SPRING BRINGS GOOD AND BAD NEWS

I returned from a week away with the family to find the nestbox camera isn’t working again! I can’t express how disappointed I am considering spring is finally with us and the blue tits seem to be very busy around the nestbox.

I suspect there are eggs in there, or will be very shortly, and therefore I’m not going to investigate or tamper with the nestbox as this will only disturb the family and I’d rather wait until the eggs become chicks and the chicks become bigger.

One way of testing there are chicks is putting out live mealworms and seeing how often the parent birds take the food to the nestbox.

I’ve ordered some today through www.livefoodsdirect.co.uk so later this week should be able to get an indication as to whether chicks are imminent or when they arrive.

This in turn will allow me to judge when, or if, I can try to get the camera working again. I’ll be reading my blog from the last couple of springs to check on how long it takes for the chicks to become too big for the parents to incubate them at night.

One positive was the return to my garden of the beautiful spring/summer sounds that bounce on the airwaves around the UK, made of course by my favourite UK visitor, the swallow.

I counted six individuals dancing in the skies around my garden, frequently swooping in the evening sun last night to catch insects that were gathering to enjoy some spring warmth.

I think they’re still catching up on the changes around the place, although whether they can nest in the sheds behind our house is open to debate given the idiots (and I use the word very carefully and with justification) that rented the house with these sheds.

They have since left, but whether the interiors are still enticing for the swallows and indeed whether the local population of five cats can access the buildings through the crumbling roof, is something I’ll be watching with interest.

Perhaps I’ll pay the buildings a visit in the next few days to check everything is ok.

One final note was the sighting of a bee this morning, which I will only be able to see as a positive if it is seen again and with plenty of others.

So one good bit of news and one not so good, but overall spring is here and hopefully the wildlife can start to get on with producing the next generation.