Life is slowly getting back to normal following on from our month long trip to New Zealand and Singapore, while I work through the thousands of photos I took on the trip, all of which will be in the Wildlife diaries very soon, I’ve also been looking to see how the wildlife is doing at home.
While we were away, the local Barn Owls have slowed down, we think this is due to some disturbance to the barn where they normally roost and nest, and so they have been showing very poorly. Despite this, there has been some wildlife about and it seems everything is getting ready for nesting / breeding season. Spring has defiantly sprung in the UK since we have been away.
Up on the moor near to Frizington, the Owls are not showing but the Cuckoo is back and singing in the evening, Ive not managed to get a glimpse of it as of yet but that is work in progress ! The Kestrels are flying well here, and the Buzzards are coupling up in readiness to breeding, and can be seen flying in pairs throughout the woodland. The Stonechats, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits are also flying in pairs and so I hope to see some nesting very soon. And finally up here, the Lapwings are back in the field, in small numbers at the moment but they can be seen most evenings.
Up at the quarry where we watched the nesting Barn Owls last year, there is no sign of them returning just yet, but the Cormorants, Common Gulls, Lesser Black Backed Gulls and Jackdaws are all nesting in good numbers. It was also great to see the Peregrine Falcon hunting around the cliffs, just the one is showing at the moment, so hopefully another will join soon and they will once again breed here.
Back on the pond at Parkside, the Oyster Catchers are back, the Sand Martins and House Martins have returned in small numbers and the Grey Heron is still hunting daily. The Mute Swans are still sporadic visitors to the pond, and in the garden all the usual suspects are here, with larger than normal numbers of Greenfinch,
Finally the Hares, these seem to be is far smaller numbers than last year, and in all the locations I monitor I have only spotted two so far this year, hopefully this will change and I will keep looking.
The Wildlife diaries should now return to normality and I will try to post as often as I can, and keep an eye on the New Zealand page as the diary section in there will be filling up with images very soon !
Video below one of my evening wanderings out !
