READY FOR WINTER?

In a couple of weeks’ time I’ll look back at the year in images, charting the garden and house through the seasons.

This is something that’s featured on this blog for a couple of years now and it’s interesting to see the differences between each year.

By the time the reflection post comes on, it may well include an image or two with snow in; highly doubtful given the low height above sea level the garden is.

There’s not been much activity around the garden, aside from the usual visitors of blue tits, robins, house sparrows and dunnocks.

Not many blackbirds have been seen and other birds are still to regularly visit the garden during this early period of winter.

However, one bird that has flirted with the garden is the redwing.

In flocks of less than 20, they’ve visited the areas around the garden on a couple of occasions, but stay mainly up the lane in bigger bushes and trees that offer more shelter and more berries!

One exciting development was earlier this week, with the brief sighting of a barn owl next to the garden.

It appeared against the light of next door’s outside light and is the first one I’ve seen in about seven or eight years.

This news takes into context the seemingly reduction on cats in neighbouring houses and, though while still too numerous, the sighting of the owl is hopefully a good sign about natural prey for the barn and tawny owls, which had not been seen or heard around the garden for a number of years.

Let’s hope the local little owl population comes back too!

A BUMPER BREEDING SEASON?

Plenty of butterflies and moths have been in and around the garden recently, which makes me think it’s been a good year for them.

The most ‘popular’ attendees to the garden are the orange tip butterfly and the cinnabar moth, both of whom have been seen daily in the garden.

I’m beginning to think this has been a significant boom year for our small garden birds. I’ve now seen two lots of blue tit fledglings, the latest this week and the robins are looking distinctly scruffy, which makes me think they’re on to their third brood.

The blackbirds have had at least two, the swallows second brood also fledged this week and there appears to be large numbers of magpies and goldfinches.

But the big news on the nesting front is that both the house sparrows and tree sparrows are busy raising a third brood in the garden nest boxes.

The parents seem to be having a competition with each other as to who can raise the most chicks, as invariably when I can hear chicks in one nest the other follows with a day or so.

I’m not sure how many have fledged from each nest since April, but it must be double figures.

I very much doubt there’ll be a fourth fledging, but with the hedgerows around the garden swaying under the weight of sparrows, I wouldn’t be surprised.

What it must mean is it’ll also be a bumper year for the birds of prey. I know there’s a few sparrowhawk around here and certainly kestrels. The crows, magpies and jays may also pick of a few weaker young too, plus the resident little and tawny owls might pinch a couple from night roosts.

In the next couple of weeks I’ll be showcasing the transformation of the garden, showing images taken at weekly intervals from March this year.

The transformation is stunning, well I think so.

SUMMER STARTS IN SEPTEMBER

The weather is now showing us what summer could have been like if it had bothered turning up in May, June or July. But what does it mean for the wildlife?

Well in my garden some flowers are still blooming, including gladiola, poppies and rudbeckia, so there’s been a large number of bees and butterflies each day.

At night the slugs are in decline, while the snails are seemingly hiding too as the nights become cooler. That said the last couple have been mild.

The swallows have certainly packed their suitcases, but not all have left. Just two nights ago I saw about 80-100 flying over the house and garden, searching for evening insects for a tasty treat.

I suspect the warm day weather will keep them, but it’ll be how cool it is at night that’ll prompt the full departure.

The usual mix of birds has been in the garden, although a pair of young robins seem particularly fond of spending time there.

The harvesting has begun with tomatoes now a daily fixture and just a few carrots and potatoes left.

I’m hoping the chillies and sweet peppers, most of which are still indoor, will be ready in the next couple of weeks.

So as September means we saw goodbye to our swifts, swallows and house martins, the autumn glow brings new visitors and a different time in the cycle of the lives of wildlife everywhere.

What will the cooler months bring? Our first hedgehog? The great spotted woodpeckers and little owls returning?

Will the weather bring lots of snow and the return of -25C on our car gauges? Whatever happens the wildlife will cope in one way or another, but next breeding season is bound to see extras for plenty of those who didn’t fare too well this year.

Most importantly; will be nestbox camera be able to film a new family next summer?

A SURPRISE VISITOR

So we did have a summer this year, it was in May and June. July and August must be the new autumn!

The warm weather helped to give some wildlife better conditions to raise their young, but it then became too dry as all wildlife need water.

One of the major worries was the pond behind our house. It’s been home to coots, moorhens, reed beds with various insects, fish and a number of ducks. This is despite its relatively small size.

Unfortunately the farmer who owns the pond used almost all of its water to spray on his crops. While this is understandable, the system that was used had more leaks than a Wales farmer’s market or all the country’s water firms put together!

I noticed on a number of occasions the birds floating on what was left of the pond looking very confused with what had happened.

Since the rain started the pond has filled up thanks to an incoming small stream, but is now almost breaching the ‘dam’ wall at one end. It’s at the highest level I’ve seen in three years.

Unfortunately most of the wildlife will have either perished or found somewhere else to live/breed.

My pond is still teeming with life as the number of frogs increasing and tadpoles decrease. I’m not sure how many will survive the first year of life but I hope some will return to spawn when the time is right.

The garden is now in full bloom after and very well watered. The flowers and various plants, bushes and crops have attracted all sorts of insects, butterflies, and moths.

It’s fantastic to see so many of these creatures making our garden sufficiently interesting for them to visit, feed and breed.

This of course attracts birds and we’ve had frequent visits from the blue tits and great tits youngsters born in and around the garden.

One noticeable sight is the amount of goldfinches, swallows and swifts flying overhead or nearby feeding on the wing or in the surrounding fields and bushes.

But, the most exciting moment came when I noticed a bird I’ve never seen before was spotted nearby. It must live within 200m of our house as I’ve spotted it on numerous occasions observing the scene from the same lookout post.

The bird in questions is a little owl and we feel extremely grateful to be able to share our neighbourhood with us.

I first noticed it when a blackbird was issuing an alarm call in a field adjacent to our house. As it was still light I investigated what was bothering it and watched a similar sized bird fly up to a telegraph pole. I then noticed it on the same pole in the subsequent days and was able to identify it.

With a new arrival in our house due any day, updates may become infrequent as Sarah and I become enthusiastic parents! Hopefully we’ll do as well as our local wildlife.