NatureBoy

Great bag Boi's! Sadly a lot of fields of rape looking like that. Chatting to a farmer the other day and he was saying a will stop trying to grow rape the way things are. NB

A lot more than there were IG. Very odd sound you can almost feel as well depending on distance and weather conditions. It's all about the Bass with bitterns. 😉 In fact if you went to minsmere/Dunwich this time of year you would be unlucky not to hear or see one. Or hear/see a cuckoo. I have found still evenings best time. Marsh harriers seem common that way these days to. . . . Going to be a good year for nightingales my way. Hearing loads of reports of them being seen and singing locally after i reported seeing and hearing one. Several pairs about, most popular place the local sewage works though. 2 pairs there. Getting more reports of turtle doves to.. . . I got just as excited seeing two young song thrushes in my garden today. Watched them for ages. Not so many of them about. Mistle thrushes nested near mine for first time in several years to. My garden heaving with birds old and young today. Some ringed. Filling feeders daily. Bird baths (sunken old belfast sinks) busy and full of critters. Goldfinches feasting on dandelion heads. 3 out of 5 young robins still about and still sometimes getting fed by parent. Female sitting on 6 eggs in there second nest that should hatch Friday/Saturday. 11 species nesting or attempting to nest in my semi wild garden so far. I don't know about you guys but With lockdown i have had lot of people asking about birds, attracting birds, nest boxes, feed. feeders, water and habitat in there gardens etc. A lot seeing and bothered about predators! What they can do to stop them! This a good time for us to educate and show folk how nature really works! Why! Magpies, crows, jackdaws, rooks, squirrels are raiding there gardens. Why! We are not the casual killers WJ and other orgs who want there money portray is to be. Why and how we do pest control! Not just for crop /food/livestock protection! But to help the uneven balance between the songbirds and predators! Why if they have cats and still attract bird to there gardens they will see them kill birds and destroy nests. Why! If they feed whole peanuts, large food items and bread on a open bird table or floor this time of year it can get fed to young birds, they will choke or can't digest it and die. Why! Doing so will attract more of the destructive predators and pests they complain about! Most get it listen and support why and what we do. But there is still a lot of ignorance out there. I try and steer all these folk towards SBS, CRT and tell them what i think of RSBB and the other commercial money making orgs.

Yes! Several about and possibly noticing them more because it's so quiet. One farm has several pairs. Have you got em? Plenty of hares about to. Doing well despite all the disturbance from pale faced random wanderers. Plenty of insects about to. Seen a lot of various species of both micro and masonry bees. . . . . Another thing i have noticed that may be connected to CV lockdown is, despite we are in the pollen season there are not so many people complaining of breathing/congestion problems as much as in other years at this time. Early morning air still smell great. Frosts not so good. Barking muntjac back of mine woke me at 4.45am yesterday morning. Worse than the bloody rookery now the branchers are out. NB

I didn't stop shooting! We sorted it out and got the Ok with our force (Suffolk) rural crime unit at the start of the lock down. Go if requested! No game shooting/deer management. Be sensible we may check on you. Simples! Had no hassle. The only folk that questioned it were other shooters. Strange that! Only grief i have heard of was some lads that started shooting crows at 5am and that was from the council for noise issue. I have had several requests and going when asked. My farmers have rarely had to ask me to go before so maybe it will make a few realise how much we do for them, recon etc and that we are another pair of eyes and ears in countryside. I have shot more pigeons and blacks during lock down than i had this year leading up to it. Maybe because of so much late drilling and so many beans going in.Picked up more shooting on another farm for going. . . . Also went on call out to a trapped deer because others would not attend (huge fallow buck. Had to shoot it). They didn't tell me that until after and insisted on paying me and said i could shoot there wood whenever. Result! As i had lost some land. NB

Had you watered it or it rained to bring worms up? Very dry at mo keeping most worms well down. NB

I like corncrakes, but there call can drive you mad. They remind me of fishing trips in Ireland back in the 90s. Used to have boat on the Shannon for 2 weeks. In some of the more remote areas there would be several calling all night, most nights keeping you awake . . . . . Strangest bird sound/duet i have heard was a few years back at Minsmere/Dunwich in Suffolk. On a really still quiet evening a bittern and a cuckoo started calling at once close by like they were answering each other. A most unusual memorable sound that carried for miles went on for ages and there was no one else around. Very special! NB

