A WHIFF OF AUTUMN IS IN THE AIR

As the first wafts of an autumnal scent started to drift around the garden, so the signs of the third season of the year became more apparent. 

In the airs above the garden I’ve seen large numbers of swallows, almost entirely youngsters with their shorter forked tails, chattering away as they chase food. 

They seem effortless in the way they dance across the sky and all the time accompanied by one of my favourite sounds of nature, swallows nattering to each other. 

Given the weather next week is looking quite settled and mild, I expect a few swallows to be still showing their aerobatic skills for a little longer, although it’ll once again be a sad day when they finally depart for another seven months away. 

While there have been some reports of swallows staying in the UK throughout winter, I don’t expect them to stick around here. Perhaps the warmer southern counties near to coast are the best chance, if indeed any do decide to stay. 

The hedgehog(s) haven’t been seen for a few days in the garden, although one of the neighbours is still seeing them more regularly. 

I’ll put more dog food out now, in addition to the water bowl, to help them/it fatten up for winter. Finding out where it calls home might be beyond me at the moment. 

In the garden, just like in the wheat fields around the house, that harvesting has been in full swing. 

All the broad beans have been collected and one or two tomatoes too; but once again they have been poor again this year. 

So indeed, have the sunflowers with only one making it to show its sunny self, and even that one is not fully open yet! 

Finally, another new nest in the garden, taking the total this year to five, in addition to the robin ivy next, goldfinch bush nest, great tit nestbox nest and woodpigeon tree nest. 

While the bird remains anonymous, I suspect the layout of the next suggests a robin. 

The video would show why I think it’s a robin, because the entrance is rather open, after I created it following the demise of the first two robin broods. 

It’s not the robin family that successfully fledged a brood from the ivy because they definitely nested again in there, but it’s perhaps the robins that are now trying to stake a claim to the garden against the ivy family. 

This could be one to watch over autumn and winter.

IS THE MILD WINTER JUST EARLY SPRING?

Another week of storms has left many parts of the country looking like large inland lagoons rather than farmland or countryside.

While my garden and the part of the country in which it resides has not been that badly affected, there are plenty of very soggy fields and gardens.

Just one small rain shower leaves puddles on roads, paths and fields that last for hours, if not longer, so longer spells of rain leave small floods and large areas of the countryside and my garden with several inches of surface water.

The continuous stormy weather has meant winter has been very mild and now plenty of plants, bulbs and trees think it’s spring.

In my garden there are plenty of bulbs sprouting, while one of the small fruit trees is already showing buds.

The mild winter also means the snowdrops are not the first to emerge out of my bulbs.

How the wildlife is coping with this stormy winter is difficult to evaluate as the breeding season for most wildlife is yet to start. Seals have already been badly affected by the early winter storms during their breeding season and losing many pups.

I’m yet to see any birds making use of the nestbox roost, although given that spring appears to be starting, according to the signs nature is flora is giving, it may not be long before the battle to occupy the nestboxes in my garden starts.

By next weekend I’ll hopefully have two nestbox cameras working so here’s hoping the birds use those nestboxes!

WINTER WARMTH PROVES BLOOMING ENTICING

The winter storms are continuing and causing chaos for people and wildlife across the country. The ground in the garden is soggy, while the stream that runs passed the house is often full to bursting – luckily it would take an apocalyptic level of rainfall for it to come anywhere near the garden.

Fields around the house are always flooded sometime covering up to 80/90 per cent of the area. It does make me wonder what’s happening to the crops that have already been sown or the grass that is waiting to make an appearance for spring.

Despite the threat of a proper winter cold spell last week, it continues to be very mild and this is being shown in the emergence of spring bulbs, including the crocus, tulip, daffodil and snowdrop.

Remarkable the first one to flower was the crocus, which shows just how mild it must be for it to flower before the snowdrop.

I’ve not noticed any birds taking shelter in the camera nestbox, although the new camera will be in place by next weekend so hopefully that will show if the triple sparrow nestbox is being used as a roost.

The size of the flocks of birds coming to the garden feeders is fairly steady, with daily sightings of all the usual suspects for my area – blackbird, robin, great tit, blue tit, long tailed tit, house sparrow, tree sparrow and dunnock.

