IT'S SPRING, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT

So, as lockdown continues the wildlife is busy nurturing the next generation, all going on during one of the warmest and driest springs ever recorded.

In and around the garden the house sparrows in the garage roof have appeared to fledge, along with a few other house sparrow families around here.

They’ve also seemingly gone off for a few days, possibly to rest, as their presence in the garden is limited at the moment.

The robins are definitely around a lot and seemingly intent on raising another brood, albeit in the same area as the two previous failed nests this year – one due to cold and the other due to magpie predation.

Whether a third nest will be successful is something I’ll be able to keep a close eye on as lockdown continues.

It’s great to be able to work in the garden and be surrounding by the lives of nature that being in the office would mean I’d miss.

The swallows are still gracefully taking to the skies and I think the pair are on eggs, because I only generally see one at a time.

A nest of swallows at the farm down the lane appears to have fledged this week.

And talking of fledgings, the great tits fledged earlier this week, but did so just as I left the house to go to the office for a few hours.

They definitely stayed around for a couple of days, but I was unable to count how many. I think four or five given the calling made from the youngsters for food just after fledging.

One thing the lockdown has enabled me to do it explore the area around the garden a little more.

I took my girls on a nature walk one evening this week and we went in search of a great spotted woodpecker nest in a nearby small wood.

We knew it was there through the power of Facebook, but no idea exactly where.

Luckily, we found it thanks to the noisy chicks, and were really fortunate to be there long enough to see the parents come to feed them.

I’ve seen them feeding in my garden, but had never seen a nest or watched a parent feed youngsters, and it provided a great result for my next generation and me to ensure we go back to the woodland again.

THE NEXT GENERATION IS ALMOST WITH US

In the last week or so the robins have still been around the garden, sometimes looking at the ivy and going in to investigate what I presume can be to build another nest.

I’ve even seen them go in with nesting materials, although not very often and I don’t think there was enough movement to suggest the garden will have robin chicks this year, sadly.

The great tit chicks are very loud now and I’m surprised they haven’t fledged yet, although the parents are seemingly trying to tempt them out now!

Perhaps when the heat we’re likely to see tomorrow will prove the final straw as the nest will become very hot and their feathers will increase their body temperature and incentivise them to reach for the outside world.

The house sparrow families are seemingly thriving and the swallows are looking like they are nest building, more on both of those next week.

The pond has plenty of life in it, but there’s not been the sign of the frog for a while and there’s not visible frogspawn.

However, it is providing a place for insects to live and they are needed for a bio-diverse garden, which is what I want to have.

The broad beans, tomatoes and other flora are growing quite well, although not so much the poppies. I don’t know why that is, but they are in various locations around the garden so let’s see how they all are in a few weeks.

As we approach the traditional summer season, it’s going to be interesting to see how the current Covid-19 situation will impact everyone and the wildlife.

One thing’s for sure is the wildlife around the garden has been carrying on with the breeding season, blissfully unaware of the situation their human neighbours are going through.

Time will tell how much the pandemic has affected wildlife, hopefully it’ll be in a positive way.

In the meantime we’ll keep on trying to help the birds get fed with mealworm handouts and watch as the next generations make their way in the world around us.

NATURE HAS DEALT A CRUEL BLOW TO THE ROBINS

The sun has been shining, the birds in full voice and plenty of signs of the next generation coming into this world.

The garden had two active nests, with the robins (second attempt after the first one resulted in three chicks dying) and the great tits, which were located in the nest box that has been used every year since we moved here in 2007.

The girls and I had been feeding mealworms to the robins, while the house sparrows nesting in next door’s garage, the blue tits in next door’s wall and the great tits were making use of the free handouts.

Sadly, just when I thought the robins could soon fledge, the nest in the ivy was raided and the nest left destroyed. The chicks were nowhere to be seen or heard.

Given there is a magpie nest nearby and the magpies had been seen regularly in the garden over the last week, I suspect it was the magpies that raided the nest.

The parents were still hanging around the garden and the male singing from a perch I’ve often seen him at over the last few months.

I’m hoping that not all the chicks were taken, but have no evidence to suggest any are now alive.

Given the number of cats around here (another feral one has been ‘saved’ by the neighbours), I think we’re at 11 between three houses, plus the feral ones being fed down the lane, I suspect it’s unlikely any survivors would get passed those felines.

The great tits are still thriving and will hopefully fledge next weekend when the weather might have warmed back up a little.

It's been great to get to know the parents while working in the garden just under the nest box (I spend many hours there in spring and summer and the birds quickly get used to my presence).

These pics and video show just how at ease the great tits are with me being there.

The pond has new plants around it and by next weekend the hanging baskets will be up, so the garden has now really sprung into spring.

Next stop, summer!