WILDLIFE MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME

May is proving to be an exciting month for the garden, with new life and new nesters!

The blue tits have indeed been the birds to have used the original nest box, and the sound of chicks begging for food was heard on Sunday morning.

However I first suspected something was going on when I saw both blue tits scurrying around the garden searching for caterpillars and insects.

They sped around so fast, hanging upside down looking underneath leaves, that my first thought was they must be looking for food for their chicks.

There was an urgency not seen when they are ‘child free’!

Unfortunately it looks like Mrs Wren didn’t like to location or build of the nest by the kitchen window and they appear to have somewhere else.

Not all is lost though, because just two days ago a pair of robins were seen taking nesting material to that very nest.

They must either be a new or, as I suspect, the garden robins that have had their first nest nearby found and raided by a predator – my money is on one of the local cats.

I’m just hoping they continue with this nest, lay eggs that are successfully hatched and fledge all their chicks.

In the meantime all of the tomato, broad bean and sunflower plants are outside in the greenhouse, growing rapidly.

I suspect it’ll be bank holiday weekend when the first ones are put out in the garden, when they are strong enough to sustain any attacks from slugs and snails.

The weather looks like being good for a while, so watering the garden will be crucial in the coming weeks, not only to keep the flora going, but also help the birds with keeping their thirst quenched and food available.

They will of course get mealworm supplements from me while chick rearing season is going on.

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.

A LOVELY SURPRISE

I’ve had a few chances to view the wildlife in the daylight this week and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some new regular visitors.

I have seen jays around every so often, mainly down the lane, but to see them regularly and in my garden has been a joy.

They are traditionally a woodland bird but I suspect a lack of food is making them search further. Perhaps the acorn harvest has been poor, or the local population has increased thus dispersion has brought them nearer to my garden.

I suspect it could be a bit of both plus the fact these secretive birds are getting bolder as competition for food increases.

So as we’re on the verge of proper winter weather will my garden see more of these colourful birds and how many other species will venture to feed on my fatty snacks and peanuts?

I’m looking forward to the colder weather as it’ll give me more chance to see the birds in the leafless trees, well most of them anyway.

One thing has surprised me is the newly emerged flower from one of my sunflower plants. It’s only a small one, but I suspect the lack of frosts and a few ‘milder’ days has encouraged the flower to appear.

In other news I’ve noticed a number of ladybirds inside the house, most risking being trodden on have been rescued and placed somewhere they can make a winter home.

I’d not seen many this summer so I’m hoping the fact I’ve seen a few this autumn means that there hasn’t been a population crash this year.

One of my favourite times of the year is when fresh snow falls overnight and you can go out looking at which wildlife has been out and about during darkness and in the daylight.

 

How long will it be before this happens? Only time will tell.

OCTOBER PROVIDING LAST CHANCE TO BREED?

As the wet and cool summer gave way for a wet September, most people could be forgiven for thinking October would be cold and even wetter.

So far it's turned wet, but the cold weather hasn’t really materialised, the odd exception apart. In fact the weather is due to become a little milder in the next few days.

This has been backed up by regular sightings of swallows and house martins across the UK, despite the fact they should have been half way to Africa now.

I last spotted a large number of swallows at the end of September, but others have reportedly seen some in the last week, while there’s been one tweeter (excuse the pun) posting about house martins still nesting.

Wildlife has the knack of adapting to weather conditions and changing things like breeding habits, migration and even food sources.

It’s difficult to tell what the long or mid-term results will be of the wet summer we’ve had, but one thing could be our summer migrants staying later, risking their lives, to increase the breeding population for next year.

You could even say (without any biological evidence) that old birds are potentially sacrificing themselves to give their youngsters the chance to keep populations of their species going.

Of course you could also say that they could be first time parents or know that leaving it late will still give enough chances to raise a successful brood as insects hampered by the wet summer continue breeding in to autumn.

I was checking a couple of my nestboxes this week, ones that haven’t been used for nesting, when I came across a dead tree sparrow in one. I couldn’t see any reasons why it had died, other than old age or starvation.

The starvation one seems unlikely as I supply the birds visiting my garden with a range of seeds and nuts, so can only presume it died of old age or a genetic condition. A sad sight, but just part of nature.

The blue and great tits are still enjoying the sunflower seeds, so I’m not clearing up the plants until all seeds are gone.

My garden flowers are still producing a colourful backdrop, and there seems to be plenty of takers to the pollen on offer. I wonder if they, like the swallows and house martins, are relying on late breeding insects to prolong the breeding season and make up for a very poor spring and summer?

Winter and next year will help provide some of the answers.

BLOOMING GARDEN

The wet summer has so far resulted in lots of greenery, but not much in the way of other colours.

Over the last couple of weeks my garden has started to be full of vibrant colours from a wide variety of plants.

The numerous poppy, sunflower and rudbeckia plants are in full bloom and along with the gladiola and smaller flowers, are providing a colourful display.

There has been lots of bees making use of the pollen which is good news as the decline of food giving plants for the bees is a serious problem, especially for pollination of our food and crops.

I'm not sure if any of my sunflowers will reach over 10ft this year, but one or two might surprise me.

The tomatoes and pepper plants are going well and starting to show fruit, though how many will make it through the full growth is unknown.

I'm hoping to see my first red tomato by the end of July, especially as some of the pants I gave away to friends and family are already bearing fruit!

The birds are starting to come back into the garden and I've started hearing the warning calls again of the great tit and seen some young blue tits.

This weekend I've seen some fledgling robin chicks around the garden and along with the blackbirds, they are making use of the worms and other insects.

One thing I have noticed is the tree and house sparrows are not visiting in the same numbers, which I think is down to the chicks in nearby nests fledging and the parents showing them the neighbourhood while moulting themselves.

The swallows are increasing in number as youngsters fledge and join parents for formation flying to catch insects.

The wet weather is providing the swallows with a glut of food, when it stops and the sun warms up the air enough for the insects to take flight.

I'm hoping to have some more pics next week as I'm currently typing with one hand due to an injection into my elbow to help cure a long standing injury, so taking pics and writing with one hand isn't easy and it's taken me a while to complete this post!

GARDEN UPDATE

It's been a while since I posted about my blue tits, mainly because after they had fledged I felt somewhat low that their time with me in the garden was limited.

I've also been on holiday; which helped me get over the fledging.

But recently I've been pleased to notice the family of blue tits has returned to feed in the garden from the peanut feeders.

They've been joined by other families including one or two of great tits, robins, dunnocks and blackbirds.

The garden has bloomed recently with three of my sunflowers (grown from seed) now standing at over 7ft. The aphids on some of the roses and other flowers have no been eaten by the birds and insects, including in the last few days, a number of ladybirds.
I've recently been building a small patio area and during the groundwork one of the local robin families introduced me to the youngsters.

They've been around ever since, feasting on the regular amount of worms appearing on the lawn because of the wet weather.

I also spotted a young rabbit in the garden, it seemed a bit lost as no parents were around and I'm a little concerned it might not survive with buzzards and foxes about.

The pond is coming along nicely and is now full of wildlife. The latest animal I've spotted is a water boatman.

I'll be writing regular posts now so stay tuned. In my next post I'll be talking about the tomato and dwarf runner bean plants I've grown from seed and also and update on the patio.