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Expensive outlay though, we spend about £5 per week.

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We have a  flock of five at the at the moment and yes they do tend to eat virtually everything in sight, but they are a large bird and consequently eat more than a small one. I have hot glued bars on

It was a lovely, still night in the garden yesterday. Horace/Doris turned up on cue at 10pm. Brought a friend along. Doris/Horace?  Anyone who thinks hedgehogs are slow, bumbling creatures should see

We are at the top of an hill so we look out onto countyside but at the slde near us are some terrace house's. Now with central heating chimmy pots are not used any more. We have now been hear about 10

Where do you go? I have been using a local farm shop but they just closed today, so I bought a fair bit at 2 for 1, though Boyes in Newark are very cheap. And I must admit I have had so many apple fallings that they have seen the birds through so far and I chuck any stored ones that are turning out to them as well. The blackbirds and fieldfares love 'em

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I been a bird watcher for many decades now, yesterday I twitched a lifer. It was a White-crowned Night Heron at Reawick, Shetland. It was an adult male feeding on froglets in a burn, it was only twenty yards away and was truly magnificent.

The other highlight of the year so far, was finding a Glossy Ibis at Spiggie, Shetland in January, another magnificent looking bird.

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Hi Oldace, congrats on the night heron, we had a pair of glossy Ibis in Lincolnshire last year and they are expected again this year, highlight last year here for me was the three Common Cranes that overnighted on one of our lagoons and the Montagues Harrier a couple of years ago, they managed to raise young over at Digby fen

Rog

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Hi, Plantfit, The Gossy Ibis seems to be more frequent in the UK nowadays, as are some other Herons and Egrets, Ken Clarke MP puts this down to global warming, but I think that cleaner waterways and estuaries are probably responsible..

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Your'e probably right on the cleaner water theory, last year we had breeding little egrets and for a few weeks a Great white egret strutting around the quarry lagoons, only last week there was a pair of yellow wagtails taking an interest in the freshwater area of the quarry a bird known for cleanliness of water, there is a lot of what used to be sea birds starting to nest inland these days though, cormorants,oyster catchers and numerous gulls, have you noticed similar where you are?

Rog

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The bird life in Shetland is so different to elsewhere, there are 100,000's of seabirds on the cliffs,although breeding success is erratic due to the shortage of sandeels, but nature abhors a vacuum, and in 2012 there was a surfeit of juvenile saithe which helped breeding.

Many of the birds that are common in Notts are rarities here, two weeks ago there was a song thrush in the garden, only the second one in the garden in 22 years. Two years ago we had a great tit in the garden, but we have never had blue tit, coal tit etc.

We do get lots of finches in the winter, even hawfinch in the garden once, waxwings and crossbills like the rosa rugosa hips, as do the northern bullfinches.

The nesting sites of local birds hasn't changed, starlings are abundant here, they nest in the stone walls as do the very common house sparrows, meadow pipits, wheatears and twite nest on the hills, they are preyed upon by the merlins.

There is a problem with the resident grey lags, they are just too prolific and destroy the crofters tatties and neeps (turnips) crops.

We are coming to Notts this summer, and I am looking forward to seeing jay, green woodpecker, nuthach, even magpie. Do you know if the cetti's warblers are still at Attenborough?

.

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I noticed a couple of little egrets at the nature reserve near us, at home a few weeks ago.

At Poolsbrook apart from the resident geese, brown and Canada, and mallards, coots and moorhens down in the country park, we seem to have a vast population of magpies. I set up my bird feeding station a couple of weeks ago, but so far have only seen a couple of great tits, 2 chaffinches and 2 collared doves. I'm wondering if the number of magpies have anything to do with the reluctance of the birds to visit, I know they are about, as I have seen long tailed tits and goldfinches elsewhere on the site.

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I'll try and find out about the Attenborough Cettis warbler,(I work for the company that operates the quarry) check out the "Lincolnshire bird club" website and go into "forums" click on "report all bird sightings" this will lead to all the sightings in Lincolnshire and some parts of Notts, good collection of pictures as well

Rog

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Greetings from Bocking Blackwater Nature Reserve.

