MOULTING BIRDS GET ALL SHY

It’s been quiet in the garden recently, with only the swallows and great tit chicks being heard.

In fact not many garden birds are being seen either, with the odd blackbird and occasional feeding foray from the house sparrow clans.

The weather hasn’t been ideal for fledglings, with heavy rain and seemingly unfriendly conditions for young birds to feed and explore their surroundings.

What has been helped by the weather has been the flora, with the many flowers and vegetables growing quickly.

None are ready for harvesting, but at least it’s a good start to the summer growing season.

What the growing flora is doing is attracting plenty of bees, both bumble and honey, to the strong nectar presence.

The nest box cameras aren’t producing the images I had hoped, with one completely not working and the other, which has had no nesting activity, beaming a clear video feed.

Considering the same thing happened last year and I’m beginning to think the birds are wanting a bit of privacy after me looking into their nesting activities for the last five years.

I’ll be looking at whether the cameras are in the right nest boxes over the autumn, and hope next year will be more successful!

Until then I’ll be hoping the birds come back soon, after their moulting, and start introducing their youngsters to the garden and its benefits.

GARDEN GROWTH SURGE

The weather in June has led to a a particularly high rate of growth of the flora in the garden.

Poppies, cauliflowers, broad beans, sunflowers and the tomato plants have all benefited from the humid and often damp conditions.

The planting out session of plants from the greenhouse has been completed and what's left inside there will hopefully have enough space to grow and produce some good crops.

Tomatoes, cauliflowers and one chilli pepper plant remain.

Bird news is mainly around the return of the great tit chicks to feed in and around the garden, mainly due to the hard work of the parents.

There is constant chirping in the tress and bushes from the little ones, and when they are joined by the house sparrows and their chicks, the noise is pretty loud.

I suspect a couple of the great tit chicks have already been lost to the local sparrowhawk, but that's nature.

The season now needs some dry weather to help the flora and fauna in producing the  next generation.

It'll also allow us humans to be outside and enjoy the constantly changing colour and noise in our gardens.

FLEDGLINGS IN THE GARDEN

The birds in the garden have got a new source of food, and they’re making the most of the bounty at a crucial time for their young.

While the mealworms aren’t a natural resource found in the garden, they are a natural food for birds, which is why I buy them at this time of year.

It gives the birds a boost when they need it, particularly when the parents are exhausted while trying to feed their young.

The parents get a readily available food source and the chicks valuable nourishment, meaning parents are less tired and youngsters are well fed.

They are only available in the morning and evening, and even then only a small amount are provided; this is so the parents still forage for food and provide the chicks with a ‘balanced diet’.

The house sparrows, great tits and blackbirds are the birds currently making the most of the mealworms.

One female blackbird keeps on trying to fill her beak with more and more mealworms. Unfortunately every time one drops out of her beak she faces the marauding house sparrows that pick them off the ground quicker than the female can stuff them back in her crammed beak.

The blackbird then goes back for more, only to lose a couple to the house sparrows again, before flying off back to her nearby nest to feed her growing young.

The great tits aren’t far off fledging, but they have been beaten to it by the house sparrows; I have so far seen three youngsters begging for food from parents, in the garden.

The warmer weather has certainly helped the birds and there does seem to be a plethora of caterpillars this year.

I wonder if we’re going to see multiple broods from many birds this year. I guess only time and probably a review in September will tell,