Didn't call for long JDog as it was very windy and only saw it briefly. Was in an old osier bed. Not so much luck, farm i was on heaving with wildlife. Farmer like his father and grandfather before him works very hard providing and maintaining good/correct habitat and wildlife corridors for shooting and conservation. Well deserves the awards they get! Saw first spotted flycatcher of year today. We had been worried about swifts and turtle doves,. But more turned up in last week. NB

Cuckoo calling in the night at Marlesford in Suffolk last week. Friend put it down to it being a really clear bright moon lite night. Have heard and seen nightingales, blackcaps and several whitethroats this evening. More turtle doves back now. 5 calling on one farm. Seen 3 from my garden. Swifts back in nest boxes. Saw plenty of them and swallows feeding low over fields in the strong wind while shooting today. Blacks and woodies really hitting the beans this year. Stockies crazed me all day. Counted 20+. NB

Great interesting find! Same with flints. Hard to tell from pics, if you are going to keep it be careful drying it. Air dry slow. It may decay rapidly now exposed as looks in poor condition. Coat of PVA will seal and protect it once dried out. If you take it anywhere for ID get a receipt if leaving it. Boffins "lost" some of my finds in past. NB

Well spotted! Nested locally last year and they ring a few each year up one of the farms. Always had trouble telling them from willow tits at distance if they not calling. Heard my first cuckoo of year Thursday. Loads of sky larks about. Huge hatches of St Marks (thorn) flys over last few days been a bonus for all birds, especially feeding young. NB

Bojo a dad again! NB

That box will probaly not get used again this year, it is fairly exposed. I would move it or train that shrub beside it or a creeper it over it and hope for the best in that position next year. They'l still find it if it's covered. If you do leave it in hope remove that nest after a day or two of no activity so others may use it. NB

Yeah i saw and followed that case. Not good! Result of there moorland/class obsessed disconnected,blinkered, protectionist agenda. Tried debating with Avery on his blog a while back. He's a snake! Not bother again as have noticed what i said that he didn't like has been removed now. . . . . A mate stills controls gulls hard on local waste dumps under licence. I think the ones out my way are non breeding birds. As appear to be the same birds about all day. . . . . Noticed as i breasted my last lot of pigeons today not one of them or the many others i have shot and prepped over the last few weeks has a milky crop. They are definatly nesting and i have noticed this in spring shot birds in other years along with not seeing them gritting on roads like they do later. Put this down as they on a higher percentage of green stuff that does not need grinding in crop and produce milk? . . . .Rooks, gulls and blackbirds all over reseeded pasture at back of mine now it's raining. Several pigeons and a few hares on there every day. NB

You may be lucky with them. But if they have been disturbed they usually go else where. Nowt you can do to prevent magpies or other corvids. They will risk being garden raiders this time of year as they have young to feed themselves. That why they also time there hatch with the availability of food. Eggs and young of other birds being a big part of that. Garden raiding much worse in dry Springs. Magpies, jackdaws, crows, rooks and Jays all do it! A lot visiting at first light when it's safer and very few people notice or are aware they do it. Squirrels are very under rated nest raiders to! Great spotted woodpeckers also. Wagtails will destroy/take over robins nests and fight off robins. as they compete for territory. That's nature! By doing what pest control we can we are only tipping the balance more in favour of other critters that are struggling. There are more corvids around now than there has been for decades! Yet far fewer garden and farmland birds. WJ don't seem to of grasped this. They will never be endangered as they have lived alongside/off man for many years and are far to clever.! . . . Something i have noticed different this year is that there more herring gulls in the countryside at this time . Over and around gardens and surrounding fields. Sometimes all day and even coming to have a look when i am outside. Could this be down to CV19? Not so many folk about in towns dumping takeaways etc? Have heard they have been getting leverets to. Saw two mobbing a buzzard the other day. One got above it and tried/did carp on it. . . . . This rain most welcome! Garden smells great. NB

