THEY’RE BACK!

I didn’t have to wait much longer my ‘my’ swallows to return this year, following my post last week.

The very next morning, Monday 20^th April, I heard a familiar sound as I walked outside in the warm spring air.

They were two days later than last year, well two days later then I was able to see or hear them.

I know a lot has been made of ‘global warming’ and spring coming earlier, but given my observations there isn’t evidence to support this.

I’m sure swallows and other summer migrants thought they had arrived in early summer last week, but the last couple of days and the next week will bring a bit of reality about the actual time of year.

One bird I rarely here from the garden is the cuckoo. I’ve heard one or two calling over the last few years, but always from a distance and never for more than a couple of days.

Back to our native birds and I’ve seen a number of goldfinch pairs down the lane as I’m driving to and from work, while a pair of magpies has built a large nest in one of the tall trees behind the house.

I’ve been watching out in case the magpies are usurped by a bigger bird, but haven’t witnessed what I did many years ago in London when a pair of carrion crows patiently watched a magpie duo build a nest, and then staged a violent takeover.

There does always seem to be a certain level of violence in the throng of house sparrows, with minor conflicts a daily occurrence.

Perhaps this is why there appear to be no eggs yet, or maybe they’re waiting for a longer spell of spring sunshine.

Finally, I’ve been put on a rehoming list for hedgehogs and have been told I could be able to provide a new home for a few in the next few weeks.

Hedgehogs are a great natural defence for the garden and after last year’s slug-fest I’m hoping a hedgehog or two will help bring some natural order back.

Plus they’re a species that are dramatically losing number and I want to play a part in helping to stabilise and then increase numbers.

GARDEN IS ALIVE WITH CHICKS

The spring heat is finally bringing the garden into full bloom. The fruit and veg seeds are showing signs of growing and the various chicks in and around the garden are gradually leaving their nests.

The robin chicks fledged about a month ago now, but the great tits are due to fledge any day now. I can hear them from inside the house now, every time they are fed.

The blackbird family are in a bush next door and the recent wet weather has helped the parents pick up mouthfuls of worms for the chicks to gorge on.

After being usurped by the great tits after two years in the birds' 'favourite' nestbox in my garden, the blue tits have taken up residence in my other next door neighbours' house. They nested in a hole vacated by the removal of a drainage pipe from the bathroom.

It's a brilliant place to nest and I think they'll be back there next year. Luckily both my neighbours are good with wildlife and like the birds being around.

Yesterday while out my bike on Frodsham Marshes I heard the first cuckoo of the year and also saw the fantastic aerobatic skills of a hobby as it swooped, glided and move like a jet fighter during combat over the fields, tress and banks.

As I live on the edge of the marsh it's great to know these two rare birds are living near me. As I put my bike in the garage a sparrowhawk swooped low over me, obviously hoping to catch a small bird by surprise in the nearby fields.

This morning one of the local goldfinch parents brought a youngster to feed in my garden. It was a brief visit but another reason to love where I live.

The tree sparrows are a constant visitor along with the woodpigeons who are nesting in a tree opposite my house.

Our resident cock pheasant is also heard at least once a day and has regularly been seen with at least one female.

With greenfinches, dunnocks and pied wagtails among the other birds seen daily, the dawn chorus is a wonderful alarm call every day.

The tadpoles are growing bigger in my little pond. I've left them alone but will be taking a closer look in the next couple of weeks to see if any are growing legs.

Finally my partner Sarah has organised the window boxes and hanging baskets along with bulb planting in on of the borders. With the honeysuckle flowering the garden is looking lovely.

Pics will be up shortly.

THEY'VE FLEDGED THE NEST

A fully-fledged family

Like any proud parents the blue tits rightly proclaimed the emergence of five chicks after nearly three weeks in the nestbox.

I too felt proud of being able to provide the parents with extra food and, above all, a safe place to bring up their brood.

It's sad to see them go and I'll miss the daily alarm calls from the parents and the chattering of the chicks in the nest, but the next journey of their lives is now solely with mum and dad, and the big wide world.

I'm putting together a video of their nestbox lives which will be up over the weekend.

While filming the baby blue tits in the canopy of the tress (see video below) , waiting for the parents to bring them food, I also 'bumped' in to one of the local robin pairs. They too were introducing their chicks to the outside world and I'm confident of seeing more of them in the coming weeks.

Another set of parents with newly-fledged chicks is the dunnocks. The youngsters are seen foraging around the undergrowth, in much the same way their parents do. They too should stick around for a little bit.

The swallows are now loving the warm weather and can be seen all day scything through the air, grabbing mouthfuls of insects. They can mainly be seen around the house at dawn and dusk.

