Birds
Di has finally heard the cuckoo at home, on the 1^st May and the first chirpings of the Dawn Chorus have been heard at about 4 am (I didn't pay too much attention to the time). The Swallows and House Martins should be with us by the time you read this diary.

Two Sparrow Hawks have been regularly circling over the water meadows in search of food.
The other morning early I had just come down to the kitchen to make a cup of tea and heard a loud Quack. I had a look out of the window and a mother with six chicks was walking across the lawn; eventually disappearing into the long grass of the field near the river.

We have seen a Thrush in the garden for the first time in a number of years, which is pleasing, and two pairs of bullfinches have been up on the quince chewing the buds. I am told that the female has a lighter coloured breast.

The garden this year is looking splendid - a mixture of warm sunshine and heavy showers but pleasingly no severe frosts (yet). The warm rain has brought everything into blossom. The fruit trees have set and everything looks fair for a good summer harvest. The blue bells gave a good display this year along with the Hawthorne (May Blossom) around the boundary of our garden but although the state of the honeybees is causing some concern I saw some high up on the quince blossom.

The ladybirds hibernating behind the bird box have gone away as the weather got warmer; hopefully they are around the garden so their larvae can munch away at the aphids when they arrive.

Gardeners can play a big part to help pollinating insects by planting nectar rich plants and by not spraying with insecticides.

While cleaning out the accumulating algae on the pond I came across the following creatures:

Leeches
These are dark brown wriggly creatures; they live on small insects, larvae and small crustaceans.

Water Snails
The specie in our pond is the small 'Jenkins' spire shell, unlike other snails that lay eggs; this little snail gives birth to already formed young.

Dragon Fly Larvae
The highest predator in the pond this dark nymph will eat most creatures in the pond and can be in the nymph stage for up to three years (depending on the species).

Damsel Fly Larvae
This is similar in appearance to the dragonfly but smaller and more delicate; it can be recognised from the three-pronged tail seen in all species.

Newt Tadpole
Unlike frog tadpoles they develop the front legs earlier than the back legs. The body is also darker than the back legs and longer.
We keep stones and long vegetation around and dipping in the pond to enable the newts easier access to and from the water and to give them cover from predators when they emerge.