Bits and Pieces

We finally have a hint of summer with temperatures rising after weeks of rain, wind and cold weather. Everything is looking quite green but nature seems to be a good couple of weeks behind at the moment, late blooming plants, late birds, late butterflies, it all has a knock on effect of course. 

Not with the Starlings though, we had our first fledgling Starlings on the 11th, at the last count we had about 50 descend on the garden, about 90% were juveniles, this is the most we've counted so they are doing quite well. This includes our gutter Starlings which seem to have fledged without issue this year. We had fledgling Sparrows on the same day and a few more since but nowhere near as many as the Starlings. Since then the only other youngsters i've seen are Blue Tits in the woods. There are plenty of nests everywhere though so maybe we'll start to see more soon.

Standard fledgling pose from the House Sparrow

Starlings

After seeing a single Swift on the 10th it's taken till this week before the usual number are around and screaming up and down the street. There seems to have been an influx of them now thankfully and i'm seeing them all over town when i'm walking to work. Unfortunately the Swallows that are usually at the farm are not there and there are very few House Martins yet.

Visits from the smaller garden birds - Tits, Goldfinch, Dunnock - have dropped considerably as usual at this time of year. We've seen our first Bats swooping over the garden and Hedgehogs - upto 6 - are visiting every night, there's even been the odd Fox passing by the garden (we won't talk about the night two of them woke us up screaming right outside the bedroom window!).

We have again this year adopted the no mow policy for the front garden, it worked well last year although my husband was a bit worried people would think he was lazy so now we have a sign!!

The patch down the side of the path is pretty much left to it's own devices and although the photos don't do it justice all the purples look fantastic and have been popular with the bees. Once the lavender flowers later in the year, it flowers for the whole of summer and the whole strip just buzzes. 

Hopefully the front bit will be the same, i've added some native wild flower seeds too so we'll see how it grows. The Sparrows already spend a lot of time picking at the dandelions.

The woods are full of birdsong and nests at the moment, lots of the boxes are in use along with lots of holes in trees, we've seen Blackcaps, Chiffchaff, Song Thrush, Mallards and all the usual birds. 

Mallards

Wren

Sleeping Squirrel

Blackcap

Wild Garlic

We have finally made the jump and dug out a new pond, I say we, my husband did all the hard work I just now have to finish off the planting in and around. I'm excited to see what it brings!

A Very Local Update

We are of course still in lockdown here, local exercise only, which means i'm yet to spot a Mallard or a Coot this year, both of which would be early list birds and common as muck on my normal travels! At the end of the month rules will relax a little so we should be able to travel places......but of course so will everyone else!

In the meantime the garden has been filled with activity as has my walk to work. We've had a week of snow and ice back in February, which was great for bringing Redwings to the garden and even a couple of Song Thrush - rare visitors. 

Redwing

Song Thrush

House Sparrows flocking to the bird bath after I defrosted it for the third time that day!

Starlings

A Blackcap pair have been around the gardens for the past three or four weeks, mostly the male with the odd appearance from a female. This happened around the same time last year too. The male has devoured the berries on the honeysuckle and they have both gone through a lot cotoneaster berries. The male has even treated us to his song a few times. 

Male

Female

This past week a pair of Bullfinch have been at the feeders, more rare garden visitors, beautiful ones too! We've had the odd Chaffinch and Greenfinch, both also infrequent visitors.

Chaffinch

Bullfinch

I spotted Hedgehog poop in the garden at the end of February and a few days later spotted the actual Hedgehog itself drinking from the water dish we have in the garden, i've seen it regularly since, followed recently by a second. Here's hoping they do as well as last year. 

The gutter Starling has been singing from it's gutter perch and has been clearing it's spot out, i'm assuming it's the same one again? A large conifer at the end of our house row has been chopped down in recent weeks, lots of Starlings and Sparrows roosted and nested in there, I wonder if it will have any effect on their numbers over the coming months as both did very well with lots of young last year. Woodpigeons have been carrying nest materials into the same tree as previous years, nothing much seems to come of it though.

Long-tailed Tits

Collared Dove

Woodpigeons & Feral Pigeons

Starling catching the early morning sun

Elsewhere around town several pairs of Magpies are nest building, one pair in the supermarket car park right above a busy spot! As of last week a few Redwings are still around in the park, I think the lastest i've seen them there is early April. I heard my first Skylark near work recently too, despite the increase in traffic!

I'll leave you with our inquisitive Squirrel!

Bits and Pieces

We're still not getting out much at the moment with one thing and another (including a plaster disaster in the house, which has set back our renovations!) so this is just a bit of a mixed post. We did escape for a day to Southport, somewhere we've never been, the dull weather kept most folks away at first so when it got busy as the sun came out we headed home! I saw my only Gatekeeper of the year there and we watched a Sparrowhawk get mobbed by some House Martins, it had one in it's claws!

There were plenty of young Gulls to test my ID skills with at some point.

This one I know is a Black-headed

Cormorant 

Oystercatchers

Crow

I'm not sure what this flock is Dunlin maybe?

In the woods there have been quite a few young birds, Woodpigeons, Chiffchaff, Magpies, Robins and the Collared Doves have done well. 

Ladybird Larvae 

Great-spotted Woodpecker

Chaffinch

Young Magpie

Young Robin

Speckled Wood

Peacock Butterfly Caterpillars

At home we still haven't mowed the front lawn and the Ragwort has been full of Cinnabar Moth caterpillars, they are making short work of the plants. The Goldfinch and Sparrows have also been hanging in the Ragwort too. The Sparrows have had a lot of late or second broods as some have still been feeding young, the Buddleia outside the window is full of Sparrows all day long. Mostly we've just left the garden to the bugs and birds this year, my husband thinks it's a bit scruffy but just today whilst I was cleaning out the bird bath a lady stopped to tell me that she loves watching all the birds in the garden when she walks past, that made me quite happy! Though I think we are going to try and get a sign for next year saying it's a no mow lawn!

House Sparrows

Woodpigeon

Swallowtail Moth

At the back the Starling flocks have quietened down and we're just getting a few each day. All the usual Tits are around and we're getting the migrating Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers passing through the garden as we usually do at this time of year. We've had male and female Blackcaps too. The Squirrels have been burying nuts all over the gardens and on an evening we've had up to 6 Hedgehogs, a new garden record, i'm so pleased they seem to be doing so well on our little patch. 

I watched this spider wrap up the fly

Robin

Long-tailed Tit

Young Greenfinch

Sleepy Squirrel

Chiffchaff

We've had a few Butterflies, not as many as usual but the weather has been a bit dull and damp and when it has been sunny i've been at work. 

Comma

Small Tortoiseshell

Meadow Brown 

Peacock

This Small Tortoiseshell spent a good half hour or so chasing this Peacock around

Red Admiral

Small White 

The end is in sight with the diy now so hopefully towards the end of next month we can get out properly!