THE FIRST SWALLOW HAS BEEN SPOTTED

For the second successive year I spotted the first swallow swooping around the house and garden on April 7^th.

It means they’re returning a full two weeks earlier compared to in 2015.

The current dates, since 2014, are:

2014 – 19^th April

2015 – 21^st April

2016 – 10^th April

2017 – 8^th April

2018 – 7^th April

2019 – 7^th April

I could go on endlessly about these birds, but for me they are my favourite bar none.

I think it goes back to growing up on a farm in Wales and having them nest every year in the outbuildings, often rescuing a chick that had fallen out of a nest.

They are graceful while airborne and close up, if you can catch them staying still for long enough, the colours are breathtakingly beautiful.

I’m hoping to get more glimpses of them over Easter weekend, and see just how many have returned.

A pair of great tits have been marking out the main nest box as theirs this year, including singing very loudly from 5am every morning by the bedroom window and regularly occupying the trees and bushes around the garden warning each other when we’re in the garden.

I’ve not seen any nesting activity, but hopefully Easter will again reveal evidence.

Finally, the pond and the area around it are really brightening up in the warming spring air, well maybe the sunny conditions with warming up starting about now.

It’s great to see the pond back and looking so good, and it means the girls can uncover more facts about wildlife in the garden and pond.

Luckily both are very happy to learn and take in the new flowers, birds and insects the garden and pond attracts.

EGGS AT EASTER?

March and early April brought some lovely weather that seemed to shake the wildlife into a frenzy of activity.

Not only the animals, but plants and trees have literally blossomed in the last few weeks.

The most exciting development has been the recent nest building activity from the great tit that has been 'renting' my nestbox fitted with a camera.

It's given me a view of life in spring of small birds I never thought I'd see.

After weeks of sleeping alone in the bare nestbox, I thought the great tit (I think it's a male) had a mate it would be sharing the night with.

At dusk a two weeks ago they both hung around a couple of trees often glancing at the nestbox, until the resident great tit entered, called for the other one, then gave up and went to sleep as I watched the other bird fly off.

Last Thursday the nest building started and in the series of pictures taken daily below. you can see how quickly and actively the nest has formed. The intricacy in how it's being built is a joy to simply marvel at.

I'll be continuing to update the nest building on a daily basis and hope to soon bring news of some early Easter eggs!

In other news the pond is showing little activity, while the flora of my garden is producing plenty of new plants from bulbs and I'm hoping to have some images up this weekend.

Other birds are busy nest building and generally getting excited about bringing new families into the world.

Finally the first sighting this year of a swallow came on Sunday, a sight I always remember since my primary school days watching swallows bring up youngsters in the barns we had on the farm I live on Wales.

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