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.

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!

HOUSE MARTINS IN FULL SONG

After the arrival of the swallows, this week I've noticed a number of house martins (the birds not the band) patrolling the skies above my house.

They shared the air with the swallows, which appear to be coping with the cooler and wetter weather.

It's been unusual weather recently but the flora is benefiting massively as the garden grass, plants, bushes and small trees are growing fast.

I'm hoping to put in an order for mealworms soon, but news last night is making me rethink that.

I noticed one of the great tits with a caterpillar in its beak and watched as it entered the nestbox with the camera, that doesn't work.

It appears there are chicks in the nest, albeit small as I couldn't here them. Perhaps the wet weather of April will help the great tits have two broods, although very unlikely.

So tonight I'll be making an order for those mealworms and stop filling up the seed and peanut feeders.

I hope to get images this weekend and will try a few more tricks to get the camera working again.

All other wildlife is still about, although one thing I've noticed is the amount of solitary magpies about, which isn't good news for the superstitious among us - me included.

I suspect this is because the females are on eggs in nearby nests.