THE CALM BEFORE SPRING STARTS?

Well we’re all awaiting the Coronavirus impact, while nature carries on regardless.

The dawn chorus is getting louder every morning, and my walk to work is full of various birdsong, from blackbirds and robins, to blue tits and chaffinches.

The buzzard that had been hanging around in the area hasn’t been seen for a week or so, but a kestrel has replaced it.

I’ve seen the kestrel perched a few times over the half-flooded fields, mainly on hedgerows, and the smaller birds always keep their distance.

A few frogs have been seen on the road, unfortunately all squashed by vehicles on the lane.

I’m sure there are a few around, but I don’t think any will frequent the pond, mainly because I’ve not done much upkeep on it recently.

I will be getting in the garden in the next couple of weeks and will hopefully get some seeds planted.

I’ll stick to sunflowers and tomatoes, and also get some small plants for the borders to help stop the cats using them as a toilet.

The feeders are still going down quickly, with long tailed tits still seen almost every day.

The lighter mornings and evenings enable me to see bird activity, and perhaps even another glimpse of the robin taking nest material into the ivy, close to the place he/she chose last year.

Whether we have a nest this year, only time will tell.

STORMY START TO SPRING

Storm Gareth has just left its mark on the country, the garden and the wildlife.

The damage has been minimal around the garden, although neighbouring fields and the lanes have seen wind and rain damage.

I’m not sure much of the wildlife has been able to sleep soundly, given the speed and furious noise created by the wind and rain.

The weather doesn’t appear to be calming down or providing spring warmth anytime soon, which means the birds are relying on the feeders to keep them going.

At least it keeps them out of the wind and able to shelter in the bushes and trees, after a feed.

The pond will hopefully be revitalised this weekend with some oxygen-generating plants, but it’ll probably be too late for the frog that spent time trying to come and live in the house with us.

But, it will still provide a home, shelter and water for countless other animals; it’ll be great to teach the girls about pond life in their own garden and see just what happens in spring and summer.

With spring flowers already fading away, perhaps now is the right time for some of nature to take a pause, let the March stormy season pass by, before getting excited about spring and breeding.

NEW ARRIVALS AMID SUMMER SUN

Little did I realise when I wrote my blog post last week that my imminent new arrival was exactly that.

A day after posting the latest update the garden saw another arrival, this time of the human variety and our second daughter.

Bizarrely a rose that emerged at the time our first daughter was born suddenly emerged again this week.

 

The rose plant hasn’t really grown in six years, but occasionally produces a lovely flower. Nature has a funny way of showing us things and while it’s likely to be coincidence, I’d like to think the garden was in some way saying congratulations.

With warm weather continuing to bathe the garden, the plants are reacting with growth spurts, albeit once I’ve provided enough water.

The blackbirds, house sparrows, tree sparrows, blue tits, great tits and robins are now fairly regular visitors to the garden, with most still appearing to have young, either in the nest or having recently fledged.

I’ve not seen many youngsters recently, but I’ve heard lots of chattering in the trees and bushes with parent birds appearing to be flying rapidly between the food sources in my garden and the fledglings in the canopy.

The swallow numbers have continually grown and this is most evident during the period just after dawn and early evening.

With shorter tails it’s easy to identify the youngsters from this year, but with plenty of them and the speed in which they all fly together, counting how may there are is almost impossible.

I've also seen a few house martins around and occasionally swifts – both of which I've seen in previous years and I know nest nearby – so I'm hoping this is a good sign that breeding has been good for them this year.

The slug and snail invasion is showing no sign of slowing down. The casualties mount up daily, although I do try and put live ones in our recyclable green waste bin so they can be ‘relocated’.

I’m hoping to have my first crop harvested this week, which will be the broad beans. It’s hard to tell when they’re exactly right to pick, but I’m looking forward to creating some dishes with them as a key ingredient.

NEST BUILDING ON HOLD

The mild weather has continued with hardly a spot of rain this week, but it has brought foggy nights and mornings, plus frosts.

It’s meant the wildlife in the garden have relied a bit more on the snacks I’ve provided and the nest building process has stalled.

I’ve still not seen the birds that have brought nesting materials to the original (blue tit and great tit) nest box, but each day has seen the material being slightly added to and moved around.

I’m wondering if the sudden burst of cold overnight weather has made the birds think that the caterpillars their youngsters will rely on to survive, might not be around for a few more weeks.

Therefore building a nest and laying eggs will be best put on hold for a short time – saving energy and making sure caterpillars are going to be around when they need them most.

The sparrow nest box has not seen any action, although the house sparrows are in the garden every day. I suspect they will use the other two nest boxes in the triple nest box because the camera might be too intrusive – only time will tell.

The first seedlings have appeared from the spring planting – basil and parsley – which is an encouraging start and I’m hoping they will replace the plants from last year which are on their last legs.

Given the week ahead looks fairly settled again I may even have to water part of the garden! Who would have thought about that a few weeks ago.

JAY WALKING IN MY GARDEN

Recently I’ve been posting about how I’d been seeing jays almost daily in and around the lane I live on and also near the garden.

Well this week they have been actually feeding in my garden, a pretty exciting step for them to take, especially given their sensitive and shy nature.

The first time a jay was in the garden is was one the fence, looking at the peanuts on the floor that had dropped out of my bag last weekend, the second time it was feeding on those nuts early one morning.

Unfortunately I couldn’t get my camera in time to get an image of this colourful bird, but next time I’ll be better prepared.

The weather is certainly colder as winter starts to take hold of the country, although it’s not severe enough to see many birds on the feeders.

That said I’m not around too much in daylight hours to see them, but there must be an increased number because the feeders are being drained quicker than last month.

This week I have some time to myself and watching which birds are now visiting my garden is one of my tasks.

I was looking at images from almost three years ago when there was about a foot of snow in our garden and was wondering if this is something we’ll see this winter.

While the really cold weather, harsh frost and heavy snow plays havoc for wildlife looking for food to survive on a daily basis, it also helps wipe out bacteria and other unwanted things and effectively ‘clears the slate’ ready for spring and the breeding season.

It’s simply a case of nature taking its course and while we might want to fight certain things, it’s never going to stop long-term, a bit like trying to stop the tide. It happens, it’s not perfect, but it’s worked for millions of years; so let’s embrace it.