MonthlyNatureNotes

As the days get shorter and the nights draw in we will soon be saying ‘bon voyage’ to many of our migratory birds, most notably the Swallows and House Martins. By now Swifts will have already left although those with…
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I don’t want to be very British EVERY month and moan about the weather but as observing wildlife in the country or in the garden is far more enjoyable on a warm sunny day then I AM going to complain…
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Despite a pretty dismal end to June and beginning of July later broods of young birds seem to have flourished as there are numerous comings and goings of fluffy and erratic flying fledglings around the feeders in the garden. Our…
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Spring duly arrived in late May and proved the key for Cuckoo reports as they began to be heard in numbers. Though quite clearly the same bird, many residents in Cavalier Road heard one calling from the canal area on…
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The first Cuckoo that was reported to me at last came from Steve Western who heard one at Sherfield Oaks golf course, so along with his first Swallow ‘spot’ he is chief reporter again! Yesterday, 9th May, another was heard…
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In all of my years of birding I saw a sight last week which was a first. Sparrows are often nosy around nesting boxes and whilst I have two colony boxes for them, they seem to love poking around Blue…
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Hands up everyone who spotted the deliberate mistake in the March edition of Nature Notes? Yes, I did it again, failing to check details of things I’d seen weeks earlier then publishing them without a second look. I refer of…
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Hopefully, as you read this (early March) signs of spring will have already appeared in your garden in the form of snowdrops, crocus or daffodils. The famous Belle Vue daffs showed themselves around the 19th January, so amongst the rain…
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So here we are again, lock-down number 3, though it feels like we have never really been out of one. Trouble is this time that lovely walk or bike ride wearing just shorts and a T-shirt seems like dream as…
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I do hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, as far it was allowed, and that you perhaps enjoyed your own Boxing Day walk seeing as the organised event had to be shelved. We probably all view 2021 with some…
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