'Animal Rescue' - Stags Lodge - 19th July 2010

I was on my usual dog walk up at Stags Lodge this morning when I heard a high pitched squeeling. After searching the area I came across a Common Shrew that had got one of its hind feet tangled up amongst the grass. After rounding the dogs up and trying to keep them out of the vicinity of the Shrew I spent the next 15 minutes untagnling the grass from its leg.

I then set it free from where I found it having done my good deed for the day.

Not much going on bird wise at the moment but I have noticed all the Warblers have started calling again over the last few days, with Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler being the most prominent but even the Whitethroat have been calling on the odd occasion. Also a few families of Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tit, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Chaffinch showing well as well as 3 Swallow feeding obove the grasses. On the pond the 5 young Coot are doing well and look larger than their parents to me at the moment. Also a young Grey Heron was fishing on the far side of the pond this morning.

ABOVE RED-TAILED BUMBLEBEE BELOW BUFF-TAILED BUMBLEBEE

BELOW YET TO BE IDENTIFIED BUMBLEBEE

Bees are about in numbers mostly Red-tailed Bumblebees but also small numbers of what I think is a Buff-tailed Bumblebee and a yet to be identified Bumblebee.
Butterflies are also showing with small numbers of Gatekeeper and in the wooded parts of the lodge we came across 2 female Speckled Wood (thanks to Rob for his help with the identification and thanks to Bill for spotting my incorrect identification of theMeadow Brown)

ABOVE MEADOW BROWN BELOW FEMALE SPECKLED WOOD