STALLING THE BREEDING SEASON?

Given the cold weather recently, the wildlife could be forgiven if they have delayed spring for a few weeks.

The blossom may have blown from the trees, the buds may be showing and new leaf growth emerging, but the weather isn’t tempting many to start bringing the next generation into this world.

Now of course you could understand if they used Brexit as a reason for stalling, but this is one area that the wildlife has in their favour – they don’t know anything about it!

The dawn chorus has been somewhat dampened since the clocks went forward, although the voice of a few blackbirds is now competing with the robins to see who can wake us up first.

A female blackbird has been seen around the garden in recent days, so I wonder if they try to nest in the conifer hedge again – last year seemed to fail, which was probably due to the local cats.

I’ve not noticed any activity around the nest boxes, but with the lighter nights I’ll have more chance to investigate – but given the cold weather I doubt that much action has taken place.

The pond is very good shape, and while there is unlikely to be much large animal action this year, it’ll definitely be a good resource for insects as a refuge and birds as a drinking/washing station.

April will no doubt warm up, but I don’t expect much breeding action from the birds until we get to the end of the month.

WHERE ARE YOU SWALLOWS?

During the last week reports of swallows in the UK have come in thick and fast, yet I’ve not seen any around the garden and surrounding fields.

They’ve been back every year since we’ve lived here (8 in total), so I remain hopeful, yet impatient.

The weather hasn’t been the best for returning summer residents in the UK, with snow just a few days ago in some areas.

Now the weather is becoming summer like, almost bypassing spring.

The blossom on the trees has now all be blown away by the heavy winds of the last week and is now slowly being replaced by green shoots of leaves and buds.

For the time being I’m enjoying listening and finding birds singing in the trees, although that probably won’t last too long if the temperatures and sunshine continue.

The two bird boxes with cameras are not showing much, with the house sparrow box showing no signs of any nest building, while the house sparrows in the blue tit nest box seem to be getting a little shy and have almost covered the camera with nesting material.

 

I might try and move it, so the camera can show something, but only if the birds are away from the area and there’s no eggs on the nest.

 

I've also found a new nest, well it's a nest site that I've noticed being used before, but not for a couple of years.

 

A pair of blue tits is building a nest in the crevice, left by crumbling bricks, of an outbuilding behind the house.

 

No sign of the robins, blackbirds or great tits nests, but I'm still looking.

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

The warmth of this week has brought many things out, including buds on trees, green shoots on seemingly dead plants and me into our garden to start a spring clean and planting session.

The wildlife has also been abundant with a family of long tailed tits paying more visits to the feeders this week, than the whole of winter.

I'm guessing the natural food source has run dry and spring is yet to provide sufficient supplies.

The great tit is still roosting in the nestbox with the camera but, I'm having a few technical problems so the camera is not always working.

Next weekend the pond will become a boggy area filled with nectar rich flowers and plants for the bees and butterflies, but today it was the honeysuckle that had a sever trim, to encourage it to grow with the fence rather than away from it and cover the patio.

The robin/blackbird nextbox was exposed, but I'm hoping to create a more enticing home for raising chicks as it has only been used once in four years.

In other news the blossom on the fruit tree has already started to show, which is two weeks earlier than 2011 according to my blog.

It's great to hear the morning bird song at the moment as it shows the birds can almost taste spring and the riches it brings.

Territories are being confirmed and pairs are looking for nest sites to raise a brood. It all brings an exciting air to the house, garden and local area, though winter could always come back with a sting in the tail.

The winter rose has blossomed recently and has been joined by some early eager daffodils. How long before others show their colours?

Finally I've planted my firsts seeds of the year, so I'm hoping to see some rewards for my early endeavours. Four tomato seedling pots are on the window ledge and waiting for the right time to emerge as green shoots.