The BTO is offering free membership of Garden Birwatch for one year. At this exceptional time, they are unable to offer the joining pack with book and magazine; instead they are offering an online GBW membership for free, with regular electronic communications to keep you connected. See https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/gbw/join-gbw.

We’ll worth doing!

Not a sighting, but a ‘hearing’ - with the markedly reduced traffic and general activity, it’s much quieter when out in the garden. Heartening to hear GSW ‘drumming’ seemingly all around the town.

See them flying over, or in the garden in the past, nice to hear so much activity all around.

We live in Ilminster.

As we are lucky enough to be able to walk from home, my wife and I spent a while in Shapwick NNR this morning and I was pleased to hear several Blackcaps singing-my first of the year- as well as seeing Wigeon, Pintail Pochard, Marsh Harrier Bittern, GWE and a Tree Creeper. Hides are out of bounds but the railway line is not if you live close by.

Thanks Martin, good to hear the logic behind the reality.  I enjoy this thread - we’re still curious, though perhaps less greedy.  Walking upstream on the River Frome today, a pair of goosander for the 3rd time in 10 days, a dipper by the two railway bridges, and a little egret near Asda.  Then behind my house a green woodpecker yaffling loudly - is it just the males that call like this, looking for a mate?  They haven’t bred here for 10+ years, but do breed at Rodden Reserve around a mile away.  Sparrowhawks are very slow nest building at the moment - another nest on the go somewhere else? - but the magpie nest is getting a new dome!

As an ex farmer I can sympathise at the moment. Many of the graziers on the levels have land in several different locations and getting round them all once each day takes time.
Ravens and Red Kites are very quick to find a dead or vulnerable animal though. 

On a much brighter note, the first Swallow of the spring was on the telephone line outside my house this morning. Great to see.

Hmm, also amazing how farmers can be slow in picking up dead animals.  Good thing this virus isn’t foot and mouth and supposedly doesn’t go back to animals!  Often see 20+ ravens at Heaven’s Gate near Longleat, which will be scavenging from the jaws of to predators!

2 Ravens over the garden in Pilton today. But the star of the day was a beautiful male Firecrest in our pine trees lit up by the sunshine and watched by my good lady and I for about 20 minutes. Joined by a pair of Coal Tits for a time.

Well worth posting the sighting and asking the question. We have all learned something as a result. I saw at least 3 Ravens along Honeygar Lane in Westhay today but they were of indeterminate age or breeding status. Also a pair of Kestrels that easily could a be a breeding pair. Meanwhile a hen Blackbird is sitting on eggs in our garden.

There is certainly a book on ‘young birdlife’’ to be written there Stephen?

Just added red kite to my garden list - one drifting east over Wellington.

My garden sparrowhawks are still building, though only an hour or two a day.  But less than 20m away in the riverside alders, a pair of magpies are also building, and my neighbour saw a magpie stealing twigs from the sparrowhawk’s nest.  Methinks ‘bad career move!’, but I did once see a youtube of a jackdaw caught by a sparrowhawk, where beak outweighed talons eventually, and the jackdaw escaped after ~10 minutes!  So maybe a guarded truce, or the sparrowhawk eggs and young might be at more risk than the adult magpies!  Anyone else got experience of this?

Suggest juvenile/non-breeders. Ravens are 2-5 years old before breeding and it is estimated that 50% (as with other species of similar size/longevity) of UK Ravens are such.
Eggs laid mid-Feb to Mid-March usually and fledge at 45 days so early April is usually earliest date to see young on the wing.

Sounds very early.  I would expect ravens to fledge mid to end April, but I’m not an expert!!

Interesting thought. They do nest very early but could they have fledged by now? I await a view from someone with much more knowledge than me.

You have a good number of butterflies. I just have Comma, Brimstone and Peacock at the moment. Just some fly over Canada Geese to add this morning.