What's buzzing or flying near you 2021?

Thanks, Sheal, it gets a lot of use.

 

Especially at this time of year with nesting starting. I had a nice one in my previous garden which the family dogs used to drink from too. My current garden is rural and something like that would look out of place, hence the chunk of pine trunk and saucer.

 

The flowering Echinacea plants around the birdbath were started from seed in the fall and grown indoors. They had grown so big I had no choice but to put them in the garden and chance a late frost. We can get frost into May but I am hopeful.

 

The Echinacea plants look good there. I need to take the bareness off mine but it's not a priority at the moment, there's too much still to do elsewhere in the gardens.

 

One of two very distant Puffins off the Dorset cliffs at Dancing Ledge, only three or four pairs breed here each year. Lots of Guillemots but just a few Razorbills.
Some Wheatears had just arrived and were immediately looking for food and few Yellowhammers were around plus some Skylarks. All very Spring like.

 

Flicker.

 

What is the bird please Hydrogardener? It has an unusual mixture of markings.

 

It is a Northern Flicker Sheal, but most people just call them flickers. It has been a few years since one has been seen on our property and I hope it plans to stay around. They are woodpeckers and I have seen them by nesting cavities in trees but mostly they are feeding on the ground. There must be some tasty grubs on our hill because it has been working on it all morning.

They are named for the brilliant yellow or red undersides of their wings and tails that cause the birds to resemble flickering flames when they fly.

"Colaptes is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. The 14 species are found across the Americas. Colaptes woodpeckers typically have a brown or green back and wings with black barring, and a beige to yellowish underside, with black spotting or barring. There are usually colorful markings on the head."

 

Thank you. I can see now the strong beak that is common too woodpeckers, it didn't register with me until you mentioned it. I would imagine it's quite a startling bird when it's on the wing with all those different colours.

 

A first today in the garden. A brief visit from a Jay.

 

No photos, I’m afraid, but a couple of reports....

On Saturday I saw the first pair of swallows of the year, swooping around the local farm buildings. The courtyard of ancient barns and farmhouse has lots of nests each year, some even nesting in the window insets (can’t remember the proper word!). I’m always a little wary as I wait for my bottles to be filled with raw milk, but haven’t had any “fallout” so far!

Yesterday morning, at around 9am, our female blackcap was taking a bath (sorry - I always remember the females as “redcap”, because of the chestnut brown cap, and it was the nickname for the kids in the local preparatory school where I grew up...) . At first I thought she was using the water in the water barrel, but then I realised she was using the dew on the longish grass. She ran through a “fresh” patch, knocking the dew off the stems as she went, had a flutter and a feather-settle, before running in again. I suppose it was more of a shower.?! So delightful to watch - I was too concerned about disturbing her to reach for my phone....

 

Seen around Weymouth and Portland today.
Ferrybridge first and two Whimbrel, close relatives of the Curlew but are not resident over wintering in Africa and have just arrived and passing through.


Heron.



Black Tailed Godwit, should have been in their Arctic breeding grounds by now but some seem slow to leave but with this sunny weather who can blame them.


Teal.


Rock Pipit.


Willow Warbler.

 

Wood Duck.

 

Little Ringed Plover, summer visitor, has a prominent yellow eye ring


Ringed Plover, resident, no eye ring and part yellow bill, both on the mud this evening.