SPRING HAS SPRUNG, DURING LOCKDOWN

The swallows are back, and almost exactly the same day as the previous three years.

The lack of traffic noise has led to bird song being much more audible and just a couple of days ago I heard the distinct call of swallows.

Then today I saw my first one swooping over the fields next to the garden. It means the first sounds was heard in the 8th April and seen on 11th April.

The current sates I've first seen swallows each year, since 214, are:

2014 - 19th April
2015 - 21st April
2016 - 10th April
2017 - 8th April
2018 - 7th April
2019 - 7th April
2020 - 11th April (heard first on 8th April)

It’s typical that during this lockdown we’re seeing really warm spring weather, particularly after the wet and windy last couple of months.

Of course, we’re going to see cooler weather in the coming weeks, but it’s been nice to enjoy the garden and also for a lot longer than usual with working from home.

Sadly not everything is perfect in nature, and this was demonstrated early one morning when I found three dead chicks, perhaps a week old, in the garden not far from the potential location of a robins’ nest.

It has been very cold overnight and a gently frost was on partly visible, so I suspect this had killed them and the parents had removed the bodies.

While it could have been a predator or local cat, the nest location would suggest a cat unlikely and a magpie would have difficulty getting into the thick ivy - the nest is circled along with one of the dead chicks.

What I have noticed since is the robins both being very active in the same location, both with food and the odd bit of nesting material.

I haven’t heard any chick noises, but this is definitely a watching brief, with the male robin (seemingly) singing loudly and often from a series of perches around the garden.

Above the robin nest a pair of blue tits has recently been seen mating, but where the nest is, is another thing.

I suspect they are using the previously unused single nest box that was under the now removed triple sparrow nest box, but await final evidence.

We’ve also found a frog residing in the pond, I say residing because it’s been in there for quite a few days.

I don’t think it’ll be mating and laying frog spawn, but perhaps next year we’ll get that.

Still it’s a good sign that the pond is supporting a wide range of wildlife and plants.

And the pond is looking colourful and is proving to be a great source of food for bees and butterflies – there’s been both orange tip and peacock on most days in the last week.

WINTER IS ON ITS WAY, AS AUTUMNAL FROSTS ARRIVE

The garden has already seen a couple of frosts this year, but the influx of birds has yet to appear.

The garden feeders are being utilised, mainly by a few blue tits, the odd robin and great tits. Other birds are appearing infrequently.

One exciting development recently has been the appearance of a male sparrowhawk.

It was spotted on top of an outbuilding next to the house, and it appeared to be gathering itself after a failed hunt.

It look inexperienced so likely one that was born this year, but there’s hope in the house that it’ll keep making appearances in the future.

Of course that might mean negative news for the smaller garden birds, however it does mean there is a depth to the food chain in the area, with the top predator not being cats!

The next job in the garden is to clean out the nest boxes and make them ready for winter roosting. Checking the cameras are still operating will also be part of the process.

The flora in the garden has gained a new lease of live, with a large lily flowering, along with the rose bush.

The rose bush flowered in every month last year, and has done the same this year, proving it can withstand the rigours of all seasons.

It also means there’s a food source for any insects still hanging around before winter, and for those that appear early in spring on warmer days.

Once again the signs of lack of food in the surrounding countryside is likely to be signalled by the arrival of long tailed tits at the garden feeders, although there’s sadly little hope for any waxwings, redwings or other winter visitors given the history of not appearing.

WINTER STORMS BLAST THROUGH THE GARDEN

In the last post it mentioned ‘non-stormy winter’, well that certainly isn’t true now! A pretty ferocious storm has passed and another one, with less ferociousness, is currently running across most of the UK.

The first one had a big impact on the garden and surrounding area, with trees down, bushes bent over and one of the birds feeders being blown into oblivion – never to be seen again.

Three others survived in situ and have been a welcome supply of food for the birds after they had to spend many hours hunkered down away from the wind and rain.

The two nest box cameras are working, albeit only one is able to translate night images, but both have revealed no activity at all, which is very unusual for this late in February.

One nest box designed for tits, which has never been used, has been redesigned to suit robins, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that one of the locally resident birds use it.

It’s been semi covered with rose and ivy, so time will tell if that’s enough cover for them.

The blossom on the trees that emerged last week following the mild weather has been scattered over a wide area, so it may mean a depleted crop of fruit this year.

Cats are still a big problem and I wonder if them being in our garden is making the birds nervous and causing them to look for nest sites elsewhere.

The cat patrol has been stepped up and all cats near the garden are being firmly chased away.

Will it work? The birds will benefit if it does.

THE SWALLOWS ARE BACK – 11 DAYS EARLIER THAN LAST YEAR

In the midst of some typically heavy April showers a rainbow appeared very near the garden. Rushing to get the camera to capture the moment, the noise carrying across the breeze sounded very familiar.