I rarely see chaffinches, goldfinches, magpies, jays and wrens, but I know they’re around. Plus flocks of starlings and redwings are often seen flying at low level over the garden.

My main task this week has been to remove and uproot to trees to make more light for the canopy floor, encouraging wild flowers and creating areas for vegetables to be grown.

It was hard work and my hands, shoulders and arms are feeling it now. So until next week enjoy the pictures of what’s been happening in the last week.

 

BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH

This weekend has been the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch and once again my garden birds have put in an appearance all in one go.

It was an early start and as I’d filled the peanut, fat snack and seed bird feeders the previous night the birds flocked in.

Blackbirds, robins and dunnocks were early visitors, while the great spotted woodpecker did cause a few birds to depart quickly when he arrived at the peanut feeder.

As they are a rather skittish bird he wasn’t around for long and soon the blue tits, great tits and others started to feed again.

Then came in the long tailed tits, a group of over 12, who enjoyed feasting on the fat snacks and peanuts. At one point the fat snack feeder was covered with six, before a robin came along and bossed them off it.

I checked with last year and the amount of birds I spotted was about the same, which is good news for the local population. Whether it’s the same for the rest of the country is something the RSPB will hopefully be able to show thank to people taking part in this survey.

In other news the garage robin is now confident enough to venture all the way into the garage and to the back where I have all my bird food. He/she was feeding from the fat snack feeder that I’d just filled and placed within a foot of me.

I think one day soon I’ll be able to feed this bird from my hand.

I’ve still not fixed the bird camera to the sparrow nestbox, but hopefully I’ll get time next week.

The current nestbox camera hasn’t revealed overnight roosting for any birds just yet, but with cold weather forecast in the coming weeks, it might not be too long before it welcomes a guest or two.

DO BUTTERFLIES HIBERNATE WHERE THEY WERE BORN?

Happy New Year! This is the seventh year that I’ve been writing this blog for, which started in 2008 with a simple gift or a nestbox from my partner’s parents.

Now as we enter 2014, the number of animals, particularly small garden birds, that it’s chartered the lives of is continuing to grow.

Blue tits, great tits, robins and house sparrows have all been born in my small garden and fledged.

This year I hope to have to nestbox cameras and at least three nestboxes occupied. The second nestbox camera will be fitted when the stormy weather has calmed down.

Three new things have happened since Christmas, two of which I’ve been pleasantly surprised by.

Today was the first sighting of the long tailed tits, which I take to mean that the natural food resources are now almost gone.

It’s been much later than previous years, but given that we’ve not seen any snow and only a handful of frosts I’m not surprised.

I’m hoping to get some pictures of them soon to share.

The start of 2014 disturbed the hibernation of a small tortoiseshell butterfly, so I’ve made use of a Christmas present box and provided it with a place to rest until spring. It’s behind my couch so won’t have much disturbance, which is what happened when it first appeared in the kitchen window (below).

 

I’d like to believe that it was one of the six that my young daughter raised and released in late summer. If they do have a homing device to hibernate near where they were born than that would mean it’s true. Here's one of the six that were releases back in September.

 

Finally a friendly robin is now following me into the garage and practically asking for food. It watched me fill up the bird feeders and then starts to take food from them if I turn my back for a second.

I’ve not managed to get a picture of this clever robin, but as I know natural food supplies are very low I’ll be filling them up regularly and will expect to see him/her quite often in the coming weeks.

 

 

PREPARING FOR THE WINTER FREEZE

Frosts, fog and ice scrapers have been the order of this week, which is why I’m pleased that my garden is ready for winter – and also next spring.

The fallen leaves from a couple of the small trees have provided the borders with a covering of nature’s own fertiliser, while crocus, snowdrop, daffodil and tulip bulbs have been planted in the non-veg areas.

Added to that is the horse manure from a local farm and I’m hoping for a very colourful and early start to spring in the garden.

There is still pruning to do and the dismantling of the temporary greenhouse, but I can do nothing more to help the garden been in the best condition to see it through the coldest season of the year.

One more thing I’ll be doing is fixing the second bird camera to the sparrow nestbox and I hope this is in place by Christmas.

