Cyn's Nature Notes: A winter's day in the garden

Friday 18 January 2013

A winter's day in the garden

Pleased to watch goldfinches feasting on the evening primrose seeds again, they are here every day and until they have depleted the natural store of food in the garden we shall continue to enjoy these very pretty birds. I have heard people say English birds are not very attractive, I would beg to differ, and readers of my blog will I am sure agree that we have many eye catching birds. Here as evidence of this is a colourful little goldfinch. If you wish to see this bird or any other picture in my blog in more detail , just click on them.

The birds are feeling the cold this weather and often look very rounded out as they perch on the branches. They are also very hungry, unless we give them extra to eat many will succumb to the cold and their hunger and die. Please think twice before throwing your food scraps away, it could save a bird's life, they will eat almost any food that you care to put out. Daily I give them water soaked bread, porridge oats, suet, dried fruit, bird seed, any fruit peelings or cores, grated cheese, they will finish any fat left over and also enjoy cooked potato, if you have pasta left over that would be very welcome. Broken biscuits or crumbs are also good. Here is an immature blackbird being treated to a plum, shortly after I took this photograph he was sent on his way by a mature male blackbird who wanted the plum!

The snow has made every where look white and has settled in unexpected places. Here it settled on a cobweb and as cold as the weather is, it reminded me of a hammock swinging gently in the sunshine on a hot summer's day.

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About this Blog

When we moved to our present home in December 1987, I was very ill and bedridden. My garden was a life-saver, although it was very different then. The first thing I did was to put up bird-feeders, and long hours were spent lying indoors in a recliner. This was when I discovered many things. Do you know the underside of every blue tit’s tail is differently marked? Gradually, over the years, the garden changed. We put in shrubs and plants that would not only enhance the garden, but would also be good for wildlife. The first rabbit we saw was so joyful for us. The deer eat the flowers, prune the apple trees, eat the marrow, and are wonderful to watch. Foxes have been a major part of our wildlife. We have fed them each night for more than 20 years. They are such a delight, especially in late summer and early autumn when there are youngsters. They behave like puppies and are great fun to watch.

I love all wildlife: the mason bees that nest in the brickwork of the bungalow, the hornets that last year made their home in the roof above our bedroom, the bees currently nesting in the roof above the bathroom. On a hot evening, if you stand quietly in the bathroom, you can hear this amazing sound: it is very rhythmic and reminds me of the waves at the seaside. It is made by the beating of the bees’ wings as they fan their nest to keep the temperature at the right level -- how many people have heard that sound? I feel so privileged.

Obviously, I feed the birds. When I open the window in the morning I call “Come on Bobby and Blackie”, and one followed swiftly by the other they fly immediately to the bird table. Each morning, on rising, I make my way to the kitchen and find the squirrels already sitting on the window ledge waiting to be fed. Winter brings the moorhens and spring time the mallards. Our pond is a poor effort from a human point of view, but wild creatures see it differently. On summer days, the grass snakes spend long hours in the pond: eating the fish, froglets, toadlings, newts, and any other living creature they can swallow. Although I hate to see the pond emptied this way, I do enjoy the snakes and feel they are an important part of the balance of nature in the garden. Watching a dragonfly nymph climbing out of the pond, up a plant stalk, and then over the next few hours gradually transforming into a beautiful dragonfly -- these are contented hours well spent.

It has been my pleasure to write and publish a nature column each month. I am always delighted to hear how much pleasure this brings to my readers. I have often been asked if I have written a book, so I am making more of my writings and photography available through this web site and blog.