ED Nature Watch

[Zig-Zag]

I had 2 jackdaws eating peanuts from one of my hanging feeders today and then one of them discovered an empty feeder which I had filled with feathers from an old pillow, straw, and cat fur from brushing my cats! I think it's only fair that the cats contribute to the birds nest making...waste not want not. That jackdaw is going to make a very warm comfy nest.

It's usually the sparrows which grab enormous beakfuls of the feathers on offer. They can barely see where they're going as they fly off leaving a cloud of feathers fluttering in their wake.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

That's a brilliant idea Z-Z. Top hole!

[IlonaM]

Watch out for the supermoon tonight 7-8th April:

https://www.almanac.com/content/full-moon-april?amp

'Venture outside on the night of Tuesday, April 7, to catch a glimpse of April?s full Pink Moon. This full Moon?which is a supermoon, the first full Moon of spring, and the Paschal Full Moon?will be visible after sunset and reach peak illumination at 10:35 P.M. EDT. ...

Thanks to the fact that April?s full Moon will be closer to Earth than either other supermoon in the series, it will be the biggest and brightest full Moon of 2020! ...

The First Full Moon of Spring & the Paschal Full Moon

April?s full Moon is the first to occur after the March equinox, which makes it the first full Moon of spring and the Paschal Full Moon. The Paschal Full Moon is the full Moon that determines the date of Easter.

NOTE: In April 2020, note that the Full Moon occurs on April 7 in North America, but crests in the wee hours of April 8 (2:35 A.M.) Universal Time. (Universal Time is the mean solar time in Greenwich, England.)'

[Sue]

I have loads of little tadpoles! So happy!

Thanks for the spawn, Lynne! :)

[malumbu]

Just relaid my pond but sadly the newts and frogs didn't hang around. However discovered a small amount of frog spawn yesterday - thought it was a bit late. Will the newts come back and eat it as they usually do?

Nice watching the solitary bees collect mud.

No activity in my bird boxes. Cleaned them out, repaired them and the like. A few years ago most of them had nests. Thought it may be building work that put them off when nearby extension going up, and also the house on the hill that is lit up like a Christmas Tree. Followed RSPB guidance on siting etc.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

I witnessed an avian Spitfire versus ME109 battle this morning.

I was alerted by a rather large crash into my kitchen door: a pigeon (which is annoyingly nesting above) and a magpie were having a massive scrap.

Do magpies take squabs?

[alice]

Oh lucky you Sue. My taders just disappeared overnight but I seem to have acquired a couple of full grown frogs 🐸

[Sue]

alice Wrote:

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> Oh lucky you Sue. My taders just disappeared

> overnight but I seem to have acquired a couple of

> full grown frogs 🐸

I'm sure most of my taddies will sadly not survive - otherwise the world would be overrun with frogs (might be an improvement, of course :) )

I think cats and birds eat the spawn and tadpoles, unfortunately.

Full grown frogs are a great addition to the garden :)

[yeknomyeknom]

I saw the waxwings again this morning, well one of them. I was drawn by the strange sound. However, on looking up waxwings song online I it all sounds very tuneful and sweet. This bird (previously thought of as waxwing) drew my ear because it sounded like a parrot. We have parasites nearby so I thought, maybe a massive parrot joined them (excuse my naivety). But it was the ?waxwing?. The call was a very rough caaw sound in a particular set of melodies. Mindful of a drunken sailor after too many Marlborough. Not sweet at all. Now I?m thinking maybe they were jays all along?

[Sue]

On the allotment today we saw a Red Admiral butterfly, a young fox and a crow.

First butterfly I've seen this year.

❤️

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Sounds like the first line of a folk song!

[Lynne]

"as I went out to my allotment

with a hey and ho and a nonny

A fine young fox with tail so bonny

and a clever black crow a cawing went

with a etc etc

sort of thing

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Exactly that. Though you need to work in the Red Admiral.

[Sue]

Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote:

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> Exactly that. Though you need to work in the Red

> Admiral.

That's your project for today, PGC :))

[Sue]

Saw what we think was a dunnock in the garden this morning.

Is that likely round here?

[LJC56]

Sue Wrote:

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> Saw what we think was a dunnock in the garden this

> morning.

>

> Is that likely round here?

I?ve been seeing a small brown bird, not unlike a sparrow, but with a much narrower beak, in the garden in the last few days. I did wonder if it is a dunnock, so would be interested too, to know if that is likely.

[Applespider]

LoulaRose Wrote:

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> I saw (what I thought) was a peregrine falcon in

> Dulwich Woods this morning!

Quite likely. They nest in the church spire at the bottom of Cox's Walk.

I've had a pair of jays take up residence in the woodland behind the house. I wondered what the odd call was and then spotted two of them in one of the trees... although one has taken to visiting my window box for a rummage in the mornings.

[Sue]

LJC56 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sue Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Saw what we think was a dunnock in the garden

> this

> > morning.

> >

> > Is that likely round here?

>

> I?ve been seeing a small brown bird, not unlike a

> sparrow, but with a much narrower beak, in the

> garden in the last few days. I did wonder if it is

> a dunnock, so would be interested too, to know if

> that is likely.

Yes that was what we saw.

It seemed to have a longer slimmer body than a sparrow, and maybe a longer tail, and definitely a longer narrower beak.

It was sort of pale greyish-brown, but with sparrow-like markings in some places.

But the pictures I've looked up of dunnocks don't look exactly like the one we saw, however apparently their plumage (?) changes towards the breeding season.

[Asset]

I have seen dunnocks in my garden very occasionally and they are fairly common down Greendale, so yes quite possibly what you saw Sue

[malumbu]

Probably a black cap, males have black caps females brown. They are quite slim and I graceful. I spent ages trying to identify them - I had a couple of pairs on the feeder a few weeks ago. They should migrate but with climate change more are staying over winter.

https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/gbw/about/background/projects/garden_blackcap_survey/id

[Sue]

No, it didn't have a cap at all :)

[Asset]

Maybe a chiff chaff? Hear them a lot but don't often see them.

[Sue]

Asset Wrote:

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> Maybe a chiff chaff? Hear them a lot but don't

> often see them.

It was very similar to that, but it had some sparrow like brown markings (not sure how to describe them) here and there.

I have occasionally lately heard birdsong in the garden I didn't recognise. I will look up dunnock and chiffchaff!

[Sue]

I've just looked at some videos and I'm now sure it was a dunnock.

Thanks everyone 🙂

[Jenny1]

The swifts are back! It was very welcome to hear them this morning.