You can tell spring is around the corner because ..

Cobra

Cobra

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1) I heard my frogs calling last night, it seems to be 3 as usual.
I hope a late frost doesn't turn the spawn to mush again this year.

2) I saw pair of Blue tits checking out a nest box I put up about 18 months ago.
 
Yes, we’ve had blue tits inspecting the nest box, lovely ;)
 
Crocus poking through in the garden, along with the daffs.

Days are getting longer too, won't be long before evening kingfisher vigils happen again. :woot:

No frogs on or in my (wild, unfiltered) pond, now in its 3rd year.
 
We have Blue Tits visiting the boxes.

3 Robins fighting for a patch.

Crocus' in full flower, Snow Drops still hanging around. Bluebells, Daffs and Tulips on the way up :)

New buds on the Willow and it's covered in bugs.
 
I get 2 robins here, I guess they are a pair, no squabbling,
and no interest in the box I put up for them over a year a go.
Snowdrops recently opened, crocuses trying.
Pussy willow budding...
 
The moors are just starting to come back to life (y) First few waders back for breeding, Curlew, Oystercater, ect. Buzzard up displaying and although I had a small flock of 9 Skylark on Sunday, I've had me 1st up singing this morning, always a good sign Spring is just around the corner :woot:
 
Yes, I've had some blue tits checking out the nest box.
Just wondering if its the same pair from last year hopefully.
 
I see Coots and Moorhens sat on Nests down here ( not sure if they have eggs or not) - obviously a tad warmer here - not that it feels like that

Les :)
 
My sister right down south saw a swallow yesterday...........which frankly I was so in disbelief at I asked her 3 times. Here in the mids my family of somewhere around 13 LTTM have split up and are chasing the hell out of each other,it's funny they are silly tame with us their antics right now are hilarious. Oh and if I've got it right this time :banghead: a very fat mum fox now looks thinner....................... if I haven't got it right then very fact she looked fit to burst a week back will do won't it ;)

finally had the pleasure of sitting outside Warwick A and E last wed to 3.30 in the morn hmm maybe 4am.a nighting gale started singing somewhere around 2.30 AM............time might be slightly off time flies when one is half frozen on an 8 or 9 hour wait...but def nighting gale.........that to me was as bewildering as the swallow??
 
GSWs hammering the trees just off our street.
 
Frogs have been busy in our pond we’ve got lots of frogspawn now
We’ve got two wildlife ponds but they only spawn in one
 
LCPete said:
Frogs have been busy in our pond we’ve got lots of frogspawn now
Click to expand...
Nothing yet, but it's now about the time it appears.
 
I've never seen spawn in our pond. It's in its 3rd year now. Our pond is unfiltered though but is never dry. We get tons of skimmers on it in the summer.

I have seen toads in the garden though, pre pond days.

The fox and hedgehogs drink from it too, maybe the fox has taken any spawn, although I've never heard of that happening. I can't imagine it would be very palatable and knowing how fussy our fox is, he probably wouldn't touch it.
 
I've heard of it, but never seen it before today.
I went to check on the pond earlier, and there was a frog wrapped around a fish twice its size, and holding it on the bottom of the pond!
I netted them out, and the fish seemed largely unharmed, save a few missing scales on one side, it swam away once put back.

I went to check the state of play, an hour or so later, and this time, pretty much in the same spot, the frog had
figured out the difference 'tween a frog and a fish...
 
Well, apparently the Frogs will f........ erm... copulate with anything!

There's a fair bit of nest material collection going on here. There's a fox family at the bottom of opposite's garden so hopefully there'll be cubs around at some point, although they tend to stay over the far side. Not sure if octopus/squid/cuttlefish hatching is seasonal but there was quite a lot of empty egg mass on the beach this morning.
 
Cobra said:
Well that may cause them an issue :p
Click to expand...


Well, the spawn does keep floating up on the twigs.

There seems to be a pair of woodpigeons building in one of the trees - well, there appears to be a fair amount of twiggery going in. There's also some coming out and heading up towards the woods and I'm guessing that that's robbery. Not sure why they're pinching twigs though, they're hardly in short supply!
 
Nod said:
Well, the spawn does keep floating up on the twigs.
Click to expand...
It's carried by Starwort here, incredibly invasive though, once it gets established, I throw bucket full's away over the summer. :)
But it's still a great shade plant, and the long roots give the fish somewhere to hide in the winter :)
 
I haven't seen any frog spawn yet but I heard my first skylark of this year on 12th Feb.

Today I saw a raven displaying - a steep powered dive, a swoop up then close wings, twist and tumble for a few seconds before regaining composure and fly on - though it might have been 'playing' as I have seen one doing something similar outside the beginning of the breeding season.

Dave
 
Frog spawn seen too
 

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Cobra said:
I went to check the state of play, an hour or so later, and this time, pretty much in the same spot, the frog had
figured out the difference 'tween a frog and a fish...
Click to expand...
4 days later, I saw a bit of a mass, at the bottom of the pond. 6 yes 6 frogs had hold of the same fish, and or each other.
I knew I had 3 males, as I can hear them calling from different area's at the same time.

Once again the fish was released, and this time put into the veggie filter for its own safety.
The rest of the fish are either far to big or far to small to be grabbed.

Its seems this one, rather like baby bears porridge was "just right" though.
 
Bees bringing in lots of pollen today. Good sign that the spring build up has started in earnest.
 
Mrs Tringa had her first deer tick of the year a few days ago!

Dave
 
Tringa said:
Mrs Tringa had her first deer tick of the year a few days ago!

Dave
Click to expand...
Not exactly the best way to herald in the spring :(

Oh and back to much wetness here, yep that's spring in the UK ..
 
mstphoto said:
Daffodils are in bloom
Click to expand...
No daff's here as yet. ( the verges are normally full of them) Plenty of Crocus's in my garden though :)
 
The first confirmed sighting of "my" hedgehog last night.
I'd seen a few droppings here and there the last couple of days, but last night I spotted it chowing down on the
mealworms and mixed fruit I'd left out :)
 
Our local bats are up & about this evening.
Don't usually see them this early in the year.
I've never successfully photographed them, except for a short video a couple of years ago (that doesn't count though).
 
4 magpies, jostling at the top of a nearby garden, that has huge conifers. Looking for a mate and nest spot no doubt.
 
Dale. said:
4 magpies, jostling at the top of a nearby garden, that has huge conifers. Looking for a mate and nest spot no doubt.
Click to expand...
Its sports day here, pigeons competing in the piggy back race (y)
:D

I know hedgehogs are supposed to be solitary, but the amount of turds left on my patio overnight ( why there I wonder?) would suggest there is
more than one. Maybe its found a mate, as its a bit early for off spring..
 
Finally, the frogs have figured out the difference between a fish and a female frog!
2 small clumps of frog spawn arrived overnight.
 
Frogspawn on interspeciesporn?
 
Jordan...
 
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