Garden Wildlife UK

A few randoms from the valley this week. Nice to see the warblers are well on show except the whitethroats that seem to be dragging their feet.

Lovely selection Bob, same for the whitethroat here...we still await their arrival

Super variety there Bob, well spotted

Last year it was another couple of weeks before I saw a whitethroat. Lovely photo's Bob, I have seem some male blackcaps only so far. I find mandarin ducks elusive, only ever seen two.

Linda257 wrote: Sat Apr 11, 2026 7:19 am Lovely selection Bob, same for the whitethroat here...we still await their arrival

Thanks Linda. Usually they are the more predominant warbler around here. Won't be long before they make an appearance I'm sure.

PimperneBloke wrote: Sat Apr 11, 2026 7:25 am Super variety there Bob, well spotted

Cheers PB

SnappyMac wrote: Sat Apr 11, 2026 7:34 am Last year it was another couple of weeks before I saw a whitethroat. Lovely photo's Bob, I have seem some male blackcaps only so far. I find mandarin ducks elusive, only ever seen two.

Thanks Snappy. Yes the mandarins here are a bit elusive too. They tend to stick to the brook running through the valley as it's a lot more overgrown there than on the half a dozen or so ponds next to it.

Great set of pics Bob. Used to go by a place where the owners have a very large pond, more like a lake, and kept mandarin ducks.

Willpar wrote: Sat Apr 11, 2026 9:24 am Great set of pics Bob. Used to go by a place where the owners have a very large pond, more like a lake, and kept mandarin ducks.

It's always nice when they turn back up Willpar. One pair beat a kestrel pair I used to watch in a hole in a tree a couple of years back, I had mixed thoughts as I love kestrels. Also came across a kingfisher nest this week in my local valley. Hopefully I'll get a photo of them well away from the nest as I know morally and legally you shouldn't disturb their nests.

A few of the valley wildlife this morning. The nuthatches are building a nest in the same tree where the GSW is nesting and she went over to investigate. They weren't happy at all and started "dive bombing" her, something I've not seen before.