Summer is here!!

[tomtom]

well nearly.. BUT last week i saw the first swallow of the year! in my household its a big even and it signals that summer is very nearly here!

has anyone else seen them yet?

 

[bombadil]

Got the first cuckoo here in Portugal on March 6, and Swallows here when I arrived in feburary.....let me know when the cuckoos arrive on my own fair isle

 

[Tantalus]

funny you should mention it but the local shepherd kept a diary of things like that all the time he was on the farm

I never did see them (the diaries) and sadly he died a couple of years ago, but he always said, the 1st swallows appear around 17 April, this year it was spot on too

I always think we are much colder in the scottish borders than down south but the swallows seem to disagree

Tant

 

[Robbie Roberson]

tomtom, my mallard female duck already had little duckies ............the catfish are rising in my pond, temps here are mid 70s, but freakish weather is due by this weekend, maybe snow flurries.

The odd thing about this is trees already have leaves, blooms have already bloomed...........this is very unusual weather due for my area. It is actually mid to late spring here.

Robbie Roberson

 

[Justin Time]

yup, we've had swallows coming through for a couple of weeks now and like you it's always special. Saw my first House Martins of the year on Sunday and the various warblers are coming through in numbers now as well. Had the odd experience a week ago of listening to a Garden Warbler signing in some bushes in bright sunshine and then having a snow storm pass over... didn't stop the Garden Warbler from singing. Now to keep an eye out for swifts

There's a great website called Birdtrack where you can record sightings of migrants and view the progress as they move north, animated maps too!

 

[MartiniDave]

While sharpening my knife & axe in my shed last night I was disturbed by a lot of twittering, somthing flashed past my head. I had been joined by a young greenfinch that sat on a shelf watching me for a couple of minutes, before trying to fly though both windows, then finally going back out of the door. Marvelous!

Dave

 

[Hellz]

Keep spotting hedgehog droppings and the birds are busy investigating all the bird boxes we have in the garden. We've even got some tomatoes in already, I've got a feeling this is going to be a good year for chutney

Yup, nearly there...




Hellz

 

[ronsos]

walking the dog ,in our local country park heard woodpeckers er, pecking.I heard them about this time last year but didnt see any as a sparrowhawk took up residency in the woods for a few days.Duly spent days looking in other local woods to no avail (seen the sparrowhawk though).Need to try again this year.This is my first post since the great crash,so thanks to all the mods and hello to everyone else .What a great site.



'Its a fools life,a rogues life, and a good life if you keep laughing all the way all the way to the grave'.Ed Abbey.

 

[Tony]

It's a nice spring and it's going to be a lovely Summer I'm really looking forward to this year, getting out a bit more etc....I'm missing the start of it all at the mo, spending too much time indoors!

 

[Aelfred]

well nearly.. BUT last week i saw the first swallow of the year! in my household its a big even and it signals that summer is very nearly here!

has anyone else seen them yet?

Saw my first swallows of the year on 7th of April in Canterbury, Kent.

There were a pair of them sitting on a phone wire looking absolutely exhausted and less than impressed with the, I thought, balmy weather.

Also saw a horse being born that afternoon while out for a walk. Her first wobbly steps were a real treat.

Nearly the start of summer as far as I was concerned.

 

[GrahamD]

Went out for a stroll this lunchtime, 100 metres from the office down a bridleway - saw my first Holly Blue butterfly of the year - roll on warm days!!

Graham.