The other camera is still working, well it is at this point of writing, and it’ll be interesting to see when any birds make use of it to roost.

I’ve started to see a couple of blackbirds in the garden and the sparrows, both tree and house have made daily visits, but there’s not been more birds visiting recently.

It’s hard to actually tell to be fair, as most days of the week I’m not here in daylight.

Perhaps a new batch of peanuts will tempt a few more species in, although the fat snacks haven’t had that effect. That said they are being eaten, just not when I’m around.

As we near December and the potential for even colder weather, I suspect the numbers and species of birds will increase – as will my vigilance to the menace of the local cats.

THE SECOND FLEDGING FROM THE SAME NESTBOX

Last Sunday the house sparrow chicks departed early in the day, albeit a day ro so later than I expected. 

The two chicks had been testing their wings out for a couple of days, but I suspect the rain and cool weather delayed their departure.

Then all of a sudden they fledged before my eyes and flew off with their parents to explore the giant world outside of the nestbox.

Here’s the sequence of how they left, starting with Saturday night.

 

Sunday morning

 

One has fledged

 

They’ve both gone

 

The fledging happened in a matter of minutes and it was just luck that I was able to watch it, both on timing and that the camera was still working!

It’s such a shame that the camera wasn’t working when the blue tit chicks were in the nest, or when they fledged, but the most important thing is they fledged.

I will inspect the nestbox and nesting ‘arrangements’ later this summer, before clearing out the nestbox ready for next year.

I’ve not seen much of other birds recently, although the chattering of house sparrows does often mark the arrival of dawn.

I have heard the calls of blue tits, goldfinches, magpies and swallows, but only the swallows are regularly seen.

The swallows have gone a little quiet so I suspect they are on a second clutch of eggs – well given that we’re about to experience a summer I don’t blame them!

Given that the weather is going to warm, if not hot, up I’m going to make sure the birds have a water supply, as this will become increasingly important for them, the longer rain doesn’t fall.

Finally the bee numbers are increasing every time I’m in the garden, and I’ve spotted at least five different types, which is very pleasing.

So let’s all enjoy this upcoming real summer and hope the wildlife can too.

HOUSE SPARROWS MOVING ABODE?

The end of this week was a washout, but far from it being the norm – as per 2012 – it seems to be just a blip in the summer proceedings.

The house sparrow chicks in the camera nestbox are almost ready to go and I suspect they could have even gone by the time this post is uploaded, or you have read it.

I can count just the two chicks, although the noise they make does suggest many more should be inside there. You try counting them in the best of the early images below!

It’s hard to make out the chicks on some days because the nesting material, which is very high in the nestbox due to it being on the blue tit’s nest, often obscures the view as the parents often knock things as they enter the nestbox with food.

Luckily the last day or so has presented us with a clearer view and the chicks are very noticeably house sparrows with the feathers patterns easy to determine, even in black and white as the latest image shows – you can clearly see the two chicks

 

I was surprised by this new nest in my garden, as it was the first time house sparrows had nested here, but it appears that it might not be the only pair nesting in my garden this summer.

Early one morning I noticed that a pair of house sparrows were flying to and from the new terraced nestbox I’d put up in early spring.

On closer inspection they were both gathering nesting material and seem to be building a new nest, which is a little strange considering it’s nearly July.

I’ll be taking a closer look later this weekend to see if they’re still building or if the wet weather has hampered them.

The good news is this should mean next year the triple nestbox should be occupied, at least one of the ‘homes’ anyway.

In other news the blue tits and great tits have started to be seen a little more, with the robins, dunnocks and blackbirds not showing at all.

The great spotted woodpecker male has been seen again and is devouring the fat snack I’ve put up; I wonder if he’s still got young and is struggling to find more natural food.

One thing I did witness was a young swallow being chased by a small bird of prey, which I presume was a hobby.

The swallow seemed to get away by diving into a hedge just behind my house, although I only saw the battle for a few seconds and couldn’t then see what happened afterwards.

Obviously I don’t like seeing the swallows being predated, but with so many in the skies this summer it’s good to know last year’s drop in fledglings has hopefully been evened out by a larger than normal amount this year.

My nest plan is to find out if hedghogs are living around my garden and if not, contact a couple of rescue centres to provide a home for them. Updates soon.

