Christmas at Porthcothan House

We celebrated Christmas in magical Cornwall this year. It was to be a special Christmas for the whole family, our descendants gathered from America, East Yorkshire and Oxfordshire while we traveled from Hertfordshire.

Wildlife was very sparse apart from gulls and a few corvids no other birds were seen.

The weather was wild, wet and windy, but the house was warm and cosy. Outside the wind howled and buffeted the very solid house and the stormy sea raged in anger every day, thirty feet high, awe inspiring waves crashed against the land and cliffs sending huge white plumes of foam high into the air. The pretty little bay was visible from almost every window, five of the six bedrooms overlooked the bay, and there were also sea views from the lounges downstairs.

The beds were the most comfortable we have ever slept in, they were savoir beds as used in the Savoy Hotel and five of the six bedrooms were doubles with an option of either two single beds or one double. The floors were oak, beautifully fitted with oak doweling plugs filling the fixing holes. Delightful Jane Lampard pictures decorated every room and the house was also full of potted orchids in full bloom.

Exquisite taste shines throughout Porthcothan House overlooking Porthcothan Bay in magical Cornwall. The curtain fabrics were amazing, I particularly liked the fabrics used in the master bedroom --- although truth to tell the bedrooms (except the single) were all so large and welcoming that whichever room one had slept in, it would have felt as good as any other.

Megan my elder granddaughter was very taken with the Mexican tiles in the four bathrooms and the steam room. Imogen, my younger granddaughter loved her bedroom so much that she spent a great deal of time in it, her only disappointment with the house was that she didn't see a ghost while she was there and despite searching high and low in every room found no evidence of one either!

In the master bedroom are two sets of french windows, each with a juliet balcony, the design of the eye catching railings to these two balconies came from the windows of an old cart shed on the site, they were arched and quite monastic in appearance, they also reflected the design of the windows in both the conservatory and the end of the dining room, where stood a table and enough matching chairs to accommodate the largest family gathering. Every meal time was very special with four generations present, and the very tasty Christmas meal was a tribute to my daughter Angie who worked very hard and gave us a wonderful feast.

Yesterday a  long awaited dream came true for me when together with my grandson Ric, his partner Juliet and their son Haruki ,we went through a maze of tiny, narrow lanes to Tintagel, with its famous post office and Tintagel Castle although the castle was closed, we were still able to get a feeling for the place and we all thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

As we slowly cleared and depersonalised each room, the house quickly became itself again --- a beautiful empty shell, waiting for the next visitors footfalls and calls.

Missing redwings and fieldfares, but a new fox to watch

We are delighted most evenings to watch not one but two foxes, they are very relaxed with each other and I have yet to see any squabbling over food.

The new fox is slightly darker, the fur which borders the outer edge of the inner ear is dark, whereas on the female regular fox this is white and adds to her attractive facial appearance. Although "he" is very comfortable with the vixen, "he" is distinctly disturbed by us and when "he" notices us watching him he rushes away, not even stopping to grab a mouthful of food. Meanwhile the vixen is as always laying down slowly and deliberately eating her way through the scatter of food until the very last morsel has disappeared.

The badger still comes through the garden, but usually too late for any food. The muntjac deer however is enjoying the overgrown herbage on the bank and the windfall apples are being enjoyed by blackbirds and thrushes.

Have been looking out for the annual sightings in the garden of redwings and fieldfares, sadly just one redwing so far. The numbers have been dropping year on year, I looked forward to these attractive birds each autumn and am sad not to have flocks of them in the garden as we used to.

Recovering Fox

The fox is again visiting nightly on a regular basis and is almost recovered, she now walks on all four legs although she still limps.

Within minutes of her food being put out she is there, taking a piece of food in her mouth and then laying down to eat it. The movement of the curtains as I open them, causes her to look up and our eyes meet briefly before her head is down again and her mind food focused once more.

I feel it is a privilege to share our garden with this beautiful creature.

November Birds, Flowers and Insects

Awoke this morning to a misty morning, such a change from yesterday when we woke to a bright frosty morning, a carpet of white grass, crisp to walk on and sparkling like diamonds in the morning sunlight.

Today was milder and from the shelter of the garden when the sun was shining it was warm even without a coat. The trees and bushes have been full of birds; blue and great tits, chaffinches, robins, wrens and even a song thrush. Blackbirds have been lining up at the pond all morning waiting to bathe and drink.

No bees have been seen today but the air has been thick with ladybirds, they are resting on all the bushes and trees, and the white walls of the bungalow. I have been surprised to see many ladybirds lavae on the gooseberry bushes this morning, unsure whether they would survive the winter, I collected them and some gooseberry leaves and put them into the conservatory.

The garden still has many beautiful flowers blooming, roses, michaelmas daisies, fuschias, wild geraniums, the wonderfully perfumed viburnum bodnantense and many ivy flowers. Branches are also hanging low under the weight of autumn berries of various colours, shapes and sizes waiting to catch our eyes and delight us.

Ladybirds, Shield Bugs, Bees and Autumn Flowers

November has arrived, with it has come gusty winds and racing clouds, the air feels so fresh it is wonderful to be out in the garden. The temperature is still in double figures and the garden has hundreds of ladybirds, many shield bugs and quite a few bees still buzzing around.

One of the wonderful smelling viburnum bodnantense is covered in flowers, fuschias planted the year before last are making a very pretty show and the michaelmas daisies otherwise known as autumn flowering asters, are clumping up very well, pretty wild flower pink campion is also still flowering among the fuschias and michaelmas daisies. Not only do they all make a pretty border but also provide food for the bees.

Last weekend we had gale force winds and along the lane trees were uprooted, branches torn off and the ground was covered in a spectacular carpet of autumn leaves.

No-Tail's Youngster

I am sorry to report that the pigeon taken by the sparrowhawk was indeed No-Tails youngster. Despite keeping a look out daily I have only seen No-Tail, except for one occasion when looking out of the window I saw a young pigeon on the lawn, thinking it was No-Tails youngster I stood up and moved to the window, as I did so I noticed No-Tail and two other fully grown pigeons nearby.

For a brief instant I was pleased for No-Tail to have some company, as I felt he must be missing his youngster. My feeling was fleeting though as my movement had frightened this new pair and their offspring, and all three took instantly to their wings and were off in a flash, leaving No-Tail once more alone.

The End of No-Tails Youngster?

No-Tail back in the garden again today, but on his own. I have a a horrible feeling that the pigeon taken yesterday by the sparrowhawk was his offspring, as for months now I have only ever seen No-Tail together with his youngster.

Time will tell.

Unusual Co-operation Between Jays and Magpies

WOW!!! Amazing sight this afternoon. A pigeon was leisurely flying along the middle side lawn about three feet up. when a sparrowhawk spotted him and suddenly swooped down on him. They flew the length of the middle lawn with their bodies interlocked, they briefly landed on the lawn before taking off again and flying through the arch on to the top lawn, where I lost sight of them.

As this was happening two jays and six magpies flew along above them, screeching loudly. Although I was unable to see the pigeon and sparrowhawk, I knew they were still there as the eight aforementioned birds were still flying back and forth and making a fearful noise.

I chose to stay indoors and to not disturb the happening because from bitter experience I have learned that the poor preyed upon bird always dies. Even if you are outside when it happens and you scare away the sparrowhawk, shock sets in and very quickly kills the poor creature. Another point to think about is that the sparrowhawk will carry on hunting and yet another creature will lose its life.

