Spring Again!

A new start to a new season and I find myself a long way from where we were last year. A change of location just before Christmas has reduced the opportunities to get out with the camera yet further. On the plus side the new locale has infinitely better wildlife watching opportunities than before.
For starters the garden bird list. When in London, 5 years of constant watching knocked up just over 30 species, not bad for a car park in an old inducstrial part of the City. Our last house had the benefits of a garden. It was howevr situated in a relatively new estate with a massive number of cats. The result was a list struggling to make 20 species! The new place enjoys a far more rural perspective. With a larger garden surrounded by mature trees sitting in the shadow of a beech wood on the Cotswald escarpment, the prospects were good. And the promise hasn't been ignored. The list stands at 38 at the moment, this does include 3 species heard but not yet seen, but an impressive tally for just 4 months. The summer migrants are only just starting to appear, with Willow Warbler being the first proper one yesterday.
Bird life isn't the only improvement either. The foxes, whilst being far more nervous, are much more impressive animals than there urban cousins.Two or three roe deer are seen most days in the neighbouring field and the local wood mice have already had to be barred from the bird food supplies! A hedgehog scat in the garde hints t more nocturnal goings on which, in the woods behind at least, include the antics of badgers and Reeve's Muntjac Deer.
The mixture of flowers in the garden which include many naturally occuring species such as blue bells, snow drops, primrose, celandine and the ubiquitous dandelion and daisy, has encouraged a plethora of insect life. Variou hoverfly species have been busy this week as have an even more impressive variety of bees. Wasps and hornet are also about. A few butterflies are around but none yet to match the beauty of the Holly Blues that were abound in my brother's garden this weekend.

Slightly further afield, Pheasants and Red-legged Partridge are ssen most days on the commute to work which, during the winter, also included Barn Owl.
A new season and a new chapter in our lives. Both promise to be filled with wonderful new experiences