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.

NEW LIFE IN THE GARDEN

There seems to be new life everywhere in the garden, with caterpillars being very much appreciated by the newly hatched great tit chicks.

The chicks hatched earlier this week and have been fed very well by the parents, who are both bringing in a plethora of young bugs, many of them caterpillars.

The chicks are growing quickly, although the camera is still not working properly and progress is being calculated by the increased level of the chirping from the youngsters.

I’m not going to try and fix the camera until the breeding season has finished, but I’ve lost hope of the other nest box with a camera being occupied.

Ironically that camera is providing some clear live video. It’s similar to last year, when the only section of the triple sparrow nest box that was not occupied, had a camera in it.

It would seem that the birds are camera shy in this garden!

A number of sunflowers and broad bean plants have been planted outside, with a defence in place against the numerous snails and slugs – still no sign of the hedgehog from last year.

The skies are being filled with the songs of two particular birds – the swallow and chiffchaff.

I can’t work out if there has been a fledging of swallow chicks already, or if the fields around the house are a good feeding ground for swallows from around the area. I suspect it’s the latter.

Either way it’s a lovely sound to hear.

It’s the same with the chiffchaffs and the odd male blackbird calling in the evening from regular posts.

If only the weather could be as nice as the songs carried over the airwaves.

WET, WILD AND HUMID SUMMERTIME

In the last week of so the number of bees and butterflies has increased in the garden, as the wet and mild(ish) weather has made for excellent growing conditions.

The birds have started to come back, with the odd appearance from a young and adult great and blue tits.

All in all it’s been a strange spring and summer, with plenty of ups, but more downs. I’d be interested to know how other people have viewed wildlife in their gardens, but know a couple who have experienced similar to me.

The swallow family are now testing their wings as the youngsters gorge on the huge numbers of flying insects. I expect another brood from the new brood in the horse stable, particularly if the favourable weather conditions continue.

At the moment the evening air is filled with the beautiful songs of blackbirds, swallows and a lonesome chiffchaff, while tree and house sparrows chirp away with youngsters in the rose hedge before diving to feed at one of the seed feeders.

The potatoes and carrots are progressing well and I’m hopeful of a sweetcorn crop this year. The runner bean and tomato plants are showing signs of bearing fruit, but they seem to be slower than previous years.

My sunflowers are growing rapidly and I think a few will reach over 10ft, with potential for even higher if the weather warms up a little more.

My daughter loves the garden, well in particular watering the plants, and herself, with her pink elephant watering can. If that isn’t there she’ll try and lift my big green one, which if less than a quarter full she can do.

Now is the time to watch the insects make best use of the garden, before the birds return from moulting and once again bask in the bounty of food that the area provides, along with some handouts from me.

NOT MUCH ACTION

The wildlife has not been out in force recently, well not in my garden anyway.

A male blackbird is often heard from a few nearby high spots, notably tops of telegraph poles, joining a subdued dawn chorus and being prominent during the dusk chorus.

The swallows are often seen now with youngsters from the first brood and given the weather and potential increase in insect numbers in the next few weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if they had a second brood.

A chiffchaff has recently been heard to sing again, so perhaps a second brood is on there, while a male robin has often been in the garden when it sees me with the mealworm box ready to put some on a feeding station.

The tree sparrows and house sparrows must still be feeding youngsters, because they grab a number of mealworms each visit, but I expect them to fledge soon.

One of the interesting visitors is a magpie, which seems to have discovered I'm fairly generous when it comes to feeding the smaller birders. It if often joined by others, who then scare the smaller birds away and gobble up mealworms, before trying their beaks on the peanuts - which they sometimes succeed with despite the feeder being only suited for smaller birds.

I've counted four different types of bees visiting the garden, I can't name them, but can tell the differences from colour and size variations.

When the summer returns after this current storm, I'll take a closer look and come back with types of bees so it can provide me with information on who is living around here and why.

For now I can only hope the ducks enjoy the weather as I think it'll be warming up from next week onwards!

THE SAD RESULTS OF APRIL WEATHER

Despite the weather turning in to summer after a cold and wet six weeks, it has led to a rather sad ending to my nestbox camera story.

The images below aren't the easiest to view but it reflects what happens in nature every day, month and year.

I had noticed that the great tits were not around very much for the last week or so, despite me recently seeing one of the parents going in to the nestbox with a caterpillar in beak.

After hearing the story of a friend who had watched from their nestbox camera as eight great tit chicks straved to death during April and early May, I resolved to check the nestbox after watching for parental activity over the weekend.