The blackbird chicks must have hatched as the mother has been seen today looking for food.

Back to the blue tits and the parents were looking rather tired and haggard, with their moult starting to take place.

They will now stay away from the spotlight and not emerge until they have grown a new set of feathers.

So a bitter-sweet morning for me as the blue tit chicks appeared to wait until I'd seen them before flying off to explore the area with their parents.

It's sad to see them go, but also a happy moment as they will hopefully come back later on in the year and rely on handouts during the cold winter months.

The next year one or more pairs will set up home again in my garden; this time I'll be ready with at least one camera nestbox.

I'll be continuing to feed mealworms to the birds and fill up the peanut feeders again. Fingers crossed I get some unusual visitors - a cuckoo, greater-spotted woodpecker or even a goldfinch.

Must also add that this year's Springwatch is very good so far!

DEMANDING CHICKS

Mealworm, caterpillar, mealworm

No cuckoo sounds so far this weekend, but we're only half way through it so plenty of time to go!

Spent a lot of time in the garden yesterday planting out baskets, mowing and putting sunflowers around the borders. Fingers crossed they bloom and attract seed hunters later in the year.

As for the blue tits, they seem to be getting along quite well with a constant supply of food from the parents. Be it a mealworm or two, courtesy of me, caterpillars or other delicious grubs.

I was hopeful the chicks would fledge this weekend, but it seems it could be midweek, when I won't be able to view the spectacle.

Next door have introduced some feeder to the garden and this has attracted the local birds. I'm confident with plenty of shelter, wild food, nestboxes and human-presented food the local bird population will continue to grow and stay around for years.

Some of course will fly away to warmer climes for the winter, which includes the beautiful swallows. They treated us to a spectacular aerobatic display yesterday morning and evening as they competed for food and nesting areas.

They've obviously chosen the same building as last year, the year before and probably for many years before. I'm aiming to get footage of their display today and put them on my next blog.

I know they're nesting because I saw, on a number of occasions yesterday, one on the floor collecting materials for a nest.

I'm looking forward to the newly hatched chicks fledging and learning their aerobatic skills in August, before sadly gathering on the telephone wires in September and going off on their winter holidays until April.

I can see them outside the window now so fingers crossed I get some good footage.

Of the other birds, the blackbirds seem t be on eggs, as the male is the only one seen at the moment. I gather the mating I witnessed early on Thursday may have been successful.

The robins must be showing their chicks around the local neighbourhood, although I get the feeling another pair is 'operating' in the area and could be on eggs.

The tree sparrows appear to be pairing up for mating and the great tits must have chicks they are feeding frequently.

The dunnocks appear to be feeding fledglings but as usual with new families, they disperse after fledgings and take a tour of the area as the parents moult.

I'll publish a full list of the regular wildlife in my garden in the next post.

Oh finally, I was treated to a display from swifts last night, amazing aerial skills and squeaking. I don't think they're nesting too close to the garden, but I think I will see them a lot more during the summer evenings.

And I'm really looking forward to Springwatch starting tomorrow!

CUCKOO, CUCKOO

A new sound to the airwaves

A morning feed of mealworms for the local birds was in sunshine today, the first time for a while. As usual the blue tit parents were the first to appear and gratefully nipped in to take up to three mealworms to the ever-growing chicks.

A sunnier and warmer day seemed to put the chicks in to vocal overdrive as I could clearly hear them even before getting out of the car when I arrived home tonight.

As I was chatting to the neighbours and filling up the feeders with mealworms, a familiar sound came through the airwaves - cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo.

A clearly audible cuckoo was casting his voice near the house. One of the birds they usually 'ask' to foster their chick is the dunnock and we have plenty of them in the hedges and bushes around the garden.

I suspect one set of dunnock parents may be bringing up a cuckoo chick over the coming months, with or without their permission. I'll update any further sounds from the cuckoo when heard.

I spent some time this evening filming the blue tits, one of the videos you can see below. The warning call and the sound of the chicks can clearly be heard, so turn up the sound!



The parents are now looking a little dishevelled and will no doubt be thankful when chicks fledge and start fending for themselves.

That process may be another couple of weeks away, so I'll continue to feed small amounts of mealworms each day until the summer.

One more sight from this morning, which greeted me as I set off for work, was a mating pair of blackbirds. They will surely be on eggs soon and then feeding chicks in a few weeks; no doubt be glad of the mealworms I provide.

More updates over the bank holiday weekend and, with sunny and warm(ish) weather promised I hope to have video and photographic evidence of more local wildlife.