AUGUST REMAINS QUIET AS WILDLIFE SHELTERS FROM THE INCLEMENT WEATHER

There’s not been much going on in the last couple of weeks, apart from a new discovery about the hedgehogs! More about this shortly.

The robin family territorial dispute appears to have finished for now, with only one sighted at one time and not much calling going on.

The return of the blue tits lasted for a few days, and then they disappeared again.

In fact, the birds, in general, have definitely been enjoying the relaxation of social distancing and are taking advantage of the situation.

I’ve started to put some food out for them again and even this hasn’t attracted many hungry beaks.

News on our summer visitors, as the swallows introduced another brood to the skies above our garden.

This is definitely the second brood, but with their nest site surrounded by fields and the vast marshes area a fantastic playground for them, it may well be the third.

A few weeks ago, a large flock of swifts fed for an hour around the garden and fields, before moving on, presumably starting the migration back south.

Then a few days ago a seemingly new flock of swifts moved in a similar pattern, prior to swooping to feed elsewhere.

It’s been great to see the swifts in good numbers again and the swallows successfully breeding.

I hope it means next year they’ll return again and their sounds will once again grace the air around the garden.

Finally, the hedgehog that came back to the garden appears to be not alone.

A smaller hedgehog has also been spotted by neighbours and I’ve seen a few smaller droppings of hedgehog poo in the garden, which confirms the sightings.

I’ll be keeping an eye on them and hoping the extra food put out by the neighbours will help get them both ready for hibernation.

A TYPICALLY QUIET AUGUST MADE EXCITED BY A NEW NEST DISCOVERY

With much of the wildlife still seemingly hiding away, it’s been left to a few of the stars of the garden this year to make the headlines, and also one big surprise.

First, the big surprise and it was the discovery of new nest in the garden just last week; a nest from a bird I’ve seen around the garden and lane, but never thought it would nest near the house.

The bird in question is a goldfinch, which has nested near the top of a small bush/tree, about eight feet from the ground and in a fairly precarious place.

I’d been hearing a lot of calling from the goldfinches around the garden in recent weeks, particularly in the last week or so, and looking at the state of the nest I suspect the young had recently fledged.

It’s brilliant that a small garden can provide the right environment for birds to nest, so now the goldfinch can be added to the list of nesting birds in the garden, alongside blue tits, great tits, robins, house sparrows, tree sparrows and blackbirds.

The robin family now appears to be in dispute with one another, as one of the youngsters is seemingly trying to win our garden as part of its territory over one of its parents – I suspect the male.

They have both been seen often in the garden in recent weeks and it would seem it’s quite a good place to have.

Who will triumph in the end? I don’t know but both are quite feisty and friendly in similar doses – friendly to the humans who live here.

Another now regular visitor is the hedgehog, who can be seen, and often heard, most nights.

The hedgehog is leaving regular deposits of poo around the garden too, but is also getting around the neighbours’ houses and is also being provided some food by them.

It looks like the hedgehog has found somewhere it likes, and if collectively we continue to provide the right environment for it, then it’ll hopefully stay.

One of the most important things is allowing free and easy access to all the gardens and making sure the cats and dogs stay away from it.

I think most of the neighbours are excited to see a hedgehog, so hopefully it’ll stick around.