© 2000 - 2021 Langham Village History Group - Langham in Rutland
I
am
writing
this
on
the
last
day
of
February
after
several
days
of
the
most
glorious
weather.
Yesterday
the
temperature
in
the
shade
peaked
at
16.4oC.
I
checked
back
in
my
records
and
the
highest
temperature
on
the
last
day
of
February
in
2018
peaked
at
minus
3.5
o
C.
It
has
recently
been
very
dry,
although
the
rain
earlier
in
the
month
meant
the
monthly
average
was
about
normal.
The
ground
looked
ideal
to
work
so
I
forked
over
some
of
the
borders
and
found
it
perfect
for
producing
a
nice
tilth.
As
there
is
quite
a
bit
of
clay
in
the
ground
it
is
usually
quite
difficult
to
catch
it
just
right.
The
snowdrops
have
been
a
picture
but
the
flowers
don't
seem
to
have
lasted
quite
as
long
as
usual.
Both
crocuses
and
daffodils
are
also
in
flower.
The
crocuses
have
been
the
focus
of
attention
for
quite
a
few
bees
collecting
pollen.
Hellebores
have
put
on
good
show.
It
seems
the
experiment
of
cutting
all
the
old
leaves
off
has
paid
dividends.
The
flowers
look
much
taller
and
stand
out
really
well.
It
remains
to
be
seen
if
the
plants
produce
plenty
leaves
during
the
summer.
If
they
do
I
will
certainly
continue
to
cut
them
back
in
late
winter.
The
warm
spell
might
not
be
all
good
news.
If
fruit
trees
are
tempted
to
flower
early
a
sharp
frost
may
destroy
the
blossom.
Even
slightly
cold
weather
would
prevent
bees
doing
the
pollinating.
I
saw
the
first
Brimstone
butterfly
on
the
22nd
of
February,
the
earliest
I
have
recorded.
Insects
emerging
too
early
are
also
prone
to
be
caught
out
by
a
cold
spell.
Many
birds
are
already
making
preparations
for
nesting
and
again
if
they
are
too
early
there
may
be
insufficient
amounts
of
insects
to
feed
their
young.
So
we
must
keep
our
fingers
crossed
for
the
next
few
weeks.
One
concern
is
that
the
seeds
I
put
in
the
cold
frame
for
cold
treatment
may
not
have
been
cold
enough,
although
a
single
shoot
has
appeared
in
a
pot
of
Fritillaria
persica.
This
plant
produces
multi-flowered
stems
of
deep
purple
apparently
reaching
up
to
three
feet
high.
It
will
take
a
few
years
for
the
bulbs
to
reach
flowering
size,
if
they
survive.
The
opposite
is
happening
in
the
greenhouse
where
it
has
been
too
warm
with
temperatures
of
15oC.
Fuchsias,
cannas
and
begonias
are
all
starting
to
shoot
which
is
far too soon.
One
day
I
saw
two
gulls
in
the
field
and
assumed
that
the
black
headed
gull
I
mentioned
last
time
had found a companion. Closer inspection found the second one to be a pied wagtail, . They do not
get
on
and
usually
appear
at
different
times.
If
they
do
appear
together
neither
can
settle
and
both
end
up
flying
off.
I
find
gulls
hard
to
identify
with
their
different
adult
and
juvenile
plumage
and
different
summer
and
winter
appearance.
The
very
young
ones
are
even
more
difficult.
Luckily
there
are
only
four
gulls
regularly
seen
around
the
village.
The
great
black
back
gull
is
easiest
for
obvious
reasons
although
there
is
a
lesser
black
backed
gull.
The
black-headed
gull
is
fine
in
summer
because
of
the
black
head
(actually
dark
brown)
but,
as
I
mentioned
last
time
it
doesn't
have
this
in
winter,
just
dark
ear
spots.
They
have
red
bills
and
legs.
The
common
gull
has
a
yellow-
green
bill
and
legs
of
a
similar
colour.
In
winter
it
looks
browner
particularly
marking
on
the
head.
The
herring
gull
is
larger
with
a
distinctive
red
spot
on
a
yellow
bill
and
pinkish
legs.
I
think
we'll
forget
about
the
glaucous,
iceland,
yellow-legged,
mediterranean,
kittiwake
and
little
gull!
One
day
I
put
some
food
out
for
the
crows
and
eight
black
headed
gulls
appeared.
They
did
not
go
for
the
food
itself
but
waited
until
one
of
the
crows
flew
off
with
a
beak
full
of
food
and
then
harried
it
in
an
attempt
to
make
the
crow
drop
it.
They
were
not
successful
and
had
to
fly
off
hungry.
The
crows
were
on
the
offensive
when
a
pair
of
buzzards
landed
in
the
trees,
within
seconds
the
crows
were
there
and
drove
them
away.
A
buzzard
that
perched
on
a
fence
post
was
a
little
different
from
the
normal
ones
having
a
lot
more
white
on
it.
I
looked
it
up
and
apparently
there
is
a
pale
variant.
This
is the last picture of buzzards on the posts as the fence has been removed.
There
must
be
an
awful
lot
of
insects
and
grubs
in
the
field
as
every
day
it
is
picked
over
by
numerous
birds.
Apart
from
the
crows
(all
five
are
still
around)
there
are
flocks
of
wood
pigeons
and
jackdaws
along
with
a
pair
of
mistle
thrushes
and
pied
wagtails.
They
always
seem
to
find
something
to
eat.
A
little
egret
spent
a
couple
of
hours
preening
itself
in
the
trees
and
a
couple
of
days
later
was
down
on
the
ground
quite
near
the
house.
I
managed
to
get
a
photograph
through
the
window
before
sneaking
out
and
trying
to
get
a
shot
from
round
the
corner
of
the
house.
Of
course
it
sensed
a
movement
but
I
just
managed
to
press
the
shutter
as
it
flew
off
.
The
pictures
on
the
website
version
of
this
article
show
the
little
egrets
distinguishing
feature;
black
legs
and
yellow
feet.
It
makes
it
look
quite
comical,
as
if
it
was
wearing
a
pair
of
slippers.
I
have
not
seen
any
at
the
back
of
the
house
but
David
Suter
reported
seeing
very
large
mixed
flocks
of
redwing
and
fieldfare
earlier
in
the
month.
One
of
the
gulls
was
also
seen
on
his
pond.
A
pair
of
great
tits
were
seen
investigating
the
nest
boxes
in
my
garden.
In
the
middle
of
the
month
the
only
other
notable
sighting
was
a
muntjac
deer
taking
a
leisurely
stroll
across
the
field,
in
the
middle
of
the
afternoon,
before leaping the fence into the trees.
I am always interested in other peoples sightings and comments so don't forget to
email me
.
Notes from a Field & Garden -
April 2019
Common Gull
Langham & Barleythorpe WI