I’ve never seen such a heavy burden of mites on Pond Skaters as I did today on a Devon canal.
They are Water mites probably Limnochares aquatica

I’ve seen the Nutter clan many a time on @Ingram_mal social media accounts, so it was wonderful to see his Badgers shared wider on BBC Springwatch last night.
But could Mal or anyone in the #Springwatch team tell me whether Badgers always need help in releasing trapped air?
😉

Now that the woodpeckers have fledged, I’m free from the orchard hide.
First trip out was to the Quantock Hills National Landscape where we heard some distinctive sounds.
Tawny Owl and two young.🦉🦉🦉

Did I say imminent?
7 hrs later, at around 2pm the fifth and final Great Spotted Woodpecker chick fledged.
That’s 56.5hrs after the first one left the nest cavity.

GSW fledging.

Chick 1 Sunday 5:30am
2 Sunday 9:30am
3 Monday 5:30am
4 Tuesday 7:05am
5 Imminent

At first light this morning this 23 day old Great spotted woodpecker left the nest.
By 9:30 the second fledged, the others however remained for the rest of the day showing little will to leave the safety of the nest chamber. #FirstBirdOfMyDay

Fledging is ever near, I suspect they will do so over the coming two days.
Today’s lesson, taken by Mr Woodie the great, lasted for 40 mins and the subject was how to ‘pecker’
World Woodpeckers GusRobin

Anyone who gets hayfever bad can relate to this.
Myself and Wildlife Tours East Devon🦫🦡🦊🦎🐍🦋🕷️🐦🇪🇺🇵🇸 certainly do.

Do you remember the class of ‘23’ the great tit family that were brought up in a hollow concrete post. Here they are at fledging time chatting away and looking fine against the floral backdrop drop.
I peaked inside today and discovered the class of ‘24’ have hatched.

Before I submit this to iRecord
Could somebody please confirm whether this is Stratiomys longicornis

A first record for this little site of this uncommon fly.
Simon Knott Soldierflies RS

A floatilla of floof.
SWANWATCHUK

Away from the orchard box and finding myself some humbugs, three of the lovelies.

My tracking skills aren’t up to much, therefore the nest hole ended up too close to the edge of frame.
A few more days of practice till fledge day, luckily the woodpeckers know me well enough now, to give me the occasional wave.
#TwitterNaturePhotography

Strange delivery to the woodpecker nest yesterday, a leaf.
It is well documented that some birds use plants to deal with parasites, I cannot however find any reference to woodpeckers doing so.
Now it could be an exotic Leaf mimicking katydid but in Somerset, UK?
#woodpecker

Only a week to go and I’ll have to find something else to point the camera at.

Have you ever been trying to #sunbathe but someone else’s rowdy kids won’t shut up?

This Treecreeper has found the noisiest part of the orchard to bask in, 150cm above 5 woodpecker chicks.
BBC Springwatch #TwitterNatureCommunity .

The answer to a question in everyone’s lips:
Is there a Woodpecking order to who feeds the kids first?
In this case it’s the male.

Another behaviour seen from the orchard box was the Great spotted woodpecker male that looked to remove a pellet from a chick.
Trouble from the squirrel today, but more of that later…