Today's suggestions for finding nature in your garden

Good morning,
Please do see the previous post where I have mentioned things that local folk found and the photographs that I received. All great to see.
It doesn't matter how much or how little knowledge you have of identifying creatures to be involved in this and I know so many children that love hunting for bugs, beetles, butterflies etc. If you do get a photo, I am very happy to receive it and make suggestions, if not, send me a description: size, colours, where it was. e.g. Beetle type insect larger than a ladybird that was on the soil, shiny black with ridges on its back. Although there are 2350 beetle species in Hertfordshire alone, just that little bit of info would inform me that it was probably a ground beetle and that it could be a Black clock beetle. Give it a go.

Today is about birds. We all know what a robin looks like, a wood pigeon and a crow or jackdaw. Some of you know the difference between a great tit and a blue tit. So what would be good today would be to get outside for half an hour at a time, perhaps morning and afternoon and just look around for birds. If you don't know what it is, a phone photo may help or just a description of colour, or, of course, just enjoy seeing them and counting different types. Almost all gardens, with some careful watching will give up at least 10 species and don't forget to look in the sky for birds of prey and other species flying over.
Here are a few you may find:

Goldfinch: note red/white/black face and bright gold/yellow on wing when it flies

Chaffinch: grey and pink head, white on wing when it flies

Collared dove: usually in pairs. Fawn colour with black ring on neck

Jackdaw: bright blue eye, all black and noisy. Usually in groups

Long tailed tit: pink/black white with long tail. Usually in pairs or more. Small

Red kite: large, reddy brown and look for the special forked tail. Maybe flying high over your garden, often in a circling pattern and being chased by crows

Goldcrest: Very small and often found in conifer trees and hedges. Usually in pairs at this time of the year

Great tit: yellow tummy with black stripe down the middle

Chiffchaff: small and green. Probably hear it rather than see it. Has a distinct call zip zap zip zap or chiff chaff chiff chaff repeated for a minute or so.

Wood pigeon. Large, grey and with white bar on the wings. Coo Coo call

Blue tit. yellow and blue, no black stripe on tummy

So now, you can be outside, counting birds and seeing if you can identify them, whilst also looking for bees, flies, ladybirds, and butterflies. Plenty to keep you outside on what is going to be another fantastic day. Finally, if you have any yogurt type pots, please keep them for several activities in the future, we'll be making beetle traps. Also, if you have an old piece of carpet, an old doormat or just a brick or stone, put it somewhere in your garden on soil or grass. Do remember, not on your prize lawn, it will kill the grass underneath very quickly. This we shall come back to on another day. 

Remember to send me notes and photos to jforgham"at"hotmail.com or just leave a comment underneath in the comments box. Have a wonderful day and looking forward to hearing about your discoveries. keep sharing these ideas. Take care, Jono.