Checking out our pond.

 Yesterday I mucked out the pond by extracting excess vegetation and assorted overgrowth.  In the process, I needed to top the pond, which has left our water butts low, and rescue several newts and assorted invertebrates.

Today, I am looking at the pond generally to see if all is good.  There are lots of hoverflies and a few bees using it at present.

Damsel flies are also flitting around in various shades of red and brown.

And, of course, the newts are there in abundance.  Years ago we had  Common Newts and Palmate Newts.  The only ones I have seen since the CoViD outbreak are the Common Newts.  I am sure that has no relationship.

The males are distinguished by their crested appearance in the breeding season,  They also have reddened underbellies.

The head patterns can be very different between individuals and some are still in their winter form, being quite pale and plain.

Keeping the little one safe

Limpy was resting in the garden this evening.  He usually gets on with most of the locals, but when there are cubs around, he is very defensive

The local badgers do have a lot to put up with at this time of year.  Last week they were sharing space in the garden with tolerance.  This week it's all about keeping the cub safe.

Eh! what's all the fuss about?

A Walk in the Wild Woods

 

Today we visited Wedgwood Potteries for a morning coffee.  There is access from the factory site to Hem Heath Woods and the bluebells are in season.

The woods are a wildlife site and they are managed as natural woodland covering several hectares.

The Bluebells are quite vivid at this time of year and photographs cannot convey the light and aroma of the woodlands at this time.

This is a Chiff-Chaff, which is a common and distinctive bird of this area of the UK.  Their name reflects their song and they are heard everywhere, but seldom seen or noticed.

Of course, no walk is complete without the posing Robin.

Todays bird count:

Wren, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Nuthatch, Robin, Chiffchaff, Great Tit,
Common Buzzard.

Waking up the Garden

 This afternoon, I mowed the side lawn for the first time this year.  The grass is looking fresh and green on this warm Spring day.

The pond has been topped up and had a little weed removed.  There are newts active in the water at present, so I do not want to disturb it any further.

Under the hedge we have a few Wood Anemones in flower and thy are twinkling in the sunlight.

I was careful not to mow the lawn where we are going to keep it as a flower meadow.  We have a Snakes Head Fratillery near the seat at the moment . I have also spotted the leaves of Dog Daisies and Foxgloves, it will be interesting to see what does come up this year.

Quiet times

Having had a head cold for a couple of days, I am now having some quiet time. Laryngitis!  Not the best illness for aged souls who have hearing issues!

We went out for a blow of fresh air over the meadows of Fenton Fields.  It was a bit windy and quite warm in the sunshine.  My spirits are suitably lifted.

Otters

Ah! a break in the weather gives us an opportunity to visit Peak Wildlife Park to see the new compound for the Otters.  They have been moved from an old indoor compound to an outside area with trees and two ponds.

These are Asian Short-Clawed Otters and they tend to live in small family groups.  Like all otters they are excellent swimmers.

They are seldom alone for any length of time and are watching out for each other.  The new compound is quite large and it allows them to behave more naturally in the environment.

They are quite fast on land and move in coherent groups with ease....

....displaying social grooming and contact behaviour with other individuals in the group.

However, these are captive bread individuals and they know when feeding time is close.  They whistle profusely to hurry up the keepers to deliver their dinner!

I could not miss a chance to snap a Brown Lemur investigating a tree.

And equally, an Arctic Fox investigating a keepers barrow during improvements to their own compound.  What a joyful visit.






 

Wildlife

 After a recent trip, I was looking back at some of my photos and was pleased with a few of them.

A few Crows resting in the sunlight.

Sika Deer hind, out browsing by the waterside.

Red Squirrel foraging in the sunshine.

Meercat on guard duty.

Wood sculpture of a Stag Beetle, cleaned up for the Summer season.

Looking forward to my next photographic adventure.