Monday 22nd February 2021 - Spennells Valley Nature Reserve
After hearing from a mate who works for the Rangers Service that the Common Frogs were showing en masse at the ponds on the reserve, I decided to pay Spennells Valley a visit.
As I approached the ponds the noise was incredible with the air full of the sound of the Frogs purring croaks. Visually the sight was just as impressive with 100+ Common Frogs on the big pond surrounded by masses of spawn. The middle pond held a further 11 Frogs and the small pond 26 Frogs.
Common Frog (Rana temporaria)
Tuesday 23rd February 2021 - Captains Pool
Today I paid a quick visit to Captains Pool and was greeted with seeing my first returning Great Crested Grebe of the year. Sadly it spent most of its time at the rear of the pool near the island which didn't make for good photo opportunities. So, as they are such a beautiful bird when they are in breeding plumage I have added a photo from my archives.
Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus)
Thursday 25th February 2021 - Burlish Meadows
The weather was fairly mild today with bright sunny spells so I decided to have a walk around Burlish Meadows for a change of scene. Initially the walk was fairly quiet although I was treated to nice views of a male Kestrel hovering over the former landfill area.
Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
On arriving at the pond I was pleased to see my first Coltsfoot of the year in bloom with around 30 flowers dotted around the ponds edge.
Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)
Whilst there I decided to sit by the pond for a while to chill out. As I sat there I noticed some movement in the water and a huge Common Toad popped up right by me and just hung there in the water facing me. He looked like he was about to mug me for my lunch money! Needless to say I did the sensible thing and took some photos.
Common Toad (Bufo bufo)
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