Looking up towards the rainbow, a familiar silhouette appeared against the darkened sky – a pair of swallows on the telegraph wire.

Their appearance is 11 days earlier than 2015 and nine days compared to 2014. Whether this earlier arrival is due to anything associated with the ‘global warming’ debacle is much too soon to tell.

It would also appear that the house sparrows are busy building nests in the triple nest box, although I have only evidence that one of the boxes is being used, I suspect at least one of the other two is too.

Unfortunately the two next boxes with the cameras in have so far proved empty of any activity, but with spring sunshine beginning to warm the air, there is renewed hope the two nest boxes will soon be filled by great and blue tits.

The small trees and bushes are also showing signs of spring life, with new leaves appearing. This is also providing cover for the small birds as they carry out courtships within the confines of the increasing amount of cover.

The cat issue continues with nightly fights being heard. I do wonder if some people think moving to the country means they can just bring in as many ‘pets’ as possible, and they will form part of the ‘natural countryside’.

It would appear this is the case because there are eight houses, six without pets, while two have at least six cats between them. There are also dogs, but they are not destructive to wildlife in the way cats are.

Time will tell, but I really hope this year’s young birds are decimated by the cats, in the same way the vole and mouse population appears to have been.

WINTER TEMPTATIONS NOT ATTRACTING USUAL WINTER VISITORS

This weekend the garden had three pairs of human eyes looking out for birds, although they weren’t the only eyes looking at the garden. There was also by a pair of cat eyes – an unwelcome sight for everyone else.

Once the cat was chased off the counting began; the first tick in the box came for the… grey squirrel, which was quite ironic as we’d not seen one for a couple of months!

But the usual suspects started turning up soon after and within an hour we’d seen most of the birds we see during a weekend.

House sparrow – 8

Tree sparrow – 5

Blue tit – 4

Goldfinch – 4

Dunnock – 4

Blackbird – 3

Robin – 2

Great tit – 2

Magpie – 2

Wren – 1

Unfortunately no long tailed tits, great spotted woodpeckers or starlings, but I know they’re around.

The new nest box has been up for a week and it now has one of the cameras inside it. I hope it will not put off the birds like it has done in in one of the boxes in the triple sparrow nest box.

There is hope for it because it does have a pitched roof, which can house the camera and not interfere with nest building or even put any birds of nesting there.

The only location for the nest box is underneath the triple sparrow nest box, and hopefully the ivy growing up the wall will act as a cover to the entrance. It could even keep the noise down from the noisy sparrow neighbours!

With winter only showing glimpses of its might, sometimes just for a night of low (ish) temperatures before reaching 10c or more the next day, it’s no wonder not many fieldfares, redwings and other wintering birds haven’t been seen.

Instead tulips, crocuses, daffodils and snowdrops are all either growing or flowering. It’s great adding colour to the garden in January, but I fear winter has one big icy blast up its sleeve.

And given the odd report of swallows wintering in the UK and ducklings being born in December and January, I hope no garden birds decide to start the breeding season early and get caught out by winter finally getting its act together.

WHERE IS SPIKEY?

It’s been two weeks since we set ‘Spikey’ (Max), the male hedgehog, free in the garden and sightings of him have been rare. I say rare, but what I mean is we’ve not seen him at all.

When he was release he scuttled into the undergrowth of next door’s garden and has not been sighted since.

Neighbours have been recruited to the on ‘hedgehog watch’, but so far the search has been fruitless.

I have been leaving cat food and water out for him late at night, and while the food has gone in the morning, I have no way of knowing if it’s Spikey, one of the resident cats or another wild animal has eaten it.

I just hope he’s ok and enjoying his new surroundings. If he is seen in the near future and regularly, I’ll be looking to rehome a female and set up a new colony.

The house sparrows are doing very well and both nests have just had their second brood of the year fledge.

I’m still not getting great images through the video cameras, but I’m probably going to leave them alone this year so as many house sparrows can fledge to boost the local population.

They may be noisy chirpy little birds, but they are part of the wildlife fabric of this country and it’s lovely to hear them in the morning as part of the dawn chorus.

The flora is doing quite well too, with sunflowers, broad beans, poppies and runner beans all growing taller by the day. All but the sunflowers are flowering and providing the bees and other insects with differing types of pollen.

I’m still seeing the odd small plant being eaten by snails and slugs, but most are escaping their hungry mouths.

Next week we’re meant to be in for as heatwave, which will be good for sun worshippers and the wildlife that needs sun, but everyone must be mindful that to flourish all wildlife needs access to fresh water.

So fill up that garden drinking bath or place small low level containers out at dawn or dusk and help the wildlife flourish in your patch.