Wendy Moss found Moorhen nests at the Rookery ponds and Gatewoods pond early in April.  The latter had Great Crested Newts laying eggs in it after being dug out this winter.  Though this species of Newt is a protected species Rayne is a stronghold as nearly every garden pond seems to have them.  When I was a youngster they were collected in jam jars by children but now one should have a licence just to handle them.  We have recently dug up a concrete path in the garden and found 21 of them still hibernating under the concrete; some buried 150mm [6"] deep in the soil below the concrete.
Harold Giles, Duckend Green has a pair of Goldfinches and a pair of Goldcrests in his garden and saw a pair of Bullfinches along Pods Lane.
Mr. Salmon has had regular sightings of Siskins in his garden; I have also had reports from many other parishioners.
Phil Monk, Smiths Field awoke one morning to a Turtle Dove and several Collared Doves in a Rowan tree close to his house and a Stock Dove on the ground below the tree all feeding on a bird seed mix.

Paul Fairhurst and family saw a Kingfisher flying along Pods Brook with a small fish in its beak. This is in the area where they have nested in the past. Hopefully this means they are again feeding chicks this year.
Keith Brunning saw a pair of Little Egrets by the tributary of the River Ter where it crosses the road opposite Clarkes scrapyard.  It will not be surprising if they are recorded nesting within or near Rayne in future years.
Peter Lane had a Large Red Damselfly on their garden pond, an insect that has now been recorded for the last three years in Rayne.  He also watched a number of Natterers bats with a pair of Common Pipistrelles joining in feeding on the moat near the Churchyard.  There was obviously a good hatch of insects flying over the water.
John Taylor reported an all black 'Bumble Bee' that has been quite common this year.  It had what appeared to be pollen sacs on its rear legs but when netted they were seen to be yellow hairs on the tibia.  It was in fact a female solitary bee Anthophora plumipes which does not have a common name.

Andy Goody recorded Sedge Warbler by Jones Garage and a Sandpiper from a puddle in deep tyre tracks on the building site near the School/New Road junction, not typical Sandpiper habitat.  The Collared Doves nesting on Sky dish near Andy's house have almost completed their second brood and one assumes TV reception is still acceptable.  He has had the first House Sparrow in the garden since 1998 and Andy puts this down to the long memories of the Sparrows.  When he moved to his house in 98 his builder advised that the ivy was removed from the rear brick wall which it was damaging.  This was used by the Sparrows for roosting and Andy is convinced they never forgave him despite his many bird feeders.  Andy has seen a Treecreeper singing along Pods Brook, a Whimbrel flying over his garden and has had a Siskin on his feeders.  Andy is a keen birder so he tolerates the Jackdaws nesting in his chimneys.  For the second time a Jackdaw has found its way into the house via the chimney.  The first time it was found roosting on the fire place and the recent visit was to a room being re-decorated so no serious damage was done.

When young I remember a similar event where a Jackdaw redecorated a room with soot.  My father was not as forgiving as Andy when he caught it.  I am probably repeating myself but my father tried to dislodge a Jackdaw's nest from the chimney at The Ferns but unfortunately the brush and some of the rods became disconnected from the rest and Dad had to get Brock the builders to come and make a hole in the chimney up in the loft to remove the Jackdaws and retrieve his brush.  Dad also used to sit in the bushes opposite the Ferns and shoot at the Jackdaws sitting on the chimney across the Street.  I imagine if one tried shooting across the road now you would probably have a fully armed terrorist police squad descend on the village.

The Rayne Brownies visited our garden one evening and watched a Mallard duck sitting on its eggs on top of a beech hedge. The next day the Magpies had taken all the ducks eggs.  Not to be deterred the duck started relaying in the same nest so the Magpie had another meal. It has now moved to another nest site.  I wanted to show the Brownies a Great Crested Newt and looked under a slab where they often hibernate and only found a Moorhens foot.  The rest had probably been eaten by our garden stoat.  This must have been the male as a few days later the surviving Moorhen appeared with youngsters. In the meantime a pair of rival Moorhens arrived and tried to evict the mother which left her very dishevelled.  She still managed to keep her place on the pond for about a week with four of her babies.  Then one day she had gone but the babies were being fed by the two usurpers.  What makes this tale remarkable is that the new arrivals should feed youngsters that are probably not related to them.  This is contrary to what happens in most species in the wild.  As I write this the two adults with two babies each are happily carrying on their parental duties.  I should add that it is usual for the first brood moorhens to help their parents feed subsequent broods but these two adults were viciously attacking the mother and young for some days.

I had one Parishioner phone that had lost her cat but wondered if a fox may have taken it.  Foxes will often avoid a confrontation with a cat but in this area there has been evidence of Foxes taking cats over a number of years.  This preference for eating cats is probably handed down through the generations and at this time of the year foxes have cubs to feed.

I saw a Sand Martin in the farm yard flying with the Martins and Swallows.  Syl saw a Yellow Hammer along Pods Lane and we heard our first Cuckoo in Rayne on the 12th May.