It's the same size as our resident blackbird, has a distinct orange/red breast and a white underpart near the tail. It has a white(ish) ring around the eyes and although it has a dark coloured head (almost black) the rest of it is a very dull brown colour.

I never mentioned it before because I was waiting for the confirmation I needed first. So please be on the lookout and remember where you saw it (anywhere between the sluice gate and the farm path in that general direction)

I just need to listen to what it sounded like because I *may* have video with the birdsong on it... I'm going to be spending some time working on that one today :-)

I couldn't believe it, I saw a nuthatch in my garden! I didn't think these birds were the garden sort, but it seems we've got one that (apparently) is! My only regret was washing the dishes and not being able to take a picture to prove it!

It's funny what you perceive as 'wildlife' and what you see as 'a pest' - well, take two 'pests' and being at the right place at the right time - hello excellent footage!

What did I see? I saw a magpie picking on a rat... I was rather hoping that the magpie would pick the rat up and fly off - I was expecting THAT to happen... but that didn't happen... in fact the opposite happened and instead, the rat won the hilarious battle royale in some good style!!

THAT was what I wasn't expecting at all!!

I've never seen a rat jump so high or a magpie be so absolutely determined - finding the right words to describe it? see the title of this post above!!

I couldn't wait 'till I got home to view what I'd shot and after mentioning it around a few places, it does seem that it's got a high 'wow' factor about it.

In fact, I must admit now, I've probably (in the time I've been home) sat and watched the footage more times than I've had hot meals this month... Its THAT good!

Capturing a still to illustrate it wouldn't do it any justice at all..

And you wonder why I love it by that duck pond... I'll tell you - sometimes, you just have to sit and watch it happen for you without doing the hard work. Some days you'll be lucky, others not so.

I'm glad I was there... :-D

I'd put some bread out (granary) for the birds... I checked a few minutes later and this HUGE slug was eating the bread.. granted, I've seen some odd things in my time here, but NEVER that! I watched it for a few minutes and knew that this slug wasn't just trying to get past the bread.. If you view the full size picture (the option is on the link provided) you can see that it's got its mouth open ready to take another bite. Forgive me, but I never actually would've guessed that a slug would've been eating bread. I went back again a few moments later to video the event, but unfortunately, the diner had become someones dinner and I now regret not filming it originally... was really awesome watching it and normally? I dont have much regard for slugs...this has totally changed my view... I wonder what else a slug would eat?

Just as we'd come to the conclusion I'd been right, I caught sight of a rabbit heading under the fencing on the vale side of the road near tesco.. :-)

Seen: Sand Martins over Harrisons Weir and near the Electric Bridge 24th Feb... I thought I was seeing things, but, seems I wasn't! Their flight pattern was breathtaking up and down the weir....

Grey wagtail in the woodland at the back here... pacing up and down by the waters edge and last seen walking up the banking...

Female Tawny Owl - yup, she's being exceptionally vocal - I guess while its there, the rubbish has attracted mice in for her.

I do have a magpie that thinks its a sparrow - it's too big to land on my fatball feeder and it does seem incredulous that it hasn't quite got enough 'smart' to stop!! For the moment, while it's mild, i'm having to not put fatballs out until it realises... (and these birds are supposed to be clever? I can't wait until this one does what it's siblings have done to my neighbour and pinch her lit cig from her outside table ashtray and sit in the blossom tree with it!!!)

--- John Spilsbury(guest) 

A peregine visits Hatton Hill, which is near by, possibly the same one.

--- Tony(guest) 

An EA person, one involved with angling, has also expressed concern, not only with the number of cormorants, but also the number of goosanders. Apparently smaller species: roach and dace, are getting to be very rare in the rivers these days, and the finger of suspicion falls mainly on these birds. I have not caught a roach all season from the river, and roach used to be our most common freshwater fish. And only half a dozen dace ( more than most others caught ). Other anglers have had similar experiences: no roach. I would probably be pleased to see the cormorants return to the sea, for they are able to catch and eat quite large fish, but I suppose they have realised that a river is a much easier venue in which to find fish. Head upstream and sooner or later you sneak up on an unsuspecting breakfast from the rear.

