THE FLEDGINGS CONTINUE

Last week both house sparrow nests fledged and this week it was the turn of the robins to ‘turf’ their youngsters out.

I can still see and hear the house sparrow families from the garden as the youngsters continually badger the parents for food.

I suspect both families are using the same set of trees, which are opposite the garden and have two of my feeders, but I’m not 100 per cent sure.

There are at least two robin chicks that I have seen feeding in the garden with one parent, but I suspect others are using next door’s garden with the other parent.

One chick took on a rather large worm that had surfaced following the overnight rain, but it appeared the worm won, albeit through a technical ‘chick scared of worm’ decision.
 

The next few days are supposedly going to be more like autumn than early summer, so I’m hoping the robin chicks will stay around in the relative safety of the garden for at least part of the next week.

In recent days I’ve seen the parent house sparrows mating again, so some shiny new eggs might be delivered by the end of next week, as one again the two house sparrow families battle to bring up the most chicks.

I’m going to attempt to clear the camera view in the blue tit nest box today and hopefully get a glimpse at those new eggs when they arrive, and also the chicks!

No news on the hedgehogs yet, but next week I hope to have an update, along with news on the nest box camera and my first delivery of mealworms.

WHO WON THE FIRST FLEDGING RACE?

Before I announce the winner of the race to be the first nest box to fledge, I found a new family this weekend.

Down the lane and less than 200 yards from the garden a new family of mallard ducklings appeared from the stream with their mother.

The family quickly turned around and pattered their webbed feet away from the lane and back to the undergrowth around the stream.

This is the first time I’ve seen a family of ducklings near the garden and with the pond nearby, I’m sure they’ll  be staying around  for a while and give me the chance to see them a few times this spring/summer.

So who won the race of the house sparrow families to fledge first in the garden?

It was the blue tit nest box house sparrows, the shy family that covered the camera. They fledged on the sunny and warm Saturday (yesterday) and I don’t think the other family will be far behind.

 

I've now probably got a few days to 'clear' the camera view before the next batch of eggs are laid.

The garden is looking very green, with a splattering of colour from a variety of plants, which are attracting plenty of insects including the odd bumblebee.

I’m going to leave some areas of the garden to continue growing wild, but others will be ‘managed’ to ensure plenty of colour brightens up the place this summer.

 

The swallows are still flying around catching some of the increasing number of flying insects, although I'm not sure when any of their eggs will be laid, particularly as the weather isn't too warm for the time of year.

Finally I’m still waiting to hear from the hedgehog rescue centre to see if I’m going to be selected to rehome a couple of prickly mammals.

HAVE THE SPARROWS FLEDGED?

The weather is certainly warming up, although it isn't quite spring like enough for some of our feathered friends.

The cool winds have held temperatures back, although this has been offset by some lovely sunshine brightening up the garden.

During periods of rain the slug and snail population has been out and about, I can see there'll be another battle to keep my new vegetables and plants away from hungry critters!

The house sparrow families appear to be growing fast and I'm expecting at least one fledging in the next couple of days.

Unfortunately the blue tit nest box camera is still mainly covered up, allowing me only small glimpses into movement inside.

But the loud and almost constant chirping if the chicks combined with the parents mating again, suggest a fledging and new batch of eggs will not be far away.

Once the fledging has happened I'll try to clear the camera view, although this will be tricky and if I suspect it'll disturb the birds I'll leave well alone.

The only other addition to the garden is the temporary greenhouse, which is now housing young runner bean, broad bean, tomato and sunflower plants.

The swallows are still conducting aerobatic displays and I'm sure it won't be long before they're swooping through the garden after insects.

THE FIRST CHICKS HAVE ARRIVED

I knew there was a reason for the house sparrows in the blue tit nest box putting nesting material over the camera – they had eggs.

I say had, because they have now hatched and I can clearly hear the chicks when I’m outside in the garden.

I’m guessing there’s at least five, having listened to the chirping for a period of time and recognising separate chirps.

Obviously I’ll not open the nest box until the chicks have fledged as I’m sure there’ll be another brood, but for now this is the view I'm getting.

 

In the triple sparrow nest box there are also chicks that I can hear. I suspect the sparrow parents are continuing on with the contest from 2014 when a pair of house sparrows and tree sparrows tried to produce the most chicks – last year was a draw.

Again the nest box camera has been evaded by the house sparrows, as they have nested in one (or maybe both) of the other nest boxes.

Does anyone else have so many house sparrows in such a small space using nest boxes?

The swallows are now in a large group and have been seen frequently ‘hanging out’ on some of the nearby telegraph wires.

The group has totalled 10-15 over the last few days, but I think only one pair is nesting in the horse stables behind the house.

The old pond area, which is now a wild rockery, is literally blooming. Indeed there have been many insects taking refuge and feeding in there.

 

Today I saw a beautiful small(ish) butterfly, which I think was this one.

 

It was joined by a large bumblebee, dancing in the air around the flowers and grasses.

The weather for the next few days is due to be delivering early summer temperatures, so I’m hoping to see more butterflies and bumblebees in the garden.

APRIL SHOWERS

I’ve not seen much of the swallows this last week, I presume they’ve been getting used to their summer home again – checking out the state of their old nest(s) and trying to find food in between the heavy rain.

The last few days have seen plenty of precipitation falling from the sky and dampening the spirits of the wildlife trying to bring the next generation into this world.

I still can’t see properly in the house sparrows’ nest in the blue tit nest box, while all birds are shunning the other nest box with the camera.

The first grass cut of the year brought numerous birds back inspecting the garden for food, with the blackbirds and robins spending plenty of time pulling tasty morsels out of the ground.

After noticing a number of bees around the garden I kept a small patch free from the blades of the lawnmower, as they contained clusters of small yellow marigolds that the bees we’re spending time taking nectar from.

I’m still waiting for news on helping to rehome hedgehogs, but hope to hear in the near future.

One thing I’ve done once again is plant seeds, this year with plenty of help from my eldest daughter, who is nearly five.

She gets very excited every morning when we look in the propagators to see how many new seedlings have grown.

So far we’ve got tomatoes, sunflowers and broad beans ‘showing’ themselves. This time next week I hope they will be joined by runner beans and chillies.

Then the temporary greenhouse will go up and father and daughter will hopefully grow a summer’s supply of veg and flowers.