SWALLOWS, SUMMER STORMS AND NESTBOX CAMERA WORKING!

I’m not sure how it happened, but the nestbox camera is now working again and it’s revealed the house sparrow chicks, although mainly in voice rather than in pictures.

The nest has been built on top of the blue tit nest and is so high up in the nestbox, that it obscures most of the view afforded by the camera.

Luckily, through the nest material you can sometimes make out movement from the chicks, a visit from the parents and the odd wide chick gape – look to the left hand side of the image below.

 

But most of all you can hear them chirping away, particularly when the parent birds arrive.

Now I know the chicks are fairly big, I’m attempted to move the material covering the camera and see if a better image can be provided. Here's the result.

 

The weather this weekend has been awful, with Sunday bringing autumn-like conditions. The good thing is this should be a one-off day of weather and warmer conditions should return next week.

It’s good news for the house sparrow chicks too, as they should be ready to fledge in about 3-5 days and will be strong enough to withstand the odd day of heavy rain, high winds and cool temperatures.

House sparrows around my garden and the close vicinity appear to be in high numbers, with a number of freshly fledged youngsters filling the air with unsteady flight and incessant calling to their parents for food.

I’ve also had a visit from a blue tit family, although whether it’s the same one that used the camera nestbox, I’m not sure.

The swallows and swifts appear to have had a good year as I’ve not seen them in such huge numbers for a few years.

In the evening, and sometimes the morning, the airwaves are filled with swallow songs, with the swifts often appearing alongside their fast flying cousins.

Swallows are one of my top three birds, along with peregrine falcons and ospreys, so to see them is probably my favourite vision and sound of our springs and summers.

The robins, blackbirds, great tits, dunnocks and magpies are heard rather than seen at the moment, although I do get fleeting glances of them from time to time.

Let’s hope as summer progresses that the small birds continue to raise more youngsters and those that fledge come to visit my garden in due course.

But most of all let’s hope that summer delivers some sun and conditions that favour a successful breeding season to make up for last year.

A NEW FAMILY IN MY NESTBOX

Two main bits of news since my bizarre video from a few days ago. First of all thank you to those people who told me that the bizarre video was of ermine moth caterpillars. The fully grown moth is below.

The blue tits’ nestbox (the one with the camera that still doesn’t work) now has house sparrow chicks in, which I can hear calling for food.

I’ve never heard of this kind of behaviour before (a bird taking over another nest immediately after the first birds fledged), although, as previously mentioned in my blog, I did find a dead house sparrow in the nest of the blue tits a few years ago.

It’s great to know that two species of bird have utilised the same ‘house’ that I’ve provided for wildlife, and good to know the mealworm, peanut and seed hand-outs I provide are being used to help raise the next generation.

I’m not sure when the house sparrow chicks will fledge but suspect they have another three or maybe five days left in the nest.

In other news the robin chicks have visited the garden with one of the parent birds and made use of the mealworms I’m still providing.

The great tits and blue tits have not been seen in or around the garden for a few days and I suspect they’re not far away, just skulking in the hedges, bushes and trees while the parents undergo the annual moult.

There seems to be plenty of young birds about, much more than last year, including magpies, blackbirds, goldfinches, chiffchaffs and long tailed tits.

A large family of long tailed tits visited the garden this week and I counted nine, which may not mean seven youngsters as there might also have been a couple of cousins and siblings of the parent birds.

The good news has been a dramatic increase in the amount of bees visiting the flowers in the garden. The foxgloves have been a particular favourite with roses and pyracantha a taking second place.

Let’s hope the summer can deliver some good conditions for continued growth and prosperity of all wildlife, to make up for last year.

HAVE THE EGGS HATCHED?

Spring isn’t exactly helping the wildlife in and around my garden, just at the time when the nesting birds are looking for some assistance from Mother Nature.

The nestbox camera still isn’t working, although I’m positive the eggs have hatched as the parents are often seen scampering in to the tiny opening with little bits of food for the chicks.

I don’t know what the adult birds are bringing for the chicks to eat, as I’ve not seen any caterpillars around.

I’m constantly putting out small amounts of mealworms, although so far I’ve not seen the blue tit parents taking any.