However I also like to watch the birds and my main concern is that the goosanders might out-compete the kingfishers. This morning I enjoyed seeing a heron land near me, and watched it stalk and catch a 5 inch fish in the Mersey . Would the rivers have such a high population of fishing birds if the fish were not there in some numbers?

I also suspect the garden will be full in the morning of hungry faces (both fur and feather) as the weather is set to reach -7C here (ow.. my thermals will need thermals!) and I have a good quantity of duck fat (they want £3 a jar in Sainsburys - so I know that my garden guests are *definitely* spoilt!) which they can have on some home-made pasty squares (or in.. depends on how cold it does get) and I'll definitely be donning winter boots and a hot water bottle to go out and get some more wintery pictures... Either way, this garden is proving a fantastic local hot spot for birds at the moment and so I expect to see many this week that don't usually venture up here... I'll cook up some pasta and see who turns up :-D

(I'll also be topping their water station here with some boiling water... for some reason, they really do like that... !)

And boy, am I bringin' 'em in - 6 magpies, 20 sparrows, 3 bluetits, one robin, 2 greattits, a woodpecker, bullfinches (they're on the red list the last time I looked..) 2 wood pigeons (which parade around the garden like seasoned security guards :-D), two collard doves and just the other night and nearly scaring me half-to-death because I didn't see it - an owl! (Not sure what breed, it was big, hiding in the bushes and I was just too gobsmacked to take it all in...!)

I've always used my own home-made recipe for fatballs and it must be working for me to see all the things I do see..

I've also been spoiling them all rotten as they've been having (sounds cruel, but...) duck fat spread on home-made cooked pastry and they all love their pasta... I could open an Italian restaraunt in the garden for 'em!

(cooked pasta, I believe, is good for them at this time of the year right up to spring) The blackbirds absolutely LOVE spaghetti!

If this cold weather keeps up, I may be tempted to cook them a very large pan of pasta and spend good time seeing who comes to eat - either way, the food I'm currently putting out for them is definitely bringing them in! Also, I'd like to report several sightings of pied wagtails in Stockport town centre - random times, but it was funny to see them bobbing between the shoppers on a busy shopping day the other week and just wished I'd had the chance to film them with my camera :-)

Frankly, nothing would surprise me...!!

--- _abi_ 

Apparently there is a widespread problem with oaks. In the Telegraph today:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/01/13/eacountry113.xml

Oaks are dying from a new more agressive form of "oak decline" which is affecting at least 100 areas in the UK, with thousands of trees dying.

Also seen: flock of longtailed tits in the same area.

Noticed also that the oak trees around here are suffering and aren't producing the numbers of acorns they have done in the past too - most are deformed or havent grown properly. Also a number of woodpecker holes in several trees.

Saw a pair of mallards in the garden a couple of days ago, too far away to be photographed and they seemed to be just taking a break before waddling through the side gate and (hopefully) onto the vale.

--- philipkinsey 

I saw three together on the pond, fishing for small fry. They seem to have bred very well this year and I can hardly walk along any of the three rivers without seeing at least a couple of kingfishers. Look out for dippers too.

--- patruaune1(guest) 

Sorry for late reply: typing this from well beyond earshot. early in the year I saw fresh frogspawn in the back pond, in a location in the weeds that suggests it was laid there by frogs rather than people. I also recently saw a frog leave the pond, in daylight and hide itself in a hole near to the railway sleepers bordering the path. I took some pics of frog/toadlets, 2 weeks ago. but not yet looked to see if I can identify them yet.

The taddies now in the pond are at various development stages, about 20% have their rear legs, none that I saw have front legs yet, but some have bulges where the front legs seem to be forming. I am not sure how they gain their front legs. I suspect they form internally and then spring out, unlike the rear legs which visibly grow.

The pond looks very clear now that the algal bloom has gone, a bit messy as usual with litter, and duckweed is never very pretty, but I also saw numerous sticklebacks, and it would be my guess that the back pond is quite healthy.

