RARE WINTER VISITOR IN MY GARDEN

The snow may not have hit us, well apart from the highest mountains, but the wind and rain have certainly made their presence felt.

Watching the weather forecast for the next week and Christmas, it looks like we’ll all get hit by storm after storm, which isn’t good for us or the wildlife we share our space with.

While many people would rather we did without the cold, snow and ice, I rather enjoy these conditions in winter – it shouldn’t happen in spring or autumn for me though.

It gives the chance for wildlife to rest, for bugs to be killed off and for us to enjoy watching trails of wildlife that may have passed in our gardens or on our streets during the night.

Today I watched a first in my garden as a pair of redwing scouted around for food. I can’t recall a time when I’ve seen them anywhere near my house, so today was a real treat.

They only stayed for about ten minutes, but I hope they return during the rest of winter.

The blue tits and great tits are now regulars on my feeders, while the house sparrows and tree sparrows continue to visit daily.

A robin is starting to call from the trees and bushes, presumably staking my garden as part of his territory.

The blackbirds are also returning, although other birds are still reluctant to venture from the natural food supplies.

I’m really looking forward to when the long tailed tits make a visit, as they show that winter is really with us and the natural food supply is low.

Until then I’ll be on the lookout for more redwing and even the odd fieldfare. I think a waxwing is probably out of the question.

STORMY WEATHER BRINGS CHAOS TO WILDLIFE

It’s been a week of shocking weather that has badly affected our wildlife.

Firstly the extremely strong winds that battered the country, swiftly followed by the storm surge that has hit both humans and wildlife.

Hundreds of grey seal pups washed away along the North Sea coasts and I’m sure many birds have been blown off course or away from their intended targets.

My garden hasn’t seen too much negativity, apart from the temporary greenhouse that blew over and the dead leaves that I’d covered the borders with being blown all over the place – more work to fix that required.

What has happened has been more birds frequenting the feeders in the garden since the weather abated.

Throughout the weekend the visits from blue tits, great tits, robins, blackbirds, dunnocks, tree sparrows and house sparrows has increased rapidly.

The weather hasn’t got colder so I can only assume that the strong winds meant they didn’t want to travel far and a good food supply, that is found in my garden, with good areas of cover is the best place to be for now.

Perhaps next week they’ll disperse into the countryside again and utilise the natural food supply – only time will tell.

Christmas is just over two weeks away, but it doesn’t have the feel of winter and therefore Christmas just yet – then again maybe that’s just me.

It means that the final vegetable in my garden will be excavated and hopefully enjoyed by the family during the Christmas Day meal. Once the parnsips are dug up I’ll put some pics up to show whether it’s been a success.

As for the weather, it looks like a mild(ish) week and fairly quiet for the wildlife, which is not too bad after last week’s one in 200 year event!

IS WINTER COMING THIS YEAR?

December is already upon us, but we’re yet to see any really cold weather engulf the country.

There is promised to be a short spell of cold weather, not very cold, this weekend, although that is not expected to last too long.

So what affect will this mild-ish start to winter have on our flora and fauna?

Last weekend I saw flowers emerging from one of the garden bushes, which is highly unusual, and I’m wondering if my horse manure and leaf covered borders and rockery will simply give all the bulbs I planted a false warning about spring.

The rose bush that forms a hedge to one part of the garden has also produced flowers in the last week and while most of the trees have dropped their leaves, I do think some of our plants could be hit by the bitter coldness of winter just when they think it’s spring.

This isn’t something I’m concerned about with the birds, although they still aren’t coming in to the garden in large numbers despite plenty of food for them.

The odd blue tit, great tit, robin and blackbird have been seen feeding, but it’s still mainly the house and tree sparrows making use of my feeders.

I’ll soon know when it’s tough for them because the long tailed tits will visit the garden that is when I really know the natural food supply is in short stock.

One bird I’ve seen a lot of recently, although at a distancer in the field next to my garden, is a whimbrel - at least I think it is. I’ve seen it feeding in groups of up to ten for about a week now and intend to get some pictures when I’m here in the daytime and have more time to use the diminishing daylight to get some snaps. I'll also be taking my binoculars to make sure my thoughts are correct.

Until then I’ll keep an eye on the weather forecast and see how long it takes the small birds to flock to my feeders.

PREPARING FOR THE WINTER FREEZE

Frosts, fog and ice scrapers have been the order of this week, which is why I’m pleased that my garden is ready for winter – and also next spring.

The fallen leaves from a couple of the small trees have provided the borders with a covering of nature’s own fertiliser, while crocus, snowdrop, daffodil and tulip bulbs have been planted in the non-veg areas.

Added to that is the horse manure from a local farm and I’m hoping for a very colourful and early start to spring in the garden.

