Positives from lockdown

[zico]

For the last couple of months, after being told by the government I could only go out once per day, I've made an extra effort to go on at least one long(ish) walk from home (2-4 hours usually). I'm quite lucky because my house is near a country lane, and after a few hundred yards, I can get off onto a variety of bridle paths and wide footpaths, which have been surprisingly deserted, so are completely safe to walk and avoid the very occasional other walker. Having got to know the area better, I've been surprised at how much there is to see, and it's been really nice to see spring developing.

I've linked up all the various footpaths, and now know the range of a pair of kestrels, and their favourite perches, even spotting one catching a mouse. I know whereabouts a pair of yellowhammers live and perch. Swallows and house-martins arrived last week. Occasionally there are flocks of fussy lapwings, that seem to make a big drama out of everything, swooping and wheeling when disturbed. There are lots of pheasants about, and having seen a few at very close quarters in the sunlight, they really are beautifully marked birds. I've found fields inhabited by half a dozen red-legged partridges. A few footpaths go through woodland and I've seen a fair number of buzzards soaring near the edge of the woods. I've only seen a wheatear once, but also saw a blackcap, which has a really good song.

On the mammal front, I've seen deer in the very early morning, and once saw a young male roe deer around midday in a field next to a road, which looked at me for quite a while before wandering off, then bounding over a wall back into the woods. Once got a glimpse of a stoat (or weasel) in a hedgerow and I see hares once every week or so. One footpath crosses a field next to an open farm, and they've put goats, unusual breeds of sheep, alpacas and llamas in this field. I was mock-charged by a llama (only realised it was a mock-charge when it stopped 6 inches from me). I guess it must have been expecting to be fed by humans.

In some of the lanes, the bird song is so loud as to be almost deafening. I know that with the epidemic, it's a tough time for many people now, but it's a perfect time to appreciate the natural world, if you get the opportunity.

[Dod101]

I agree about zico's observations of nature. In south west Perthshire we have had sandmartins for the last week and I heard a cuckoo last Saturday. Also right by a usually busy road I spotted a goldfinch in a bush. I do not often see them. Birds of pray are common over the moor near me.

Sadly roe deer are all too common to be worth a comment and they cause a lot of damage to gardens unless they are properly fenced off. They are not culled and their only predator is the unsuspecting motorist or truck driver. In the early morning on the main truck road through my area, the A9 there are always a few killed or maimed by the roadside. The local authority have even formalised it by having a crew dedicated to collecting them.

This is not directly related to the lockdown but some of it is I guess.

Dod

[JohnB]

I'm in London Z6, but can be in woodland in 15 minutes and countryside in 30, when all the path options multiply, and its remarkable how many variants you can take and nooks you find within 3 miles of your house. I spent today walking up and down the fairways of the golf course, before the golfers return tomorrow. Visiting the area most days keeps me sane.

[zico]

I forgot about the goldfinches, which are one of my favourite birds. There's a decent-size flock with a range fairly near to my house, and we often see them in the back garden. Had a blackbird chick on our bird feeder today, recognisable as a chick by its dopey nature, and 4 robin chicks around. We've never seen robin chicks previously and they are quite attractive as chicks go.