NATURE HAS DEALT A CRUEL BLOW TO THE ROBINS

The sun has been shining, the birds in full voice and plenty of signs of the next generation coming into this world.

The garden had two active nests, with the robins (second attempt after the first one resulted in three chicks dying) and the great tits, which were located in the nest box that has been used every year since we moved here in 2007.

The girls and I had been feeding mealworms to the robins, while the house sparrows nesting in next door’s garage, the blue tits in next door’s wall and the great tits were making use of the free handouts.

Sadly, just when I thought the robins could soon fledge, the nest in the ivy was raided and the nest left destroyed. The chicks were nowhere to be seen or heard.

Given there is a magpie nest nearby and the magpies had been seen regularly in the garden over the last week, I suspect it was the magpies that raided the nest.

The parents were still hanging around the garden and the male singing from a perch I’ve often seen him at over the last few months.

I’m hoping that not all the chicks were taken, but have no evidence to suggest any are now alive.

Given the number of cats around here (another feral one has been ‘saved’ by the neighbours), I think we’re at 11 between three houses, plus the feral ones being fed down the lane, I suspect it’s unlikely any survivors would get passed those felines.

The great tits are still thriving and will hopefully fledge next weekend when the weather might have warmed back up a little.

It's been great to get to know the parents while working in the garden just under the nest box (I spend many hours there in spring and summer and the birds quickly get used to my presence).

These pics and video show just how at ease the great tits are with me being there.

The pond has new plants around it and by next weekend the hanging baskets will be up, so the garden has now really sprung into spring.

Next stop, summer!

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THE GARDEN

Before I went on holiday for a week with the family, I took images of the garden from all four angles to see how much it would grow in seven days, at the height of summer.

I’ve done it because this unusually wet and fairly humid growing season has given plenty of healthy growing flora, but not given us much chance to enjoy it, apart from glimpses through a window as we shelter from the rain!

The first angle is towards the front of the house and the beautiful hanging baskets that Sarah creates every year. This year they were put together a couple of weeks late due to the weather, but they’ll still be great throughout the next couple of months.

As you can see from the first image they are growing well and the sunflower is growing well. The tomato plants of the right and left of the image had flowers so I was hoping for little green fruit upon my return.

As you can see from the image below, the sunflower has grown and started to show its flower, the wall climbing plant is providing even more shelter for small bugs and insects, which in turn is attracting the returning post-moult small birds and the hanging baskets are growing well.

The rose bush, which was showing flowers when we left for the holiday, has taken a couple of years to grow to its current state and plenty of pruning at most times of the year.

It provides a haven for the small birds that visit the garden to shelter from both weather and danger, while also feeding on food gathered from my offerings, or that of the garden itself.

As you can see from the image below, some of the flowers have faded, but others are coming to replace them. The most notable difference is the lawn, which has a carpet of daisies, perfect for small insects.

As my daughter started to wander around the garden I decided to slowly fill in the small pond and grow from seed, plants to fill the gap in the rockery.

The result is a sea of colour and a micro wildlife haven, with plenty of insects making it home. The good news is the pond lining is still there, so it can be resurrected in the future.

As you can see from the image below, the lawn has again shown it's growing power in the wet conditions, while the changing colours of the flowering plants is proving to be a great place for nectar hunting insects and bees. I planted most of the current flowers as seeds in March, so it's great to see that work coming to fruition.

Earlier this year I drastically trimmed the honeysuckle bush as it was mainly dead branches and I wanted the bush to provide shelter but not overhang the patio.

At first I thought the bush wasn’t responding positively to the trim, but slowly it began to show new shoots and green leaves. It had grown into what I imagined before we went away and would provide a great place for insects and birds to watch the garden.

But as you can see it had come back to life before the Cornwall holiday and I was making sure it created a thin, but sheltering hedge, rather than the overhanging shaded area it did before.

As you can see from the image below the honeysuckle has grown even further to start start shaping up to what I envisaged it to be when I cut it right back this spring.

At the front of the garden the entrance gate has sunflowers each side of it, while a couple of tomato plants and small hedge bushes were planted a couple of years ago to make a barrier combined with the fence.

The sunflowers provide autumn food for some birds, while the fence helps provide a security from local cats.

It is now turning into a great entrance to the garden, while also providing shelter and food for wildlife, plus food for us.

The sunflowers are growing well, albeit not at the same rate!

A NEW CHAPTER

And so after the great tit chicks fledged and the parents to the eight youngsters to explore the countryside around our house, we're left with an empty nestbox and the hope that the youngsters make it through the perils life will throw at them.

In the meantime my partner, Sarah, has now chosen to brighten our garden with her annual window box and hanging baskets display.

Every year she produces wonderful arrangements of colourful flowers brightening up our garden - you can see an example of this with one of my images on the main blog page.

This year she's had a little help from our daughter, Poppy, in the form of pointing and some early stage speaking - which doesn't make sense.

So the next chapter of this blog will feature the every growing hanging baskets and window box, along with the various plants, vegetables and fruit we have growing in the garden.

I'll be keeping an eye out on other wildlife, including a second brood for the blackbirds next door and the flocks of goldfinches in the surrounding fields.

To begin below is a picture of the hanging baskets and window box just minutes after they've been planted out.