WINTER COLD STAYING AWAY?

November has been quite mild so far, and there’s little indication it’ll change in the near future.

It appears the weather conditions have meant the bird feeders aren’t as active as they might be, although the garden is still seeing house sparrows, blue tits and great tits.

The odd robin is now making a regular appearance, while the blackbirds have been heard a few times in the nearby trees and bushes – obviously by their alarm call.

There was a fleeting glimpse of a flock of long tailed tits, while down the lane jays, magpies, blackbirds and a great spotted woodpecker have been seen.

I’ve not seen any further evidence of badgers down the lane, although recent sightings have meant I’m confident of seeing more in the winter months.

The other large mammal around the area has also made itself known this week. A fox has been heard for two nights running calling in the early hours, and quite near the house.

After a few years of little fox or badger activity, it’s been great to see it evidenced recently, while tawny owls have also come back to the area after years of absence.

Perhaps the more elusive wildlife is back to stay, let’s hope so.

WINTER IS ON ITS WAY

The cold of autumn has arrived, and it signalled the garden birds to descend on the garden; feasting on the peanuts and fat balls.

We’ve seen house sparrows, blue tits, great tits, the odd dunnock and a robin (for the first time in weeks).

There has been a number of jays around recently, and it’s great that they are now increasing their presence around the garden, while the local magpies pay almost daily visits.

No blackbirds have been seen for a while, so I wonder if the incident involving the tawny owl and blackbird at night a couple of months ago has impacted on this. If none are seen in the next month or so, then I might suspect it has.

A frost has lightly carpeted the lawn for the last two days, while the nearby trees and bushes are turning lovely autumnal shades of yellow, brown and orange – all apart from the evergreens!

This week feels the start of the change from summer/autumn to autumn/winter, and the early dark nights that we’ll have for the next five months.

Of course, the clocks going back doesn’t have any impact on the wildlife, but it does impact when we can help them with handouts – for me it’s weekends only.

In news from the lane, badgers have once again been seen, with two spotted on separate nights, a week apart but in the same area, exploring the hedges.

It happened around 8/9pm and is great news because we’ve not seen any badgers down the lane for years.

They were seen regularly, along with the odd fox and loads of rabbits, but it’s rare to see any of them now, which is not good for the rabbits because they were seen at least once a week; now they’re seen every six months.

SUMMER ACTUALLY BEING SUMMER

After a couple of weeks away, mainly avoiding the short bursts of rain, the warmth (even heat) of summer is returning again.

The hosepipe ban might have been called off for now but, with little rain in the current forecast, it might be back later this month.

Not much to report on the wildlife, aside from a few butterflies in the garden, while the flora is certainly blooming given the recent rain and warm conditions.

There are even some tomatoes coming through, while the broad beans will need picking this weekend – and should be quite a crop.

The sunflowers are not bad this year, although not as high as some years – they’ll definitely be providing a good source of late summer early autumn seeds for the birds, who’ll return to the garden after their summer excursions around the countryside.

The only other thing to note was the suspected predation of a roosting blackbird in the garden by an owl.

I was out in the garden around midnight when I heard a woosh, followed by a bird brushing against leaves, before a blackbird alarm call was abruptly stopped.

A minute or so later I heard the calls of a tawny owl in a nearby field.

Without night vision goggles or a camera I can’t confirm any of this, just the noises helping put together a picture of what happened in the darkness.