With little or no great tit activity anywhere near the nestbox, I opened it up and found the eight tiny fledglings hadn't made it passed a couple of days old.

The unusually cool and wet weather had obviously led to a lack of relevant food for the chicks and their sad demise. I presume this has happened to many great tit and other small bird families across the UK, which makes me wonder if this breeding season will be a poor one.

In positive news I've noticed a blue tit nest in a tiny crevice in the wall of a small disused building at the back of our house. The crevice is so tight the parents have to literally squeeze out each time they have fed their chicks.

I think they'll fledge in the next week as they're very vocal when the parents bring food.

The robins have not been seen for a while, which makes me think the chicks are all out and the family has gone off to explore the countryside.

Activity has been frantic from the house and tree sparrows, as they spend lots of time in the rose hedge and the garden borders. I'm still unsure where they're nesting, but it must be close.

The blackbirds are still around and this week have been dominating the airwaves, especially at dusk, as the males use prominent spots like telegraph poles to littering the wind with lovely song.

It certainly makes a change from the constant chiffchaff tunes during the day.

Finally an unusual visitor came to the garden this week, a great spotted woodpecker, although he didn't stay around too long. Perhaps he'll be back.

More news this weekend.

TOAD IN THE HOLE

Not the usual sausage in mash version, but an actual toad in a hole in our garden.

I noticed it last night while watering the plants in the greenhouse; I thought it was a mouse but it then appeared from the undergrowth.

It appeared to be wary of me, but not completely overwhelmed once it could see I meant it now harm.

The good news is the toad is still there tonight so is obviously enjoying our garden and I'm happy to welcome a new animal to the garden as it will eat slugs, snails and other animals that want to eat my plants!

I think I've worked out where the toad lives so will be keeping an eye out and updating the blog with further news.

This morning, after my daughter's 5am alarm call, I was able to watch some of the birds in and around our house and noticed another new bird.

A female blackcap was among a family of chiffchaffs, my returning great tits and a sole robin chick.

It was great to see and hear all the birds going about their daily routines and the families feeding together. The whole scene reminded me of my own family growing together and the early alarm call was soon forgotten.

Maybe I'll get up at 5am most days (during the summer) to see what else is happening in and around where we live.

PONDLIFE

What a wonderful weekend of spring weather we've just had. Warm and sunny, just like spring should be on Saturdays and Sundays.

The birds in and around my garden are now in full voice and it was lovely to be woken by them this morning rather than the usual alarm.

While I wait for the first song of my favourite bird the swallow, I love listening to the huge variety of birds including robin, blackbird, blue tit, great tit, dunnock and tree sparrow.

The pheasant is also now becoming a daily singer along with the now seemingly resident chiffchaff, while the greater-spotted woodpecker is making a daily appearance after taking a fancy to the big fat snack on the bird table.

I noticed from the comfort of my bed early this morning a woodpigeon picking dead twigs from the outbuildings next door. It's nest must be very near as it was back very quickly for more.

The activity around the nestboxes has seemingly faded, although this could be due to me giving the birds space and peace to get the breeding process going.

I've started to introduce mealworms to the feeding system as I fade out the usual peanuts and fat snacks.

The biggest development is the pond as I watch the tadpoles hatch and now swim amongst the vegetation. I'm hoping they grow quickly and emerge as froglets soon.

The pond and rockery has been left undisturbed since it was rejuvenated last summer and I'm very pleased at how it now looks.

The blossom of the greengage tree is also an awesome sight, especially as it overlooks the pond and rockery.

I hope next time I update this blog they'll be some positive news on the nestboxes.

You can see the main tit box on the wall but the robin one is on the right of the picture halfway up.

TIT UPDATE

The sun is out, the blossom is glistening and the birds are in full song as spring shows its face again.

It appears there's a bidding war going on over the blue tit nestbox with the blue tits, being usurped by two fighting pairs of great tits.

The smaller blue tits have been watching on as the great tits fight over the nestbox. It's obviously a good site, but hopefully the other two tit nestboxes will be used once the battle for the favourite one is concluded.

No sign of the robin around its nestbox today, hopefully the nest is already built and the pair are waiting for the egg laying day.

The dunnocks are flirting outrageously with each other, although I'm not sure where they're nesting.

Not seen the chiffchaff since it's two brief appearances, but hopefully as the spring warms up it'll make frequents trips to the garden.

No further news on the pond but hope to have some on Monday!