Cyn's Nature Notes: Birds, Bees and a Wet Squirrel

Thursday 27 June 2013

Birds, Bees and a Wet Squirrel

An excellent week for bird spotting, but not so good for a squirrel.

I have seen a young green woodpecker on the Robinia Pseudoacacia, which is at present delighting us with a wonderful show of its beautiful and sweet smelling pea-like flowers which hang in racemes. The flowers are for some reason a great attraction to pigeons who sit and pick them off, despite much calling and hand clapping from us. This tree has another interesting property in that it is an eco-friendly tree to have in ones garden, as it absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, than most other trees.

We also have young robins, blackbirds, chaffinches, wrens, dunnocks, mistle thrushes, pigeons and magpies in the garden. A new bird to the garden is the carrion crow, he is so large that he dwarfs the magpies and jackdaws. He must have a nest of youngsters in the vicinity, because he joins us every morning when the food is put out for the creatures, it is interesting, as soon as he appears everything else, both large and small immediately hides in bushes and trees or flies away.Once he has cleared the food then off he goes and I then put a second lot out for the usual avian visitors to our garden. It may seem odd to many people that I feed not only the little songbirds but also the larger birds which prey upon the song birds, the reason for this is that while I am feeding them, they are not predating others smaller than themselves.

I had an amusing moment recently, I was feeding and watching a young squirrel who as yet, unfamiliar with his athletic abilities ran down the lawn, biscuit firmly in mouth, as he reached the pond he took a flying leap forward, only to be surprised by the length of the pond as he fell "PLONK" right into the middle. This is not the first time I have witnessed this and years ago I used to rush out to "save" them, but soon realised that they can swim ---even if not by choice, so now I just watch their antics, they always survive. This one quickly high-tailed it out of the pond across the garden and up into the Robinia Pseudo-acacia, where he climbed high into the sunny crook of a branch and sat alternately grooming and shaking himself.

The middle side lawn which has always been noted for its density of daisies, now has an amazing amount of white clover on it also and is like a magic carpet, with an odd bright yellow dandelion here and there. The bees love this flower infested lawn.

The bees also love the Morrocan Broom/Cytisus Battandieri with its bright yellow, pineapple smelling, upright racemes of flowers, which at the moment is is in full bloom and with its tremendous size is an amazing sight.

The whole of the garden is alive with movement, it is so full of life. Yesterday we saw a pied wagtail and today a grey wagtail.

Everywhere we look there are dozens of bees. The most favoured plant in the garden for bees is the Jasminium Beesianum, it has miniscule red flowers that are so prolific they smother the leaves and cover the plant and they in turn are covered by bees. This plant grows over an arch and while it is in bloom is attended by thousands of bees of many different types. We have another of these plants falling down a bank and it is just as popular with the bees. At the end of our garden on either side is a woodpile (for wild life) I am considering planting a jasminium beesianum to grow over each of these.

Later in the day I watched a magpie greedily eating ants from a nest in the middle of the lawn, it is not only magpies who love to feast on these little creatures they are also much enjoyed by green woodpeckers and blackbirds. The latter also use them for anointing themselves, it is thought the formic acid produced by the ants, kills the parasites infesting the birds.

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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.