BYE BYE HEATWAVE

The heat wave has now come and gone, but it has left behind some warm weather albeit with plenty of rain, particularly forecast for the week ahead.

There’s still been no sight of Spikey and I’m concerned now as I don’t think he’s been eating much of the cat food or mealworms that I’ve been handing out.

Indeed there seems to be a family of magpies that have been raiding the garden for my mealworms and the cat food, although how much of the cat food is left by dawn is something I don’t know.

I’m going to check the house sparrow nest boxes out this week as I’m not sure if another clutch of eggs has been laid yet, or indeed if there will be another brood this year; I’d be surprised if there wasn’t.

All of the plants are now out of the greenhouse, apart from the three ‘resident’ tomato plants, and most are surviving well outside.

The runner beans have flowered and the first signs of beans are now coming through, while the broad beans have flowered and some will soon be ready for picking and eating.

They’ve all been visited by plenty of bees and this year has seen the biggest number of bees in the garden for nearly a decade.

Every day the bees have visited the garden in huge numbers, with many varieties of honey and bumble bees.

As more and more flowers come into bloom it seems the supply of pollen and nectar will continue for the foreseeable future.

Currently the sweetpea plants are flowering and soon it’ll be the tomatoes, before the sunflowers continue the supply.

Of course all this means there’s plenty of colour in the garden.

The swallows appear to be in very big numbers this year and I’m predicting the count will exceed 40 when they start to prepare for the journey to their winter home and gather on the telephone wires.

Until then I’m going to enjoy their aerobatic displays and beautiful voices as the glide and swoop in and around the garden.

Next week I’ll bring news of a song thrush that has taken to singing loudly and at length around the garden.

HAVE THE SPARROWS FLEDGED?

The weather is certainly warming up, although it isn't quite spring like enough for some of our feathered friends.

The cool winds have held temperatures back, although this has been offset by some lovely sunshine brightening up the garden.

During periods of rain the slug and snail population has been out and about, I can see there'll be another battle to keep my new vegetables and plants away from hungry critters!

The house sparrow families appear to be growing fast and I'm expecting at least one fledging in the next couple of days.

Unfortunately the blue tit nest box camera is still mainly covered up, allowing me only small glimpses into movement inside.

But the loud and almost constant chirping if the chicks combined with the parents mating again, suggest a fledging and new batch of eggs will not be far away.

Once the fledging has happened I'll try to clear the camera view, although this will be tricky and if I suspect it'll disturb the birds I'll leave well alone.

The only other addition to the garden is the temporary greenhouse, which is now housing young runner bean, broad bean, tomato and sunflower plants.

The swallows are still conducting aerobatic displays and I'm sure it won't be long before they're swooping through the garden after insects.

SWALLOWS RETURN TO SPARK SUMMER WARMTH?

Lovely sunny weather in the day has meant colder nights, not the ideal conditions for planting out new plants.

I’ve put some out in the greenhouse, broad beans and sunflowers, and they have so far responded well; continuing to grow well.

More potatoes have been planted so hopefully we’ll have a good supply of spuds from August onwards – perhaps even up until November.

The tomatoes, runner bean, onion, cornflower, cosmos and more sunflowers have been planted, so there should be more green shoots by the end of Easter.

The birds have been flocking to the garden, with the blackbirds picking up plenty of worms from the lawn and blue tits, great tits, dunnocks, robins and sparrows feasting on the peanuts and fat snacks.

But the big news this week has been the return of the swallows. I watched jealously as people report swallow sightings across the country through social media, but this week I heard the sweet sound of spring and summer in the air.

I looked up and saw five swallows showing off their aerobatic skills and they seemed to be having a brilliant time, chattering all the time.

The next job I have is to find out where they’ll be nesting, and also if I can see where other nests are. Stay tuned for updates as I check out the sites I know were occupied last year, particularly the robins by the railway bridge and blackbirds in a nearby small bush.

IS AUTUMN ON ITS WAY?

Another quiet week in the garden, with only updates coming from the flora – mainly the sunflowers.

There are now nine sunflowers that are over 6ft tall and in the coming days I expect that number to increase.

I’ve already started collecting some tomatoes and runner beans from this years’ crop, and with potatoes, carrots and parsnips, along with plenty more tomatoes and runner beans, it could be one of my best years for crops.

There are three different varieties of tomatoes, Italian Roma, Gardener’s Delight and Cherry, in my garden and I’m going to choose the best tasting one for growing next year.

I’ve already started collecting seeds from this year’s blooms – poppy, sunflower and sweet pea – so next year I can grow without the extra help from packet mixes.

The summer looked like turning into autumn at the end of this week, but looking at the weather forecast it looks like we could be in for at least a few more days of lovely summer weather.

Only one concern for me, and probably many others, is the lack of rainfall. The ground is drying very quickly and I’m watering the plants almost every night – which is obviously working.

The visits from the birds have been rare this week, with only a fleeting glimpse of a female blackbird.

I’ve not seen any robins for at least a month and the blue tits and great tits must be among the birds having a great time in the surrounding countryside.

The swallows have been swarming most evenings, but I get the feeling that it’s mainly the young from this year and that most of the adults have headed off back to Africa.

The swallow is probably my favourite bird and I always get very excited by its arrival in spring/summer. It’s one of my favourite sights and sounds of nature and my heart always sinks when I know they’re heading south and I won’t see them for seven or eight months.

One day I’ll have a house with a barn or similar type building that will attract swallows and I can watch them more closely again, just like in my childhood. One day!

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.

WET, WILD AND HUMID SUMMERTIME

In the last week of so the number of bees and butterflies has increased in the garden, as the wet and mild(ish) weather has made for excellent growing conditions.

The birds have started to come back, with the odd appearance from a young and adult great and blue tits.

All in all it’s been a strange spring and summer, with plenty of ups, but more downs. I’d be interested to know how other people have viewed wildlife in their gardens, but know a couple who have experienced similar to me.

The swallow family are now testing their wings as the youngsters gorge on the huge numbers of flying insects. I expect another brood from the new brood in the horse stable, particularly if the favourable weather conditions continue.

At the moment the evening air is filled with the beautiful songs of blackbirds, swallows and a lonesome chiffchaff, while tree and house sparrows chirp away with youngsters in the rose hedge before diving to feed at one of the seed feeders.

The potatoes and carrots are progressing well and I’m hopeful of a sweetcorn crop this year. The runner bean and tomato plants are showing signs of bearing fruit, but they seem to be slower than previous years.

My sunflowers are growing rapidly and I think a few will reach over 10ft, with potential for even higher if the weather warms up a little more.

My daughter loves the garden, well in particular watering the plants, and herself, with her pink elephant watering can. If that isn’t there she’ll try and lift my big green one, which if less than a quarter full she can do.

Now is the time to watch the insects make best use of the garden, before the birds return from moulting and once again bask in the bounty of food that the area provides, along with some handouts from me.