There is still pruning to do and the dismantling of the temporary greenhouse, but I can do nothing more to help the garden been in the best condition to see it through the coldest season of the year.

One more thing I’ll be doing is fixing the second bird camera to the sparrow nestbox and I hope this is in place by Christmas.

The other camera is still working, well it is at this point of writing, and it’ll be interesting to see when any birds make use of it to roost.

I’ve started to see a couple of blackbirds in the garden and the sparrows, both tree and house have made daily visits, but there’s not been more birds visiting recently.

It’s hard to actually tell to be fair, as most days of the week I’m not here in daylight.

Perhaps a new batch of peanuts will tempt a few more species in, although the fat snacks haven’t had that effect. That said they are being eaten, just not when I’m around.

As we near December and the potential for even colder weather, I suspect the numbers and species of birds will increase – as will my vigilance to the menace of the local cats.

THE BIRDS ARE STILL STAYING AWAY

The birds have started to come back into the garden in the last few days as winter starts to send early messages about the cold weather to come.

The great tits and blue tits have been fighting with the tree sparrows and house sparrows over the right to feed from the fat snack in the garden.

Occasionally a dunnock has appeared and nipped in to get any tasty parts of the fat snack that has flown off while the others have been squabbling.

Apart from the fleeting glimpse of a robin and the evening warning calls from the blackbirds, other birds have so far stayed away.

The jays that were seen frequently near the garden in September and part of October are now nowhere to be seen.

A large beech mast harvest might be the reason why the jays have not been sighted recently, which also makes me think that other natural food resources are in good supply.

One or two reports are suggesting that this winter could be particularly brutal for wildlife with predictions of severe snowfall and very cold temperatures blanketing the country.

If this materialises – and I’m quite sceptical – then people will need to watch out for all wildlife and help out where possible, including providing shelter through nestboxes, food with fat snacks, peanuts and seeds, while also remembering that clean, unfrozen water is essential for birds and other animals.

HORSE MANURE, HARVESTING AND CATS

Another trip to get horse manure – this time three heavy bags of it – and I was ready to get started on the garden again.

The only negative was being struck by an energy-sapping head cold, which meant I was shattered last night and tonight after spreading all that manure.

I harvested the last of the carrots and potatoes, leaving only the parsnips left in the ground. With the colder nights starting to bite, it won’t be long before they come up to – hopefully they’ll last until Christmas.

Once again this weekend I’ve been turning the soil over in the planting areas, trimming back the dead plants and generally giving the garden a good platform to over-winter in a good condition.

This time I wasn’t followed around by a robin, which did surprise me given the huge amount of worms that I was ‘working’ with.

The bird population doesn’t seem to be visiting the house in any numbers I thought they would be, apart from the seemingly combined flocks of house and tree sparrows.

The blue and great tits have been making the most of the remaining sunflowers, foraging on the seeds.

I’ve not seen a blackbird for a few weeks, although I have heard them, while the evening often brings a large number of birds, including chaffinches and goldfinches, to the area with trees and bushes – which also contain one of my bird feeders.

I do wonder if the natural food supplies or the plethora of cats in a couple of the houses here are to blame for the lack of activity from the birds. I suspect it’s a bit of both, but hope that when the colder conditions begin, the birds do make the most of the food I provide for them.

Some of the cats – from a house that doesn’t look after them properly – seem to be making more of an effort to get into my garden around the feeders. I’m making sure that when I see them they are chased away, which doesn’t make too much of a difference.

Perhaps new tactics are required, which frustrates me because why should I, or any other nature lover, have to work at deterring cats from their garden?

It’s a dilemma that many people face and one I think needs addressing overall, particularly in my garden.

Let’s hope the natural food supplies keep the birds with enough food, before they have to dodge the cats to get food from my garden.

PREPARING FOR WINTER AND NEXT SPRING

So today has been all about turning the soil over in the planting areas, trimming back the dead plants and generally giving the garden a good platform to over-winter in a good condition.

The series of pics below show what has been done, before and after.

 

  

I was followed around by a robin, who seemed intent on stealing the odd worm.

The horse manure came with hundreds of worms and I’m hoping more worms in my garden means better aeration of the soil and therefore better soil for growing in.

Time will tell on this so stay tuned for next summer’s ‘bountiful supply and colour’…

The birds have started to come back in the garden in recent days, with the house sparrows joined by blue and great tits – who are taking plenty of the sunflowers seeds.

Watching them hang upside down while they choose the right seed to take away with them is amazing, even if one or two lose grip!

The weather for the week doesn’t look too bad, but I expect that more birds will soon be feeding in my garden – that means tomorrow I’ll be stocking up on peanuts and fat snacks.