Although I did not like what happened, I was spellbound at the speed and hunting techniques of the sparrowhawk. It was also astonishing the speed with which the jays and magpies came, there were there in an instant, and I found it interesting how the jays and magpies worked together, as the magpies don't tolerate the jays in the garden usually.

Return of No-Tail

Pleased to see the return of No-Tail the pigeon and his offspring feeding together on the lawn today. They have been sporadic visitors to the garden since mid-July. I hope we will see more of them from now on.

Went across the road today to collect some of natures jewels, they were beautiful shiny, wonderfully self marked conkers, the seed of the horse-chestnut tree. The road was covered in crushed conkers and I thought of years ago when I used to collect them for my siblings, make a hole through them with a skewer and then thread string though. Those long years ago most children played conkers and it was sometimes hard to find any, as they had already been collected. I shall keep mine for a few weeks to admire them, then I will put them outside for the squirrels to find. Conkers are inedible, unlike the seed of the sweet chestnut tree, these are delicious and can be eaten raw, roasted or used in many recipes, including Christmas stuffing. Do make sure you are using the right type of chestnut if you are going to eat them.

The hops are turning dark brown and the bright red haws on the hawthorn are already being eaten by the wildlife. Sloes have disappeared completely, they were devoured very rapidly this year.

A Warm Autumn Day Bringing Changes

During the past two months I seem to have spent much time gazing out of the windows. From my seat in the lounge I have watched both foxes and badgers feed at night.

This morning the warmth of the sun has brought many beautiful butterflies and dragonflies to the garden, with dozens of ladybirds, both British and European, climbing up or resting on the sun warmed surface of the bungalow outer walls.

A small green caterpillar slowly making its way down the patio window, became lunch for a tit. Dozens of bees and wasps have banged into the patio windows. The hornets have left the garage, the bees have moved on from their nest in the bedroom wall, (the noise they made at night keeping the nest at the right temperature was amazing, of course it was the same during the day, but much less noticeable).

Fox, Great Tits and an Angry Robin

The garden has become very overgrown during the last few months. The fox continues to call for food every evening, but sadly there will be no youngsters this autumn. A few months ago the fox den was discovered by some youngsters, who tried to dig it out, despite my catching them, they returned on two further occasions. This was enough to make the fox leave her den. It is September now and although she does still turn up for food sadly there is no sign of any young.

This morning I spent a very happy half an hour watching a small flock of great tits in and around the pond area. They searched all over nearby plants and shrubs for food and both drank and bathed in the pond. One area of the pond is quite overgrown and I noticed any tits venturing into that area soon came out. I couldn't understand this until the quick exit of a great tit was followed even more quickly by a robin shooting out. The robin took up position on a nearby plant and thereafter defied any great tits to come near that area. I think he/she must have a home there.

Badgers and Plums

A trip down the garden resulted in finding the plums both ripe and over ripe on the tree, glancing down to the border beneath, I saw it was totally flattened and there were no windfall plums, I also became aware of a very strong smell. I think the flattening of the area and the lack of windfalls together with the strong smell, leads me to think of a badger. It pleases me to think the badger must be having a feast nightly. The reason I think it is a badger not a fox is because the strong smell is definitely not fox and therefore must be badger.

The Spider Living in the Mallow.

Directly outside the patio window a mallow has self seeded and grown, we have left it there because it has beautiful purple flowers and attracts many bees and other insects, it now has an added interest because a spider has made this plant its home, and over the last few weeks it has feasted well, catching many and varied flies and other insects in its web. The only creatures to escape are wasps and bees, who are much stronger than the others, they are often caught but able to free themselves by just struggling, however I have noticed they always tear the web in leaving. This presents no problem to the spider who always has it repaired in a very short time.

I noticed on the plant, one of the leaves was pulled down and the edges drawn slightly together, watching I realised that the spider sits and waits underneath this leaf, and it is from here that he is able to rush out and quickly deal with any disturbance of his web.

Muntjac Deer

I felt privileged to watch the muntjac deer on the bank this afternoon, he was very busy cropping the lower branches of an apple tree and munching on the plants.

Many people find these creatures a nuisance, but I enjoy every moment while watching them in the garden. They are sturdy little deer just fifteen to eighteen inches at the shoulder when fully grown. they are also known as barking deer because of the noise they make --- a little like a small dog!

During summer they are a reddish brown in colour and in winter a greyish brown, with darker markings on their face, a vee shape in the male and a diamond shape in the female.The males have short straight horns on top of their pedicules. They have no set  breeding time but like us are able to reproduce all year round. The fawns are very pretty and very tiny,they are born after a seven month gestation and have rows of white spots along their back for their first two months.

Muntjac are not native to this country having been introduced to our parks in the early twentieth century, they originate from south-east China and Taiwan. Many escaped from these parks and set up wild populations in our countryside, they are now frequently seen in our gardens.

Papworth Hospital, its Memorable Staff, my Garden and the Lane

For my friends and followers who are aware of the cancer which has lived with and within me for the last four years, I have some very exciting news which I would like to share with you. I have been looked after by an amazing oncologist Dr. Suzie Harden at the Papworth Hospital, she has looked after me unsparingly during this time, I believe that I have had the best possible care and treatment. Sadly a couple of months ago she had to tell me that I had a regrowth, I was quickly sent for a CT/PET scan (eyes to thighs) and a brain scan. When I went for the CT/PET scan it was explained to me that the two scans would be merged together to give a clearer picture. I had not heard of this before and found it very interesting.

When I returned for the results my wonderful oncologist, explained that there was definite regrowth, shown as a hot spot and smaller looking hot spots on the mediastinal lymph nodes, now for the exciting part, this exceptional lady had found a surgeon willing to see me with a view to operating on me. His name is Mr. Coonar, he also works at Papworth Hospital and is such a special person that I knew as soon as he agreed, that I was in immensely capable hands and looked forward to the operation with great joy and happiness. Mr. Coonar was going to remove the right upper lobe of my lungs and I hoped the previously troublesome lymph nodes. The operation was carried out on 15th July by the great man himself, he removed all he intended and now I am feeling very positive and am sure my cancer has gone. Of course I realise that there will be checks for the next five years, but as I said I am feeling very positive, having been operated on by the brilliant Mr. Coonar.

I would also like to pay tribute to the medical team at Papworth who have also been there for me the whole time, in particular Dr.Chris Johnson. He is such a kind, caring person and one who takes the time not only to listen but also to explain.

One last tribute must go to all the Doctors, Nurses (especially oncologist specialist nurse Georgina Howell) and all the other Papworth people who had a hand in my care. Many, many thanks to everyone I have mentioned for the truly caring way I have been looked after.

Many memorable hours were spent enjoyably exploring the huge and very impressive grounds of Papworth Hospital pictured below.

Meanwhile ...... our garden has not looked such a wilderness since we moved in. However the fox still comes nightly, sadly all but one of the squirrels have deserted us, but I am hoping they will soon find us again. As always birds still fill the garden:- goldfinches, thrushes, blackbirds, wrens, robins, dunnocks and of course magpies who are still first on the scene when food is put out. Interestingly No Tail and his first and second partner appear to have left us, it will be interesting to see if they return.

