THE CHICKS ARE BACK

I say the chicks (blue tits) are back, but obviously not in the nestbox, just visiting the garden for the titbits on offer.

I'm hoping they take a liking to any insects that eat any of my vegetables or roses!

It's been a quiet few weeks since the blue tit, great tit and blackbird chicks fledged, but the skies have been taken over by the swallow fledglings, with their enchanting summer song both on the wing and at rest on the telephone wires.

When they first fledged the swallow youngsters would sit on the edge of our roof calling for the parents to feed them.

But in the last few days the birds have been through their moult and are starting to return to the garden for food and maybe a glimpse of where they grew up.

The pond has suffered with the hot dry weather and I've been forced to add water to it. Luckily many of the tadpoles are now little frogs and are often seen resting on the edge of the pond and even exploring the surrounding rockery.

I'm hoping they utilise the pond from now on when required, especially as the big pond behind the house is almost empty after the farmer has continually drained it to feed crops.

What's most concerning about this pond is it's been designated a wildlife conservation area. So the draining of it makes a mockery of what it is there for in the first place.