SEPTEMBER WARMTH LENGTHENS SWALLOWS’ STAY

The sudden warmth of September delivered the hottest day of 2016, which was good news for the thousands of insects that seemed to come out of nowhere and into people’s homes.

It also meant the local swallows extended their stay in the UK, although in the last 24 hours they have been seen gathering on the telephone wires again.

This is a sure sign that they will soon head for their wintering grounds of sunny and warm Africa, many for the first time.

Judging by the amount of youngsters seen in the local skies, it would appear to be another good year for swallow fledglings, so many people will be hoping to see even more next year.

They are beautiful birds and one that many link directly with the return of warmer weather and, when they leave, the signal to darker nights and colder days.

The roosting sparrows seem to have outgrown their site next door and some are now in the small amount of wall climbing plants on the house.

A couple of birds are roosting about six inches from the door and appear to be quite happy even when human eyes are gazing at them.

The next box cameras haven’t been checked for a while, so with autumn starting to make it’s presence known they will be checked and cleaned to provide roosting opportunities for cold birds this winter.

Once again the crane flies are out in big numbers this month, just like last year, which has provided a feast for some.

The snail and slug ‘explosion’ prior to the recent warm weather appears to have dropped off, presumably because of the heat.

They are sure to make a comeback soon, although we’ll probably only be able to tell when we hear that tell tale crunching sounds while walking in the garden in the darker evenings.

A MUGGY START TO SEPTEMBER

It’s been a while since the last blog post, so much so that summer left, autumn arrived and now summer is back – 19c at night!

Let’s get the bad news out of the way; the harvest of crops has been very poor this year, with even the sunflowers disappointed. I don’t think it helped being away for a couple of weeks and no-one watering the garden.

I have harvested absolutely nothing from the broad bean plants, tomatoes or cauliflowers. Next year I might just concentrate on fewer plants, probably just tomatoes, broad beans and sunflowers.

The birds have made use of the few sunflowers that flowered well, and they are now returning to the garden in bigger numbers after the summer moult.

Indeed a large flock of house sparrows is roosting in the ivy and other climbing wall plants that cover a small section of the house, but most of next door’s front facing wall.

I don’t know if any other small birds are in the same roost yet, but perhaps this will become a regular haunt for them, as long as next door don’t chop it all down!

Young robins, some with red breast feather emerging, blue tits, great tits and dunnocks are all now coming back in to the garden, although blackbird visits are few and far between.

There does seem to be a number of big slugs that venture in the garden on damp nights, some much bigger than I ever thought they would get.

I presume these are some of the new type of slugs being found in increasing numbers in the UK, so I’m hoping some hungry hedgehogs are close by.

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.

THEY’RE BACK!

I didn’t have to wait much longer my ‘my’ swallows to return this year, following my post last week.

The very next morning, Monday 20^th April, I heard a familiar sound as I walked outside in the warm spring air.

They were two days later than last year, well two days later then I was able to see or hear them.

I know a lot has been made of ‘global warming’ and spring coming earlier, but given my observations there isn’t evidence to support this.

I’m sure swallows and other summer migrants thought they had arrived in early summer last week, but the last couple of days and the next week will bring a bit of reality about the actual time of year.

One bird I rarely here from the garden is the cuckoo. I’ve heard one or two calling over the last few years, but always from a distance and never for more than a couple of days.

Back to our native birds and I’ve seen a number of goldfinch pairs down the lane as I’m driving to and from work, while a pair of magpies has built a large nest in one of the tall trees behind the house.

I’ve been watching out in case the magpies are usurped by a bigger bird, but haven’t witnessed what I did many years ago in London when a pair of carrion crows patiently watched a magpie duo build a nest, and then staged a violent takeover.

There does always seem to be a certain level of violence in the throng of house sparrows, with minor conflicts a daily occurrence.

Perhaps this is why there appear to be no eggs yet, or maybe they’re waiting for a longer spell of spring sunshine.

Finally, I’ve been put on a rehoming list for hedgehogs and have been told I could be able to provide a new home for a few in the next few weeks.

Hedgehogs are a great natural defence for the garden and after last year’s slug-fest I’m hoping a hedgehog or two will help bring some natural order back.

Plus they’re a species that are dramatically losing number and I want to play a part in helping to stabilise and then increase numbers.

NEW ARRIVALS AMID SUMMER SUN

Little did I realise when I wrote my blog post last week that my imminent new arrival was exactly that.

A day after posting the latest update the garden saw another arrival, this time of the human variety and our second daughter.

Bizarrely a rose that emerged at the time our first daughter was born suddenly emerged again this week.

 

The rose plant hasn’t really grown in six years, but occasionally produces a lovely flower. Nature has a funny way of showing us things and while it’s likely to be coincidence, I’d like to think the garden was in some way saying congratulations.

With warm weather continuing to bathe the garden, the plants are reacting with growth spurts, albeit once I’ve provided enough water.

The blackbirds, house sparrows, tree sparrows, blue tits, great tits and robins are now fairly regular visitors to the garden, with most still appearing to have young, either in the nest or having recently fledged.

I’ve not seen many youngsters recently, but I’ve heard lots of chattering in the trees and bushes with parent birds appearing to be flying rapidly between the food sources in my garden and the fledglings in the canopy.

The swallow numbers have continually grown and this is most evident during the period just after dawn and early evening.

With shorter tails it’s easy to identify the youngsters from this year, but with plenty of them and the speed in which they all fly together, counting how may there are is almost impossible.

I've also seen a few house martins around and occasionally swifts – both of which I've seen in previous years and I know nest nearby – so I'm hoping this is a good sign that breeding has been good for them this year.

The slug and snail invasion is showing no sign of slowing down. The casualties mount up daily, although I do try and put live ones in our recyclable green waste bin so they can be ‘relocated’.

I’m hoping to have my first crop harvested this week, which will be the broad beans. It’s hard to tell when they’re exactly right to pick, but I’m looking forward to creating some dishes with them as a key ingredient.

TOAD IN THE HOLE

Not the usual sausage in mash version, but an actual toad in a hole in our garden.

I noticed it last night while watering the plants in the greenhouse; I thought it was a mouse but it then appeared from the undergrowth.

It appeared to be wary of me, but not completely overwhelmed once it could see I meant it now harm.

The good news is the toad is still there tonight so is obviously enjoying our garden and I'm happy to welcome a new animal to the garden as it will eat slugs, snails and other animals that want to eat my plants!

I think I've worked out where the toad lives so will be keeping an eye out and updating the blog with further news.

This morning, after my daughter's 5am alarm call, I was able to watch some of the birds in and around our house and noticed another new bird.

A female blackcap was among a family of chiffchaffs, my returning great tits and a sole robin chick.

It was great to see and hear all the birds going about their daily routines and the families feeding together. The whole scene reminded me of my own family growing together and the early alarm call was soon forgotten.

Maybe I'll get up at 5am most days (during the summer) to see what else is happening in and around where we live.