Sunday 27 March 2016

NEW BIRD SPOTTED AS SPRING STARTS SLOWLY

An amazing sight from the garden has meant the lack of activity in the nest boxes and delay in spring taking a proper grip has not been too bad.

The small brook that almost borders the garden, had signs of life last summer with a small shoal of small fish.

It was presumed that they would go or not survive, but it appears this is not the case. And the presence of these small fish has not gone unnoticed!

The amazing sight of a kingfisher perched on a branch of a small tree overhanging the brook has been brilliant.

I don’t expect it to be a common visitor or even see it again, but just the one glimpse is enough.

Of course spring is not in ‘full bloom’ yet and I hope this is the reason why birds are not spending time in the nest boxes. It is unusual though that not one bird has spent a night in either nest box.

Time will tell, but with an Easter weekend of strong wind and heavy rain, I don’t expect things to change much as we approach April.

And April should herald the arrival of my favourite bird – the swallow.

Thursday 17 March 2016

SNOW THEN SPRING SUNSHINE BRINGS THE BEES OUT

The cold and snowy weather seemed to be quickly followed by some spring sunshine, which in turn has led to the natural world emerging from its many hideaways.

The blossom on the fruit tree in the garden, and beyond, attracted a number of bees in the last few days, which was a welcome sight.

The birds are still not using the nest boxes, which is quite frustrating. I’m sure they eventually will, and hopefully it’ll be the signal for spring to start properly. Otherwise it could be that they are sensing winter is going to return with a vengeance.

The flora is producing a range of colours now as the borders fill with crocus, daffodils, snowdrops and tulips, but there is a slight concern that the flowerings are half-hearted, as if something negative is going to happen to them if they show too much, too soon.

I’ve not noticed the cats around the garden recently, although they can be heard every night fighting. Hopefully a couple of knockout blows each night mean they stay indoor during the day and leave the garden birds alone.

The long tailed tits have paid the odd visit to the garden since the last post. I sense it’s because the natural food supplies are still not returning to levels at which they feel comfortable not to visit the garden.

So as we await the big spring start, I wonder just how many small mammals and birds will fall victim to all these cats – none if I have my way!

Sunday 6 March 2016

SNOW IN THE GARDEN IN MARCH – AS PREDICTED!

Within a few days of my last post about snow in the garden in March, it snowed in the garden. The first snow it has seen this winter.

It wasn’t exactly a snowstorm and didn’t last that long before it melted away, but it certainly brought a sense of reality to the wildlife.

 The long tailed tits have been spending much more time in the garden in the last week, making use of the bird feeders. But they are often bullied at the feeders, so were left pinching bits of scraps as the blackbirds, robins, great tits and sparrows gorged themselves.

Another caterpillar found it’s way in to the house via the front door, but I suspect it’s the same bright green one I saw a few weeks ago. The Butterfly Conversation kindly told me on twitter that is was an Angle Shades caterpillar.

The other darker caterpillar was/is an Old Lady. Both are moths and the sightings are not unusual at this time of year.

The Angle Shades caterpillar might even emerge as an adult in the coming weeks, whereas the Old Lady is usually seen as an adult in the summer.

Neither nest boxes have had any overnight ‘guests’ this week, which is a bit surprising as this time last year at least one had some nest building occurring. 

I’ve kept the smaller hole on the new nest box as I’d like blue tits to take it over, but I might have to rethink that and put the bigger one on, if nothing uses it this year.

More cold and wintry weather is forecast, so it’ll be interesting to see how the wildlife reacts as we head towards Easter.