SUMMER LIFE IN THE GARDEN CAN BE QUIETER

Life in and around the garden has become a lot quieter in recent days, with the newly fledged blue tits, great tits, robins and house sparrows all seemingly off to find adventure (and food) in the surrounding countryside.

The magpie family are still very audible around the garden, particularly in the morning when the youngsters are often heard cackling, often a few hours before anyone’s alarm has gone off!

They are also fairly noisy in the evenings, although this isn’t too bad as we’re still awake. The reason for their noise is often down to the increasing number of cats around, which is really annoying for everyone.

I intercepted two cats with voles in their mouths, which is so frustrating that they’re catching prey that could feed owls or kestrels, or even foxes. Instead the cats are clearing up and we don’t get to see those animals in the countryside setting we’re in.

The robin family, which successfully fledged a brood at the third attempt, had spent a couple of weeks around the garden, but have not been seen for a couple of days.

There are four youngsters and they seemed to enjoy spending time around the garden and could often be found literally under our feet.

 

  

While it’s sad to see them move on from the garden, it’s so pleasing to see the parents have chicks after two tragic attempts at previous broods.

We’re seeing a few more glimpses of the swallows, which can be put down to the adults teaching the newly fledged chicks the best fly catching methods.

They’re starting to learn to swoop lower and lower around the gardens and it’s a great sight to see.

It’s a shame they’ll be leaving in a matter of weeks, although the squawking swifts, which are still sometimes venturing over the garden in the evening, will depart much sooner.

NEW SURPRISING VISITOR TO THE GARDEN

Five years ago we provided a home to a young hedgehog that had spent time recuperating in a local rescue centre.

‘Spikey’, as he was called by my eldest daughter, was set free in our garden in June 2015, and he seemed to enjoy his new surroundings.

A few sniffs and he was off exploring, so after a few minutes watching him we left him alone and thought we’d see him over the next few days, weeks, months and years.

However, the days, weeks, months and years passed by without even one sighting of Spikey and we thought that was it.

The girls were disappointed, particularly my youngest as she was just one when Spikey was released so had never seen a hedgehog.

But lockdown has been very strange in many ways and one evening while eating my dinner in the garden, with darkness falling and one or two bats already sighted, there was a rustling noise coming from one side of the garden.

At first, I thought it was birds moving about in the ivy, finding the perfect spot to roost for the evening, but the noise kept on happening even after darkness had fallen.

I eventually decided to investigate and as I got closer realise that the noise was not coming from the ivy or hedge, but from the undergrowth.

The light of my phone was switched on and suddenly a movement at the bottom of the ivy made the noise I’d been hearing.

As I tried to make out what it was, the animal moved and revealed itself to be a hedgehog!

I must admit I was a little excited and immediately wondered if it was Spikey, although I later realised that if it was Spikey he would have been pretty old for a hedgehog.

Instead it could be one of his offspring, but either way a hedgehog in the garden was something we had only seen when we released Spike five years ago.

I feed the birds mealworms during the breeding season and sprinkle some over part of the lawn, and it was the leftovers that the hedgehog was feasting on.

He (I say he because it’s quite a big animal and the males are traditionally bigger) came back for a number of nights afterwards, and my daughters were able to see him and it added to their knowledge and excitement about wildlife, something I’m keen for them to continue learning.

We’ve not seen it for a few days now but given the warmer weather I’m now setting out dog food and have cut the underneath of a couple of fence panels to allow it to come in without hinderance.

In other news the robins were indeed on a nest of eggs which successfully hatched. The mealworm feast I was giving them seemed to work and they successfully fledged last week.

The parents have been coming into the garden for food every day and feeding them in the thick bushes near the house and garden.

The great tits and neighbouring blue tits have not been heard around for a week or so, which is not unusual as they spend time away exploring with their parents and finding the best places for food.

The house sparrows have laid eggs again in the garage roof and in the last couple of days are seemingly feeding chicks.

Finally, the magpies have been making all sorts of noise in and around the garden, mainly centred around the chicks fledging.

They parents are now even roosting in the garden trees.

Last week they were making considerably warning call sounds and I found a fledgling look a bit dazed and being stalked by two of the local cats.

I managed to get it to a place of safety, ushered the cats away and left the parents to care for it.

Do I know if that intervention help? Not really, but there are a few younger magpies around and I hope it was amongst them.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG, DURING LOCKDOWN

The swallows are back, and almost exactly the same day as the previous three years.

The lack of traffic noise has led to bird song being much more audible and just a couple of days ago I heard the distinct call of swallows.

Then today I saw my first one swooping over the fields next to the garden. It means the first sounds was heard in the 8th April and seen on 11th April.