Bees are especially abundant, although the Jasminium Beesianum has finished flowering and is now covered in berries, there are still plenty of other flowers for the bees to forage in, the tall yellow flowers are the favourite at present surprisingly the bees often overnight in them. The pale pink jasmine is also over now, but the white jasmine is still happily flowering. The fuschias are giving a good show, this makes me happy because the bees like them during the day and the moths enjoy them at night. There are many wild cranesbills still in flower in the garden, I know these are considered a weed, but I like them, they attract both bees and butterflies and I wouldn't have the garden without them.

Perhaps best of all are the spiders webs, there is a wonderful one which is like a misshapen box, with wing like structures coming from each side which attach it to nearby twigs. Underneath one of these extensions is a round hole, the entrance no doubt, and caught up in the extensions are many dead winged creatures, an assortment of moths, flies and even a ladybird.

It is so good to be home to be able to look out of my own windows on to the garden, walk the lane again, to smell the fresh air, feel the warm summer breeze on my face and enjoy the flora and fauna again.

I walk the lane progressing a little further every day. The river is running low, a sure sign of lack of rain. The changes in the wild flowers from a month ago are great, with the exception of patches of great willow herb, yellow and purple thistles all in tall groupings and very eye catching. These apart there are no flowers to be seen. However the biggest surprise are the stinging nettles they are higher than my shoulders! The alder tree is laden with small tight bright green cones and last years catkins, the tree is also decked out in fresh green leaves and very attractive. Alders are only a small tree but are greatly attractive to wild life, and if you have a wet enough area to support one, it would make a great addition to a wildlife garden

It was a pleasure to see hawthorns with their branches bowed under the weight of the still green berries which are held high above the branches in their thousands. I shall take much pleasure in watching the berries slowly change colour, to a palish pink round the edges and gradually changing to a deep red all over. At the same time I will see that they are slowly changing position on the branch and to note that when they are at their deepest red they will no longer be held aloft, but instead be hanging from the underside of each branch.

Already the hazel bushes are bereft of nuts, but the ground underneath is littered with broken, empty shells, from the feasting squirrels I would guess.

The oak trees are a sight to behold, never have we seen so many acorns on trees before, they are still very young. The jays are going to be very busy in a few weeks time and I can see there will be many young oak trees sprouting in the near vicinity.

Perhaps the greatest surprise of all are the hops, they joyfully and abundantly scramble along a  large stretch of the lane, their rough stems and prettily shaped leaves give them away as they lean thickly and heavily across hedges and bushes and stretch longingly up into trees. They cover every plant densely soon they will have thousands of hops hanging from their autumn selves and slowly turning their own autumn shade of brown and giving off their very own distinctive aroma. Then there will be a strong temptation to gather some and carry them home to hang in doors.

Good Duck News

It has been a glorious day, bright sunshine and hardly a breath of wind.

We have a blackbird and a robin still feeding their young, but as soon as I put food out for them , the pigeons  and magpies fly down and gobble it all up. I have noticed that if I call to Blackie before I throw the food out, they are waiting as soon as the first handful hits the ground. So my plan is to put the food out quietly and hope Blackie finds it before the others.

Earlier, we were in the middle of tea when we heard someone knocking on the patio windows, it sounded like someone tapping with their car keys --- not a normal knocking, looking I saw no-one, however as I turned away I noticed a movement high up. Turning back and looking up, I was amused to see the female duck's head suddenly appear and her long neck stretch down, as she reached for the glass and then tapped at it with her beak.

Going to the kitchen I fetched two slices of bread wetted them and breaking them up threw them out of the window, before they hit the ground she was there. I took half a mug of bird seed and holding it out of the window, I shook it to gain her attention with the sound, and then showed her it being poured from the window to the ground underneath, she cannot see this ground from the lawn because of the flower border between. I wondered if she would understand that if she wanted the seed she would have to come and find it. She did not disappoint me, as soon as she finished the wet bread she waddled round the flower border and consumed the seed, before flying back to her precious chicks.

She has tried so hard to lay eggs and bring up a brood of youngsters this year, the first time she made her nest on the garage roof. This didn't work and the next nest was in a large ornamental pot in my neighbour's garden, it was full of geraniums and although she couldn't be seen from their lounge, she was very visible to the fox as he walked up the garden. So she lost these eggs, but fortunately survived herself. This was a few weeks ago and we haven't seen her since.

We didn't know where her next nest was but felt sure she had one. A few days ago we visited a nearby nature reserve and while there we spent time in the hide, great was our pleasure and delight when we saw her in the centre of the water with her brood of six chicks.

Did she hear us I wonder, because we had only been home a short while when she flew in and came to the lounge window for food. Since then she has been back daily, eating the food at great speed before quickly flying off, not even taking time to visit the pond or a bird bath for a drink.

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.

Hertfordshire to Cambridgeshire

This is such an enjoyable journey, no motorways, no rushing, just smaller roads bounded by typically English countryside.

The verges at this time of year are so beautiful, they have not been cut back, but have been allowed to grow tall and are home to a wide variety of wild flowers.

High grasses compete with golden buttercups each trying to outdo with the other for the most light and ending up equal. I remember picking buttercups as a child, all children did it in those days and then held them under each others chins to see if the yellow reflection showed. When the colour shone back there was much glee in telling and being told that you loved butter. No logic, it was just a nonsensical piece of childish fun, which made us all laugh and feel happy. Post war, times were very different and pleasure easily found.

The verges are full of bright red poppies ( Malvaceae) otherwise commonly known as malvas or mallows, we mainly see common mallows, they have many flower heads which are lilac to mauve in colour, much less often we spot a plant of musk mallow, this is a delicate looking plant with white or pink flowers and beautiful cut leaves. Another delicate looking plant is the cow parsley and other members of the umbellifer family, at this time of year the verges are rich in this plant also.

One of the best sights though, has to be the pink and white dog and field roses cascading down, hedgerows and trees, they remind me of waterfalls and are stunning to see and also to smell, as well as being an excellent source of nectar for wildlife.

Wayfaring trees/ bushes are also very noticeable at this time of year, with their large clusters of creamy white flowers, and of course in the autumn they please both us and the wildlife with their huge clusters of bright red or black berries..

Occasionally we see verges barren of wild flowers but covered in tall grasses, which seen from a distance have an attractive pale purplish haze

Horse chestnuts and laburnums have finished flowering, but we look forward to the long, dangling, twisted seed pods of the laburnum and the rich beauty of the fruit of the horse chestnut tree - conkers - in the autumn.

The deep pink of the hawthorn is beautiful when seen massed on the plant. In some cases hawthorns have left behind their shrub like form and have grown into very characterful trees, with their knobbly and gnarled branches and trunks.

Foxes, Badgers, Young Robin and the Female Duck.

The foxes were late coming to feed last night. They fed quickly and what they didn't devour they carried away with them. Within a few minutes the badger came hurrying on to the lawn, but, alas  the food was all gone.

This morning I watched a young robin bathing in the back garden bird bath, afterwards he/she flew to the Cytisus Battandieri ( Pineapple Broom), where he/she sat firstly shaking the water off and then preening him/herself and all the while a parent bird sat on a nearby branch watching.

Late morning the female duck turned up at the lounge patio window, I took a series of photographs of her from appearing at the window, to feeding under the side kitchen window, then down by the pond and finally flying away from the lawn, outside the lounge patio window.

