CHRISTMAS LOCKDOWN MEANT LESS VIEWING TIME FOR WILDLIFE

So, Christmas 2020 and the start of 2021 went well didn’t it…

With all plans out of the window and the focus on making sure the family and kids had fun, it meant time writing the blog took a back seat for a few weeks.

Introducing a video element will take place, but only when we’re in a new pattern for the current lockdown.

Before Christmas, I finally put up a bat box on the side of the house, in probably the only space not occupied by a bird box – more on the latter shortly.

While we do have bats down the lane and sometimes seen around the house, I’m not sure it’ll be an instant hit or even be found by the bats.

Perhaps nearer the summer this year will give a proper indication as to whether it’s useful or not.

I took a thirty minute window between Christmas and New Year to remove any old nests from the nest boxes, to see how many nests were built in the garden and how successful they were.

I knew the robins were successful at the third attempt, the great tits had one nest fledge and the goldfinches too, but was there any surprises?

Well yes and no. The robin nests were discovered, well the two nests that weren’t attacked and robbed by the magpies.

They did use the next box in the ivy, but I don’t know if this was the one that was unsuccessful around the start of the first Lockdown at the start of April, or whether it was the third and successful nest in the ivy.

As there were no eggs or ‘unfledged’ dead chicks in the nest found in the nest box, I can only say with 50% certainty that the nest box was successfully used.

The higher up single nest box in the ivy also had a nest in, but I can’t say again for certain if this was used fully or successfully.

The nest wasn’t really fully formed and if it was used then it can only have been by the robins.

The usual nest box was used by great tits and successfully, albeit one chick didn’t make it; you can see the skeletal remains if you look closely at the nest.

As the cameras are now definitely not working, I’m looking at investing in a new camera for one nest box although the uncertainty of the current lockdown might put that investment back a couple of weeks.

One final note is the return of the blackbirds to the garden, primarily because of the apple cores and other fruit left out for them.

They have demolished an apple a day over the last week, so their doctor must be happy!

AUTUMN WEATHER BRINGS NEW HARVEST

As the transition from summer to autumn progressed, the garden produced a small harvest to feast on.

OK, so it wouldn’t exactly make a feast, but the tomatoes did eventually come along even if it was weeks after the strawberries and broad beans.

They tasted pretty good too, so maybe planting earlier next year might work better for an earlier harvest.

The newly acquired bat box will go up soon, although with the prevailing wind coming down both sides of the house, I might have to be careful in where it’s placed and also borrow some ladders from a neighbour.

While there are bats that fly around the garden, I’ll be quite surprised if they do make use of the roosting box this winter – but you never know!

The sunflowers were a big disappointment this year, with only my youngest daughter’s making it to full bloom.

It did make a remarkable recovery as it was eaten by slugs, but then remerged and produced two heads.

While it was my daughter’s, it was technically me that kept it fed and watered, so I’m going to claim a small part of the sunflower’s success.

Finally, there’s a good haul of berries on the pyracantha which I’m hoping might attract a passing fieldfare or redwing flock.

I’ve not seen any down the lane so far this year, but it is quite early, and I would expect to have chance of seeing a few later this month or into November.

Time will tell if there’s enough berries to attract them.

THE SUMMER QUIET HITS THE GARDEN

As usual at this time of year the garden is really quiet at the moment, with most birds hiding around the hedgerows, fields and trees while the adults moult.

In the last week there has been some visitors, with the odd blue tit (both adults and this year’s young), while the magpies are constantly around and making plenty of noise.

The other birds starting to come back in the garden are the robins, indeed the robin family that fledged a few weeks ago.

The youngsters are starting to show signs of the red breast, while the adults seem to be getting more and more comfortable with us in the garden, mainly while we’re working.

With the youngsters still learning about life, they are always making nervous warning sounds whenever they are around the garden and we’re in there.

They still come around the seats and tables, often underneath picking up crumbs from the floor, so cleaning up for us at the same time.

The weather hasn’t been summer-like, but it has been mild and moist at night.

This led to a surprise visitor in the kitchen one evening as a toad came to visit.

We were able to show it back out again, but it was a lively one and seemed to be smaller than the one I found last year.

Finally, the hedgehog seems to still be around as I’ve found droppings around the small pond and in a couple of other parts of the garden.

I think it lives under one of the sheds, although I do wonder if it has a bolt hole under the logs near the pond.

I’ll hopefully be able to spend a bit of time in the garden in the next couple of weekends and see what I can detect.

THE NEXT GENERATION IS ALMOST WITH US

In the last week or so the robins have still been around the garden, sometimes looking at the ivy and going in to investigate what I presume can be to build another nest.

I’ve even seen them go in with nesting materials, although not very often and I don’t think there was enough movement to suggest the garden will have robin chicks this year, sadly.

The great tit chicks are very loud now and I’m surprised they haven’t fledged yet, although the parents are seemingly trying to tempt them out now!

Perhaps when the heat we’re likely to see tomorrow will prove the final straw as the nest will become very hot and their feathers will increase their body temperature and incentivise them to reach for the outside world.

The house sparrow families are seemingly thriving and the swallows are looking like they are nest building, more on both of those next week.

The pond has plenty of life in it, but there’s not been the sign of the frog for a while and there’s not visible frogspawn.

However, it is providing a place for insects to live and they are needed for a bio-diverse garden, which is what I want to have.

The broad beans, tomatoes and other flora are growing quite well, although not so much the poppies. I don’t know why that is, but they are in various locations around the garden so let’s see how they all are in a few weeks.

As we approach the traditional summer season, it’s going to be interesting to see how the current Covid-19 situation will impact everyone and the wildlife.

