A flexi day off today so loitering around home.

Over the weekend I have borrowed a camera trap from work to see if I can find out who is actually eating the hedgehog meat we put out nightly. I was suspicious that it wasn't just hedgehogs as some will be into hibernation now.

Over two nights we found that 3 local cats are getting into the feeding sanctuary and scoffing the bait before Mrs Tiggywinkle can get a sniff! I've now ammended the feeder box to deter the cat burglars....

Finally a wiggy gets to have a look, but unfortunately all the food has gone...

Hoepfully Mk111 will be better.

A look around the home turf with Peggy today was generally quiet as befitting this time of year, but I did get 27 Pinkfooted Geese S, 5 Crossbills S, Brambling 1, Redpoll 5, Grey Wagtail 1, Stock Dove 1, Snipe 6 and Curlew 48 over head.

I took a walk to a spot visible from our kitchen window that I have never been to before. The hill gave great views east to the North Sea over our village...

Into the light.

After one of the worst late winters of my lifetime, it is so good to get rid of it and into some sunshine. As a consequence, birds seem to have taken a back seat and the moths have taken over.

Red Chestnut

Early Grey

Small Quaker

Clouded Drab

Agonopterix alstromeriana

Diurnea fagella

Early Tooth striped

Shoulder Stripe

Pale Pinion

Early Thorn

Acleris literana

Water Carpet

Xenolechia aethiops

I have saved the small black obscurity until last for a reason. Just because it looks like a fly, doesnt mean its boring. I struggled to identify this from our Northumberland Moths website, then Alan Fairclough came up with the solution. A new species for me and the garden so I was pleased, then our moth recorder, Tom Tams sent me this link that shows how rare this species really is. This one is only the 6th found in the UK since 1999! Oddly enough I get a few heather feeders in the garden despite the nearest moor being 10 miles to the west.

My patch, where the house has become the 'obs' has been interesting bird wise too with migrant warblers moving through the garden on a daily basis. A Lesser Whitethroat was very early for here on 14th showing down to 4 feet while the camera was in the house, 3 Blackcaps arrived together to fight over an apple, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs can be heards singing daily and yesterday a Grasshopper Warbler was in full 'reel' behind our shed for 10 minutes. After that it wasnt seen or heard again, a migrant continuing his journey...

One of 2 male Blackcaps and a female.

Imm Smooth Newt visiting the moth trap the other night.

And finally, we have adopted 5 Hedgehogs for release in the garden from a rescue scheme. They didnt hang around either, open the boxes and they were off...

I must do more blog updates now the nights are lighter to get out and actually see stuff...

Summer returns.

The view south from Rumbling Kern.

And north from the same spot, the Bathing House and Seahouses Farm.

With John away for the weekend, I got up early and just went for a wander around the home patch. The seawatching seems to have come to an end for this weather system anyway. This morning the bright sun dazzled the seawatch off, so another short session this afternoon confirmed that birds were few and far between. That's not strictly true, there were still thousands of Gannets and Kittiwakes, but the more interesting species were in short supply. In 30 mins I had 4 Manx Shearwaters, 1 Sooty Shearwater and, suprisingly over a nice blue sea, a close in female Velvet Scoter.

Viz Mig showed there to be some light land movement going on with Meadow Pipits, Goldfinches and a Grey Wagtail all going south.

Around the garden, the local insect population was doing its very best to get us inside, as millions of black fly ( aphids), flying ants and wasps were a proper nuisance. A good tip to stop wasps being a hazard at this time of year is to  lay out a slice of jam and bread not too far from where you are sitting. This attracts the stripey critters away from your own food and keeps them occupied for the whole day.

Common Wasps. The lad in the bottom shot looks a bit fiesty...

Down at the village hall pond a few Common Darters were on territory with a pair in cop and egg laying. A good sign.

Common Darter male. Pointing abdomen skywards to keep cool.

Just to diversify a little more, we rescued a young female Hedgehog yesterday. After a night with us on a hot water bottle, to help it get over hypothermia, she was delivered in a bit better condition to the Hedgehog Rescue Centre at Longframlington this morning.

'Pumpkin' the Hedgehog.

   What with the wind swinging around east again this coming week, there might even be some birding to be had....

It'll be all white on the night...

Last night I was out checking the moth trap and found this little chap, a bit out of sorts, loitering about the garden. At first I wondered what was the matter with it, but then I realised it was an albino!

It has pink eyes, bare parts, the lot and, what I have not noticed on normal Hedgehogs before, some thin longer spines that stick through the normal ones like cocktail sticks. It was sporting a fully fed Castor Bean Tick near its ear and seemed a bit sluggish, so we took it into care.

It was placed in a box with hay and a hot water bottle with a dish of catfood over night. This morning the food had all gone, so things look well. We duly delivered him to Carole Catchpole's Hedgehog Rescue Centre at Longframlington to be taken care of for a while before release.

She told us he was a male and just looked to be about a year old. We spend a lot of time, both day and night in the garden looking at wildlife and have never seen this individual before. It just shows, you never know what you might come upon unexpectedly...