DOES ANYONE REMEMBER WHEN IT WASN’T STORMY?

It’s fair to say that I’m struggling to remember when the last time we had some calm weather, given we’re experiencing storm after storm hitting the UK.

And, if there hasn’t been a named storm, then we’ve been hit be continual low pressures or the windy edge of a high pressure.

The fields are soaking, and large ponds of water are now forming and not draining at all.

Even the stream alongside the lane regularly breaches the banks when we’ve had a few hours of rain.

These videos are taken one day last week, then below are two mages taken the same time, on the following day.

To see all that in one go, here’s a collated image. What’s not shown is the water on the lane is gradually damaging the surface and there’s not a day goes by when the lane doesn’t have large puddles dotted along it.

 

The wildlife is not appearing to be affected by the weather, well from what I can see and hear.

The dawn chorus has been getting stronger each day recently, although the storm and wet mornings have limited activity.

During the day we’re now hearing more territorial songs from the robins, blue tits, great tits and also the odd chaffinch.

The breeding season is largely dictated by the day length, but I do wonder how the storm will affect it long-term.

If the butterflies and moths, which lay eggs that then turn onto the caterpillar food for the small garden birds, get impacted by the storms, then how will the birds cope?

That will also impact some the birds of prey in the area, but we can only wait and see how that all plays out.

If the stormy weather continues for a while, then our summer migrants might also be impacted; so swallows, house martins, swifts and cuckoos.

Again only time with tell, until then we’ll continue to batten down the hatches and hope the water levels gradually drop.

WETTER THAN AN OTTER'S POCKET

In my last post it was all about Storm Ciara; this time it’s about Storm Dennis and the resulting impact from the combination of both storms.

To say it’s been a bit rainy and windy, would be a huge understatement. During particularly heavy rain and strong winds, the wildlife has been virtually invisible in the garden.

The birds have definitely made use of the feeders though, with the peanuts and fat snacks being devoured quicker than for many months.

The garden, roads and small streams are soaking, with the streams regularly overflowing onto the road.

Sadly, the nearest stream has been dredged and the small fish are no longer being seen when I walk by, which means the chances of seeing a kingfisher again are negligible.

I’ll keep checking just in case they’re under a nearby tunnel, and see just how the weather conditions impact the newly dredged stream.

The storms, and continued strong winds, have taken their toll on the flora, including the large old tree that was knocked over, that I mentioned in the last post – knocking out phone and internet for ten days.

The tree was a nesting and resting site for a few birds, with great tits nesting in the ivy-ridden trunk for a couple of years.

Perhaps when looking elsewhere they’ll see my nest boxes and take up the offer of a breeding site opportunity.

Despite the constant stormy conditions, the dawn chorus is starting to gather pace, with the robins (who’ve been singing almost constantly through winter), being joined by wrens, song thrushes, blackbirds, blue tits, great tits and the odd magpie with their crackling calls.

I’m sure nesting will start soon for the smaller birds, while the likes of the magpies and nearby crows, are already constructing nests in larger trees.

STORM CIARA CLAIMS GARDEN VICTIMS

Storm Ciara, the most ferocious storm to hit the UK in almost a decade took a swipe at the nest boxes, ripping the triple sparrow one from the wall.

It’s not nice seeing things that you’ve taken time and money on, being destroyed so brutally.

However, I think it might be nature’s way of saying that nest box isn’t working for the birds and needs to be moved.

Where it needs to be moved to is another thing, perhaps I’ll wait until we move to a different house – in however many years that is!

The only major other news was that a large tree was blown over in a neighbouring garden, taking out the phone lines and removing the internet and the ability to upload this blog post! The irony.

The long tailed tits are now regulars in the garden, feasting on the peanuts and fat snacks.

I even managed to get within four feet of them to grab this image – it shows that even a bird with various colours can still be well hidden in the garden!

There are three birds in this image, but only one is really visible to the position of the other two.

The blossom on the trees is starting to come out, slightly ahead of last year, but I suspect it’ll be hit hard if (and it’s a big if) we see a cold snap and freezing conditions.

The birds are thinking it’s spring, because there’s plenty of singing going on, and it’ll be interesting to see if they choose one of the nest boxes in the garden.

With the camera systems not working properly, and little time to fix them, I’ll use eyesight to detect presence – which worked ok before cameras were fitted.

A REVIEW OF 2019 - PART 4/4

At this time every year I take a look back at how the garden changed during the year.

This is the final of four posts that have chartered the changing view of the garden; October to December, as winter approaches.

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER