Tuesday 31 March 2021

It's been a long and harsh winter, but today it was warm and sunny and there are a couple more days of warmth in the forecast.

I don't usually get to put my moth trap out this early in the year, but I did today and I was extremely pleased with the results. There were two new species for the garden, a dotted chestnut (which is a rare species in the UK) and an early grey. The early grey's larval foodplant is honeysuckle and we've exposed a nice mature plant in our newly cleared garden, so I'll be checking this for caterpillars in a month or so's time.

Dotted chestnut, Christophstal March 2021

Dotted chestnut, Christophstal March 2021

Early grey, Christophstal March 2021

Early grey, Christophstal March 2021

Friday 26 March 2021
Buzzard pair, Christophstal March 2021

Buzzard pair, Christophstal March 2021

I saw a pair of buzzards mating this morning. It was all over quite quickly so I was lucky to see it. This photo is post-coital.

Saturday 13 March 2021

A large flock of siskins landed in our birch tree and were enjoying the seeds.

Siskins in birch, Christophstal March 2021

Siskins in birch, Christophstal March 2021

Siskin in birch, Christophstal March 2021

Siskin in birch, Christophstal March 2021

Sunday 7 March 2021
Male hawfinch, Christophstal March 2021

Male hawfinch, Christophstal March 2021

It's been a really good year for hawfinches this year. We've had loads in the garden for weeks now. This fine male was posing on our peanut table today.

Monday 1 March 2021

Ignore the fact that the starling is out of focus. What about that bokeh? Stars with a starling. I wish I'd done that deliberately.

Here's a photo of a mistle thrush as well. They're normally running across the fields but this one was disturbed by me opening the window to take a photo.

Starling, Christophstal March 2021

Starling, Christophstal March 2021

Mistle thrush, Christophstal March 2021

Mistle thrush, Christophstal March 2021