Spotted Flycatchers, Greenfinches and Starlings

Lucky bird spotting day, on a honeysuckle I saw a pair of spotted flycatchers. Later I noticed a pair of greenfinches, these birds used to be so common in our garden, but latterly like starlings they have become almost total strangers.
Thinking about starlings reminds me that recently Mike drew my attention to one on the peanut holder, he then told me he had seen one on there earlier. The starling had flown straight on to the hanging peanut holder, as he landed he grasped the wildly swinging wire mesh and was able to hang there eating. The nut holder soon became still and he stayed in situ enjoying his feast.                          

I would love to see these three birds back in the garden in their previous numbers.

Starlings and Mistlethrush

A strange morning, the garden was almost bird bereft, by ten thirty we had seen only a robin, a blackbird and one squirrel, by the afternoon it had changed though and in the interim we had been lucky to watch a mistlethrush make repeated trips to the end of the garden and then fly back along the back of the bungalow with a beak full of worms, I'd like to think he is nesting somewhere in the shrubs growing there.

We were also pleased to see a pair of starlings in the garden a few times recently and even more pleased when three turned up today. It is a real pleasure to watch these busy, gregarious birds bustling about their business.

Hertfordshire to Berkshire

A cold cloudy day with intermittent heavy showers of rain or hail, and only the briefest glimpses of sunshine. The brightness of oil seed rape escapees singing out from the verges brightens the day and gladdens the heart. There is much cow parsley already grown above waist height in these damp conditions and looking very pretty with its delicate lace like flowers. Other verges have been mown, and are now sprinkled with tiny white daisies, and flat to the ground newly opened golden dandelions.

Trees are heavily leaved now, and even the oaks one of the last trees to leaf up are showing a brownish, mossy green covering, which thickens by the day. Elder, hawthorn and horse chestnut are all bedecked with their blooms. Here and there are laburnums with their bright yellow hanging racemes, which suddenly don't look as bright when a field of rape comes into view. Years ago there was never any evidence of wayside laburnums, now however more and more are springing up in roadside hedges and I find them very attractive and a good addition.

We are also seeing much more of the pretty pink and white blossom of verge side apple trees, no doubt inadvertently planted by travellers throwing apple cores from the windows of their speeding cars. These are good because even if humans never get to eat the fruit, it is a welcome addition to support the wildlife living thereabouts ---birds, mice, voles, shrews, foxes, badgers, and I'm sure many more. An apple core dropped on our lawn will within minutes have attracted not only birds, but also, mice voles, shrews and if put out when we are about, all other creatures except for birds will stay away and within a very short time ants will have covered the core.

As we turn onto the M25 at the M1 junction, there is a huge growth of pink campions followed by several patches of dark blue bluebells, judging by the strength of their colour I would think they are our traditional bluebells. These are very special and so much better than the foreign ones which seem to be taking over. Our English bluebells are perfumed and one of the joys of an English spring is to find a bluebell wood, walk into the centre and gaze around. The perfume linked with the nearness of each individual pretty flower and fading into an amazing blue haze in the distance is something everyone should endeavour to achieve, even if only once in their lifetime as the sight and smell will stay with them for ever.

On the right hand side of the car just before the A422 Maple Cross turning is an eye catching verge of deep yellow gorse bushes (Ulex Europaeus) over hung by yellow laburnum trees (Laburnum anagyroides) --- very pleasing. Gorse is very flammable and years ago was collected and used for firing bread ovens, it also is extremely prickly, bad for humans but good for birds who choose to nest therein, and is also much loved by bees.Laburnum is a beautiful tree but every part of it is poisonous, so some people refrain from planting it in their garden. These two, gorse and laburnum seem to me to be ideally suited to motorway verges, where they do no harm but are beautiful to look at, and provide food and shelter for wildlife.

A crow flies over, this is the first bird we have seen on this journey. I feel the more plants and bushes that spring up or are planted on roadside verges, the more wildlife will move in and these areas will become important wildlife sites.

On the left just past this, I am glad to see along the far side of the verge a newly planted hedge. I still grieve for the miles and miles of hedges that were torn up many years ago and the more that are planted now, the better it will be for wildlife. We are passing a long stretch of ox-eye daisies (Leucanthemum Vulgare), there are so many on the verge it looks as if there has been a heavy fall of snow. These wonderful large headed and tall wild daisies were my mother-in-law's favourite flower, we planted them in her back garden  and over the years they migrated not only to other parts of her garden but also to her lawn where they sprang up in profusion if not kept in check!

We are once again passing a stretch of gorse bushes, they are golden yellow and the bees must love them ............. I wonder about the pollution from car exhausts that must be in and on them, and if it harms the bees in any way.

We are now on the M4 and the hawthorn bushes are so thick with blossom they make captivating viewing, these hawthorns their branches hanging heavy with blossom are on both sides and also on the right are large, bright yellow patches of oil seed rape.

Bypassing Slough we see a pigeon and two mallards flying across the motorway, followed almost immediately by a flock of seagulls.

The river Thames, so wide and always picturesque is swollen as we pass and it threatens to over spill its banks and spread on to the surrounding lush green fields.

Coming off the M4 at the Winnersh triangle, I'm surprised to see a long stretch of pale blue, which as we slow, I realise is forget-me-nots (Myosotis), very unusual on a roadside verge and most enjoyable. I wonder how they arrived there.

Pineapple Broom, Goldcrest, Greenfinches and Blackcaps

My eye was caught this morning by our tiniest bird a goldcrest, he was hopping restlessly about in the pineapple broom. These tiny birds are easy to spot once you are aware of the restless way they move, and with binoculars this can easily be confirmed if you pick up the bright golden line on the top of their head. From the pineapple broom he flew to the old bent apple tree, where I lost sight of him.

The pineapple broom - Cytisus Battandieri, is an interesting shrub to have in the garden, it is now very tall. I was advised against buying it because they need shelter and are best grown against the wall of a house for protection. Mine forms part of a border and has conifers, one either side, each one grown and shaped around a seat.
I was lucky I saw this one rejected and looking very sad at the end of sale time, half out of its pot and laying on its side, totally dried out and surrounded by weeds. At the price it was a brilliant bargain and worth taking a chance on, so home it came to be stood in a bucket of water, after a few days the weeds were gently removed and it was planted in a large hole, well filled with home made compost and water. It slowly sank its roots down and grew used to being in the earth, decided it liked it and grew and flourished. Each year we are rewarded with soft grey/green leaves and amid them are cones of the brightest yellow flowers, which delightfully smell of pineapples, and in the summer and autumn the flowers attract scores of tiny black beetles, which is good in a wildlife garden.

Later in  the day we saw a pair of greenfinches, these used to be a common bird in the garden, but not any more. We were also entertained by a pair of blackcaps, who looked as if they were seeking a nesting site.

Return of the Agitated Male

Surprisingly the other mallard returned today, he is still a little jittery, in that he is constantly splaying his tail and slightly spreading his wings and performing non-stop grooming. He is clearly recovering from whatever was ailing him, I was surprised to see him because I had given him up for dead.

He stayed about half an hour, the time was spent quietly with our usual mallard. The female was absent, probably on the roof.

Pleased to report that the fish have endured another winter and have been out in force enjoying the sunshine.

No-Tail the Bully

No-Tail the pigeon's first partner of many years still comes here daily, sadly she is constantly harassed and harangued by both No-Tail and his new partner.

It is sad to watch her being bullied by the other two, and driven out of the garden, as she  has spent many years living here and clearly still feels her home is here. Despite being made to feel so unwelcome, she still returns daily, often three or four times.

