NEST BUILDING ON HOLD

The mild weather has continued with hardly a spot of rain this week, but it has brought foggy nights and mornings, plus frosts.

It’s meant the wildlife in the garden have relied a bit more on the snacks I’ve provided and the nest building process has stalled.

I’ve still not seen the birds that have brought nesting materials to the original (blue tit and great tit) nest box, but each day has seen the material being slightly added to and moved around.

I’m wondering if the sudden burst of cold overnight weather has made the birds think that the caterpillars their youngsters will rely on to survive, might not be around for a few more weeks.

Therefore building a nest and laying eggs will be best put on hold for a short time – saving energy and making sure caterpillars are going to be around when they need them most.

The sparrow nest box has not seen any action, although the house sparrows are in the garden every day. I suspect they will use the other two nest boxes in the triple nest box because the camera might be too intrusive – only time will tell.

The first seedlings have appeared from the spring planting – basil and parsley – which is an encouraging start and I’m hoping they will replace the plants from last year which are on their last legs.

Given the week ahead looks fairly settled again I may even have to water part of the garden! Who would have thought about that a few weeks ago.

SPRING HAS ARRIVED IN FORCE

Spring is now well underway with temperatures suddenly reaching 16c in the garden, and accompanied by bright, sunny skies.

The dry and warm(ish) weather has resulted in a deluge of bird song during sunrise and sunset. The rock garden and pond area are now flourishing, as this picture shows.

 

I’m pleased that the robins can be heard almost above all the other bird song, or even most other local noise in the morning or evening.

The one in the garden has now found a mate and it’s nice to know they’ll be using my garden should they be successful in having a nest of chicks in the coming months. Unfortunately I don’t think they’ll be using my robin nest box, as the honeysuckle hasn’t quite grown enough to conceal it well.

One resident that has been back in the garden is the great spotted woodpecker, although he is very shy and disappears at the slightest noise.

While the birds continue to flock to the garden and make the most of the handouts, I’ve not seen one in either nest box that has a camera.

Given the closeness of the camera in the sparrow nest box I think it could put the birds off, but a piece of straw that is in the tit nest box had been moved around for the last few days, suggesting that visitors have been in, just not seen by me.

Neither nest box is occupied overnight so it has been a waiting game to see if March can bring the start of nest building, but today it did! I’m not sure which tits are building the nest, but my hunch is blue tits.

 

One lovely sign of spring is the sight and sound of a bumblebee. I found one on the winter rose plant, which has grown year on year since being planted in 2010.

The picture isn’t the best for identification purposes, but it’s from an upside down position and show the bee feeding on early nectar.

 

If anyone has an idea on the type, please let me know.

GOODBYE WINTER, HELLO SPRING

The mild winter has now officially finished as March 1^st heralded the start of spring, but the last week of winter showed clear signs of spring already having arrived.

More and more spring bulbs are showing and flowering, which are brightening up the garden, while the blossom on the fruit tree is almost covering each branch and twig.

Unfortunately the two nest box cameras have not had any activity, with the birds seemingly happy to roost elsewhere with the mild winter evenings.

Typically spring has started with a mixture of sunshine and showers, although some would say it’s a refreshing change from the winter storms.

Once the temperatures starts creeping up and the sun shines for even longer during the increasing daylight hours, I’m sure the flora and fauna will be frantically active and I may even see some activity in the nest boxes.

Until then I’ll keep providing food for the birds, they’ll keep gobbling it up and I’ll enjoy the spring bulbs emerging.

I’ll also be planning for the planting season and hope the ground I’ve prepared over winter will deliver bumper crops.

PLANNING AHEAD FOR SPRING

The stormy weather appears to have abated for now, which is good news for everywhere, particularly those areas with the dreadful floods we’ve been seeing.

It’s also seen a change in some of the flora in the garden, with the first snowdrop appearing and blossom on the fruit tree.

Along with the snowdrop a host of other spring bulbs are showing, with tulips, daffodils and crocuses all sure to be flowering by the start of March.

 

I do have a little worry about them due to the severe snow and cold weather we experienced last March, but I guess that’s the gamble nature plays every year and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

I’ve already planned my spring planting session and I’m hoping the hard work over the winter in preparing the ground will pay off.

This week I’ll be buying the required seeds ready for the germinator and, for some, simply putting them straight in the ground.

With a new baby due in June it’s vital all the planning is done now so the plants are well on their way to bearing fruit by June.

Finally the garden is now equipped with two nestbox cameras, as I’ve hooked up one of the compartments in the sparrow nestbox (see above).

Below is the view from each camera, first tit cam then sparrow cam.