What I have seen is other parent birds taking up to ten mealworms at a time to feed their chicks. There are two robin nests around my house, although exactly where they are is something I’m still trying to track down.

One things is for sure and that is I must find them this weekend otherwise the chicks will fledge and the only glimpses I’ll get is when they come to my garden to feed for a few days before disappearing into the wider countryside until last summer or autumn.

I’m hoping that spring will come soon and that will lead to the potential for the robins to have another brood, and if I find the nests then I’ll be very pleased to see the second brood growing up.

I’ve also had the usual visits from the house sparrow colony, although I don’t think they’re nesting in my sparrow nestbox.

Two visitors have surprised me this week, one was from a number of starlings, which is unusual because I’ve not seen many around the house over the years, but the other visitor was a male great spotted woodpecker, who was happily munching on the fat snack right in front of my kitchen window.

 

I managed to get one picture of him before he took flight, but I did see him returning on a number of occasions so food must be scarce out there for all sorts of birds and animals.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for spring to finally spring into life and help our wildlife in the vital breeding season.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION - I JUST CAN'T SEE IT

It would seem I cannot win with this nestbox camera, as it seems to change its mind as to whether it’ll work or not.

At the moment it’s not working, but the last time I managed to see in to the nestbox there were eight blue tit eggs, as you can see in the image below! Great news and it appears they’re being incubated as I’ve seen both birds in and around the nestbox.

I suspect that hatching will be happening this weekend, although whether I get to see it is another thing. I’ll be keeping an eye and ear out for signs that the chicks have arrived and be ready to assist if the caterpillar explosion doesn’t happen.

In the last couple of days I’ve seen more butterflies than I have all year, which is obviously down to the rubbish weather we’ve had all year, and since this time last year.

Will there be enough butterflies around to mate, lay eggs and in turn provide food for the young chicks? I hope so.

I think there has been some eggs hatching as I’ve noticed one of the robin with a mouthful of mealworms that I’d put out. I still don’t know where the nest is, but hopefully soon I’ll see the speckled youngsters in the garden.

The swallows are filling the air with their delightful songs and amazing aerobatics. There is more than one pair, although I’m not sure if the others are nesting nearby, perhaps in the horse stable in the field behind our house – if this is the case I suspect there will be more than one nest.

I’ve now put up my small greenhouse again and will be spending lots more time outdoors tending to my sunflowers, tomatoes and runner beans.

The concern I have at the moment is the potato and parsnip crops I’ve had in the garden. Neither has shown signs of growing, although this warm weather might help get the soil up to an optimum temperature for both to start growing.

Finally our house has been invaded by ants, which I suspect don’t have enough food outside due to the weather and are seeking what we have. I just hope they don’t build a nest in the house as that would be very unwelcome.

CAN SPRING, SPRING INTO LIFE?

Good news and bad news this week. The good news is the nestbox camera started to work again and revealed some very egg-citing news. The bad news is towards the end of the week it stopped working again!

I’m just relying on hope that it’ll somehow come back online because I can’t risk disturbing the pair of blue tits at this stage.

As you can see from the images below, the news this week has been around the laying of eggs. The first one was laid on Wednesday night, with another one joining it on Thursday night.

 

 

 

Unfortunately I was ‘on duty’ for my own offspring on Thursday night so the only pic I got was of the female roosting, by Friday morning, when I expected to get the image of more eggs, the camera had stopped transmitting.

Over the weekend I’ve noticed increased activity around the nestbox and the blue tits are still going in and out of it, so I can only assume there are more eggs and in a couple of weeks there will be chicks.

My concern at this point is the availability of caterpillars for the youngsters to feed on. The weather reports for the next week suggest no real warmth and with very few butterflies and moths being seen I’m not sure if there will be much, if any, food for the chicks.

I’ve got my supply of mealworms, so will be ready to supplement the natural food supply when I think the chicks have arrived (hopefully know because of the camera miraculously working), so support is at hand for the blue tits and the other birds visiting my garden.

In other news I have seen a few more bees about, although nowhere near as many as in recent Aprils, so I can only hope that the flowers I’ve got blooming in my garden are able to help the insects that are currently active.

