DOES ANYONE REMEMBER WHEN IT WASN’T STORMY?

It’s fair to say that I’m struggling to remember when the last time we had some calm weather, given we’re experiencing storm after storm hitting the UK.

And, if there hasn’t been a named storm, then we’ve been hit be continual low pressures or the windy edge of a high pressure.

The fields are soaking, and large ponds of water are now forming and not draining at all.

Even the stream alongside the lane regularly breaches the banks when we’ve had a few hours of rain.

These videos are taken one day last week, then below are two mages taken the same time, on the following day.

To see all that in one go, here’s a collated image. What’s not shown is the water on the lane is gradually damaging the surface and there’s not a day goes by when the lane doesn’t have large puddles dotted along it.

 

The wildlife is not appearing to be affected by the weather, well from what I can see and hear.

The dawn chorus has been getting stronger each day recently, although the storm and wet mornings have limited activity.

During the day we’re now hearing more territorial songs from the robins, blue tits, great tits and also the odd chaffinch.

The breeding season is largely dictated by the day length, but I do wonder how the storm will affect it long-term.

If the butterflies and moths, which lay eggs that then turn onto the caterpillar food for the small garden birds, get impacted by the storms, then how will the birds cope?

That will also impact some the birds of prey in the area, but we can only wait and see how that all plays out.

If the stormy weather continues for a while, then our summer migrants might also be impacted; so swallows, house martins, swifts and cuckoos.

Again only time with tell, until then we’ll continue to batten down the hatches and hope the water levels gradually drop.

WINTER, SPRING, SUMMER & AUTUMN IN THE SAME MONTH?

We’ve not yet finished April but we’ve seen weather representing all four seasons already.

Hail and a little snow started the month, before spring(ish) conditions followed, then last week summer took over, while autumn came along today and looks like staying until May – or until winter starts the sequence again.

What’s been lovely to see, up until today, has been the swallows dancing in the air, chattering and making plans for breeding, plans that may be on hold for now!

The nest building in the garden continues, with the blue tits and blackbirds making their choices of nest location well known.

The male wren has been entertaining the female at his nest in the previously unused nest box.

It’s been difficult to assess her feedback, although she has been spotted a few times so perhaps this nest ‘sale’ is still under discussion.

What’s been very distinguishable is the dawn chorus, and what a lovely sound the birds are making around the garden.

Wren, blackbird, blue tit, house sparrow, robin, dunnock, goldfinch, chaffinch, swallow, chiffchaff and great tit all providing a cacophony of alarm bells from the first chink of light – at the moment 5am is late for some birds!

The big question for the birds is will there be enough food for when the chicks arrive, particularly for those that have laid eggs recently, as the colder weather isn’t beneficial for the usual spring gluttony of caterpillars.

One thing I do is order mealworms, and the first batch is due to arrive this weekend, so it’ll be interesting to see which birds fly off with big bunches of them first.

CAN SOMEONE CALL SPRING, SHE'S LATE!

The snow and winter has unleashed its worst weather so far this season and it’s meant to be spring!

This time last year it was 17/18c and lovely spring sunshine, but this year there’s up to a foot of snow and a bitterly cold easterly wind.

The birds look in shock when I see them in the garden and the forecasts suggest that even Easter won’t escape winter’s unwelcome extension.

Luckily in our garden we have shelter from the east winds and the birds have made the most of the area of lawn and border that hasn’t seen a single flake of snow. On the other side is drifting snow!

It’s been so cold that a lack of traditional spring food supplies has driven a great spotted woodpecker onto the fat ball feeder on my garden and literally 10ft from the house. I couldn’t find my camera quickly enough and before long it had taken flight, although I suspect it won’t be long before I see it again.

The regular supplies of food I give the birds are very welcome for them at the moment and I’ve seen plenty this week. Blackbird, chaffinch, house sparrow, blue tit, robin, great tit, long tailed tit, tree sparrow, goldfinch, woodpigeon, magpie, wren, dunnock and even a pheasant.

The camera nest box still isn’t working and I’m going to leave it for this year as a pair of great tits and blue tits have been inspecting it and even clashing over the rights to nest there.

I suspect that this battle will continue, but it’ll be the ‘who is roosting first’ challenge for the next week or so.

I think the pair of robins are using a nest site that they’ve used before, among the tree roots and vegetation that grows from the brook near our garden. They won’t use the nest box I’ve got up again this year because the honeysuckle plant hasn’t covered it up enough.

Finally I’ve not seen one bird inspect the sparrow nest box and while this weather persists I suspect they’ll only do so at dusk if a current roost site it disturbed.

Hopefully the weather will start to act like spring from Easter onwards and the wildlife can start acting accordingly – until then keep feeding them and always making sure a water supply is available.

IS SPRING AROUND THE CORNER?

I’ve been working for the last few days to fix the nestbox camera, but with no success. I’m going to give it one more go next weekend and then leave it for another year.

During the milder weather recently, the sunshine has given the bird a new lease of life; gone was the days of simply foraging for food to survive and in came looking for a mate and potential nest site.

