DOES ANYONE REMEMBER WHEN IT WASN’T STORMY?

It’s fair to say that I’m struggling to remember when the last time we had some calm weather, given we’re experiencing storm after storm hitting the UK.

And, if there hasn’t been a named storm, then we’ve been hit be continual low pressures or the windy edge of a high pressure.

The fields are soaking, and large ponds of water are now forming and not draining at all.

Even the stream alongside the lane regularly breaches the banks when we’ve had a few hours of rain.

These videos are taken one day last week, then below are two mages taken the same time, on the following day.

To see all that in one go, here’s a collated image. What’s not shown is the water on the lane is gradually damaging the surface and there’s not a day goes by when the lane doesn’t have large puddles dotted along it.

 

The wildlife is not appearing to be affected by the weather, well from what I can see and hear.

The dawn chorus has been getting stronger each day recently, although the storm and wet mornings have limited activity.

During the day we’re now hearing more territorial songs from the robins, blue tits, great tits and also the odd chaffinch.

The breeding season is largely dictated by the day length, but I do wonder how the storm will affect it long-term.

If the butterflies and moths, which lay eggs that then turn onto the caterpillar food for the small garden birds, get impacted by the storms, then how will the birds cope?

That will also impact some the birds of prey in the area, but we can only wait and see how that all plays out.

If the stormy weather continues for a while, then our summer migrants might also be impacted; so swallows, house martins, swifts and cuckoos.

Again only time with tell, until then we’ll continue to batten down the hatches and hope the water levels gradually drop.

MORE FLOODS AND COLD NIGHTS, AS BIRDS RETURN TO THE GARDEN

The weather already in November has meant the lane as become a river twice, which is astonishing because I’ve only seen it like this about six times in the 12 years we’ve lived here.

It did the same last month and, given the amount of rain we’ve had, any downpours will simply tip the water levels well over the limit again.

The moorhens living around the pond and stream have been seen quite often recently, presumably trying to escape any potential danger from the fast-flowing water.

In the garden the leaves from the surrounding deciduous trees are covering the lawn, so I hope the worms and other small creatures can make full use of them.

The birds feeders are now seeing a number visitors, with blackbirds, wrens and dunnocks all being seen quite often.

I’ve heard the tawny owls calling on a couple of nights recently; it’s great to know they’re around, but I just don’t know if they stick around for the rest of the year.

There has been no sight of foxes, badgers or rabbits recently, but I’ve spotted a rat and plenty of grey squirrels at the top end of the lane, not too near the house.

If the weather manages to stop producing rain, and settle down for a bit, I hope to see and hear a little bit more of the wildlife.

The pond has now cleared up, so the water is crystal clear. Unfortunately, the oxygenating plants have perished, so in the spring I’ll get some more to help any wildlife that wants to utilise the ‘facilities’.

We did have a small tortoiseshell butterfly in the house, seemingly trying to spend the winter, but constantly being woken up by the house warming when the heating went on.

Then when I found a box to house it in the garage, it seemingly found a new place and hasn’t been seen in a week. Hopefully we’ll see it again in spring.

CHICKS AND RAIN EVERYWHERE

It’s been four weeks since my last post, and quite a lot has happened.

The main thing is that summer hasn’t even started, with much of the recent weather akin to autumn, rather than the warmest season of the year.

The great tits chicks did fledge, although it must have been while I was at work, because one day they were very audible in the morning and when I got home later in the day, there was silence.

However, the air was filled with the noise of newly-fledged tit chicks and has only stopped in the last few days.

It’s hard to tell if they are great tit or blue tit chicks from the sounds, but when the parents give alarm calls it’s much easier to identify.

They all appear to have been doing very well, and they probably stuck around for a bit longer due to the unseasonal late spring weather.

Of course, the last few weeks have been awful, particularly for the wildlife who expect much warmer conditions.

The constant rain and very cool temperatures mean many of the insects that birds feed on are difficult to find or have been washed away.

I’ve been continuing to hand out mealworms, which the great tits, blue tits, robins and house sparrows have been swooping on very quickly.

Just when I thought the bird life would fade away for the wet summer, the robins provided me with quite a surprise.

In the last few days I’ve noticed robins heading into part of the ivy just outside the kitchen window.

A pair of robins did spend time in the same area last year but didn’t raise a family there.

This year I’ve seen evidence in the last 48 hours that lead me to believe they have nested and now have chicks.

Two robins are now going into the area with caterpillars, and also some of mealworms I’ve been handing out.

I’m going to monitor the behaviour of the robins over the next few days, because I’m concerned the weather will reduce the survival chances of the chicks.

And given the incidents of the various chicks in Scotland on Springwatch over the last couple of weeks, my concerns are real.

The sound of summer, in the voice of the swallows and swifts have been heard when the rain stops, with swifts seeking higher air while chattering and the swallows swooping around the garden.

I think the swifts I’ve seen haver had young, but I think the swallows are either on eggs or have young. They usually cause quite a racket when the young leave the nest, so I think I’ll be able to tell when that happens.

In the meantime, let’s hope summer does come along and doesn’t leave us with a soggy and disappointing June – I think the swallows will agree with me!

ARE THERE EGGS IN NESTS?

Following the unusually warm Easter Bank Holiday, we’re now experiencing some proper April weather.

Heavy rain and even hail, along with lightning and thunder, has helped to fill the pond back up, and provide some much-needed water to the flora.

There isn’t much life in the pond at the moment, and what life there is, is very small.

However, it will probably be next year, when a full year in the life cycle of the water feature will have concluded, that we’ll see bigger users and habitants.

Life around the birds has quietened down a little bit recently, although the numbers of house sparrows has increased, while both a male and female blackbird have spent time feeding around the lawn and borders.

The great tits have been around, but have been much quieter, while the wet weather has brought in the robins to feed in the garden.

I’m still putting out fat snacks and peanuts, but this will only last until the warmer weather starts properly in May.

That’s when I’ll get in the mealworms, and I’m sure it’ll coincide with the emergence of many chicks in the garden and surrounding area.

I’m going to check the nest built in the fruit tree this weekend, as I suspect a pair of woodpigeons have been paying close attention to it – perhaps it was one they abandoned last year but will come back when the tree has more foliage.

I’ve not seen much of the swallows, although I did hear them quite a bit before the wet weather really took hold.

They’ll probably welcome the rain so they can make the mud to construct their nest(s), and they sometimes use the puddles near the house, so I’ll be keeping an eye on them.

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.