Now I know it's spring ...

R

redhead

At the Start
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
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... the cuckoo arrived yesterday evening and was in the willow trees behind my house . I was only thinking yesterday that it was "cuckoo weather" (not "kookoo" weather!) :)
 
I'm hoping to get walking on Dartmoor in the near future. We have a lot of cuckoos up there and I love to hear their call from the ancient oak woods.
 
Lovely! Noticed on a drive out of town that sparrows were nest-building noisily in some urban hedges, and the cherry and magnolia trees here are just breath-taking. Sadly, though, most of the daffs came and went very quickly, although some areas still have loads out. Seen some superb, macho bumble-bees and three butterflies at Plumpton: orange tip (male), clouded yellow, and peacock. Spring has sproinggged!
 
The resident woodpecker was out in force on the common when we were riding a few weeks back.

But better than that, it's great to see the spring grass coming through lush and thick.
 
the blossom on the tree in the garden has started to fall & was all over the kitchen floor earlier (left door open for dog) thats when i know its spring!
 
The resident woodpecker was out in force on the common when we were riding a few weeks back.
Click to expand...

A bird watcher I met yesterday in the above-mentioned woods told me it hosts three types of woodpecker at present.

My French wasn't up to naming them. Perhaps dry, sparkling and scrumpy?
 
:-)) Love that, Grey!

Three types is great. There are more than I realised: Lesser Spotted (or Barred - presumably after too much scrumpy!), Greater Spotted or Pie-eyed (no, sorry, I mean Pied - see what you've started!), the Wryneck, which is now just a rare passing visitor, the Black (with smart red cap), and the Green (ditto).
 
The hill behind us is covered in great drifts of white blossom, all misty agaist the green.

Driving past the racecourse this morning I just had to slow down and gawp as it looked so lovely. The course itself was covered with a thick layer of mist, which got lighter the higher up it went and the sun was shining through it, giving all the layers a different shade of gold, with Cleeve Hill in silhouette behind it.

Why is there never a camera to hand?!!
 
Redhead,
That reminds me ... saw a butterfly in the office car-park earlier, making towards a budleia, which has no blossom yet.
Anyone know when they flower -- so nice, these 'butterfly bushes'.

Which racecourse would that be? .....







Just kidding.
 
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