They should try again else where if both parents survived the raid. It's a numbers game with most small birds that why many 2nd or even 3rd brood. 80% of young don't survive first year! Parents only need to replace themselves once in there lifetime (about 3/4 years for a robin) for the population to remain stable. Blue and great tits etc go for the big hit with large broods to time with peak of available food supply like caterpillars. My robins laid another egg in 2nd nest this morning and still feeding young. Two of which they have brought back to garden. Lovely pair of yellow hammers under feeders earlier.😉 . . .First cat in ages has visited last night or early am, as i can smell it. May of been attracted by young calling, or a new cat in the area.😡 NB

Aint it just! And we got plenty of time to look at it at mo. Birds prob feel bit more secure now there's more leaf on. Still the hunger gap for the seed eaters. Feeders very busy and topping up daily. Unfortunately the dawn chorus at mine starts with rooks about 4oc as there nests so high in huge oaks they first to see the crack of dawn. Muntjac been barking lately to. NB

Nice find. Looks in good nick! I often wonder why we don't find more with all the deer about? I thought maybe foxes and badgers have them, but some fox and badgers skulls i have placed out to decay naturally have disappeared to. NB

Lot of heavy land my way, and only 8mm of rain since begining of March. Notice rooks, crows,and jackdaws raid gardens, predate nests, young and leverets more in these dry springs we been having as they can't get into the ground easy to feed there young. Rescuing sticklebacks, stone loach and last years fry out of dried up streams in early March. Those same streams were over the banks a lot of the Winter to. . . . . And don't there singing and the dawn chorus seem louder/clearer with less back ground noise and cleaner air. Maybe you had a insect or caterpillar hatch. NB

My robins have really ramped it up! Nest by window young fledged this morning. They were getting very vocal. Can still hear contact/ feeding calls in hedge over road so they doing ok. But! The interesting thing was the parents started building another nest by window sill 3 days ago. Only about 3ft from the first while still feeding young. Couldn't see if they swapped roles. First egg laid in new nest this morning to. I have known them to do this in other years when there is plenty of food. They usually continue feeding young for about a week. and probably bring them back to garden and feeders when they have grown a bit and more savvy. Blackbirds and pigeons nests got predated. Dunnocks blue and great tits still sitting. Greenfinches should hatch this week. Pied wagtail are nesting again nearby and a song thrush over the road. The racket from the rookery over road really noisy, especially at first light. Most young look half grown. Bling jackdaw, with ring still visits garden, mainly early morning. Few swifts about, also hobby checking out same nest site in village as last year. We badly need the rain that's coming my way. Every where so dry and wildlife still struggling. Rooks predated most of newly hatched mallard ducklings again other day. Wish i could of filmed it/got pics as WJ and co say they don't do it. Had loads of people asking advice about birds and wildlife or telling me what they have seen in there gardens/village during lock down. Plenty have had a bit of pigeon on the BBQ for first time. I hope there new found interest continues. NB

He's an Anti! Gobbing off a load of false info about game hunting etc like some other headline grabbing badly informed celebs. I think someone called him out and offered offered him and his lot the chance to buy/save some giraffes/rhino. No come back and he's been quiet since! NB

I thought that might be the case. Cheers! But they first i have seen for ages. Think a lot of us would enjoy that freedom right now! Must be amazing/surreal to be up there in such blue clear cloudless sky's we have to day! Just watching kestrel do the same. 😉 NB

While we are all still being told to stay home, essential journeys only etc. I and others have had some stick for doing crop protection (no problems at all) at request of farmers and we are still talking about not doing it! Yet! To day i have seen two private light aircraft (another just gone over) take off and land from a private airfield after flying low circuit over local area! Is that taking the p out of the rest of us or what! How can that be essential? NB

Good vid! bit different. Keep em coming. I thought it was just perspective on sum of those shots as you seem to of slowed them down more than most do. NB

Great shooting! Very good informative vid that needs putting out there! Good that it from a young fellas perspective to! Well done! NB

Well said Greylag! That's what WJ and Co are hoping If they keep stiring things up. NB