Nightingale Hunt

A friend was keen to hear Nightingales locally so, on Wednesday, it was off early to Paxton on a hunt for this elusive songster. There were plenty of birds singing and even showing themselves well including the Whitethroat and Chiffchaff and even a Robin with a crossed bill got in on the act. It was beginning to get a bit warm so I was hoping that we were going to succeed and, at last, that wonderful chuckling song rang out from the deep scrub and entertained us with its variety of 'tunes' for a long while flitting in and out of the dense scrub. I only managed a fleeting photo this time. On the walk back the Variable Damselflies and Banded Demoiselles were waking up and we had time for a quick visit to the hides to check on the heron chicks, Coots and Grebes. 

Goodbye Potholes in Toft

All the notices around Toft indicated that the village would be closed yesterday for road works but the day came and went with no activity.  Today they took us by surprise and arrived unannounced to resurface the road.

 I was out with a macro lens so not fully equipped for the job but here is the workflow as it unfolded. First all the drains and manholes were taped, then the convoy came through with lots of noise and smells as they sprayed tar on the surface, followed by gravel from a second machine and finally a quite small roller that went over the surface a few times. 

Finally the tape etc was taken of the drains etc and the roads opened up just in time for me to collect the grandchildren from school - very slowly!! I wonder how long the potholes will stay filled in.

Toft Garden Evening April 29th

The insects were active quite late into the evening yesterday enjoying the last of the sunshine. There are hundreds of Nomada bees around at the moment and always lots of spiders hiding in the foliage. The Greenfly lifecycle is well uderway with live births.ID sheet at the end.

My Wildlfe Garden April 28th 2026

Each year, I photograph the species in bloom in my Cambridgeshire garden several times during the spring and summer to compare with previous years. Today, I did a quick photoshoot in my garden which is a riot of colours and full of flora and fauna - not my best efforts photographically but demonstrate what I am sure others in this area are finding that the species in bloom are about a month earlier than previous years - Ann Miles Blog: My Wildlife Garden in May. The insects and spiders are also very active in the warm temperatures - I hadn't noticed the Cricket Bat Spider on the Spurge or the Collembolid on the buttercup till I looked at the photos.