Tawny owls are early breeders and possible nest sites are checked out as early as October and November. Eggs are usually laid in March, followed by hatching and owlets appearing in April. We may still be having bouts of some pretty wintery weather at the moment but I am fairly confident that a pair of tawny owls are already nesting in one of the boxes in the wood this year.

Back in 2022 it was this same box that delivered us our finest wildlife moment when the Johns ringed two tawny owl chicks that were being reared in there:

Although we didn’t have the trail camera in a great position, we did get some photos of the chicks in the days following the ringing as they became more adventurous, perching on branches around the box:

About a week after the Johns ringed the chicks, the adult owls were photographed luring the young to fledge by perching nearby with food:

And then it was all over – the chicks left the box and were not seen again. Four years on and there has been no record sent to the BTO (who organise the British ringing scheme) of those ringed tawnies so we don’t know the next chapter in their stories. Hopefully they are now happily raising their own young somewhere.

Since that successful fledging in 2022, each spring there seemed to be a battle between the owls and the squirrels to see who could claim supremacy and nest in the box. Sadly the squirrels always won out, although stock doves also raised two broods in there last year after the squirrels had left.

But this year the owls have once more gained possession of the box. Food is being brought in but, still in mid March, this must surely be for the adult that is sitting on eggs rather than to feed young:

In fact, every night a lot of mice are arriving at the box:

We have just swapped the camera at this box over and are only now getting better photos. The previous camera was registering a lot of owl action but the camera was full of water and quality was not great

There is a shallow pool made out of a painters tray in the same clearing as the box, and the owls have been frequently coming down to that, both at night and by day:

We will be following the progress of these owls with much interest over the coming weeks.

Last year a clump of frogspawn was laid in a new pond dug in the marjoram clearing. This must have been the first spawn in the wood for many, many years since there are no signs of there ever having been a pond before. However, the few weeks following the laying of the spawn last year were very dry, the water level got very low and a grass snake also took up residence. As a result, I don’t believe that a single tadpole survived to emerge from the water as a frog.

This year, although our woodland neighbour reported that spawn had arrived in her wood some time ago, our pond remained resolutely empty of any amphibian activity. Then, last week, I saw on the camera that a single male frog had arrived and was staging a solitary vigil for a female. He was on his own in there for several nights:

When we next visited the wood, it was fantastic to see that his persistence had paid off and a female had indeed arrived for him. A clump of spawn was now nestling in amongst the weed:

Should we have another dry spring this year, I will certainly ensure that the water level in this pond is kept topped up this time to give these little things the best possible chance.

Sparrowhawks come to this same pond daily to have a bath:

An unknown mustelid has visited the wood several times this week although never showing its face. Polecat, feral ferret or a hybrid between the two? We do not know.

But rabbits will probably make up 60% of this predator’s diet:

Woodcock haven’t been seen on the cameras recently and have now probably left on their long journey back to their breeding grounds. Redwings are still here though:

Strong winds overnight on Thursday brought a tree crashing down across one of the clearings as a dramatic reminder to us not to visit the wood in high winds:

Across in the meadows, a fox with the beginnings of mange is now coming to the nightly peanuts and, looking at her tummy, I would say that she is pregnant:

It is some time since I last treated our resident foxes for mange, but I have now swung into action once more. This is not only to try to cure this pregnant vixen, but also to protect the other foxes living here with her:

There is still a month to go before any badger cubs that may be underground are allowed up so that we can get a look at them. Meanwhile the adults are going about their daily business:

And this is a funny photo I think:

We found this common shrew under a reptile sampling square. What a lovely shiny nose it has:

It is larger and greyer than the pygmy shrews that we often find in the dormice boxes in the wood.

Although kestrels are primarily after field voles, they will also eat a shrew particularly when vole numbers are low:

On 15th April 2015, Dave, the dog and I visited Iffley Meadows beside the Thames at Oxford. This is a famous April spectacle where thousands of snake’s-head fritillaries grow wild in the wet water meadows there:

We had actually visited on the day of the annual count by the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) – there had been 85,000 of these amazing plants counted the previous year:

Snake’s-head fritillaries also grow well in Walmer Castle grounds near our meadows in Kent, although these have been planted:

Even though it was not a sunny day, early bumblebees, Bombus pratorum, were working their way from flower to flower. They disappear right up into the flower and emerge with yellow pollen all over their backs:

We found several pine ladybirds, Exochomus quadripustulatus, on apple trees in the kitchen garden. Here one is with a 7-spot ladybird to show the size difference:

A pair of mating pine ladybirds with their distinctive red commas:

The rookery in the grounds has become very active at this time of year and large numbers of noisy rooks are returning there at dusk:

Elsewhere in the gardens is this statue of the Roman God Mercury:

One of the participants of this week’s wildlife tour noticed that Mercury has hibernating harlequin ladybirds tucked around the back of his neck:

And we were amused to see that this wasn’t the only place he had ladybirds:

And on that disturbing note I will finish for today. We are really enjoying spring as she gradually unfurls herself and I am hoping to get better photos of the nesting owls for next time.