--- John Spilsbury(guest) 

Yes, I too saw the frog/toads on the march. It was a stunning sight and I was so relieved that stagnation had not got the better of the pond. It has survived terrific imbalances of weed, particularly azolla in the past and, i just wish I had time to study pond habitat fully. Phill has convinced me by his slide show comments that they are toads. There must be some frogs in there because I know that people empty their excess frogspawn into the pond. People like small ponds in the garden but, because of the disappearance of larger ponds, they are the only places that frogs can go to spawn. I have often wondered why the pond at Woodhall, into which Nicky's pond drains, never seems to have more than a handful of tadpoles. Is it too well-drained perhaps?

The taddies now in the pond are at various development stages, about 20% have their rear legs, none that I saw have front legs yet, but some have bulges where the front legs seem to be forming. I am not sure how they gain their front legs. I suspect they form internally and then spring out, unlike the rear legs which visibly grow.

The pond looks very clear now that the algal bloom has gone, a bit messy as usual with litter, and duckweed is never very pretty, but I also saw numerous sticklebacks, and it would be my guess that the back pond is quite healthy.

Have large numbers of dead ones actually been seen?

So a little bit of "what has been seen" news:

Saw my first damselfly of the year about 12 days ago: nice red one.

And first dragonfly I have seen this year flying over the river near Butterfly Fields on Sunday.

No Blue Banded Demoiselles yet though in 2008...I saw some on May 25th last year.

--- John Spilsbury(guest) 

I should have waited for the next day and better weather. Today there are quite a few blue banded demoiselles down near the river. Look above and on lush vegetation, tall grass and nettles. They look like miniature slow moving helicopters in flight. 2 pairs of wings. Male blue body: female with green body.

So a little bit of "what has been seen" news:

Saw my first damselfly of the year about 12 days ago: nice red one.

And first dragonfly I have seen this year flying over the river near Butterfly Fields on Sunday.

No Blue Banded Demoiselles yet though in 2008...I saw some on May 25th last year.

--- philipkinsey 

Thanks Phil, I think toadpoles too, and I was astonished by their numbers. But there were frogs in the pond also: they laid quite a bit of spawn in the rushes in the corner nearest the visitor centre. Much earlier than the toads though, so I suspect their tadpoles would be bigger and browner by now.

--- Tracy(guest) 

Well, not really: I don't know very much about them. But like most things they do interest me, but I only "keep" them in that I have bumble bees nesting naturally in the garden, and mining bees slowly dismantling my garage.

--- John Spilsbury 

Some of the mining bees have had an unwelcome guest: a parasitic wasp. This wasp, about the same size as a miner bee, was standing on a tree root in the middle of the colony. After about 10 or 15 minutes, it walked down to one of the miner bee tunnels, and disappeared from sight. I assume that it had been watching one of the Attenborough Life on Earth programs, and therefore was about to lay an egg in one of the miner bee grubs below ground. Or perhaps in the bee itself. Not sure, because although I photographed the wasp, I have been unable to identify it to date, so cannot determine exactly how its life cycle works. It seems there are very many wasp species, and a lot of them are parasitic on other insects.

I think all you can do is to provide "suitable accomodation" for bumble bees, placing your purchased bumble home in a good location, probably low down, very near to ground level. Get the house in place early in spring, and I mean early, they are not inhibited by quite cold weather. I guess your bee house came with instructons? As regards "obtaining a queen", I don't think that I would recommend trying to kidnap one, and in any case it may not remain where you put it. I see them flying even in my garden, which is also partially aimed at wildlife, and if they find a suitable home they will nest there. I have two nests in a bit of old wall, near to my pond. Certainly in this area, and definitely in the vale, they seem quite common, they cover quite large distances, flying far better than those scientists who supposedly proved that bumble bees could not possible fly. If sitting in your garden you may well hear a bee before you see it.

Also miner bees. These much smaller bees favour sunny, clay or sandy slopes, where they excavate their nests. Usually seen in colonies with the nests spaces a few inches apart, with small mounds of excavated sand near to the holes. They can be quite amusing because they often lose their grip and roll a few inches down the slope. Occasionaly seem to be fighting for territory. I believe they do not have stings, but don't go to test that theory.