Missing Dog Fox

Sadly the dog fox is still missing, and at this stage I have to accept that he is not coming back. A while ago he  was missing for a few nights and eventually turned up with a broken back leg, by the time of his second disappearance his leg was healed and he was able to walk normally again. I hoped that this experience may have made him more wary on the road, it seems not as the road is the most likely reason for his not now being around.

The missing fox was distinctive as he had a very large white end to his tail. Lately we have seen a new fox a few times who is very similar to our missing one, except that his tail is dark to the end, with no white and also shorter. I briefly wondered if he was the same fox and had lost his tail end to car wheels, however close observation with binoculars proved this tail end was natural and  had never been damaged. So sadly I have to accept our missing fox is dead.

Hungry duck

The female duck is again eating ravenously, she comes to the window several times a day for food, if we do not notice her then she flies up and lands on top of the roofed bird feeding tables by the window, and peers through into the kitchen. Her next move is to go and check out the lounge patio doors to see if we are there, should we not notice her quickly enough, she climbs on to the step and with her beak taps on the window!

To feed her I soak bread in water, and drop it from the side kitchen window, breaking it up as I do so, I then give her half a cup of bird seed. Sometimes, it is the seed she is after and then she ignores the bread and stands looking up at me with her head cocked onto one side, if I am too long reaching for the seed she flies up to the roof of the bird table looking in through the open window, while she waits.

I wonder if her voracious appetite is because she has another nest and is laying more eggs.

Pretty Garden Acers

The acers are coming into leaf, I sometimes wonder if they should have a place in a garden that is primarily for wildlife - should I not have planted hawthorn or something else that would be much more wildlife friendly? Yet when I see them in all their stunningly fine, summer and autumn leaves, I know why they are here. They are just so very beautiful,

One is a deep, burgundy red, with finely divided leaves, it has grown slowly and strangely, and although it is fifteen years old, is but two feet tall, however and here's the strange part it is almost four feet across. The second one is a breathtaking bright orange colour, it was bought for fifty pence (along with  two others at the same price, which did not survive), it was in a very poor state when I bought it, less than a foot tall and leafless, but in the time I have had it (about ten years) it has reached five feet tall and stands proudly at the back of the border, glowing brightly even on cloudy days.

The third came from a dear friend who was going to get rid of it, and I must admit it did look dead and I didn't give it much hope. However here we are, some time later and it is stunningly beautiful, mostly cream with pink touches and I'm so glad to have both the acer and her friendship. The fourth acer is slowest to break bud and is only just showing red leaf tips, it is the largest of my acers with wonderful summer colouring and amazing autumn shades, it means a lot to me as it was a present on our golden wedding anniversary from my brother.

Nesting Blackcaps

The blackcaps are busy looking for a nesting site in the garden, I thought they were usually settled by now, but perhaps I am mistaken.

Blackcaps ( Sylvia Atricapilla) are neat looking little birds,about the size of a robin, and as the name suggests they have a little cap on their heads, brown on the female and black on the male. When we first lived here we used to only see them in the summer, but a few years ago we realised that it was winter and they were still here, now they are here all the year through and are a very welcome addition to the winter garden. They eat both berries and insects, I hope one day to see them at the feeding station, but it hasn't happened yet.

Blackcaps are warblers and if ever you hear them sing it will stop you in your tracks, often have I laid aside what I was busy with, just to stand or sit and listen spellbound to their beautiful rich song.

They lay their eggs around this time of year, in a neat cup shaped nest near the ground in thick undergrowth, their eggs are beigeish in colour and they lay four to six. The eggs hatch in about eleven days and the nestlings fledge in the same length of time.

Do listen out for these little birds and if you are lucky enough to hear what might be them, then stand still and look around you, following the sound, they are usually to be spotted in a tree or bush and are well worth trying to see. They are easily recognisable with their grey plumage and either black (male) or brown (female) cap. Good luck.

Abandoned nest

Sadly the female duck has abandoned her nest on the garage roof. We noticed that she didn't return to her nest this morning after eating, drinking and bathing. Using the binoculars I looked toward her nest on the garage roof and was dismayed to see how dishevelled the area was, the most apparent eye catcher was the amount of soft, downy feathers covering a quite large area. I suppose magpies or some larger bird came and raided her nest.

Missing Agitated Mallard

Well it is now a week since the strange behaviour of the seemingly agitated duck, I don't know what was wrong with him and probably never will, as he has not returned. I can only assume he was in the grip of something that proved to be terminal, as we have not seen him again.

The female still has her regular companion and seems quite happy, she is still nesting on the garage roof, coming down regularly to eat, drink and bathe.

The garden is beautified by many butterflies, which like this Peacock spend much time basking in the sun when not feeding or flying.

Red legged partridges abound in the garden at the moment, these are one of our most attractive birds, they are however very shy and this makes the moment even more precious not just to be able to watch them but also to photograph them.

We are also enjoying some very spectacular sunsets at present, the different shades and tones in the sky are amazing and well wort

Robins Move On

Sadly the robins seem to have deserted their nest for some reason, however all is not lost as they are now nesting in a nearby shrub and the contents of their nest in the box are being taken by both a great tit and a blue tit for their nests!

Nesting Dunnock and Blackbird

Watched a dunnock gathering nesting material today, she chose to collect the moss growing on the trunk of the old bendy apple tree. A female blackbird was also very busy watched over by the male as she collected grass cuttings for her nest, gleaned from the newly cut lawn.

Odd/Interesting Duck Behaviour

I rose this morning to find one of the male ducks - a mallard already on the side lawn, his feathers were very ruffled, his tail splayed, wings slightly dropped and his beak constantly opening and shutting. I opened a window and fed him, he ate very greedily and quickly as I expected he would, however all the time his tremors continued.

It is now an hour later, he is still on the lawn, suffering the same tremors, constantly grooming, opening and closing his beak and ruffling his feathers.

This is unusual behaviour, I wonder has he been knocked by a car, does he have some sort of degenerative disease, has he eaten some sort of tainted food which has resulted in a neurological disorder, has he sat on an ant's nest and is even now being covered in ant bites? Thoughts run through my mind and I wish I knew the answer, he seems so uncomfortable.

Another hour has passed, he is in the same position and still acting in the same strange manner, for about half an hour he had company as the other male flew down and joined him, any jealous animosity between the two appeared to be forgotten. During his time here the second one ate, drank and bathed in the pond despite this he still spent more than twenty minutes with the "agitated" duck, sitting side by side and often bill to bill. Eventually he flew away having shown none of his previous antipathy toward the "poorly" duck --- indeed he seemed to show a rare friendliness toward him.

It is a few hours now and still he sits and shakes, his behaviour has changed slightly though as he sometimes stands on tiptoe and stretches out his wings and flaps them.

Suddenly the female flew down from her nest on the garage roof, she rushed across to the feeding station to eat, but of course this was where the agitated duck was, immediately and still shaking he began harassing her. "Ah," I thought, "this is his trouble, he is in a high state of sexual arousal, funny  I have never seen this behaviour before though". The poor female did her best to fend him off while she ate, in the end giving up feeding as a bad job she made her way to the pond, she was obviously distressed, her head was withdrawn and her beak open and upward pointing, her body in a ball. She was thwarted here also by the male, still shaking he rushed after her, entering the water at the same time as she did and immediately copulated with her.She was clearly distressed by his behaviour and tried unsuccessfully to fend him off. Afterwards he climbed out of the pond sat by the edge and resumed his agitated shaking.My theory about him being in a high state of sexual arousal is clearly nonsense!

