First Juvenile Robins, Goldfinches and Geranium Phaeum.

Glancing out of the kitchen window early this morning, I smiled to see three juvenile robins sitting on the side lawn. They were round balls of brown fluff, with beautiful golden speckles on their breasts. I think their nest is in the greenhouse, we have robins nesting in there each year, although they could be the robins nesting in the garage.

When we moved here twenty-seven years ago somebody gave us an old tennis net, which we rolled up and put in the garage, the following spring we discovered robins nesting inside it and felt we couldn't disturb them. This has continued year on year, and for a couple of years we also had a pair nesting in an old basket suspended from the roof. We have been lucky with robins, another pair nest in an old colander hidden inside a yew tree and yet more nest inside a hollow log down the garden. This does from time to time cause territorial problems, but these are helped by spreading food far and wide.

The lawn is attended at present by four beautiful red cheeked goldfinches, they are of course feasting on the dandelion seeds, which are so abundant at present. Meanwhile huge clumps of Geranium phaeum or mourning geranium as it is commonly known, are currently in flower, it is their favourite autumn food and will be rich in seeds to both fill and fatten them ready for the winter months.

This plant is a welcome addition to wildlife gardens, it is perennial and seeds well to fill empty spaces. It has green leaves each with a large central blotch of purplish black, the flowers which are black from a distance are in fact when seen at close range or in sunlight an attractive deep red, and are carried high above the rosette of leaves and have several heads on the end of each flower stalk.

Geranium phaeum is a plant which not only has attractive leaves and pretty flowers but also and this is the best part, attracts flocks of goldfinches to the garden by its valuable food source, which of course are its seeds.

Roof Duck Antics

We haven't seen the roof ducks for the last couple of weeks, I assumed she was nesting somewhere and loathe to leave the area, however three days ago she and her mate returned. They were both extremely hungry and I expected after eating they would rush away, however they stayed, and stayed and were still here as it grew dark, when they flew up to their favoured place on the roof.

They must have lost their brood of eggs or their ducklings, probably to a fox or even a stoat. This does unfortunately happen as I noted some time ago (see: Fox Tales 16/06 2010).

This morning the female spent a long time on the back lawn, which is not unusual , but today she remained standing and staring up at the bird house, she moved from one area of the lawn to another several times, but always remained standing and with her eyes fixed on the bird house. Eventually she moved across the lawn until she was almost underneath, then stretching her neck she reached up on tiptoes and with a flap of her wings ascended and landed on the topmost ridge.

She spent the next hour and a half perched on the top ridge twisting and turning, looking up and down as if seeing life from a new perspective, eventually she settled on one leg swept her head under her wing and went to sleep. Her faithful mate settled himself in some long grass at the foot of the bird house and did likewise.

Twenty minutes ago she woke, untucked her foot, rested it down by the other and settled herself once again to visually explore the garden from her newly found perch.

Hunger must have prevailed, for a few minutes ago she flew down and made her way to the side kitchen window, her mate trotted obediently along behind her. Once fed they both flew up on to the bungalow roof.

Goldcrests - Regulus Regulus

WOW!!!

A brilliant start to the day, looking out of the kitchen window before breakfast, I spotted a Goldcrest on a smallish conifer. Well in truth not so small, it is just about five feet tall and has over the past twenty-seven years been shaped around a seat, to give protection from either sun on hot days or wind on cold ones.

Anyway, there was this tiny Goldcrest flitting about. They are very restless birds, seemingly never still --- this is what drew my attention. I wondered if it was nesting in this conifer and determined to watch and find out. For the next twenty minutes I stood spellbound as the Goldcrest moved all over the surface of the conifer, finally leaving to do the same on the pineapple shrub, from there it moved to the old bendy over apple tree on the side lawn. Craning forward I could only just see it, so I moved to the side kitchen window, where once again I had a good view of it, from here it spent some time on the lawn, before moving back to the apple tree.

The apple tree was well clothed in leaves and blossom so sadly after a few minutes I lost sight of it.

The reason for my excitement was the Goldcrest itself. Goldcrests are tiny, neat looking birds, they are olive green on their back, with two white stripes on their wings, their underside is a palish buff colour. Their most distinctive marking is the stripe along the top of their head, it is a bright yellow in the females and usually a bright orange in the males, it is a crest and can be raised. Either side of this bright yellow or orange crest is a black stripe, which makes the bright colour stand out even more. There is no head stripe in youngsters.

The Latin name for the Goldcrest is Regulus Regulus. Goldcrests are not only the smallest birds in England, but also the smallest birds in Europe. They are 20-30% smaller than Chiffchaffs and half the weight of a Bluetit. I was once told they were the smallest bird in the world, however this is not true as the honour of being the smallest bird goes to the Bumblebee Hummingbird.

Last year I was lucky to be in the garden at the same time as a brood of young fledgeling Goldcrests, I was attracted to them by their high pitched song. Watching them moving restlessly about in the conifers,just above my head was magical. They were probably seeking food, their thin bill tells us they are insect eaters and would have been searching for food such as tiny spiders, small moths and little insects.

Our often harsh winters take a toll on Goldcrest numbers, and they are also predated upon by sparrowhawks and cats.  However we are fortunate because they have two broods a year, each time ten to twelve eggs will be laid. These little birds are tough and with the high number of  youngsters produced  annually,  in spite of predation and harsh winters, their numbers seem to manage to stay fairly stable.

The Pleasure of an English Garden

The great beauty of my garden is not only in the flowers it produces but also in the many creatures attracted to it. The winter has been milder this year and the bees have been abundant.The many dandelions on the lawns not only feed the bees but also the beautiful butterflies.