The current sates I've first seen swallows each year, since 214, are:

2014 - 19th April
2015 - 21st April
2016 - 10th April
2017 - 8th April
2018 - 7th April
2019 - 7th April
2020 - 11th April (heard first on 8th April)

It’s typical that during this lockdown we’re seeing really warm spring weather, particularly after the wet and windy last couple of months.

Of course, we’re going to see cooler weather in the coming weeks, but it’s been nice to enjoy the garden and also for a lot longer than usual with working from home.

Sadly not everything is perfect in nature, and this was demonstrated early one morning when I found three dead chicks, perhaps a week old, in the garden not far from the potential location of a robins’ nest.

It has been very cold overnight and a gently frost was on partly visible, so I suspect this had killed them and the parents had removed the bodies.

While it could have been a predator or local cat, the nest location would suggest a cat unlikely and a magpie would have difficulty getting into the thick ivy - the nest is circled along with one of the dead chicks.

What I have noticed since is the robins both being very active in the same location, both with food and the odd bit of nesting material.

I haven’t heard any chick noises, but this is definitely a watching brief, with the male robin (seemingly) singing loudly and often from a series of perches around the garden.

Above the robin nest a pair of blue tits has recently been seen mating, but where the nest is, is another thing.

I suspect they are using the previously unused single nest box that was under the now removed triple sparrow nest box, but await final evidence.

We’ve also found a frog residing in the pond, I say residing because it’s been in there for quite a few days.

I don’t think it’ll be mating and laying frog spawn, but perhaps next year we’ll get that.

Still it’s a good sign that the pond is supporting a wide range of wildlife and plants.

And the pond is looking colourful and is proving to be a great source of food for bees and butterflies – there’s been both orange tip and peacock on most days in the last week.

WETTER THAN AN OTTER'S POCKET

In my last post it was all about Storm Ciara; this time it’s about Storm Dennis and the resulting impact from the combination of both storms.

To say it’s been a bit rainy and windy, would be a huge understatement. During particularly heavy rain and strong winds, the wildlife has been virtually invisible in the garden.

The birds have definitely made use of the feeders though, with the peanuts and fat snacks being devoured quicker than for many months.

The garden, roads and small streams are soaking, with the streams regularly overflowing onto the road.

Sadly, the nearest stream has been dredged and the small fish are no longer being seen when I walk by, which means the chances of seeing a kingfisher again are negligible.

I’ll keep checking just in case they’re under a nearby tunnel, and see just how the weather conditions impact the newly dredged stream.

The storms, and continued strong winds, have taken their toll on the flora, including the large old tree that was knocked over, that I mentioned in the last post – knocking out phone and internet for ten days.

The tree was a nesting and resting site for a few birds, with great tits nesting in the ivy-ridden trunk for a couple of years.

Perhaps when looking elsewhere they’ll see my nest boxes and take up the offer of a breeding site opportunity.

Despite the constant stormy conditions, the dawn chorus is starting to gather pace, with the robins (who’ve been singing almost constantly through winter), being joined by wrens, song thrushes, blackbirds, blue tits, great tits and the odd magpie with their crackling calls.

I’m sure nesting will start soon for the smaller birds, while the likes of the magpies and nearby crows, are already constructing nests in larger trees.

THE BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH

This year, the garden was once again subject to an hour of bird counting, as the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch survey took place.

Last year the list of birds spotted and counted was as follows (starting with the most seen):

House sparrow – 9

Blackbird – 9

Great tit – 7

Blue tit – 6

Starling – 5

Robin – 4

Magpie – 4

Long tailed tit – 4

Dunnock – 4

Woodpigeon – 3

Goldfinch – 2

Tree sparrow – 2

This year the order changed slightly, and we didn’t see any tree sparrows or woodpigeons. The 2018 order was as follows:

Long tailed tit – 9

House sparrow – 7

Great tit – 4

Dunnock – 4

Goldfinch – 4

Blue tit – 2

Blackbird – 2

Magpie – 2

Wren – 2

Robin – 2

The weather on Saturday wasn’t the best and we did pick a time later in the day, so missed most of the action earlier in the day, hence the lower numbers.

The flock of long tailed tits didn’t disappoint again, and they even managed to outscore the house sparrow.

I’ve not noticed any real difference in the number and type of birds coming into the garden over the last few years, with sightings of tawny owls, sparrowhawks, crows and song thrush, among those who are seen perhaps a couple of times a year.

Among the flora in the garden, the snowdrops, winter rose and crocuses are already flowering, with others, including daffodils and tulips, starting to emerge as green shoots.

While it’s still January, and there’s likely to be more colder and stormy days to come in the next couple of months, the weekend did start to give us a feel of spring – temperatures reach about 14c on Sunday.

Which means it’s time to make sure the bird nest boxes are in good order and ready for any spring guests – particularly the camera nest boxes!