Two hours later he was still sitting by the pond shaking, and he continued to do so for the rest of the day.

Red legged partridges

Delighted this morning to see two red legged partridges at the bottom of the garden. They are very eye catching birds and very quick movers, I have never yet managed to photograph them.

It was unusual to see just two as other years we have seen them in groups of up to ten or twelve.

Fieldfares, redwings and mainly starlings

The day before yesterday I noticed a very large flock of birds settled in the trees at the end of the garden by the river. They were a mixed flock and by the way they flew I was reminded of mistle thrushes, but knew they would never flock like these. I surmised that some of them were probably fieldfares.

Late yesterday afternoon my attention was drawn to the trees again by the loud sound coming from them, it was a sound I had heard before but was unable to place. I looked across at the trees and again saw many birds in them.

This afternoon I looked out of the end kitchen window and saw the birds amassed in the birch tree and flowering cherry tree. I was able to pick up the binoculars and see them clearly, they were fieldfares, redwings and surprisingly starlings, it was then I remembered the sound I had heard the day before and couldn't place, was of starlings.

Many years ago we were delighted to have a flock of starlings roosting in the garden at night, they charmed us with their nightly aerial display and we were sad when they were spooked one 5th November as a nearby town had a very noisy firework display. They flew away and sadly we have hardly seen a starling since in this area.

Maybe, just maybe, some of these will stay and once more we will be delighted by them, if they remain here.

European starlings (Sturnus Vulgaris) are the type we see in Britain, they are medium sized birds and are approximately 8" long from tip of tail to end of beak. They are black in colour with browny beige edges to their wings,  in the winter they have white speckles, come the summer they lose many of the white speckles, their coats appear glossier and in the sunlight shine with startlingly bright irridescent colours. They are then outstandingly beautiful and a real joy to see. Legs are reddish brown and their beaks are yellow in the summer and black in the winter, it is said that males can be told from females by the colour at the base of the beak, girls = pink, boys = blue.

Interestingly, we refer to the aerial displays of the huge flocks of starlings as murmurations however this term used to refer to the noise made by starlings. This noise is the result of the sound emitted from their bills* and also by the wind through their wings.

*Starling noises are many and varied, they include:- warbles, clacks, high pitched squeals, whistles, clicks, squeaks, high trills, clacking and rattling of bills and much mimicry. Aggressively they have a scream like call.

They can appear aggressive because they are noisy birds, pushing and shoving not only each other, but also other birds. They are definitely aggressive when it comes to nesting, they nest in holes which can be quite small as, on finding a nesting hole if it is already occupied the starling will not hesitate to destroy the eggs and/or any young, in order to take over the nest. Their nests are made from twigs, grass, old leaves, feathers, plant pieces and any other debris they can find. Starlings have up to 3 clutches of between 4 and 9 eggs per year, they are pale blue, shiny and smooth. they are incubated for 12- 15 days and fledge after 20-22 days. Most starlings die in their first year, others will live a lot longer, the oldest known wild starling lived for 15 years.

Starlings are omnivores, and will eat amongst other things; seeds, fruit, insects, worms, beetles, slugs and any food put on the ground or bird table.

Immigrants from Poland, Finland and Scandinavia come here in the winter, they join up with our flocks and form huge flocks many thousands strong. In the evening they perform the most amazing aerial demonstrations known as murmurations, which are quite awe inspiring and many people gather to watch them.

Duck and drakes

During the last week the ducks came back, three again this year, two drakes and one duck. The males are mallards, but I'm not sure what type of duck the female is, she does not look like a typical female mallard. I have looked through hundreds of female duck pictures and found two similar to her, the first was described as an interbred duck, the other a campbell khaki duck, I still don't know what type she really is. She has the body shape of a mallard, except that it is slightly larger, and is in shades of beige and light brown, the tail and wing ends are creamy white. There is a stripe across the wing the same as a mallard has, except that it is mid to dark brown, with a white stripe either side.

One of the males is welcome and accepted by the female, while the other is just tolerated and lives on the fringes of the other two's existence, if he dares to try eating with them the preferred male will attack him. Sometimes when the other two are asleep, he will creep close to the female and settle himself down to sleep. Should she wake up and find him there, she lowers her head, stretches her neck and continually pokes him with her beak, driving him back and soon away

Occasionally when the other male is asleep, he manages to mate with the female, of course the preferred male hears what is going on, wakes up and makes haste to rescue his partner by attacking his competitor.

Perhaps the only time the two drakes are united is when marauding males fly into the garden to mate with the female, then they are as one when they rush to save the female. As soon as things settle back to normal, the unwelcome drake of the pair, knows his place and again moves away to the outskirts of their relationship.

Sometimes he forgets his place in the relationship and instead of keeping his distance, wanders up toward the female, whereupon the beady- eyed favoured drake on spotting the situation, rushes at his competitor neck outstretched and parallel to the ground, beak low and open, but before contact can be made the under dog turns tail and runs.

Interestingly once again they are spending time on the roof as they did last year.

P.S. Mallards are dabbling ducks as opposed to diving ducks.

Vixen and missing dog fox

The dog fox has still not shown up, I fear he has been killed on a nearby road, I know it was not on our lane or we would have seen him. I can still think of no reason why he would not continue to come for food every evening.

Instead the vixen now leaves the den and comes for food herself. She no longer leisurely sits or lays down to eat, but stands and gobbles the food down very fast, before hurrying back to her cubs.

The nights when her mate did not turn up with food must have been an anxious and hungry time for her, although concerned for the dog fox I am relieved to see the vixen feeding.

Fox den

Came across the fox den today by chance, interestingly it was a hole made by the badger, and like the other entrances to the badger sett, while it was the badger's hole it was clean and tidy. The fox has taken it over and it is now littered all around with hundreds of pigeon feathers.

Missing dog fox

The dog fox didn't turn up for food last night, we have watched him feeding here for more than two and a half years since he played and fed here as a cub.

Recently he has carried food to his mate faithfully every night, while she is in the den with her new cubs. I am concerned for him, because I can see no reason for him not coming to feed.

Surprising behaviour from No-Tail the pigeon

I have often mentioned No-Tail the pigeon, usually when writing about other happenings but now there is a surprising change in his life.

He has been here for a number of years looking back through the blog, I seem to have first written about No-Tail on 8th January 2007 and his mate has been with him almost as long, he is never far from the garden and always nests within its confines. He can usually be found perching on one of the trees,resting or feeding on one of the lawns or feeding at one of the food stations.

He has always been with the same mate, clearly the tail is not part of the attraction with pigeons as he has none, as his name suggests. With no tail he not only looks different, but his gait is much more swaying than a normal pigeons and there is a subtle difference in the way he flies.

Each year No-Tail builds the nest, and his compliant mate dutifully lays the eggs, sadly they rarely have squabs because the squirrels usually find the nest and eat the eggs. They build another nest, lay more eggs and still the squirrels often find it. A few years back they did successfully breed but when the youngster grew up he was driven away.

In the surrounding countryside we often see huge flocks of pigeons, but the garden is kept quite clear of these by No-Tail. He is very territorial about his garden and other pigeon/s who visit are sent on their way without ceremony. Apart from when he drove away Broken Wing, this has until now been the only time we have seen an aggressive side to No-Tail.

