshine and the few flowers left.

On the Camel Estuary, I saw swans, gulls and egrets today. They gave the dogs a run for their money.

do you allow your dogs to run after swans and egrets?

The avenue near us is lined with Liquidambars. Their colours are fabulous. Burgundy, scarlet, orange, yellow, green…
There is also a Ginkgo with its buttercup yellow leaves,
At least, this year, there hasn’t been a storm to strip the trees.

Lovely Autumn colours seen today.

Fleurpepper

do you allow your dogs to run after swans and egrets?

To give someone a run for their money is an idiom that usually has nothing to do with the physical act of running. It can mean, as in my dogs' case, to challenge their strength of mind or patience in leaving wildlife ALONE. My dogs are trained with positive reinforcement and are obedient. I don't allow them to run AFTER swans and egrets.

.