May to June has had some very hot weather and some very cold very wet weather, but thankfully the wildlife seems to have survived that. Our nest box of blue-tits has successfully fledged, despite a black cat perching on top of the nest box trying to paw the hole. There are plenty of ducklings and goslings on the local rivers and canals, and a lot of fluffy fledglings taking their first wobbly flights, often perched precariously waiting to be fed. The Dipper fledglings are grey rather than chestnut brown. They seem to comically fall over in shallow puddles and stumble around. The Grey wagtails are indeed grey as fledglings, they don’t yet have that vibrant yellow bib.
I’ve got lots of photos of parent birds with beaks stuffed full of insects, from Treecreepers, Nuthatches, Dippers, Wagtails House Martins and some amazing Great Spotted Woodpeckers. The Woodpecker chicks are very noisy, almost like a car alarm going off. As well as taking big clusters of insects into the nest, they also have to take out some enormous faecal sacks. The joys of parenting! I am starting to see Kingfishers back occasionally zipping around the rivers near Torrside Park. Always good day when you see that flash of blue. Keep looking and listening!
John Kitching
Photos from New Mills Wildlife Photography