 

 

There’s not been any action yet, but I’m hoping to see some visitors in the next few weeks.

FLOODING, STORMS, NESTBOXES AND SPRING

The main topic of conversation this winter has been about the stormy weather and the affect it's had on the land and the people dealing with the after effects.

Flooding has been a huge problem for many people through overflowing rivers and streams, along with high tides and huge waves battering the coastline.

But a number of people have been affected by the rising water table and simply only realised the flooding was happening at their property when it started to come through the floors, not the doors.

In my garden and house we’ve been lucky so far, as we just have a very soggy lawn and borders, but this week it could have been so different following the most vicious storm of the winter so far.

We were subject to 100mph winds and heavy rain, which didn’t lead to massive flooding, but did lead to many trees, power cables and roof tiles down.

Having briefly assessed the damage it’s hard to tell if the house has suffered significantly or not, but luckily the trees and bushes emerged relatively unscathed.

The bird feeders have taken some damage, but I’ve now fixed them. The nestboxes must be more securely tied down than I imagined as they all were in situ after the winds died down.

It enabled me to do stage two of the sparrow nestbox camera construction.

The camera has now been fitted (see below) with a battery and now I’m hoping it’ll work and link up with the wireless receiver and show the inside of the nestbox on my TV, just like the single great/blue tit nestbox.

Next weekend I’ll be testing it and hoping that the wired version isn’t required as that’ll need an order putting in and an extra delay.

The tit nestbox camera isn’t revealing much yet, which I think shows that the roosting sites around the garden are still good enough due to the mild conditions.

It could also mean that the nesting instinct hasn’t yet kicked in, possibly due to the mild winter and the birds unsure of when spring is actually going to start. Hopefully the increase in daylight will start that breeding urge soon and the battle for nestboxes will start.

The spring bulbs are continuing to emerge and the later it goes in February, the closer it gets to spring actually starting to push winter away; whether the weather is any different is anyone’s guess!

IS THE MILD WINTER JUST EARLY SPRING?

Another week of storms has left many parts of the country looking like large inland lagoons rather than farmland or countryside.

While my garden and the part of the country in which it resides has not been that badly affected, there are plenty of very soggy fields and gardens.

Just one small rain shower leaves puddles on roads, paths and fields that last for hours, if not longer, so longer spells of rain leave small floods and large areas of the countryside and my garden with several inches of surface water.

The continuous stormy weather has meant winter has been very mild and now plenty of plants, bulbs and trees think it’s spring.

In my garden there are plenty of bulbs sprouting, while one of the small fruit trees is already showing buds.

The mild winter also means the snowdrops are not the first to emerge out of my bulbs.

How the wildlife is coping with this stormy winter is difficult to evaluate as the breeding season for most wildlife is yet to start. Seals have already been badly affected by the early winter storms during their breeding season and losing many pups.

I’m yet to see any birds making use of the nestbox roost, although given that spring appears to be starting, according to the signs nature is flora is giving, it may not be long before the battle to occupy the nestboxes in my garden starts.

By next weekend I’ll hopefully have two nestbox cameras working so here’s hoping the birds use those nestboxes!

WINTER WARMTH PROVES BLOOMING ENTICING

The winter storms are continuing and causing chaos for people and wildlife across the country. The ground in the garden is soggy, while the stream that runs passed the house is often full to bursting – luckily it would take an apocalyptic level of rainfall for it to come anywhere near the garden.

Fields around the house are always flooded sometime covering up to 80/90 per cent of the area. It does make me wonder what’s happening to the crops that have already been sown or the grass that is waiting to make an appearance for spring.

Despite the threat of a proper winter cold spell last week, it continues to be very mild and this is being shown in the emergence of spring bulbs, including the crocus, tulip, daffodil and snowdrop.

Remarkable the first one to flower was the crocus, which shows just how mild it must be for it to flower before the snowdrop.

I’ve not noticed any birds taking shelter in the camera nestbox, although the new camera will be in place by next weekend so hopefully that will show if the triple sparrow nestbox is being used as a roost.

The size of the flocks of birds coming to the garden feeders is fairly steady, with daily sightings of all the usual suspects for my area – blackbird, robin, great tit, blue tit, long tailed tit, house sparrow, tree sparrow and dunnock.

I rarely see chaffinches, goldfinches, magpies, jays and wrens, but I know they’re around. Plus flocks of starlings and redwings are often seen flying at low level over the garden.

My main task this week has been to remove and uproot to trees to make more light for the canopy floor, encouraging wild flowers and creating areas for vegetables to be grown.

It was hard work and my hands, shoulders and arms are feeling it now. So until next week enjoy the pictures of what’s been happening in the last week.