THE FIRST CHICKS HAVE ARRIVED

I knew there was a reason for the house sparrows in the blue tit nest box putting nesting material over the camera – they had eggs.

I say had, because they have now hatched and I can clearly hear the chicks when I’m outside in the garden.

I’m guessing there’s at least five, having listened to the chirping for a period of time and recognising separate chirps.

Obviously I’ll not open the nest box until the chicks have fledged as I’m sure there’ll be another brood, but for now this is the view I'm getting.

 

In the triple sparrow nest box there are also chicks that I can hear. I suspect the sparrow parents are continuing on with the contest from 2014 when a pair of house sparrows and tree sparrows tried to produce the most chicks – last year was a draw.

Again the nest box camera has been evaded by the house sparrows, as they have nested in one (or maybe both) of the other nest boxes.

Does anyone else have so many house sparrows in such a small space using nest boxes?

The swallows are now in a large group and have been seen frequently ‘hanging out’ on some of the nearby telegraph wires.

The group has totalled 10-15 over the last few days, but I think only one pair is nesting in the horse stables behind the house.

The old pond area, which is now a wild rockery, is literally blooming. Indeed there have been many insects taking refuge and feeding in there.

 

Today I saw a beautiful small(ish) butterfly, which I think was this one.

 

It was joined by a large bumblebee, dancing in the air around the flowers and grasses.

The weather for the next few days is due to be delivering early summer temperatures, so I’m hoping to see more butterflies and bumblebees in the garden.

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THE GARDEN

Before I went on holiday for a week with the family, I took images of the garden from all four angles to see how much it would grow in seven days, at the height of summer.

I’ve done it because this unusually wet and fairly humid growing season has given plenty of healthy growing flora, but not given us much chance to enjoy it, apart from glimpses through a window as we shelter from the rain!

The first angle is towards the front of the house and the beautiful hanging baskets that Sarah creates every year. This year they were put together a couple of weeks late due to the weather, but they’ll still be great throughout the next couple of months.

As you can see from the first image they are growing well and the sunflower is growing well. The tomato plants of the right and left of the image had flowers so I was hoping for little green fruit upon my return.

As you can see from the image below, the sunflower has grown and started to show its flower, the wall climbing plant is providing even more shelter for small bugs and insects, which in turn is attracting the returning post-moult small birds and the hanging baskets are growing well.

The rose bush, which was showing flowers when we left for the holiday, has taken a couple of years to grow to its current state and plenty of pruning at most times of the year.

It provides a haven for the small birds that visit the garden to shelter from both weather and danger, while also feeding on food gathered from my offerings, or that of the garden itself.

As you can see from the image below, some of the flowers have faded, but others are coming to replace them. The most notable difference is the lawn, which has a carpet of daisies, perfect for small insects.

As my daughter started to wander around the garden I decided to slowly fill in the small pond and grow from seed, plants to fill the gap in the rockery.

The result is a sea of colour and a micro wildlife haven, with plenty of insects making it home. The good news is the pond lining is still there, so it can be resurrected in the future.

As you can see from the image below, the lawn has again shown it's growing power in the wet conditions, while the changing colours of the flowering plants is proving to be a great place for nectar hunting insects and bees. I planted most of the current flowers as seeds in March, so it's great to see that work coming to fruition.

Earlier this year I drastically trimmed the honeysuckle bush as it was mainly dead branches and I wanted the bush to provide shelter but not overhang the patio.

At first I thought the bush wasn’t responding positively to the trim, but slowly it began to show new shoots and green leaves. It had grown into what I imagined before we went away and would provide a great place for insects and birds to watch the garden.

But as you can see it had come back to life before the Cornwall holiday and I was making sure it created a thin, but sheltering hedge, rather than the overhanging shaded area it did before.

As you can see from the image below the honeysuckle has grown even further to start start shaping up to what I envisaged it to be when I cut it right back this spring.

At the front of the garden the entrance gate has sunflowers each side of it, while a couple of tomato plants and small hedge bushes were planted a couple of years ago to make a barrier combined with the fence.

The sunflowers provide autumn food for some birds, while the fence helps provide a security from local cats.

It is now turning into a great entrance to the garden, while also providing shelter and food for wildlife, plus food for us.

The sunflowers are growing well, albeit not at the same rate!

