Random birds seen and heard last in the days of March

The Chiffchaff have continued to arrive on migration in good numbers over the last week or so and they can be heard all round the village, including at Underway Meade. I tried to get a photo of one but they always seem to be obscured by twigs as they sit up fairly high in a bush or tree announcing their presence and calling for a mate!

I also failed to get a picture of a goldcrest which was flitting about in a conifer tree singing its high pitch, lispy song, as I walked along the lanes. 

I did however manage to get this picture of a treecreeper yesterday as I walked round Scrapton. It was working its way up an oak tree, moving like a little mouse, whilst looking for insects in the rough bark. Treecreepers usually work their way up a tree and when they move on to another tree they fly to the lower trunk or branches and make their way back up again. It has a bright white front but when searching for insects its back is really well camouflaged against the tree. 

Today I walked out to the sewage works at Nimmer as I was told there had been a pair of Gadwall seen there recently. This is not a duck that usually frequents this spot and it is a new bird for my parish bird list so I was delighted to see the pair were still there and I managed to get a picture! It goes to show that even though I can't travel to my usual birding spots, there is always something to see locally if you listen out and watch carefully.

Yellow is the colour of spring - mostly

Walking through Underway Meade on my one daily walk today, to the sound of chiffchaff in the woods, I realised that many of the flowers in bloom at the moment are yellow, so following on from the last post with the Marsh marigolds, here are a few more to brighten up everyone's day.

Lesser celandine

The Lesser celandine's flower head only opens fully in sunlight, so on a dull day they are not as obvious as they were today. Notice the nettles are already getting ready to smother them and then we won't see the Celandine again until next spring.

The Celandine and the primroses on the mound behind the pond are looking especially beautiful at the moment. I've unlocked the lower gate so you can get up closer for a better look without having to climb the stile, but please no picking!

The daffodils around the benches are also providing a nice splash of colour and even the ones we only planted a few weeks ago, courtesy of Claire from Combe Dingle Nursery, are flowering, albeit on rather short stems!

Another plant in flower near the chippings pile, not yellow though, is the blackthorn, always, I think, a harbinger of cold weather and, having seen the weather forecast for the weekend , I reckon that is about right!

First post for a long time!

Hello to any new readers and welcome back to anyone who used to view this blog some years ago!  Apologies for the long gap but, due to the current Coronavirus situation which is resulting in most of us having restricted outdoor access, I have decided to start blogging again to highlight the wonderful local wildlife that can be seen in the parish of Combe St Nicholas, and especially in Underway Meade.

The sunshine has seen a number of butterflies around this week such as this Peacock butterfly feeding on a Butterbur flower. This photo was taken near the pond in the Meade and it is the first time that I can recall seeing Butterbur in this location- so interesting from two points of view!

Here's another close up of the Butterbur for the botanists amongst you.It looks like the almond scented Winter Heliotrope that is found in bloom in the local verges in January.

There was also a Comma butterfly near the pond this morning, which has just awoken from hibernation. For more information click here.

Lastly, the vibrant colour of the Marsh marigolds is always great to see in spring and there is a small patch in the Meade pond out at the moment.