Jackdaws' Breakfast

I uncovered a duck egg in the grass right next to the house. I was puzzling how it got there and indeed when it was laid and I left it in full view. Next morning as I looked out of the bedroom window there was a pair of jackdaws who had also spotted it and were tucking in. I assume that it must be this year's if they ate it without any problem but the mystery of how it got there remains.

Pheasants on site

There has often been a pheasant on site over the years but I have never seen one staying around. This year however a pair seem to be living on site and I am surprised how unafraid they are. I am used to pheasants panicking and running when you get near in a car or on foot. Yesterday the pair remained more or less where they were browsing when I wheeled a wheelbarrow within a few feet and then even more surprisingly when the tractor was harrowing the field within a few feet. I guess it must be their territory and maybe they will breed on site.

New Species - Goldcrest

No picture unfortunately and not seen by me - I missed it by two minutes. I went back to the hosue to collect some tools and a goldcrest stopped by and perched on the cherry tree. I have seen them locally but that is the first record of one on the site.

Sticklebacks confirmed in moat

I have assumed that the numerous small fish that appeared probably in 2008 in the moat were sticklebacks rather than minnows. This was confirmed today when I found a dead one in the frogspawn. There is still no obvious fish life in the stream and the pollution problems continue to some small degree but we seem to have a thriving stickleback population in the moat. Presumably that is why the kingfisher comes round - although I haven't seen him for a couple of months.

Ladybirds

There are a lot of seven-spot ladybirds around but the only other ladybird I have seen is the damn harlequin. These were seen in the house - they seem to come out of hibernation in one of our upstairs rooms. However outside there are a surprising number of seven-spots.

It's spring

Spring has definitely arrived and the frogs are spawning. They have eschewed one place they normally spawn and I assume this is because the water in the moat is higher than it usually is at this time of year. This has led to higher concentrations in the other spawning location - see the pile of frogs in the picture above.

The pied wagtails have also been back - a pair was displaying what I assume is breeding season behaviour. Each was fluttering up from the ground in an extravagant flight display, just for a few seconds. I only seem to see the pied wagtails on the ground in late winter or early spring. Whether they nest on site I don't know, but I will keep an eye out.

The mallarsd are also around with between three and six drakes on site on a number of ocassions recently. I saw a female mallard yesterday but once they have a nesting site you don't see much of them until the ducklings have hatched so I hope there is a brood on the way somewhere.

Kingfisher sighting

Just the briefest of views from an upstairs window yesterday but the flash of low flying blue is unmistakeable. It's been four months since I last saw one so I think it is worth reporting particularly as Kingfishers are supposed to be vulnerable to harsh winters and we are having a very harsh one. It's only a few days since the Garden Birdwatch. I would like to be able to report one during a birdwatch hour. Maybe next year.