Signs of spring down at Watermead

It is that time of year again. Down at Watermead the snowdrops are out in force.
A nice surprise was seeing two pair of Little Grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis) on the river near Watermeade Bridge.
The Crack Willows (Salix fragilis) were just showing the first signs of spring returning as well.
Then on the shed at the bottom of the garden I found this chap.
Green shield bug (Palomena prasina) in its winter brown colouration.

In the garden of the Eco-house

Leicester has its very own Eco-house where folk can go and see how to live environmentally. It all seemed a bit stuffy to me. They recommended against buying windows that could open to save heat waste! However they seemed to have overlooked the great cooling qualities of a nice draft in the summer. The house was boiling, so much so that I ended up moving on to enjoy the garden slightly faster than I expected. I saw this Green Shield Bug (Palomena prisina) enjoying a cultivated ragwort like plant.

Another creature found in the garden was this Speckled Bush-cricket (Leptophyes punctatissima). It seemed to have climbed to the top of a flower stem and wanted to go further and so was reaching for a nearby flower.

On the buddleia I saw another wonderful Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui). It really has been a good year for them.

All in all a little wildlife haven. My garden is much smaller than this and so you would think much less able to attract wildlife?!?! Well check out these images from garden in recent days.

Take a look at this Rose Sawfly (Allantus cinctus) on my rose. This is a different species to the usual yellow bellied Rose Sawflies that I have been following in recent days.

Another visitor to my garden is this House Mouse (Mus musculus) who I found hiding behind our shed. I think he was eating the fallen fruit in the alleyway behind our house. That's enough for now, I'm off to explore somewhere else and see what I can find!