I’m now seeing the robins in singles rather than the previous duos, so I’m presuming the female is sitting on eggs somewhere. I’d like to know where the nest is, even though I have an idea, but for now I’m happy with seeing one of the prospective parents following me around whenever I’m working outside.

Looking back on my blog from last year I noticed that the swallows arrived back later than this year, with the first one sighted in 2013 just over a week earlier than in 2012. Is this a sign for a good summer?

The six that did arrive in mid-April have now become just a pair, I suspect it’s simply a case of the group splitting up to find suitable nesting sites, but I presume the pair that has stayed is either parents from last year, or one of their youngsters.

Finally my sparrow nestbox has had some visitors and is becoming a regular perching spot for some of the groups of house sparrows that visit my garden. I watched out of the window yesterday as a male and female perched there and started looking at the holes to gain access.

Perhaps the late winter and delayed spring did help in my quest to provide house sparrow accommodation this year!

SPRING BRINGS GOOD AND BAD NEWS

I returned from a week away with the family to find the nestbox camera isn’t working again! I can’t express how disappointed I am considering spring is finally with us and the blue tits seem to be very busy around the nestbox.

I suspect there are eggs in there, or will be very shortly, and therefore I’m not going to investigate or tamper with the nestbox as this will only disturb the family and I’d rather wait until the eggs become chicks and the chicks become bigger.

One way of testing there are chicks is putting out live mealworms and seeing how often the parent birds take the food to the nestbox.

I’ve ordered some today through www.livefoodsdirect.co.uk so later this week should be able to get an indication as to whether chicks are imminent or when they arrive.

This in turn will allow me to judge when, or if, I can try to get the camera working again. I’ll be reading my blog from the last couple of springs to check on how long it takes for the chicks to become too big for the parents to incubate them at night.

One positive was the return to my garden of the beautiful spring/summer sounds that bounce on the airwaves around the UK, made of course by my favourite UK visitor, the swallow.

I counted six individuals dancing in the skies around my garden, frequently swooping in the evening sun last night to catch insects that were gathering to enjoy some spring warmth.

I think they’re still catching up on the changes around the place, although whether they can nest in the sheds behind our house is open to debate given the idiots (and I use the word very carefully and with justification) that rented the house with these sheds.

They have since left, but whether the interiors are still enticing for the swallows and indeed whether the local population of five cats can access the buildings through the crumbling roof, is something I’ll be watching with interest.

Perhaps I’ll pay the buildings a visit in the next few days to check everything is ok.

One final note was the sighting of a bee this morning, which I will only be able to see as a positive if it is seen again and with plenty of others.

So one good bit of news and one not so good, but overall spring is here and hopefully the wildlife can start to get on with producing the next generation.

SPRING WEATHER BRINGS NESTBOX ACTION

The focus this week has been on the nestbox camera and what is turning out to be an interesting battle for breeding.

As spring finally begins to show itself the blue tits have built a nest and are showing signs that eggs could soon be on their way.

There is a twist to this story as the great tit pair are spending an increased amount of time in my garden and seem to be eyeing up the nestbox for themselves.

Interest from the great tits is not going unnoticed as the blue tits are now beginning to chase their adversaries away from the nextbox. What will happen in the coming week? Will the blue tits lay eggs and raise their brood without interference from the great tits? Time will tell and this little battle is what helps make watching wildlife so fascinating.

In the last few nights the female blue tit has been roosting in the nestbox and it’s been very interesting watching her say ‘goodnight’ to her partner in the fruit tree at the bottom of the garden, before they both got to their own roosting sites.

In other news the great spotted woodpecker has been heard nearly every day hammering away at one of the dead trees on the fields behind the house. Perhaps we’ll see him/her in the garden again soon, although not if it means the blue tit chicks are being predated!

There is a new bird nesting in the trees around the garden area, although not one that is welcomed by the small garden birds.

That’s right a pair of magpies are building a nest and while their presence sometimes causes the smaller birds to flee into the rose bush or hawthorn hedge, they don’t seem too bothered and it’s not affecting the numbers coming to my garden to feed. 

Below is a series of images taken over a ten day period up until today.

 

 

NESTBOX CAMERA NEST OWNER REVEALED!