Each year as soon as the plum tree blooms the bullfinches appear, steadfastly pecking at the flowers to reach the insects within, sadly they often pull the petals off at the same time, this doesn't seem to affect the crop though as there are always enough for the birds, bees and us.

Chaffinches are always to be found in the mahonia, leaving a scattering of bright yellow petals underneath on the ground. Orange tip butterflies, always plentiful in this garden, love the pretty violet flowers of honesty, which being a self sown plant always springs up unbidden, often filling an empty space or brightening a dull corner. During the autumn we can once again take pleasure from this plant, due to its eye catching shiny seed pods, They are quite delightful and children love to rub off the outer casing on each side of the round seed cases, showing their bright inner sides.

There are many varieties of birds to enjoy watching in the garden, any day looking out of the window I can watch; robins, blackbirds, thrushes, pigeons, blue, great and coal tits, wrens, dunnocks, blackcaps, magpies, crows, jackdaws goldfinches and chaffinches.

Sadly so far this year we have seen no greenfinches or starlings, and although we have not seen owls in the garden, we have seen them fly over and most nights we can stand outside after dark and hear both tawny and little owls and occasionally barn owls also.

Until recently we have always had hedgehogs in the garden and if we walked along the lane at dusk we always saw at least one, now sadly there are none to be found.

We also are lucky to have badgers visiting and to feed foxes every night, also to enjoy the visits of muntjac deer.

Bathing Goldcrests

Pleased to spot a pair of tiny goldcrests flitting about in the back garden and also bathing in the pond, this morning.

Later on I spotted this pair of goldfinches feasting on the dandelion seed heads.

Spring Flowers

The garden is so alive. It is full of blossom on trees, shrubs, growing in the borders and even in the lawn. This year started with primroses, they have such pretty, pale faces and the most exquisite scent ever, to bury my face in a bunch of these and breathe in their perfume is one of my greatest pleasures. Quickly following were snowdrops, they are such a tiny plant and so delicate looking yet their very stalwartness as they rise up from icy, frosted ground puts me to shame. Oh, that I were that hardy. Pulmonarias with their unusual white spotted green leaves and pretty pink and blue flowers on the same plant have been in bloom for more than two weeks.

Great swathes of pale through to deep pink and white hellibores are delighting us and are still picturesque after many weeks. Hundreds of purple, mauve, yellow and white crocus of all shapes and sizes are also pleasing us. The great joy of crocus is that you plant one corm and in return have several flowers, while over the years new corms grow all around the original one, then you have the wonderful choice of either letting them grow into massive groups or digging the group up, splitting them, then replanting any and everywhere as these eye catching plants seem very happy to grow in any position. They will also seed themselves, thereby adding to their own numbers.

Subtly the garden has changed and we now seem to have a preponderance of yellow when we look out of the window. Low down this is due to the many varieties of narcissus in varying shapes and shades, there are even some with pink trumpets. Swiftly following on is forsythia, once again the shape and shade variable dependent on the variety. Deep lemon yellow tulips are scattered about the bank and the cowslips are out in force, not just yellow, but also orange and deep red.

While the forsythia was still flowering the camelias, magnolias and blossom trees came into bloom, the late narcissus are still putting on a good show and the lawn is of course thickly carpeted by daisies and dandelions.

The days are passing and this morning I was surprised to see from the window blue and violet also, the blue was from bluebells while the honesty supplied the violet. I realised today that forsythia under planted with honesty is a startling and beautiful combination.

The plum, cherry, apples and pear trees are all in blossom. While sitting snugly in all sorts of little holes all over the lawn and garden is the pretty little violet.

I am wondering if this garden is at its best in the spring.

Butterflies, Robin Hatchlings and Shelducks

So many butterflies this morning, many different sized whites, beautiful yellow brimstones, small tortoiseshells, peacocks and both male and female orange tips. I read recently that brimstones feed on buckthorn, I have none in my garden, however the garden is full of brimstones as it has been for twenty seven years, so I guess there must be something here they survive on, I wonder if it is honesty.

I was delighted to see a robin collecting food and carrying it back to his/her nest, these must be the first young birds to hatch this year. I shall enjoy seeing them when they leave the nest and watching their breast redden as they grow.

The field at the end of the garden is still partially flooded and a few days ago I spotted a pair of shelducks on the water, I wonder how long they will stay. The roof ducks are still daily visitors and we are also delighted by a pair of mallards, they drop in to feed and then make haste to leave, because if the male of the roof ducks spots them they are attacked and driven from the garden. it is a shame they are not able to feel at ease here because she is so tiny and a pretty little duck, she is however very timid.

Early April Garden

Pretty cowslips both red and yellow are amassed along shady edges and around the base of a rose, they are taking the place of the primroses which flowered in such abundance and brought such joy.

The early evening was overcast, but at 7:00pm the sun broke through highlighting the still bare branches of the trees opposite with gold. The sky was a strange colour, still  mainly overcast but with strange brown overtones. It was a joy to see the sunlit reflections, I think the sky colour was due to pollution from the Sahara sands which is making its way across to us from Africa and Europe. The news tells us that it is at present overlaying England and Wales.

The spring blossom on the trees makes the garden look amazing, there is so much of it. Camelias, white and pink; Magnolias Susan, Stellata (white), Leonard Messel, Soulangeana, plus of course the spring blossom trees themselves.

There are still hundreds of daffodils in bloom, great patches of primroses, primulas and violets. All around the garden small self seeded primroses are peeping out from under the edges of shrubs. On the bank and tumbling down from it at the back the hyacinths and aubretias make an eye catching display.

In another part of the garden a Clematis has threaded its way through a viburnum hedge and has produced a cascade of pale blue flowers with a cream centre, which stretches across the breadth and falls down the length. It is reminiscent of a waterfall.