WET, WET AND WET AGAIN

Is there no end to the summer rain and relatively low temperatures? The butterflies and bees have been rarely seen in the last couple of weeks.

Here’s a rare image of a bee making the most of some of one of the flowering sunflowers!

The swifts have seemingly given up on seeing the sun until they return to Europe and beyond, while the swallows are already gathering to leave.

They’re probably thinking twice about spending next summer in the UK if the cooler and damp conditions continue long term.

It seems as if the flora and fauna is already treating the climate as already having entered autumn.

Even the long tailed tits are feeding in the garden, which is highly unusual because they’re only seen from about November to March.

If the food supplies in the wider countryside are diminishing already, it could see some wildlife suffering a bleak winter.

On a sad note it appears the local cats, far too many for the area, are continuing to decimate the wildlife – birds, young rabbits, mice, voles and shrews all falling victim to needless killings.

Previously there’s been barn owls, little owls, foxes, badgers, kestrels and plenty of rabbits around garden and lane, but since all the cats came a few years ago there hasn’t been any seen.

It’s awful when you move to the countryside to experience the peace, quiet and wildlife, only for domestic killers to be swamped by a couple of people, spoiling the wildlife spectacle for everyone else.

On a happier note the blue tit chicks seem to have remained in good numbers, with up to five seen at once in the garden recently.

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Still not many other garden birds coming back, but perhaps that’ll change in the coming weeks – well as long as the cats stay away!

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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.

TIME TO HELP OUR WILDLIFE

With the prospect of some proper winter weather on the horizon, it’s time to encourage everyone to spare a thought for our wildlife.

It may be the festive time of the year when people get excited about decorations, presents and food, but for wildlife it’s a time when the only thing they have on their mind is survival.

In milder conditions natural food is normally available for all, but during the harsh, cold, frosty and snowy weather, a battle commences between getting enough food to survive the night and not.

A simple peanut or seed feeder filled with the relevant food stuff can provide many of the birds we see around the garden in the spring and summer, with enough to help survive during the freezing conditions.

The larger birds can then feed on scraps that fall from the feeders, while it also provides birds of prey with the opportunity to keep up the natural balance of life. For smaller birds the less distance they travel between feeds helps to them to keep up energy levels to see them through the long and cold nights.

If just half of our houses had one feeder then the distance little birds would travel would become much less and increase survival chances.

I have three of four feeders in my garden, which seem to mainly attract tree sparrows, robins, blackbirds, blue tits, great tits, dunnocks and house sparrows.

In colder conditions chaffinches, long tailed tits, greenfinches, goldfinches and wrens are also attracted to them.

With the jays now becoming common in and around my garden, they’ve joined the magpies and the odd carrion crow in feasting on the offerings I provide. I don’t encourage the bigger birds, but as my garden is surrounding by countryside, it’s inevitable.

There are also plenty of voles and field mice about, although I’ve only ever seen one around my garden.

A buzzard once landed in the garden and there have also been visits by great spotted woodpeckers, but I’ve not seen one of those for a while. I wonder if the dead trees in a nearby field being cut down have made them move elsewhere.

So with winter soon to replace this ‘warmer’ weekend, spare a though and a few peanuts or seeds for those animals you watch in the warmer months around your house and garden.

FEEDERS ARE FULL BUT STILL NO BIRDS

Today I bought my first fat snacks of the winter for the birds.

It can still be relatively cheap (no pun) to by these snacks and the birds love them. The added benefit is any scrapes dropping on the floor can provide food for voles and birds that prefer to feed on the ground.

I use about ten snacks a week so costs about £8 a month to keep the birds with a constant supply.

Today I filled my feeders and felt I was being watched I as placed them around the garden. My feelings were right as the feeders were barely out of my grasp when a robin came to sample the delights.

The robin spent most of the afternoon nibbling on the snacks and was joined at various stages by a couple of great and blue tits.

I'm expecting more arrivals over the next few days, although the weather isn't too cold so the majority of birds do seem to be content with the food they can get in the fields and hedgerows.

Tomorrow I'll be spending a bit of time in the garden cleaning out the nestboxes so hope to catch a few different birds, including chaffinches, goldfinches, long tailed tits and tree sparrows.

More updates next week.