The owner of the camera nestbox with its new nest has been revealed – and I was right the blue tits are back!

After a two year absence, because of a great tit pair claiming the nestbox, the blue tits are back for a third year.

They previously nested in the first two years after the nestbox was up, but were usurped by the great tits, leaving the blue tits to find a new site – which happened to be a small hole in the brickwork of next door.

It’s great to know that the nestbox will continue to be utilised to ensure it’s been used for every year since I put it up.

There’s only one thing I’m hoping for this year and that is the weather doesn’t affect the breeding season following last year and the heavy rain – this unfortunately meant the great tit chicks didn’t survive more than a couple of days.

One thing I listened to today that I’ve not heard for five years was the sound of a woodpecker doing his/her thing. I couldn’t see the bird, but I suspect it might be the great spotted woodpecker that’s been visiting my garden over the years, particularly in winter.

I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for the dead trees nearby that I think the woodpecker was creating the noise from.

With spring starting to show signs of finally arriving I’m hopeful that the local wildlife that hasn’t yet made itself known, will respond to the temperature rises and contribute to the wonderful season that we call spring.

Finally I’m hoping to get some images of the blue tits building their nest in time for the next blog post.

NESTBOX CAMERA IS BACK WORKING

The start of spring may still be delayed, but I feel it has begun after the nestbox camera started working today and revealed something very exciting.

After a phone call to the guys at Spy Camera CCTV, I tried once last go at fixing it and somehow it worked. Whether it’ll work for long is another question!

The camera revealed inside the nestbox a nest in the first stages of being built. I’m not sure which bird is doing the nest building but I’m hoping to catch it in action soon.

 

I suspect it’s a pair of blue tits and can’t wait to see if they continue to build it – I suspect it may be delayed due to the weather and lack of a spring, but perhaps this is a sign that wildlife knows spring is on its way!

The other nestboxes aren’t being used yet and while I still have hope for the new sparrow ‘hotel’ the other two are very unlikely to be used this year.

One other exciting development was the sighting of an animal I’ve never seen before around my house – a stoat.

With a number of farms nearby, including a chicken one, I’m surprised I’ve never seen a stoat or weasel around, but given that I first thought this stoat was a leaf blowing in the wind, it’s not surprising.

It was too quick for me to get a picture, although now I know one is around I’ll be on the lookout for it and possibly others in the future.

WINTER IS BACK, BUT FOR HOW LONG?

So spring has been put on hold, which teaches me yet again that March is the most unpredictable of months!

Frosts, cold winds and even a bit of snow have descended on my garden and the surrounding area. Can someone tell the swallows to stop off for a few days and delay their return? 

It sounds like we’re going to have another blast of winter for most of this coming week, so make sure you keep the birds feeders topped up and water unfrozen.

I spent most of the weekend pruning trees and bushes, to give the ground opposite my garden a chance to have some light and bring more colour to the dark and brown ground.

The trees and branches were then used to create a traditional fence, thanks to the input from my neighbour Neil who spent some hours doing this with me, while we both spent a few hours at night picking splinters out of our hands – even though we were wearing protective gloves!

 

We were followed constantly by a pair of robins, the same that frequent my garden and I presume have paired up for the year. Where they will nest is anyone’s guess, but if it’s not in the robin nestbox I have in my garden, I know it’ll be nearby and we’ll see the fledgling robins in due course.

Two other main things done this weekend – apart from topping up my fat snack, seed and peanuts feeders – was putting up a sparrow nestbox and planting some early potatoes.

With all the house sparrows about I thought it a good idea to provide them with a communal nest site, to prevent them from going under the eaves of the house.

 

I know it might be a little too late this year, but at least it’s up and ready for whenever they need it. The nestbox replaces one that was for blue tits and great tits, which seemed to be infrequently used for roosting, but never for nesting. I’ll find another place to put this in time.

 

The garden borders were readied for plants and vegetables over the last few weekends and now the first planting has taken place I’m sure there’ll be plenty more in the coming weeks.

 

By the end of March I hope to have seedlings in place so April can see the emergence of my mini greenhouse.

Of course this will be when the weather has picked up to spring like again. I’m just hoping it doesn’t end up like 2012; otherwise it’ll be another washout!

