General (County) update - 24th April 2011

• Quite a lot to say here - firstly a pair of Mandarin (drake and duck) have taken up residence of the local barn owl box. Great photos by my walking companion, here and here.
• Terns arriving over local lakes and rivers.
• Little owl breeding in local oak tree -  I think I may have identified the tree this morning  -time will tell I guess. (I'll get back there when I can).
• Otter watched by a local wildlife expert at my favourite local lake recently - excellent news!
• Goslings and ducklings now appearing in numbers on the Thames and local lakes.
• The barmy balmy weather continues - hot, (27c), sultry and sunny. Anna and I went out for a river-side curry at our local upmarket watering hole last night and watched an electrical storm all evening over Henley, 5 miles north of us - very spectacular fork lightning but we were dry as a bone!
• Osprey spotted drifting above the local lock today by the same blerk who saw the otter. VERY good sight!
• Four baby robins in my walking companions "swift box" - all doing well by the look of it.
• Still no real numbers of swifts in the county, although a few have been reported today I see.