Some weeks ago I wrote about a new pigeon in the garden, he/she was a very dirty and scruffy looking pigeon, who skulked about under the edges of bushes. The newcomer tended to stay away from No-Tail and his mate and they for their part ignored him. The newcomer kept as much as he/she could to him/her self, hanging around on the fringes, never pushing in, eating after No-Tail and his mate had finished. Over the weeks the newcomer looked less dirty and better groomed, definitely a lot less dishevelled.

I noticed that although he never joined No-Tail and his partner, he/she was gradually creeping nearer to them. They continued to ignore the newcomer.

One morning I looked out and was surprised to see all three pigeons feeding together. More surprises were to come though. Over the next few days the three continued to not only feed together, but also to roost at night near to each other on the same branch, they also perched together in the daytime.

Three days ago I looked out and saw only No-Tail and the newcomer feeding together, as I watched I saw No-Tail's partner fly down to join them. She was quickly set upon by No-tail, who drove her away to the far side of the lawn. Each time she tried to join them, No-Tail chased her away.

He would fly across to her landing on her back, she would extricate herself and move away, but each time she tried to move nearer the same happened. Eventually she flew right away out of the garden. Each time she tried to return, this behaviour continued, throughout Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, then she learned to keep away from the other two. The rolls are switched she now feeds alone when the other two are not around and perches night and day on a tree branch across the road.

No-Tail was so faithful to her for so many years, they were always together, feeding, grooming, billing and cooing, roosting and perching together, where one was so was the other and yet now they are as far apart as they had previously been close.

If anyone can scientifically explain No-Tails behaviour to his mate of many years, I would be interested to hear.

Busy Father Fox, Hungry Pheasant, and a Charm of Golfinches

I have watched unsuccessfully for the female fox, she has not turned up to feed, which makes me certain this is because she has now given birth to her cubs. This view is reinforced by the fact that the male instead of eating as usual is carrying all the food away, mouthful by mouthful, last evening he spent almost an hour and a half doing this. He is obviously taking it to the vixen who will not leave her cubs for the first two weeks of their lives.

The dog fox has shown such devotion to the vixen, he does not even eat himself, just appears to take all of the food to her. When the food is being prepared, he is already there on the lawn waiting for it to be brought out, as soon as it is he wastes no time in gathering it up and hurrying off with it.

It is another cold day today, the male pheasant, continues to come calling for his food two or three times a day and if there is none in situ, then he comes to the lounge patio doors and standing on the sill, pecks the window to let me know he is there. As soon as I stand up he is off and always reaches the kitchen window before I do!

He is not always so lucky these days though, as he has taken to sometimes waiting by the end conservatory door and pecking that, so of course I am not always aware of him.

Watched a charm of goldfinches in the birch tree this morning, they were still there when I went back over an hour later.

Pregnant Fox

Put food out for the foxes as usual last night, however only the male turned up. During the last week they have both been here every evening as always, and on occasion a third fully grown other fox has joined them, although if he turns up it is usually after the other two have left, when he spends ages gleaning every last morsel he can from the grass.

Lately the regular female has become irritable with the male and driven him away if he comes too close to her. She drives him away either by backing into him and pushing him away with her rear end or by a real show of bad temper, turning on him irritably, making angry sounds and driving him back.

I have noticed her spreading girth and look forward to seeing her cubs, although we may have to wait until August to do so.The evening before last, her abdomen looked very swollen and last night she did not come for food, so I think her cubs must have been born.

I shall watch for her this evening.

The Spring Garden

Another bright and beautiful morning, when I rose from my bed this morning there was a very pretty covering of snow resting on everything, now the sun is strongly shining and where the warmth hits the snow, the green shows through. I thought I would walk around the garden but it is far too cold and uncomfortable to do so, as there is a strong wind blowing.

 I hurried indoors and standing by the kitchen window looking out on the back lawn was fascinated to notice how quickly the snow was melting, as it melted, tiny water droplets were left hanging from the tips of the blades of grass. These droplets were wonderful as they moved in the wind and with the action of the sun on them each one became a sparkling natural diamond, which shone with every colour of the rainbow sharply and strongly defined within, and magically changing from one hue to the next repeatedly.

I spent several moments watching these sparkling treasures, and reflected on the fact that I have no diamonds, but then I don't have the worry of losing them either and these natural ones suit me best anyway. How lucky we are to live in this beautiful natural world where there are so many treasures to be found and enjoyed every day without ever having to worry about them.

Yesterday I did manage to walk round the garden, while the sun was briefly shining. I noticed small groups of white violets blooming under one of the magnolias and was pleased to see a new great tit nest in one of the boxes. The end garden is looking so pretty, daffodils are now blooming and the crocus put in last autumn have been amazing, each bulb has given between five and seven flowers and a couple have even managed eight. What great value! Incidentally I learned an interesting fact that crocus are a member of the iris family.

 The miniature iris bulbs planted at the same time as the crocus, have also bloomed and although they only sport one flower per bulb, the flowers are very long lasting with exquisite markings, so more than earn their place in the spring garden.

There are hundreds of helleborus and snowdrops all in full flower, that have been there for many years. The helleborus come in many shades of both pink and white and have seeded prolifically over the years. Under the magnolia soulangeana  and skirting the periphery of the tree is another type of helleborus, these have smaller flower heads which are green and edged with red. Over the years they also have spread but only around the outer edge of the tree and now form quite a pretty edging to that part of the garden.

The snowdrops have formed large tightly packed groups, which must be split and replanted this year or we may lose them to the dreaded red spider mite.

The primroses which in our garden are mostly primula vulgaris are amazing, they have flowered throughout the whole of last year and are now putting on a grand show.

Caught sight of this early Brimstone butterfly resting in the sun.

The Magpies and the Sparrowhawk

What an amazing morning, so many birds in the garden, wrens, feeding and displaying robins, many blackbirds, a beautiful song thrush collecting nesting material on the bank, great spotted woodpecker on the silver birch, green woodpecker on the grass of the back kitchen lawn,No-tail the pigeon and his partner and while I was still spotting birds an amazing happening occurred.

It was breathtaking and so quick, a female blackbird was feeding on the lawn when suddenly and swiftly a sparrowhawk hurtled toward her, as this was happening two magpies who had been at their usual lookout post in the ginkgo biloba tree dive bombed the sparrow hawk who was almost upon the blackbird.

The sudden assault upon the sparrowhawk by the pair of magpies, threw the bird of prey off balance, he was momentarily turned upside down and a wing brushed along the grass as he righted himself . He quickly regained his balance and flew off --- not as fast as he had flown in though!

This was so sudden that as he flew away the female blackbird was still on the grass, but she quickly scuttled into the undergrowth of a nearby border. The magpies chased the sparrowhawk out of the garden and returned to their roost in the ginkgo, as they settled, so the sparrowhawk returned and the magpies once more gave chase out of the garden and into the orchard at the end of the garden. The sparrow hawk continued to be mobbed by the two magpies and quickly realised defeat and flew away.

I found this episode particularly interesting because I wrote once before about the attack and subsequent killing in the garden of a female blackbird by a pair of magpies, and yet for some reason they appeared to be defending this blackbird.

Spring flowers and foxes

It is a grey misty morning and very cold. Yesterday it rained, the first rain for some time with the result that today everything looks so much fresher and greener.

