THE BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH

This year, the garden was once again subject to an hour of bird counting, as the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch survey took place.

Last year the list of birds spotted and counted was as follows (starting with the most seen):

House sparrow – 9

Blackbird – 9

Great tit – 7

Blue tit – 6

Starling – 5

Robin – 4

Magpie – 4

Long tailed tit – 4

Dunnock – 4

Woodpigeon – 3

Goldfinch – 2

Tree sparrow – 2

This year the order changed slightly, and we didn’t see any tree sparrows or woodpigeons. The 2018 order was as follows:

Long tailed tit – 9

House sparrow – 7

Great tit – 4

Dunnock – 4

Goldfinch – 4

Blue tit – 2

Blackbird – 2

Magpie – 2

Wren – 2

Robin – 2

The weather on Saturday wasn’t the best and we did pick a time later in the day, so missed most of the action earlier in the day, hence the lower numbers.

The flock of long tailed tits didn’t disappoint again, and they even managed to outscore the house sparrow.

I’ve not noticed any real difference in the number and type of birds coming into the garden over the last few years, with sightings of tawny owls, sparrowhawks, crows and song thrush, among those who are seen perhaps a couple of times a year.

Among the flora in the garden, the snowdrops, winter rose and crocuses are already flowering, with others, including daffodils and tulips, starting to emerge as green shoots.

While it’s still January, and there’s likely to be more colder and stormy days to come in the next couple of months, the weekend did start to give us a feel of spring – temperatures reach about 14c on Sunday.

Which means it’s time to make sure the bird nest boxes are in good order and ready for any spring guests – particularly the camera nest boxes!

WINTER IS ON ITS WAY, AS AUTUMNAL FROSTS ARRIVE

The garden has already seen a couple of frosts this year, but the influx of birds has yet to appear.

The garden feeders are being utilised, mainly by a few blue tits, the odd robin and great tits. Other birds are appearing infrequently.

One exciting development recently has been the appearance of a male sparrowhawk.

It was spotted on top of an outbuilding next to the house, and it appeared to be gathering itself after a failed hunt.

It look inexperienced so likely one that was born this year, but there’s hope in the house that it’ll keep making appearances in the future.

Of course that might mean negative news for the smaller garden birds, however it does mean there is a depth to the food chain in the area, with the top predator not being cats!

The next job in the garden is to clean out the nest boxes and make them ready for winter roosting. Checking the cameras are still operating will also be part of the process.

The flora in the garden has gained a new lease of live, with a large lily flowering, along with the rose bush.

The rose bush flowered in every month last year, and has done the same this year, proving it can withstand the rigours of all seasons.

It also means there’s a food source for any insects still hanging around before winter, and for those that appear early in spring on warmer days.

Once again the signs of lack of food in the surrounding countryside is likely to be signalled by the arrival of long tailed tits at the garden feeders, although there’s sadly little hope for any waxwings, redwings or other winter visitors given the history of not appearing.

SHIVERING WILDLIFE GETTING A SOAKING

Is it autumn already? The weather has been distinctly autumn-like following the hottest recorded temperatures for June in more than 40 years.

The blue tit chicks have paid occasional visits to the garden in the last couple of weeks, and so far it appears most have survived.

I’ve not seen a bird of prey around for a while, even down the lanes, so perhaps the sparrowhawk and kestrels are focusing elsewhere for the time being.

There’s been no sign of any robin chicks yet, although the adults are still regularly spending time in and around the garden.

Both blackbird parents are in the garden daily and, thanks to the wet weather are often tugging worms out of the soil – winning most of the battles.

There’s still no word on whether the house sparrows are sitting on eggs in the blue tit next box, but they are still hanging around there like they own it.

One noticeable visitor has been the crane fly, well actually hundreds of them. Many of them are coming in the house, which is not the best place considering the amount of spiders knocking about.

However it does mean they avoid the increasing amount of swallows, whose first ‘batch’ of 2017 youngsters.

Will July bring warm and summer-like weather? Let’s hope so.

GARDEN GROWTH SURGE

The weather in June has led to a a particularly high rate of growth of the flora in the garden.

Poppies, cauliflowers, broad beans, sunflowers and the tomato plants have all benefited from the humid and often damp conditions.

The planting out session of plants from the greenhouse has been completed and what's left inside there will hopefully have enough space to grow and produce some good crops.

Tomatoes, cauliflowers and one chilli pepper plant remain.

Bird news is mainly around the return of the great tit chicks to feed in and around the garden, mainly due to the hard work of the parents.

There is constant chirping in the tress and bushes from the little ones, and when they are joined by the house sparrows and their chicks, the noise is pretty loud.

I suspect a couple of the great tit chicks have already been lost to the local sparrowhawk, but that's nature.

The season now needs some dry weather to help the flora and fauna in producing the  next generation.

It'll also allow us humans to be outside and enjoy the constantly changing colour and noise in our gardens.

WILL THE WINTER VISITORS NOW FLOCK IN TO THE GARDEN?

Now that winter has started to show it can bring cold weather, there is an increased hope that a few traditional birds will visit the garden feeders and berries still present on the pyracantha bush

While the garden hasn’t seen any frost or snow, the general temperature has been noticeably dropping in the last couple of days and it won’t be long before a carpet of whiteness will layer the land.

It will hopefully bring more birds, and perhaps mammals, to the food on offer and with it potential closer encounters with the local predators – kestrel, sparrowhawk and even the peregrine falcons that live nearby.

Due to unforeseen circumstances the new nest box was unable to be erected, but it will be in the next couple of weeks.

And because of the increased roof space it’ll be able to better accommodate the second camera that has been putting off nesting birds in the triple sparrow nest box.

It is definitely putting off nesting birds because the other two boxes have been used in the two summers it’s been erected.

I knew one was used in the summer last year, but while cleaning them in the last couple of days I found the two without a camera had been used (see below).

Sadly the bird box that has been used by house sparrows, blue tits, great tits and tree sparrows, had five dead sparrows in it (see below).

The positive news was that it was the sixth brood from last summer so between 20 and 30 new house sparrows were brought in to the local population from that nest box.

In the eight years since it was put up there have been an estimated 150+ birds fledging from that nest box, something which is not bad for a small(ish) rural garden.