Brocken Spectres are surprisingly common especially during the winter months. People think they are rare because they aren't looking for them. Unusual to see them in rolling terrain such as at Tan Hill because you tend to need a strong light source casting your shadow onto a cloud surface. Spectres with glories are a bit more unusual but still not that rare.

whitestone wrote: ↑Sat Dec 28, 2024 11:03 pm Saw a red kite this morning about 500m from the house. Likely to be one of the descendents of the Harewood House release as they increase in numbers and slowly move outwards.

We've had one, then two, then a few arrive over the past couple of years. Lots of circling and soaring going on.

Walking up the lane I saw my first ever woodcock in the hedge. It was awake and watching me, but didn't move. Got a couple of photos, but such a well camouflaged bird. I hadn't realised there is a small resident population but most are winter migrators from Finland and Russia.

Plus a small group of roe deer yesterday morning. Normally loads of muntjac, but not many bigger deer - was nice to see.

I found three broken spokes on the back wheel of my everyday bike. I changed the wheels on this bike soon after rescuing it from the skip; the old wheels I hung on a nail in the shed and there they’ve stayed for quite a few years. Rather than source new spokes, down came the wheel to cannibalise the spokes I needed.

When taking out a spoke, I noticed what looked like a ball of fluff in one of the adjacent spoke holes, but it seemed to be moving?

I waited, and this…





…popped out. A Queen wasp. She’d obviously crawled in there last autumn and fetching her hidey-hole out into the wam sunshine woke her up. She was still very sleepy so I put her onto the patio table in the sunshine to warm up and hopefully fly away and make a new nest. FOAM,* in fact.

Wow

First skylark today, singing away above me as I sat in the warm sunshine scoffing a sandwich

Ooh, I had one of those last weekend (along with kestrels, buzzards and unidentified SBJs). Lovely aren't they?

Not really "wildlife" but an interesting article on "veteranization" https://www.noemamag.com/how-to-build-a ... -old-tree/, a different way to manage forests.

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 6:38 pm First skylark today, singing away above me as I sat in the warm sunshine scoffing a sandwich

Lovely.

Heard my first woodpeckers this weekend.

Verena wrote: ↑Sun Mar 09, 2025 8:26 pm

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 6:38 pm First skylark today, singing away above me as I sat in the warm sunshine scoffing a sandwich

Lovely.

Heard my first woodpeckers this weekend.

Me too. Just on my ‘Everesting climb’. Sounded amazing, pity I couldn’t spot em

Up on the North Hertford Cambridgeshire border yesterday and watched 2 Red Kites chasing each other about the sky. Magic! Even had 2 claw grabs where they plummeted in a spiral toward the ground, releasing just above the trees and zooming away Best snack break in months!!

AndreR wrote: ↑Mon Mar 10, 2025 9:42 am Up on the North Hertford Cambridgeshire border yesterday and watched 2 Red Kites chasing each other about the sky. Magic! Even had 2 claw grabs where they plummeted in a spiral toward the ground, releasing just above the trees and zooming away Best snack break in months!!

Very nice indeed.

Much excitement on my walk earlier - was sat on a local bump overlooking a small loch and saw what turned out to be a Merlin - first time I've ever seen one. I'd guessed either that or a hobby but the helpful RSPB website has a recording of it's call which is exactly what I heard!

Had a flock of a dozen or more Curlews fly overhead today while out riding, that was pretty cool. I've only ever seen them in ones or twos before.

Curlew, oyster catchers and lapwings are all back on the Pennine moors

I watched a lapwing aggressively harrying away a crow yesterday. Both making a right racket!

The squirrels at the front of the house have started a daily habit of taunting our cat by foraging in our front garden while he gets agitated in the window. The ones at the back of the house taunt him from the safety of the back fence knowing they can jump into a tree before he gets halfway down the garden. The cat hasn’t yet worked out that he’s a white cream colour and hunkering down in the grass really doesn’t work

Saw a little adder today in llandegla

I stumbled across a Pine Marten nest int' forest this afternoon with new kits in (you hear them making weird squeaking noises) trouble is it's only 100yds from current felling operations and directly in the flightpath ... guess I'll be upsetting someone tomorrow then, oh well

Wow, that's a pretty rare experience! Hope you manage to get the felling stopped in time, i'm sure it'll make lots of people happy...

Hope you manage to get the felling stopped in time, i'm sure it'll make lots of people happy...

I've got the forestry coming this morning and I'm glad to say, they seem to be taking it seriously. Sounds like they'll implement an exclusion zone around the nest. Last year they nested in my barn so were quite safe then.

Well done for spotting the nest Stu
One wonders what would have happened if you hadn't.... FC and other forestry operators are supposed to do a habitat survey ahead of felling operations. I've alos noticed that felling works are creeping further and further into the nesting season. I know that sitka isn't exactly a wildlife haven but as any forest bivvier will testify, the dawn chorus and owl hooting you hear suggests otherwise.

Only ever seen a pine marten once - ambled/trotted/whatever their gait is called across the road in front of me as I left Kinlochewe. I think there's been quite a few controlled releases/reintroduction into Wales as they are a natural predator of *red* squirrels. The reds have evolved alongside them so know how to escape along the smaller branches whereas the greys get nobbled/nibbled.

What did the Forestry people say about the nest Stu ?

What did the Forestry people say about the nest Stu ?

They were unable to find it at first, so I went and taped off a good area round it and marked the tree in question too. I believe they came again to look yesterday with an expert of some sort but not heard anything yet (I'd got an mot booked or I'd have gone with them). The good news is that the harvester now seems to have moved off the previous trajectory. I'm hoping we're kind of all sorted now.

First Cuckoo of the year in the forest. Seems a bit earlier than usual but always a welcome sound ... until Aug when I wish they'd just shut up for a bit.

Just heard a grey partridge while camping on the North Norfolk coast. First time I've heard one. Probably ten-a-penny.

Bats out too.