Filled the bird table this morning, three blackbirds and a robin were waiting , great tits and blue tits quickly turned up. The miniature iris planted last autumn are blooming and along with the crocus, snowdrops and primroses they make the border at the end of the garden very pretty. Many narcissus are standing tall, their buds fattening up. The poached egg camellia, is covered with many hundreds of buds and is a promise of much beauty to come. The viburnum bodnantense is still flowering as it has been for many months it is a great shrub for winter gardens, has a wonderful perfume and doesn't mind being hard pruned to keep it small enough for small gardens.

While watching the foxes feed last night I couldn't help noticing how heavy the little girl looked and I feel she must be pregnant, I look forward to the autumn when we shall have the treat of watching her cubs at play. We have followed these foxes from when they were tiny cubs and the two fox regulars who never miss a night feeding here are the only two left from the last litter who played in the garden. It would seem to be true that very few foxes make it to adulthood. It was sad to see one of our regular foxes killed on the road nearby recently,she had grown into a beautiful adult, a few months earlier I had seen the same thing happen to another of our night time visiting foxes. I think traffic probably accounts for more fox deaths than any other method of their dying.

The badger continues to visit although we don't spot him as easily as the foxes, because his/her visits are not as regular.

I was sad to hear of the proposed deer cull as these creatures have given us so much pleasure, perhaps ours will be lucky and escape the cull.

The Clever Magpie.

A very cold day, it is minus two degrees. The water in the bird baths is again frozen and the birds move between them searching for fluidity, within a few minutes of replacing the water it is again frozen. Almost always these clever little creatures end up at one of the ponds, taking refreshing drinks and baths.

It was interesting this morning to watch the magpie fly down to one of the bird baths to drink, no sooner had he realised it was frozen than he set to work on one corner, chipping away with his strong beak until at last he had broken through the ice and was able to slake his thirst.

I have often admired the admirable and clever behaviour of these birds and here was yet more evidence of their intellect. This was not a quick or easy task for him, but he stuck at it for several minutes until he had chipped enough away for his use.

While watching the magpie the sun appeared, it is now shining brightly, the birds are singing and although it is very cold it has turned into a glorious morning.

Fighting Pheasants

Watched a territorial dispute between two male pheasants this morning, it was very protracted and was already in full force when I glanced out of the window and noticed it, I continued to watch until it ended seven minutes later.

There were no females in the vicinity so that was why I thought the dispute was territorial. I found it interesting to watch, there was much bowing of heads and circling each other. At no point did either pheasant turn his back on the other.

There was much wing flapping and many points of attack when both creatures would rise up in the air facing each other and with feet pushed outward toward the other. This seemed to be the point of contact and this would happen in mid air. At no point did their feet lock together.

Neither pheasant seemed stronger than the other and in all the time I watched, it was only the feet that ever came in contact. Usually after the attack the birds landed, but sometimes they would rise higher in the air. It was interesting to watch these large seemingly unwieldy birds return gently to earth, unruffled after their attacks on each other. Although it wasn't always so, there were times when they were clearly unbalanced and would sink ignominiously to the ground --- wings spread, tails upturned, feet still pointing upward, landing on their derriere in a very undignified manner and then struggle to regain their balance and composure, before starting all over again.

Throughout they were a mirror image of each other and in the end it looked as if a truce had been called, for suddenly it was over. Each one turned away from the other and slowly majestically, head held high strolled off in opposite directions.

When I watched this event I didn't have my camera to hand, however a few days later I again watched the same pheasants disputing territory in the field at  the end of the garden. This time I did have my camera with me and was able to photograph the happening. Note in the bottom picture under the top bar of the fence can be seen a pheasant still in mid-air, while the other one is about to land unceremoniously on his derriere.

A winter riverside walk, with hazel and alder catkins and an entertaining weasel

A walk by the swiftly flowing river, with a cold wind wrapping around us, our granddaughter in law and great grandson for company. The wintry bare brown earth is being changed by the green of fresh wild plants and flowers pushing their way through. Hazel and alder catkins were much in evidence and blowing back and forth in the wind.

Best of all we watched a weasel on the edge of the field bordering the other side of the path. These creatures are such fun to watch, they are so lithe and their movements so quick. Seeing us he stood still for a few seconds, then in a trice he was off across the path directly in front of us and down the river bank. Here he spent a few minutes playing hide and seek with us, his pretty little face peeping out first from one side and then the other at the base of an alder tree, before he jauntily sped off along the river bank before disappearing down a hole.

It was turning colder and by now the wind felt not only wrapped around us but also as though it had insinuated itself into our very bones and turning we headed for home.

Kingfisher, seven spot ladybird and lesser celandines

Down the lane this morning to watch the urgent rush of the river, was delighted to see the flash of a kingfisher as he made his way up stream.

By the bridge on a newly sprouted stinging nettle we saw an early seven spot ladybird, enjoying the morning sunshine.

A few steps further on we saw a group of golden Lesser Celandines ( Ranunculus Ficaria ), with surprisingly large heads, their pretty faces upturned toward the sun.

These plants are a real herald of spring and their golden brightness is very uplifting after the cold dreariness of a long winter. They are to be found along lanes and on river banks, peeping out from hedges and growing alongside field edges.

In my garden they are plentiful, although not the joy to me that they are when seen anywhere else.

I have gently dug them out for more than a quarter of a century, taking care to try and remove each tiny corm from their root system. It is a thankless task as each spring new plants push their way through the soil asserting their independence and right to be there!

Bees and ladybirds

Odd days in January I have been pleased to see both honey and bumble bees in the garden, seeking nectar from the many early flowers in bloom and on the white bungalow wall many ladybirds both British and European.

Garden flora and fauna

After weeks of snow and freezing weather, we have a change. Yesterday we awoke to a cold, snow covered day. As time passed the temperature rose somewhat, this was followed by rain, light at first then becoming a heavy torrential downpour, which lasted well into the night.

At 2:00 a.m. when I looked out , the majority of snow had melted, we were left with a white bank on the side of the garden facing the lounge --- when I arose this morning that too had vanished.

Across the orchard and fields the floods are back, in truth they never went, instead they turned into an enormous ice rink. A few days ago, a walk across to this ice showed fox prints traversing in every direction, however when I dared to walk on the frozen surface I soon discovered it was not as strong as it looked and I hastily moved off.

The continuous heavy rain, linked with yesterday's milder temperature has however brought with it a thaw, hence the flooding.

Today is again milder, there is a very strong wind, it sends the last of autumn's leaves hurrying and scurrying, hither and thither along the grass. The strong blustery wind also makes the washing on the line flap and crack alarmingly, and even worse threatens to pull the post supporting the line out of the ground at one end.

 This magical garden is still full of flowers, primroses, cyclamen, winter flowering jasmine, roses, arabis, aconites, snowdrops, the wonderfully scented pink flowered viburnum bodnantense, mahonia which is so beloved by insects and chaffinches and three types of catkins hazel, birch and the wonderful garrya ellyptica (also known as The Silk Tassel bush), the latter is an amazing sight, despite being hard pruned each year it just grows back and appears more beautiful each time it is in catkin.

The birds are very hungry and are needing extra rations, during the freeze I put water out for them, but it constantly needed redoing as it froze so quickly. The squirrel numbers have dropped to two, perhaps now the less cold weather is here we may see the missing ones. The foxes continue to feed each evening, however I haven't seen the badger recently and hope he hasn't succumbed to a fast car while crossing the lane.