Happy Nature Garden

@gordonjbuchanan @HelloHaloTV Thanks for the reply Gordon. Your very very welcome. 🐺

@CRCuthbert I never think about spearing a few on the shrubs and trees must have a go at that. Love to see blackcaps feeding on them.

A male Blackcap feeding on apples in my Suffolk garden today, my first of the winter (21st December 2025 - the winter solstice). P.S. I put out a few apples daily for the birds in the winter months, often speared on a suitable shrub well above the ground, instant success!

Two new species in the garden this week . #buzzard and #greywagtail Been a good week, three birds of prey in the garden in a week. Kite,Buzzard and Sparrowhawk. Still 20 species behind my old small garden though 😊

Hi Any thoughts on this broken feather found just outside the garden.Buzzard,Sparrowhawk, Tawny? The later two visit. Thank you @JABBIRDART @harris_sjh

@ellisethan Cheers Mark You have a good one with the family. Sorry you didn’t quite get the 3 points. Good luck on results over Xmas.

@brynature Pretty sure it’s Common Buzzard, Bry. Looks like it’s getting attention from corvids and they look fairly similar size. All good here thank you. Have a good one too. And a happy and healthy 2026.

⁦@ellisethan⁩ Hi Mark Hope all is well, what do you think on this, Common Buzzard? Usually I get a Red Kite next to my garden and today this one came in but seemed quite small for Common Buzzard. All the best for the Christmas holidays and the New Year.

Developers' bid to remove resident badgers from housing site sparks outrage among Milton Keynes animal lovers The placing of steel mesh over badger setts on a field that is to become a housing development has been branded as cruel and callous by hundreds of protestors. The structure has metal doors in place to ensure that once the badgers leave their sett, they cannot enter it again and will be forced to relocate. Although it is technically legal for a developer to do this before construction begins, it is a highly controversial move amongst wildlife campaigners. The metal frame was spotted on farmland on North Crawley Road in Newport Pagnell, part of the 45 hectare Tickford Fields site sold by the council earlier this year to the Vistry Group. The developers plan to build a complete mini town with 930 homes plus community, education and recreation facilities as well as play areas and sports pitches. The countryside site is home to a plethora of wildlife, including badgers, and theymust be legally relocated before building work can start. In the UK, badgers and their setts are legally protected under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, which imposes significant restrictions on developers. Interference with setts is a criminal offence unless a specific licence is obtained and developers are careful to stick to the permitted ways to encourage badgers off their land by applying for a special licence from the government before they act. Licensed' relocation involves a process of humane exclusion from the existing sett and encouraging the badgers to move to an alternative natural or artificial sett nearby Meanwhile, the law regarding the protection of badgers during development could get stickier under the government’s if the government’s new Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB) goes ahead. This proposes to streamline planning processes to accelerate the delivery of 1.5 million new homes and fast-track major infrastructure projects. Under it, proposed amendments to the Protection of Badgers Act would allow, for the first time ever, badgers to be killed or translocated for development, drainage, or "overriding public interest". The Badger Trust is strongly opposing the proposals .

@MyBirdBeeGarden I do have a couple of nut feeders they could access though. I see them fly over a couple of times a week , between 1 to 10.

@brynature Hi Bry, yes it was a lot, my sister couldn't believe her eyes. 😁 I wish I had been there. She said they cleared her feeders out. 😂 That was a good amount that you had in your garden, I have only seen one in my neighbours garden. Hopefully you will have some visit you soon.

My sister had 15 Ring-necked Parakeets in her Hertfordshire garden last week. 😁

@MyBirdBeeGarden Yeah I bet they cleaned the feeders alright. I didn’t mind them before, not sure could handle 15 though 😊. Yeah I wouldn’t mind one or two but in the old garden I had the large 8 or 10 port feeders they liked. The current ones are anti squirrel ones.

@nickrobertlay @RaptorPersUK That’s pretty shocking and sick.

Man arrested after five Red Kites found poisoned in Essex. I hve been privileged to watch photography ans film these amazing rd kites raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/11/22/man… via @RaptorPersUK

A year now into a new house, only had two birds that I never had visit the old smaller garden so far. A Mistle Thrush in the summer was a new garden tick for me and then this last week.

From the Island Mere hide at Minsmere, an elusive Bittern in the reeds, searching patiently for fish! (21st October 2025) @RSPBMinsmere @RSPBEngland

After a day of strong winds and showers, Storm Benjamin slowly moves away, followed by a huge murmuration of Starlings over the marshes at Minsmere, before the birds finally descend to roost at dusk (23rd October 2025) @RSPBMinsmere @suffolkwildlife

@CRCuthbert @RSPBMinsmere @suffolkwildlife Great to see them Charles. We walked down to the sluice from the Eelsfoot last Saturday but never managed to see any that day. Sounds like you had a good day Thursday with this and Bittern and Dunwich Stag. I did manage to see a Stag at Thorpeness last week which was a treat.

@CRCuthbert @RSPBMinsmere @suffolkwildlife Thank you Charles, I will keep my eye out for the rest of the weekend. Quite a lot of change on our old walk from Thorpness Golf Course to Leiston. We used to see lots of deer along that trail this time of year.

@brynature @RSPBMinsmere @suffolkwildlife Yes, Ospreys are certainly possible, especially in autumn and are known to fish at the Meare.

Male Great Spotted Woodpecker(s) from the Bittern Hide at Minsmere this week - pecking, preening and posing! @RSPBMinsmere @suffolkwildlife

@harris_sjh @ellisethan @Jayward7 Thanks Sarah I did not know there were Peacocks around that area. Wasn’t something I thought I would come across😊 Thanks for your help…..👍

@brynature @ellisethan @Jayward7 Ah yes, Peacock!!!! That makes sense! 🦚 What a relief! Hahaha.

Hi All Any thoughts on these two feathers or who might be able to confirm please? @ellisethan @harris_sjh @Jayward7

@harris_sjh @ellisethan @Jayward7 Hi Sarah Hope all is well. Many thanks for the reply that’s great. I just had one other reply at the same time saying Buzzard same as per you and also Peacock on the large one. Both were found at Holkham last week. Have a good week.

@brynature @ellisethan @Jayward7 Hey! The one on the right looks good for Buzzard. The other one has stumped me for now! Have you got other images of it?