I watched as both a pair of blue tits and great tits spent time looking at the camera nestbox from various angles and tried different flight patterns from vantage points towards the nestbox.

I haven’t seen any bird actually fly in to or around the nestbox, but I think there has been one bird, or more, roosting in there. If I was to guess I would say it would be a great tit; that’s based on what I noted when the camera was working.

The warm sunshine has brought the dawn chorus to life, with plenty of song in the last couple of days, plus plenty of birds hanging around my garden and surrounding area.

It now appears that the song thrush I’ve seen and heard a lot recently has found either a mate or foe. Judging by the way one was chasing after the other for about ten minutes in the bushes and trees suggest to me that it will be a mate and a breeding pair could set up a nest near the garden.

I’ll be keeping my eye out for them both in case of nesting activity and new chicks.

Talking of chicks I thought I saw a fledgling blackbird recently, but put it down to a slightly differently coloured female.

My thoughts changed when I saw said female in the garden, and it was joined by a definite female and they reacted to one another like they knew each other.

Has anyone ever known blackbirds to breed in winter?

Feeding the birds regularly can be quite exciting as three recent examples show.

Firstly I filled the seed feeder and two fat snack feeders and as I approached the trees that I regularly hang them in (different locations each time), there was a sudden burst of noise coming from the surrounding bushes and trees and I saw a small flock of house sparrows, joined by various species including chaffinch, great tit and blue tit, along with a couple of robins.

They all had appeared to be welcoming me and the food I was bringing and within seconds of me hanging them out, the small birds were taking their turn on the feeders.

Secondly a robin, which appears every time I’m working in the garden or hanging out feeder, has been hovering in flight trying to get at a fat snack in hanging feeder. The hover doesn’t last for long, but he/she is getting much more accomplished at getting food.

Finally the long tailed tits are still making regular visits to the garden, particularly the peanut feeder and as I spend more and more time in the garden, I can sometimes hear the flock coming.

It’s these interactions with nature that ensures I’ll always be a fan and friend of wildlife.

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.

SPRING SUNSHINE LIGHTS UP MARCH

The glow of spring sunshine is becoming a frequent image when I look out of the car, house or office.

The warmth isn't quite there yet, although in sheltered spots with little wind you can get an idea of what it'll be like in a few weeks. The daffodils are loving it though

But the blossom on some of the trees is a beautiful light pink colour, reflected brilliantly be the low sun.

Birds are obviously getting excited about the arrival of spring, with the dawn chorus a cacophony of sounds claiming territories and demonstrations of masculinity by many of our male feathered friends.

My excitement levels have reached unprecedented levels this week, not because of the sunshine or dawn chorus tunes, but by the emergence of a new TV star in my house!

Two weeks ago I fitted the nestbox, that has been used every year since I put it up, with a tiny camera that feeds live images 24-7 into a channel on my TV.

With four nestboxes I've trusted that the one I've chosen will be used again this year and provide some great shots of a family of great or blue tits growing up.

It still needs adjustment to the focus and wiring route, but it works and, it's what I've waited patiently for since 2007.

I checked it every night for five days, then left it over a weekend. On Sunday night I sneaked a view while Sarah wasn't looking and mush to my amazement, a bird was snuggled up in there!

In the last week I've checked every night and the same looking bird has spent the night in the box, only once giving me a clue to its identity. I think it's a great tit, but will confirm soon.

I want to leave it and get it settled so it knows the nestbox is a safe place to bring up a family, then one day soon it might start building a nest.

In other news the dunnocks are busy flirting with their fluttery wings, while the robins seem to have established which parts of the area they'll be 'owning' this year, after seemingly sharing some parts during the cold, ice and snowy conditions.

The blue tits, blackbirds, chaffinches, goldfinches, tree sparrows, long tailed tits and wrens are all in our garden daily, with frequent visits from a great spotted woodpecker, jays, woodpigeons and the resident cock pheasant.

This weekend I'm making final checks on my nestboxes before keeping my fingers crossed at least three of the four are used.

The pond will also be given a makeover, to help any returning frogs to spawn.

SPRING IS COMING

With daffodils emerging and snowdrops appearing everywhere, we can only assume spring is in the air.

I know it was a bit cold last night, but frosts can be expected until April at least.

So my Blue Tit blog is starting again with an added extra - a bird box camera. My partner Sarah bought me the camera system for Christmas but it's taken me a while to have the time to set it up.

Only thing I'm now waiting for is the extension lead to fit the camera to the bird box that has been occupied since I put it up in January 2008.

In 2008 and 2009 a pair of blue tits brought up five and six youngsters respectively, whether it was the same pair I just don't know.

In 2010 the blue tits were usurped by the great tits, who brought up six chicks. The blue tits moved next door to a cavity in the wall left by an outlet pipe.

One amazing evening with golden sunlight lighting the garden, both sets of chicks started to fledge within minutes of me arriving home from work. Three hours later I'd watched them fledge, find their wings in the nearby trees and fly off with their parents.

