Wildlife Wednesday , 23rd March 2022

Wow , fantastic and very un-seasonal weather coupled with a bumper day of wildlife watching here at the hide today witnessed by my co-pilot Anne. Sunny with a clear cloudless sky and warm , 16c not your typical March weather but there are no complaints . The meadow is showing signs of new life with trees starting to Bud and the grass starting to shoot up , finally spring is on the way.

There appears to be new activity at the old fox den . Major earth works around the entrance looks like we have a new resident moved in which might mean we have cubs here at the meadow for a second year in a row. It’s one of the reasons we are very keen to protect the exact location of the meadow. We hope to set up a trail camera to cover the are where the den is located and bring you more news if and when we spot our new arrivals.

At the other end of the meadow we think we have another new family , equally as exciting , Badgers. Once again we need to set cameras up to confirm if the sighting are just individuals passing through the area or indeed new residents.

Anyway back to the bumper day of wildlife watching and first on the list the mammals. So in no particular order the mammals include Bank vole , Brown Rat , Rabbit , Hare ( we watched one hare for more than two hours ) and Grey squirrel.

Our feathered visitors included a Buzzard who spent nearly an hour hunting for small mammals in the meadow , in direct competition with a Kestrel. Also here , Jays , the Blackbird and Song Thrust . The Great Spotted Woodpecker made several flights into the feeding station and woodpecker post .

All the other small birds made an appearance during the day . Robin , Great tit , Blue tit and Dunnock . Together with a Goldfinch , Chaffinch, Wren and Long tailed tits. As I mentioned before a truly bumper day of wildlife watching and photography.

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