Naturelog: 29-31st May

Life has been pretty busy the last week but whilst at home I have continued to keep an eye on the garden and the Tarn.

Things have settled down now the breeding season is underway. On the Tarn we have breeding Canada geese (One pair with 9 young) and Coot (3 nests and one with at least 2 young). The Greylag geese still have 6 young birds which are now fast resembling their parents. A Little Grebe was back on the 31st – having been absent for most of the month.

Still the only butterflies are a few Small whites on sunny days. There was also a terrapin basking on a log. these have become a common feature of many lakes and ponds in the UK as a result of discarded pets released into the wild. My terrapin identification is not good but I think it is either a Cooter or a Slider species both of which can be commonly found in pet shops

Greylag Goose [sp] (Anser anser)
Canada Goose [sp] (Branta canadensis)
Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata)
Mallard [sp] (Anas platyrhynchos)
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Little Grebe [sp] (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Great Cormorant [sp] (Phalacrocorax carbo)
Common Moorhen [sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Eurasian Coot [sp] (Fulica atra)
European Herring Gull [sp] (Larus argentatus)
Common Pigeon [sp] (Columba livia)
Common Wood Pigeon [sp] (Columba palumbus)
Rose-ringed Parakeet [sp] (Psittacula krameri)
Common Swift [sp] (Apus apus)
Eurasian Magpie [sp] (Pica pica)
Carrion Crow [sp] (Corvus corone)
Eurasian Blue Tit [sp] (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Long-tailed Tit [sp] (Aegithalos caudatus)
Eurasian Wren [sp] (Troglodytes troglodytes)
Eurasian Nuthatch [sp] (Sitta europaea)
Common Starling [sp] (Sturnus vulgaris)
Common Blackbird [sp] (Turdus merula)
European Robin [sp] (Erithacus rubecula)
European Goldfinch [sp] (Carduelis carduelis)