I have four nest boxes now in the garden, and in 2010 a pair of robins nested in the open-fronted box hidden in the honeysuckle. Will they come back this year? I hope so.

I've kept the birds with food during the winter and now have the usual suspects of blue, great and long tailed tits, robins, blackbirds, dunnocks, tree sparrows, chaffinches and goldfinches along with the now regular jays and great spotted woodpeckers. The wrens are still around, but more irregular.

I'm checking the nestboxes for roosting activity next weekend, then clearing anything out ready for the 2011 spring and summer residents. Fingers crossed they arrive!

EXCITING UPDATE

With the snow and cold weather still affecting my tits and all the other birds that visit my garden, I'll be introducing a new way of monitoring activity in my nestboxes.

My partner, Sarah, bought my a wireless camera for Christmas, which means if one of my nestboxes is used this year, I'll have a separate TV channel to view their activity and any chicks they have.

This weekend I'll be fixing the camera up so stay tuned for the first pictures - if I can make it work!

In the meantime my feathered friends are busily eating through my supplies of fat balls, suet snacks, supreme bird seed and peanuts.

Among the visitors to my garden are blue tit, great tit, blackbird, robin, great spotted woodpecker, jay, dunnock, long tailed tit, chaffinch, woodpigeon, starling, wren and tree sparrow.

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

It's been a while since I last updated this blog, but with the extreme cold weather I, like the wildlife, have spent most of the time trying to stay warm.

Over the winter I've provided the local wildlife with numerous typical winter food, from peanuts to fat snacks and all kinds of seeds.

The regular feeds have resulted in an increasing number of visitors to the feeders and below them, including jays, pheasants and the now regular great-spotted woodpecker.

Over the last two weeks the four nestboxes I have in the garden have attracted numerous enquiries for spring residents, including the returning blue tits - the reason why I started this blog.

But to my surprise and delight, two more of the nestboxes look like being occupied. Below the blue tit box, a robin is building a nest in the honeysuckle, while a great tit is making frequent visits to another nestbox on the other side of the garden.

With the clocks going forward I'll be able to check up on the new residents next week and update with images and video.

One exciting development was a new bird for my garden this morning, a chiffchaff. Think he/she may have arrived back in this country a little too late to take up residence in my garden, though you never know!

The pond has developed nicely since last year and is now crystal clear, thanks to extreme winter cold no doubt. I spotted a couple of frogs on the road the other night and I'm hoping they use my pond to deposit their frog spawn.

Finally I spotted a male chaffinch doing something very weird last weekend. It appeared to be trying to fight with a reflection of itself in my car wing mirror. It did this on two days and after that was spotted doing it to a neighbours car.

Anyway below is the video of it, with your thoughts welcome.

A NEW SEASON

After the excitement of last year, I'm really looking forward to a new season of Blue Tit Watch.

I've been feeding the birds with seed, fatty snacks, peanuts and most importantly water during the extremely cold winter and have found some wonderful surprises.

A flock of goldfinches and tree sparrows are using one of the trees to roost and one evening I watched them mob a sparrowhawk that was resting on a branch.

The following list of birds has taken advantage of my food supply with a few surprises:

Blue tit, great tit, long-tailed tit, tree sparrow, chaffinch, blackbird, dunnock, robin, great-spotted woodpecker, pheasant, goldfinch, song thrush, starling, woodpigeon, jay and magpie.

I've noticed recently the blue tits taking an interest in the next box used for the last two years, although they now have a choice of four next boxes spread around the garden in different locations.

This blog will gradually deliver daily updates as the cold winter is replaced by the warming glow and scents only spring can offer.

LATEST NEWS

May 7th

After a spell of warmer weather the paired blue tits were seen mating outside the bird box on a number of occasions.

Since then the birds have turned from a pair to one, presumably the male, who's been singing warning songs everytime I've been in the garden.

The obvious conclusion would be the female sitting on eggs in the nestbox and the male keeping her up-to-date with what's happening outside.

In the last couple of days the male has been seen taking mealworms (supplied by me) into the nextbox without the usual sound of chicks begging for food.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed the female is on eggs and hopefully will hear the sounds of chicks in the next couple of weeks.

Which is a positive of the holiday to Mexico (due to be taken on Saturday) has been cancelled. Fingers crossed all this will lead to me seeing the chicks fledge.

The recent weather hasn't been exactly May-like (my greenhouse has fallen in the winds) but a new batch of mealworms has arrived and I'm ready to help feed any chicks.

Talking of chicks it seems with the variety of birds arriving and taking away beakfuls of mealworms that a number of chicks are in the surrounding buildings and countryside.

Pairs of robins, blackbirds and great tits and indulged in the feast, with goldfinches, tree sparrows and dunnocks utilising either the worm handout or peanuts.

With the odd visit from woodpigeons, house sparrows, chaffinches, pied wagtails, magpies, a greater-spotted woodpecker, wrens and a pair of song thrushes, the garden is full of life.

The usual swallows are performing aerobatic sorties catching flying insects and nesting again in the small barns behind the house, while long-tailed tits have lengthened the time between their family visits.