WILDLIFE CAN BE SO CRUEL

After nearly two weeks of hearing the blue tit chicks chirping whenever the parents brought food to them, yesterday is all went quiet apart from one single chick, who seemed to be calling  for its parents.

Suddenly there was no sign of the parents and my concern grew this morning when silence greeted the mealworm breakfast I’ve been leaving out for the local birds to help with parenting.

Robins, house sparrows, blue tits and great tits have been making use of the mealworm donation.

Mid-morning I opened the nest box, confident the parents had left the nest for good, and was saddened by what greeted me.

A couple of days ago I’d noticed a couple of flies entering the nest and wondered if one of the chicks had died.

Unfortunately when I opened the nest box there was five chicks that had died, a couple seemed close to fledging while others seemed to have been slightly younger when they died.

As to the reasons for them dying it remains unsolved; I suspect four reasons.

1 – One or both parents were predated, although I think this unlikely as they were around yesterday and it’s rare to see a sparrowhawk in the local vicinity.

2 – Disease took hold and the chicks sadly succumbed over time.

3 – The parents didn’t bring in enough food, which again seems unlikely given the mealworm supplements.

4 – The parents fledged a couple of chicks but the others were too far behind and the parents left with the few older ones.

I guess it’ll remained unsolved, but it’s the first time a nest has failed this much.

While carrying out the nest investigations I could hear a couple of buzzards circling above, soaring on the thermals and not a crow or rook harassing them.

The robin nest, in the previous wren nest box, appears to be viable, although I remain sceptical there will be successful hatching of this nest

Perhaps they’ll surprise me, although what is surprising is the house sparrows who are paying close attention to the triple nest box, again I don’t think they have nested there this year, but could be wrong.

Finally the swallows seem to be on eggs, while the blackbird nest hasn’t had any sign of chicks being fed – maybe next week.

WILDLIFE MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME

May is proving to be an exciting month for the garden, with new life and new nesters!

The blue tits have indeed been the birds to have used the original nest box, and the sound of chicks begging for food was heard on Sunday morning.

However I first suspected something was going on when I saw both blue tits scurrying around the garden searching for caterpillars and insects.

They sped around so fast, hanging upside down looking underneath leaves, that my first thought was they must be looking for food for their chicks.

There was an urgency not seen when they are ‘child free’!

Unfortunately it looks like Mrs Wren didn’t like to location or build of the nest by the kitchen window and they appear to have somewhere else.

Not all is lost though, because just two days ago a pair of robins were seen taking nesting material to that very nest.

They must either be a new or, as I suspect, the garden robins that have had their first nest nearby found and raided by a predator – my money is on one of the local cats.

I’m just hoping they continue with this nest, lay eggs that are successfully hatched and fledge all their chicks.

In the meantime all of the tomato, broad bean and sunflower plants are outside in the greenhouse, growing rapidly.

I suspect it’ll be bank holiday weekend when the first ones are put out in the garden, when they are strong enough to sustain any attacks from slugs and snails.

The weather looks like being good for a while, so watering the garden will be crucial in the coming weeks, not only to keep the flora going, but also help the birds with keeping their thirst quenched and food available.

They will of course get mealworm supplements from me while chick rearing season is going on.

MAY SPRING BE UPON US!

Glorious May, well not quite, but the wildlife seems to be adamant some warm weather is on its way.

The dawn chorus is in full swing, with many now starting before 5am, not good for the late risers.

I’ve started to put out mealworms for the birds, however none have shown signs that their taking the food to a nest – they simply move to a sheltered spot nearby and devour what they’ve grabbed.

The wrens are still singing nearby, but I’m not sure if they’ve decided on the garden as a nesting place – only time will tell as I’m not going to disturb the nest box until I’m sure they’re not using it.

I’m still not sure if the house sparrows are using any of the nest boxes, although the blue tits are definitely bedded in the original next box, which still isn’t transmitting properly.

Once again I’m on the hunt for the robin’s nest, which is likely to end in failure as it has every other year.

In flora news the first sunflowers have been put outside to grow in the portable greenhouse, so hopefully some early autumn food for the garden birds awaits.

Food for the humans at the house will be in the form of tomatoes and broad beans, but they won’t be let outside for another week.

Until then let’s hope the weather warms up and the sound of chicks is blasting through the garden air.