A lot of birders don't have much time for Pheasants but I think they grace the countryside rather splendidly. This particular individual, unlike most of his rather silver backed compatriots, can look almost melanistic when just his head and neck are showing. Here calling and strumming, that strange low frequency noise from the wing beating probably carries further than the call.
A kestrel waits for the morning mist to clear having got a bit damp overnight. He was looking a bit fed up, but the later sunshine had him happily hovering for mice and voles.
And talking of voles, the Barge , or barge canal that runs alongside the meadows had always been a fabulous site for Water Voles. When my children were little we frequently compete to see who could see most on a walk and often got into double figures. (Talking to others recently, we were not alone in this activity!)
They are still here, but not in the numbers there used to be, and there are very few if any in the south end. This may be due to many things, the increase in Brown Rats which take over the tunnels, the previous presence of Mink, the increase in people and dogs using the footpath all being probable contributory factors.
If you sit still on the bank, in the right place, and for long enough, Water Voles seem to not notice you and often swim by very close.
For quite a while these two Voles in particular seemed to always head straight at me and the major problem I had in photographing them was that they would very quickly be inside the 12ft minimum focussing distance of my lens
Apparently the Water Vole has no particular adaptations for an aquatic lifestyle and in continental Europe they are more likely to be found in meadows than riverbanks. To me they seem so happy in water that I can hardly believe that. Maybe the Wind in the Willows had such a forceful subliminal message that to divorce the inaccurately named "Ratty" from the river is unthinkable.
I am not sure if its my imagination, but the two pictured here seem huge in comparison to others locally, maybe they are just well fed.
Another funny thing about Water Voles is that people really like them, even the ones who have an aversion to rats and mice, and especially the ones who don't really know the difference! I have lost count of how many people have delightedly pointed out Rats swimming in the canal and declaring them Water Voles. I never correct them.
Over winter Water Voles will have been sociably sharing tunnels with all their neighbours and its only in the spring that they disperse and set up territories. This winter concentration has the advantage of warmth for one thing (they don't hibernate), but also allows the use of the best tunnels and territory for all. This disadvantage is that if Mink are in an area they can wipe out an entire population in no time.
Anyway. They are sort of cute.
Spring is in full swing, Orange Tips have hatched in large numbers and Green-veined Whites are out and about and not settling to often for a portrait
A very traditional sign of spring is the sound of the Cuckoo. What a remarkable coincidence it is that that the song of the Cuckoo sounds so much like its name... ahem. Fishlake usually provides my first Cuckoo of the year as it did this year, and in fact often provides two, this year however its provided up to 4 males. In fact I seem to be hearing Cuckoos everywhere this year so I will be interested to hear how numbers across the country compare with previous years
Reed Buntings are also around in good numbers, they have been pulling last years Reed Mace heads to pieces lately, I'm told this is not to line nests with as I'd imagined, but to find grubs that are secreted within.