MAY BRINGS WINTER CONDITIONS

The temperatures in May are actually lower than last Christmas, which must be a shock for the summer visitors.

April usually brings showers, but it was more like heavy rain. In fact the wettest April for many areas of the UK.

The rain is welcome for most, though it was just a bit too relentless for some wildlife as they appeared to slow up on the breeding process.

I noticed the great tits were still coming in and around the nestbox, but they don't appear to be on eggs or ready to lay. That said until the nestbox camera is working again I can't be 100 per cent sure.

There are a few night visitors to the windows at night when it's dark and the light are on inside. Moths and daddy long legs have been seen recently, but the cool weather means only a few each night.

Yesterday I saw something I didn't think I'd see, especially in the summer. A family group of long tailed tits was chattering amongst the trees, which shows that food supplies must be low.

The group is usually seen in winter, but because the mild weather meant food supplies for most birds lasted through most of the season, I only saw the group a few times.

If this weather keeps up I expect to see them again, which is wonderful as they fly among the trees chattering away to each other.

The robins, blackbirds, tree sparrows, house sparrows and dunnocks are still regulars in the garden, with the blackbirds enjoying tugging worms out of the wet soil.

I've now filled in the pond with grass from lawn cuttings, so hopefully soon will completely fill it with soil and add some rockery plants.

The tree and house sparrows are showing interest in one of the nestboxes, though other areas of the local houses and buildings seem to be preferred at present.

Finally the swallows are creating wonderful songs from their perches on the telephone wires. I saw three this week, two of which must be the returning parents.

I'm now watching out for them entering the buildings behind the house and for the beginning of nest building.

PROPER SPRING WEATHER BRINGS GROWTH

After the recent cold weather that replaced the warmth of March, the traditional April showers have brought life to the flora in my garden and the nearby lanes and fields.

The heavy rain and warm sunshine are helping trees show plenty of green leaves, while my rockery and slowly diminishing pond are full of colour.

I'm still waiting for the swallows to return, but I have finally seen my first one of 2012. I watched as one swooped over the road as was driving on near my work in Wolverhampton.

I still find it strange that despite the thousands of miles I drive each month to various parts of the country that I have only seen a glimpse of one swallow this year.

My eyes will be scouring the sky for any sign of the returning swallows this week as I'm becoming a little concerned that they haven't come back.

The nestbox camera has failed again, meaning I'm not sure what stage the great tits are at in terms of nest building.

I've seen a lot of activity in and around my garden from them but without the camera I'm a little unsure.

Other birds that have increased their presence include the numerous tree sparrows, the odd house sparrow and the usual robins, dunnocks and blackbirds.

I've had magpies regularly in the garden, which appears to be to gather nesting material, although the smaller birds are issuing alarm calls when they are around.

I think the female blackbird is on eggs as she's not been around in the last couple of days, but I don't know where.

I'm hoping these heavy thunderstorms and rain will relent and the sunshine will provide the warmth to help the parent birds gather caterpillars and similar grubs for their young.

This weekend I'll try to fix the camera as I feel it could be too late in a week or two.

JUMPING FOR JOY

Two news updates tonight as some people's Easter celebrations give way to that sick feeling from eating too much chocolate. I feel fine as my Easter diet has been mainly watching the great tit eggs.

The great tit female has spent much more time incubating the eggs, while the male is often seen 'on guard' in the trees near the nestbox.

It's interesting to see and hear the interaction between the pair, especially when anyone s outside in the garden. The male must be reassuring the female on the nest, giving her he confidence to keep the eggs warm.

I did witness a very interesting battle between the female and a mosquito type creature, all in the darkness of the nestbox. The video below shows what happened.

I don't think there are any more eggs so the total appears to be eight, fingers crossed they all hatch and survive to at least fledgling.

In other news, I was putting extra plants in the rockery when I noticed a pair of eyes looking at me from the pond.

A frog was half submerged and motionless, watching me attend to the surrounding rockery. t even allowed me to take two photographs.

I think it's a little late for new frogspawn, so wonder if it's a tadpole from last year visiting the place it grew up.

I'll be keeping an eye on the pond to see what develops, but don't expect it to be another place in my garden to produce new wildlife.

The below photos of the pond are taken with seconds of each. Can you spot the frog?