Firestarter....

The day got off to a good start with a pre-breakfast milk run to the dairy, resulting in finding a Firecrest calling from the front garden. These little 'crackers' have occurred twice before in the garden both in spring.
This brings the garden list up to 72 for the year, no doubt this will be boosted shortly by the incoming spring arrivals !



With the recent rise in temperature has come an increase in the number of moths caught in the traps. Along with the expected early season species was this Dotted Chestnut. Although not a new species for the farm, we had our first two last year, it is normally associated with the south and south west of the country though has showed a recent easterly expansion, with the first Essex record in 2002.

The other image is of a Pine Beauty, not a scarce moth, but always welcome to see. It raises the question of where they originate from, as the name suggests the larva feed on pines, which are absent from the immediate area.





Spring is in the hare !

It's official, with the advent of the first heavyweight bouts between boxing Brown Hare's, Spring is here.

Interestingly it is the female that starts the 'boxing' in an attempt to ward off the amorous advances of the male.



The accompanying sound track to the bouts is often the song of the Skylark, a species that has benefited from the 'Skylark' plots provided under the stewardship schemes.

                                                                                  

 Also making an appearance are several species of bee, the most obvious being the large queens of the Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius), which along with the Early Bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) are often the first bumblebee to be encountered during the year.



Always a welcome sight, the first returning Wheatear of the year appeared today. These 'chats' are often the first migrant birds of the Spring to appear on the farm, on their way northwards to breed in 'Breckland' and the uplands of Britain, having wintered south of the Sahara. 



Circus act

This winter has been a good one for Hen Harriers (Circus cyaneus). Whereas normally only a single individual would been seen during this period, with the help of photography it has been possible to determine that at least five different birds have been present. Four of these have been immature birds known as 'ringtails' and the fifth an adult female. Their presence often being heralded by the scorning of the resident Carrion Crows.





Also doing well are Short eared Owl's, with one site in Essex holding double figures, whilst locally up to seven have been seen across the river from Howland's Marsh. Not so fortunate was this individual that became a victim of overhead wires close to the seawall.