A SPRING IN MY STEP

Has spring finally sprung? It certainly feels like it and the birds seem to know it around my garden.

I’ve seen pairs of great tits, blue tits and dunnocks flirting together while the blackbird couple spend time in the garden and surrounding area a few times a day.

The great tits seem to be showing great interest in the nestbox with the camera in, although while I can’t be sure if one or both are roosting in there because the camera still isn’t working, I’m confident that it is happening. The alarm calls at dusk when I’m in the garden seem to be a good indication of this.

Looking at the camera I feel the fault is definitely with the aerial sending the signals to the receiver as the infa red lights on the camera are working, showing power is getting there. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I can do, please post a comment, it would be much appreciated.

Over the weekend the great tits were witnessed displaying to each other while picking up pieces of dead grass, which could be nesting material.

The robin that follows me around the garden has been seen with a potential mate in the last few days, including a few minutes of displaying to each other over the weekend. Perhaps they will use the robin nestbox that has been in my garden for four years, but only used once.

My favourite visitor of the weekend was a song thrush, which seems to have taken a liking to my garden and the surrounding area, and is now almost as common a site as the other birds. Below is the best image I have of it so far, but I’ll keep trying for a better one.

Song thrush in my garden

The house sparrow flock seems to be getting louder, although this is probably down to the signals that spring is here, rather than a problem with my hearing!

I suspect they will disperse a little in the coming weeks to find a suitable communal nest site, which may be close to my garden – in which case I’ll be seeing them all spring and summer.

So as spring starts to appear, it won’t be long before the current dawn chorus of song thrush, blackbird and robin is joined by my favourite summer resident, the swallow.

I hear through @Swallowsighting that some swallows are already starting the long journey to the UK and perhaps we’ll see one by Easter. Fingers crossed because they’re presence in this country is something we should celebrate and enjoy.

IS SPRING AROUND THE CORNER?

I’ve been working for the last few days to fix the nestbox camera, but with no success. I’m going to give it one more go next weekend and then leave it for another year.

During the milder weather recently, the sunshine has given the bird a new lease of life; gone was the days of simply foraging for food to survive and in came looking for a mate and potential nest site.

I watched as both a pair of blue tits and great tits spent time looking at the camera nestbox from various angles and tried different flight patterns from vantage points towards the nestbox.

I haven’t seen any bird actually fly in to or around the nestbox, but I think there has been one bird, or more, roosting in there. If I was to guess I would say it would be a great tit; that’s based on what I noted when the camera was working.

The warm sunshine has brought the dawn chorus to life, with plenty of song in the last couple of days, plus plenty of birds hanging around my garden and surrounding area.

It now appears that the song thrush I’ve seen and heard a lot recently has found either a mate or foe. Judging by the way one was chasing after the other for about ten minutes in the bushes and trees suggest to me that it will be a mate and a breeding pair could set up a nest near the garden.

I’ll be keeping my eye out for them both in case of nesting activity and new chicks.

Talking of chicks I thought I saw a fledgling blackbird recently, but put it down to a slightly differently coloured female.

My thoughts changed when I saw said female in the garden, and it was joined by a definite female and they reacted to one another like they knew each other.

Has anyone ever known blackbirds to breed in winter?

Feeding the birds regularly can be quite exciting as three recent examples show.

Firstly I filled the seed feeder and two fat snack feeders and as I approached the trees that I regularly hang them in (different locations each time), there was a sudden burst of noise coming from the surrounding bushes and trees and I saw a small flock of house sparrows, joined by various species including chaffinch, great tit and blue tit, along with a couple of robins.

They all had appeared to be welcoming me and the food I was bringing and within seconds of me hanging them out, the small birds were taking their turn on the feeders.

Secondly a robin, which appears every time I’m working in the garden or hanging out feeder, has been hovering in flight trying to get at a fat snack in hanging feeder. The hover doesn’t last for long, but he/she is getting much more accomplished at getting food.

Finally the long tailed tits are still making regular visits to the garden, particularly the peanut feeder and as I spend more and more time in the garden, I can sometimes hear the flock coming.

It’s these interactions with nature that ensures I’ll always be a fan and friend of wildlife.