FAREWELL 2012 & WELCOME 2013

So as 2012 comes to and end and the dawn of 2013 is the next one we’ll see, I for one am hoping for some changes to the weather we saw this year.

The weather at the start of 2013 promises to be dry and, at various points mild, which is not brilliant for wildlife in the long run.

A short and harsh winter will ensure bugs and bacteria, which would otherwise survive in milder conditions, are killed off, leaving smaller numbers to breed in spring and summer. The larger numbers of bugs and bacteria to start with, the worse it could be for birds and mammals in the breeding season.

In the next couple of weeks I’ll be trying to fixing my nest box camera and hoping that the blue or great tits will make it into a home for delivering the next generation in 2013.

In January I’ll be looking at which animals and mammals are visiting my garden, hoping to have pictures and video of any birds spending the night in my nest box.

I can’t say I’m sad to say goodbye to 2012, especially after watching the demise of the great tit chicks and knowing others suffered similar fates across the bird world, but also because the extremely wet conditions has probably affected many other wildlife in a negative way.

So onwards and upwards as we embrace 2013, let’s hope the wildlife and all of us have a better and drier one too!

CHRISTMAS REFLECTIONS THROUGH FLOODWATER

As we near the end of 2012, it can be remembered for just one thing, one thing weather wise anyway – rain, rain and floods.

It has been a truly monumental year for rain as almost every part of the country has felt the force of floodwater and the devastation it causes to us humans, but what about the wildlife?

I know from personal experience how wildlife has suffered with the great tit family of eight chicks dying, not long after hatching. The wet weather meant caterpillars were washed away or hadn’t hatched, therefore resulting in starvation for the chicks.

The failure of the great tit family in my garden was not the only one, as I heard of many small bird families across the country feeling the same affect from the weather.

Obviously either side of the food chain would have been affected as the failure of small insects breeding was partly responsible for the small bird families not having much breeding success and therefore contributed to larger birds and birds of prey not having as much ‘food’ for their young.

All in all 2012 has not been brilliant for wildlife, but before we write it off as a failure, we must take it into context.

Nature has a wonderful way of balancing itself out over a period of many years and while this year might not have been great for a number of reasons, the overall picture can’t be viewed for many years to come.

Perhaps 2013 will provide a bumper crop of insects and in turn a larger number of small bird chicks that fledge. Only time will tell and that is something we must all look forward to.

As for my garden, the recent wet weather has ensured a plentiful supply of worms for the blackbirds and robins, while my peanuts, fat snacks and seed mix has given the great tits, blue tits, tree sparrows, house sparrows and dunnocks enough food to supplement the natural bounty.

I’ve only seen fleeting views of chaffinches, goldfinches, while the jays are seemingly taking up residence in the trees and hedgerows of the lane.

Christmas has no effect on wildlife, it’s just another time of the year, but if we all gave a little thought and made sure there was enough food and water (there might be enough of this) for them, we all might benefit when it comes around to the spring and summer as bird song lightens up our light mornings and long evenings.

TIME TO HELP OUR WILDLIFE

With the prospect of some proper winter weather on the horizon, it’s time to encourage everyone to spare a thought for our wildlife.

It may be the festive time of the year when people get excited about decorations, presents and food, but for wildlife it’s a time when the only thing they have on their mind is survival.

In milder conditions natural food is normally available for all, but during the harsh, cold, frosty and snowy weather, a battle commences between getting enough food to survive the night and not.

A simple peanut or seed feeder filled with the relevant food stuff can provide many of the birds we see around the garden in the spring and summer, with enough to help survive during the freezing conditions.

The larger birds can then feed on scraps that fall from the feeders, while it also provides birds of prey with the opportunity to keep up the natural balance of life. For smaller birds the less distance they travel between feeds helps to them to keep up energy levels to see them through the long and cold nights.

If just half of our houses had one feeder then the distance little birds would travel would become much less and increase survival chances.

I have three of four feeders in my garden, which seem to mainly attract tree sparrows, robins, blackbirds, blue tits, great tits, dunnocks and house sparrows.

In colder conditions chaffinches, long tailed tits, greenfinches, goldfinches and wrens are also attracted to them.

With the jays now becoming common in and around my garden, they’ve joined the magpies and the odd carrion crow in feasting on the offerings I provide. I don’t encourage the bigger birds, but as my garden is surrounding by countryside, it’s inevitable.

There are also plenty of voles and field mice about, although I’ve only ever seen one around my garden.

A buzzard once landed in the garden and there have also been visits by great spotted woodpeckers, but I’ve not seen one of those for a while. I wonder if the dead trees in a nearby field being cut down have made them move elsewhere.

So with winter soon to replace this ‘warmer’ weekend, spare a though and a few peanuts or seeds for those animals you watch in the warmer months around your house and garden.

JAY WALKING IN MY GARDEN

Recently I’ve been posting about how I’d been seeing jays almost daily in and around the lane I live on and also near the garden.

Well this week they have been actually feeding in my garden, a pretty exciting step for them to take, especially given their sensitive and shy nature.

The first time a jay was in the garden is was one the fence, looking at the peanuts on the floor that had dropped out of my bag last weekend, the second time it was feeding on those nuts early one morning.

Unfortunately I couldn’t get my camera in time to get an image of this colourful bird, but next time I’ll be better prepared.

The weather is certainly colder as winter starts to take hold of the country, although it’s not severe enough to see many birds on the feeders.

That said I’m not around too much in daylight hours to see them, but there must be an increased number because the feeders are being drained quicker than last month.

This week I have some time to myself and watching which birds are now visiting my garden is one of my tasks.

I was looking at images from almost three years ago when there was about a foot of snow in our garden and was wondering if this is something we’ll see this winter.

While the really cold weather, harsh frost and heavy snow plays havoc for wildlife looking for food to survive on a daily basis, it also helps wipe out bacteria and other unwanted things and effectively ‘clears the slate’ ready for spring and the breeding season.

It’s simply a case of nature taking its course and while we might want to fight certain things, it’s never going to stop long-term, a bit like trying to stop the tide. It happens, it’s not perfect, but it’s worked for millions of years; so let’s embrace it.