Saturday 20 March 2010

Sprung at Last

Nuthatch - very elusive at Normanby this year
Comma
Crocus
Daffodil - emerging at last!
Fallow - the deer with a Badger's face on its backside!
Grappling Stags
Record shot of Red-legged Partridge
Minnow
The final visit to Normanby was the best, with the warmer weather bringing out more birdsong & the spring flowers putting on a fine show. The day started well with a pair of Lesser Redpolls flying over the car park almost as soon as I opened the car door. The Snowdrops were still in full flower, but now Crocus and one Daffodil were now also beginning to bloom. Last year this site was dripping with Nuthatches, but after this winter they were very hard to see. One did show fairly well in the morning, and one put in a elusive performance in the afternoon. For some reason we couldn't locate a single Jay in the morning, but they became quite easy to see after lunch. 2 fighting Commas were the first butterflies I'd seen this spring. The Green Woodpecker showed well in the afternoon, as did one Great Spotted, but they seemed thinner on the ground than in 2009. Again, we searched for the Lesser-Spotted & Little Owl without success. It does appear that both of these species may now be extinct at this site. A Red-legged Partridge made its 'steam train' noise from the remains of a wooden jump; while in the morning a pair of Kestrels were fairly vocal, so may be nesting nearby. We will probably be visiting this site again during the Autumn deer rut; and when the Jay are collecting nuts, and appear to be the commonest bird around.

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