One thing’s for sure is the wildlife around the garden has been carrying on with the breeding season, blissfully unaware of the situation their human neighbours are going through.

Time will tell how much the pandemic has affected wildlife, hopefully it’ll be in a positive way.

In the meantime we’ll keep on trying to help the birds get fed with mealworm handouts and watch as the next generations make their way in the world around us.

SUMMER IN WET MODE?

While it's fair to say this summer has been warmer and drier than last year, well maybe July, the fledging of our summer visitors hasn't been too visual.

Certainly the swifts have been successful, and there are often family groups circling high above the garden on most evenings this month.

The screeching sound of the swifts is a fantastic summer sound, although it'll soon be gone again for another year.

The swallows haven't been seen in family groups, although individuals are regularly seen and heard. I do wonder if the wet spells in June impacted the nest, just like the swallow family on Springwatch.

If that has been the case, then the weather recently has certainly been much better, so hopefully we'll hear the sounds of young swallows in the coming days.

The garden birds are certainly not around as much, which is normal for this time of year. But a family of long tailed tits has visited the garden twice recently, so perhaps the parents are showing the youngsters where to get winter food.

Having said that, only this morning I've already heard a family of blue tits, great tits, wrens and robins around the garden, so they're either recent fledglings or they have stuck around a bit longer because of food.

The tomatoes and broad beans haven't been successful this year, although I'm hoping the spell of warm weather next week will help growth.

FLORA GROWTH, AS SUMMER HEAT BUILD

The weather has started to become more like summer, albeit the forecasters are saying it won’t last – how unusual!

The bird life in the garden is slowly moving away, although another nest might see some action during July.

The secret robin nest has either fledged or not survived, because there’s been a distinct lack of activity in the area in the last few days.

It’s hard to tell which is true, but in the coming weeks I’ll have a sneak peak in the nest vicinity to see what’s happened.

I hope it’s been fledging.

There have been occasional visits from families of blue tits, great tits and house sparrows, however they are happening less frequently.

Only today a fledgling blackbird was moving around the garden looking for earthworms, and succeeding too.

The new nest, I say new because it looks like a refurb of the one I spotted during winter in the garden’s main tree, has had visitors – yes I think it’s the owners.

It’s a pair of woodpigeons, which makes it another first for the garden.

I don’t know if they’re going to lay eggs yet, or even if they have already done so, but two of them have been heard and seen quite often recently.

The birds of summer appear to be doing ok, with numerous swifts often overhead, particularly in the evening when they make a right noise, while the swallows are certainly enjoying the increase in insect food – thanks to the improving weather.

Finally the tomato plants are now fully outside and ready for warm, sunny conditions to thrive and produce some lovely fruit - hopefully!

CHICKS AND RAIN EVERYWHERE

It’s been four weeks since my last post, and quite a lot has happened.

The main thing is that summer hasn’t even started, with much of the recent weather akin to autumn, rather than the warmest season of the year.

The great tits chicks did fledge, although it must have been while I was at work, because one day they were very audible in the morning and when I got home later in the day, there was silence.

However, the air was filled with the noise of newly-fledged tit chicks and has only stopped in the last few days.

It’s hard to tell if they are great tit or blue tit chicks from the sounds, but when the parents give alarm calls it’s much easier to identify.

They all appear to have been doing very well, and they probably stuck around for a bit longer due to the unseasonal late spring weather.

Of course, the last few weeks have been awful, particularly for the wildlife who expect much warmer conditions.

The constant rain and very cool temperatures mean many of the insects that birds feed on are difficult to find or have been washed away.

I’ve been continuing to hand out mealworms, which the great tits, blue tits, robins and house sparrows have been swooping on very quickly.

Just when I thought the bird life would fade away for the wet summer, the robins provided me with quite a surprise.

In the last few days I’ve noticed robins heading into part of the ivy just outside the kitchen window.

A pair of robins did spend time in the same area last year but didn’t raise a family there.

This year I’ve seen evidence in the last 48 hours that lead me to believe they have nested and now have chicks.

Two robins are now going into the area with caterpillars, and also some of mealworms I’ve been handing out.

I’m going to monitor the behaviour of the robins over the next few days, because I’m concerned the weather will reduce the survival chances of the chicks.

And given the incidents of the various chicks in Scotland on Springwatch over the last couple of weeks, my concerns are real.

The sound of summer, in the voice of the swallows and swifts have been heard when the rain stops, with swifts seeking higher air while chattering and the swallows swooping around the garden.

I think the swifts I’ve seen haver had young, but I think the swallows are either on eggs or have young. They usually cause quite a racket when the young leave the nest, so I think I’ll be able to tell when that happens.

In the meantime, let’s hope summer does come along and doesn’t leave us with a soggy and disappointing June – I think the swallows will agree with me!

AUTUMNAL SIGNS ABOUND

The dark nights are really rolling in now and the last of the summer visitors have flown south, leaving the garden birds to the skies around the garden,

The pond is almost full now, thanks to the recent spate of heavy rain showers, so this weekend my result in a trip to the garden centre for some flora to help create and environment fit for small creatures.

Yesterday I saw a few trees starting to turn the beautiful autumnal orange, gold and yellow colours, albeit the vast majority are still fully green.

Given the recent drop in temperature an Indian Summer is now unlikely, so we could be set for some glorious autumn colours in the coming weeks.

There’s still not much activity in the garden, except for a small flock of house sparrows and a few blue tits.

I can hear robins every so often, but nothing really of great tits, goldfinches, dunnocks, blackbirds or the local wrens.

The owls are still heard every so often nearby, but they must have found more favourable hunting grounds elsewhere recently.

As we all start to turn out the winter coats, the wildlife is slowly starting to get ready for the colder seasons of the year.

A bit like use humans!