We have had a pair of swans down here for many years, last year they had 6 young that grew to adulthood, this year things are different. One of them vanished a few weeks ago, all I found was a load of feathers near the weir, why, because the local East European 'Immigrants' see them as fair game and kill them for food. Butchered swan necks were found up the river at Bocking last year, and I read a report today that several severed swan necks were found in another nature reserve in this region, the spokesman suggested they were taken for food, I wonder who by!!!!!!!!

I go on patrol down the reserve with my dogs every day ( In case you don't know I'm the tree warden and one of the committee members responsible for running the reserve), the lone swan is clearly distressed without his/her partner and I find it heartbreaking, it swims up to me every time and I do talk to it, even the dogs seem to sense something is wrong, as only animals can do.

I hope the bastards choked and died on their Easter feast.

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Very sad, but all too familiar Firbeck. I will repeat what I have advocated on other topics.." Vigilante Patrols". It's the ONLY answer.

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Pete,sorry you had to see such things, swans pair for life as you know so it must be very distressing for the one thats left especially if he/she saw what happened to it's mate, like you say I hope the culprits choke when eating the meat

Rog

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Very sad, but all too familiar Firbeck. I will repeat what I have advocated on other topics.." Vigilante Patrols". It's the ONLY answer.

The other thing our East European 'friends' do is over fish the river for their favourite delicacy, Pike and anything else they fancy. Because of the purity of the Blackwater river water there is an abundance of fish that grow very large, along with their predators the pike. Only two weeks ago I watched an incredible battle between a massive pike and some poor fish ( I'm not very good at identifying them ).

The Polish come along and stick in a dozen rods at a time, I doubt whether they have rod licences, I report them every time and the river bailiffs assure me that their patrols have been upped and they will sort the problem out, so far they haven't, I go down there everyday and haven't met a bailiff yet.

With the abundance of fish and the pure water, the otters have arrived, I bumped into one on the bank one evening just 100 yards from my garden fence, but are they safe, no. We found a lethal trap consisting of a weighted down bucket full of half dead roach with two home made sprung traps that could have killed anything, including my inquisitive dogs, clearly aimed at the otters, are the police interested, no. We are considering using Reserve funds to install otter cams in order to protect them.

If you people have to come over here and steal our jobs, which the EU says is fine, at least respect our wildlife, especially on nature reserves, but what do they care, nowt, after all, it's food for free with no interference.

On a happier note, I was in the greenhouse topping up the bird feeders a couple of weeks ago, went outside and and disturbed an unusual bird on the bird table, it flew around me and sat in a tree preening itself, it was a Wheatear, never seen one here before, it must have been migrating.

On Sunday I was up our allotment at Bocking and heard a Cuckoo, he transferred to a tree near my spot then flew over the top of me, you can't miss their dipping flight, unusual to see, but as he was doing this, a swallow flew underneath him, my first positive sighting of the year, it's not all doom and gloom after all.

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Perhaps if one or two of the perpetrators were discovered with their hands nailed to a tree and " Lump Hammer Damage " to their hands and face, it might deter a few.

I eagerly await the backlash from the liberal lefty pinkos.

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Every morning we get a woodpecker try to make a hole in a metal part of the eaves. He sounds like an AK47 machine gun. It's a wonder he doesn't have a concertina'd beak!

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Interesting morning in the garden. Just clearing some weeds from a corner and came across a nest containing 17 eggs!

Out came the Observers Book Of Eggs and it seems they are partridge eggs, which seems about right as a few weeks ago we had regular visits from a couple of red legged partridges.

At the moment I am struggling to upload the photo from photobucket, any helpful advice please?

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darkazana,

I'm just having a feet up on pouffe half hour and read your post, I googled Red Legged Partridges and it seems sometimes the female bird builds two nests and lays a clutch in each. So if you hear a crunching noise, you will have found the other one.

If there is two I hope you discover it before you hear the crunch!

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I've got Mr & Mrs Blackbird hopping around the garden at the moment. They have been nesting in my conifers or somewhere here for years. I know it is the same Blackbirds every year - I can recognise those skinny little dicky bird legs anywhere!

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That's interesting Carni, I have a look round. sadly these eggs won't be hatching, they are stone cold.

We had a couple of turkeys wandering around our garden a couple of years ago and I found some eggs under the rose bushes!

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That's a shame about the eggs, have you any idea what happened?

By the way, there has been no more sightings of the little 'Golden Duckling' on the Canal....I fear the worse.

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