- Anna and I spent the day in Surrey yesterday, watching the golf at Wentworth, and I'm pretty sure there's been no clouds at all over this part of the world for 3 days now...
- The big "hatch" of damselflies has occurred at last - on the dawn walk this morning at a local nature reserve, it was difficult to walk through the clouds of odonates without feeling you were stamping on them! Mainly common blue damselflies they were.
- Small copper butterflies out also - summer really hit this weekend, with temperatures up to 28c.
- Still no great numbers of dragonflies as far as I can tell yet.
- Pine trees shedding their pollen in great big yellow clouds.
- As for the weather, it will be cooler from tuesday and MUCH colder (maybe up to 18c colder) the week following the bank holiday (a switch in wind direction to a northerly will do that for us).
- First cuckoo heard today!
- I think I've located a kingfisher nest site (in a drainage ditch in a very urban part of the Thames) but I've not investigated further or filmed it, as I've not got a shedule 1 licence and am more than a little concerned about the rise and rise of "enthusiasts" who are not licenced by natural england, filming and disturbing these birds...
- Because the temperature has been so hot recently, all the local carp decided to spawn today...
- Day 4 of occupation of our roof by the lone swift and..... I think he's found a mate!
- This evening I watched two swifts courting (well... not fight anyway) in the skies above the house and as I type, one has gone in and I think (she?) is starting to arrange the grass strands in the space - mixed in with a little swift saliva.
- I think (she?) looks sleeker and prettier than (him?) also -but I may be wrong here.
- Anyhoo - there are definitely two swifts interested in the space now, and if I was a gambling man, I'd put money on the female now occupying the space.
- I'm recording constantly now (its tea-time for me and my mate) so I'll see soon enough if I was right I guess...
- Other news - Malu caught a holly blue butterfly today and I wrestled it off him before he could eat that too...
- Another queen tree bumblebee in honeysuckle this afternoon also.
- Full moon tonight -sometimes known as the egg moon or seed moon or growing moon in the UK in April...
- Orange tip butterfly in garden for first time this year.
- Also speckled wood butterfly first of year (Malu caught and ate that one...)
- New bee post drilled - immediately taken to by red mason bees.
- What a wonderful two weeks of weather we've had for all the kids (and teachers) on holiday- 'though I hear it's due to get a lot colder next week
- Early grey moth on kitchen window at dawn this morning (likes honeysuckle allegedly).
- Unidentified blue butterfly (common blue I assume) in garden this afternoon.
- Jays attacking blackbird's nest in rear ivy yesterday.
- UK spends second day as a "no-fly zone" due to a volcano erupting in Iceland and putting up a vast plume of pumice at 18,ooo feet. We are due spectacular sunrises/sunsets I hear - though I've not seen owt yet...
- Robins still intent on nesting in shed, despite attention from our kittens.
- Two male woodpeckers and one female fighting in garden - interesting to note that the male woodpecker with the larger, brighter red flash on his nape always comes out on top in his fights with the male with the smaller, duller flash.
- Long-tailed tits nesting in neighbours garden.
- Palmate and Smooth newts active in pond.
- Frogspawn still frogspawn (no tadpoles yet).
- First pondskaters of year in pond.
- No activity in swift nesting space in roof, not even from sparrows / blue tits.
- Daffodils finally up -and visited by feather-footed flower bees.
- Kittens eating tawny mining bees and FFF bees in garden.
- No sign of local foxes presently.
- First butterfly (peacock) and tree buds appeared last week.
