SNOW SAYS NO TO THE GARDEN

As usual when plenty of the country experiences snowfall, the garden and surrounding countryside sees just rain, with the odd bit of sleet.

If it snows in the garden then there’s going to be pretty significant falls of the white stuff in many parts of the country.

The winter storm, which did deliver some strong winds and plenty of rain recently, hasn’t been enough to drive to many new visitors to the garden feeders.

A tempting glimpse of a flock of long tailed tits did briefly pass over, although only one ventured in the garden to feed on a fat snack.

The feeders close to the house are not being used very much at the moment, and I blame the neighbour’s cats for using the nearby bushes as a hiding place to stalk them.

He pyracantha bush is being trained to grow around the feeders to offer more protection and an old feeding tray has been strategically placed to guard the feeders, but it hasn’t given the birds too much confidence to return.

It’s such a shame that people who come and live in the countryside should ruin it for those who are getting away from daily hustle and bustle, to embrace wildlife, only to have it snuffed out by too many cats driving wildlife away.

There used to be barn owls, tawny owls, little owls, kestrels, foxes and badgers seen regularly in the area just outside the garden, but now there haven’t been any owl sightings or sounds for a couple of years, the kestrels are seen in the very far distance once a month or so, while foxes and badgers are an annual occurrence.

The seven or eight cats (I can’t keep count) are far too much for this area and the population of mice, voles and rats, that the predators I’ve mentioned feed on, are seemingly running out.

If only people would think about what having so many pets is doing to the natural wildlife, maybe it would help restore once thriving wildlife areas.

Until then wildlife will simply move on, depriving those of us who moved to certain areas to embrace the natural world.

BLUE TITS FLEDGE

The blue tits that were nesting in the wall of an outbuilding behind our house have fledged, unfortunately without me witnessing it.

I thought they would be fledging last weekend, as the noise they made when a parent arrived with food penetrated through the windows when they were firmly shut.

It's good to know they managed to fledge considering the results the great tits had in my nestbox.

The return of Springwatch has lightened up May and it was interesting to note that other species of birds have been effected by the wet and cold April.

It was sad to watch the kingfisher chicks perish and realise that there must be thousands of chicks across the country to have faced the same fate.

The warm weather has relinquished its reign to the more cooler and wetter weather as we enter June. I'm hoping most of the young currently being brought up are able to cope with the next batch of cold and wet weather this weekend.

June is a month which generally goes quiet as chicks fledge and disappear to learn their local territory, while the parents moult their feathers away from prying eyes.

But I suspect second broods will mean later fledgings and we'll still see small young birds around our gardens. Indeed I saw robin chicks this week around the garden begging parents for food.

Sadly most young birds will fall victim to birds of prey and other parents looking to feed their young - foxes, weasels, rats, magpies etc.

This of course could mean that these animals lose young due to a lack of normal food, or they just have their young later.

I'll be watching the garden, field and lanes for new life and updating the blog before the bank holiday weekend ends.