First Blackbird Nestlings

Watched a blackbird collecting worms and flying them into a bush, this seems early to me.

Wild Life Other Than Birds Visiting the Garden

Yesterday I listed the birds sharing our garden with us, today I shall list wildlife other than birds. Down the lane from us, a new housing estate is being built. Previously this land belonged to a drug company and has been a wildlife refuge for as long as we have lived here, now twenty seven years. I shall be interested to see what effect this has on our wildlife.

Wildlife other than birds visiting our garden:-

Short tailed field voles
Bank voles
Shrews
Field mice
Squirrels
Fox
Badger
Muntjac Deer
Bats
Big fat white tailed bumble bees bumping against the patio doors
Brimstone
Multi-spotted Ladybirds

What a beautiful fox

Interestingly I have not yet seen any frogs or toads yet this year. Hedgehogs have not been apparent in the garden or lane for a few years now. Until a few years ago they were much in evidence in both the garden and the lane. Similarly along the bank on the northern side of the garden we used to see a lot of glow worms in the evening, however there is no sign of these either.

Birds visiting or flying over the Garden

It has been a long while since my last blog post, however, I am thankfully now able to continue. Although I have missed putting posts up, I have often made notes. I will start again today and gradually fill in the missed ones.

Today's post is a very special one not only because it is the first for a long time, but also because spring is here - the garden is full of blossom on the trees and the ground is covered in flowers. Birds to the feeding stations, in the garden and flying over seem endless as a result I thought this a good opportunity to list them and take note of any missing species.

Birds visiting or flying over the garden:-

Cormorant--------flying over
Canada Geese----flying over
Blackbirds -------collecting nesting material and feeding
Blackcaps --------collecting nesting material and feeding
Bullfinches ------feeding
Chaffinches -----feeding
Collared Doves  feeding
Crows ------------feeding
Dunnocks --------trios flirting and feeding
Ducks:-
  Pair of Mallards -on pond, feeding and nesting
Finches:-
  Bull -------------feeding
  Gold ------------feeding
  Green -----------feeding
Goldcrests -------on bushes and feeding
Gulls -------------feeding on the lawn
Heron ------------flying over
Jackdaws --------feeding
Jays ---------------feeding
Kestrel -----------taking smaller birds
Magpies ---------collecting nesting material and feedings
Moorhens -------feeding and on ponds

A moorhen in an unusual pose.

Nuthatches ------feeding
Owls:-
  Tawny-----------heard at night
  Barn -------------heard very occasionally
Partridge, red legged  feeding
Pigeons ----------feeding and collecting nesting material
Pheasants --------feeding
Red Kite ---------once, flying over
Reedbuntings ---feeding
Robins -----------feeding and nesting
Sparrowhawk ---taking smaller birds
Starlings ---------feeding ------ much reduced in number
Swans:-
  Mute-------------flying over
Terns -------------feeding on the lawn
Thrushes:-
  Fieldfare --------feeding on lawn --- reduced in number
  Mistle -----------collecting nesting material and feeding
  Song -------------collecting nesting material and feeding
  Redwings -------feeding on lawn ----reduced in number
Tits:-
  Blue --------------collecting nesting material and feeding
  Coal --------------feeding
  Great -------------collecting nesting material and feeding
  Long Tailed -----collecting nesting material and feeding
Treecreepers ------feeding from cracks in trunk of silver birch tree
Wagtails:-
  Pied --------------on lawn, collecting nesting material (hair trimmings)
Woodpeckers:-
  Great Spotted ---on tree trunks
  Green ------------eating ants from lawns
  Lesser Spotted --on tree trunks
Wrens ------------- feeding all over garden

So far this year we have neither seen or heard any of the following birds, although it may as yet be a little early for some. Sparrows, kingfishers, yellowhammers, grey and yellow wagtails, redpolls, siskins, brambling, marsh or willow tits, spotted flycatchers, whitethroats, little owls, cuckoos, woodcocks, red legged partridges, swallows, swifts, martins, chiffchaffs and willow warblers.

Nesting Long Tailed Tits

Just watched a pair of long tailed tits collecting moss and cobwebs for their nest.

Spring Flowers

The garden is beautiful, everywhere is full of spring flowers, flowering shrubs and wildlife. Pheasants are looking resplendent when the sun catches their feathers, the squirrels are very lively and the moorhens now have to share the pond with the roof ducks who returned today.

So far I have seen blackbirds, mistle and songthrushes, robins, bluetits and long tailed tits collecting nesting material. Goldcrests, goldfinches, starlings, jackdaws, crows, gulls and wrens are all over the garden, plus of course No-Tail the Pigeon and his partner who live in the garden and keep it clear of any other pigeons.

A jay, a pigeon and a mallard sitting happily closeby.

Shrubs in flower are camelias, pink budded, white flowered viburnum, sweetly scented mid-pink viburnum bodnantense, which has been flowering for several weeks already.

The Garrya Elliptica is absolutely splendid this year, as is the hazel, the catkins on both are probably the best we have ever seen. Many dozen hellibores in varying shades from white though many shades of pink, there are also pretty green ones, there are hundreds of crocus, snowdrops, beautiful pink and blue pulmonarias, bright yellow aconites, daffodils, primroses and primulas.

I love the fact that one plant will flower every year and with each year will produce more and more flowers and very often seed and give more plants.

Spring truly is a beautiful season.

Brimstone Butterfly

A large yellow butterfly --- a Brimstone, has been fluttering prettily around and about the garden for most of the morning. These are delightful creatures and each spring when they return I am so pleased to watch them.

It is the male that is bright yellow, the female is a pale yellow almost white. I am reminded of the orange tip butterfly, the female of this species is white and I wonder how often they are disposed of by gardeners who believe them to be cabbage whites. I recently spoke with an elderly gentleman weeding his vegetable patch and he told me, he killed all white butterflies believing them all to be bad. as we spoke he pointed out an orange tip butterfly and I was able to tell him the females of this butterfly were white. He was quite shocked to think how many he had killed over the years.

Brimstones feed on the nectar of bluebells, which are plentiful in the garden.

Amongst other flowers they feed on the nectar from dandelions, primroses, cowslips and bluebells, fortunately we have all of these in abundance in the garden. The eggs are laid on the leaves of the buckthorn, they are pale green at first, changing to yellow and then grey as the larva develops.

One to two weeks later as a caterpillar it feasts on buckthorn leaves, from this stage it pupates, this time becoming a pupa, fascinatingly it looks like a curled leaf. Two weeks later the beautiful Brimstone butterfly emerges.

Of course spring flowers have now disappeared, but there are other flowers taking their place including beautiful Buddleias (Buddlejahs), these blooms are much loved by many butterflies, bees and other insects. They are also a welcome flower for us having a delightful perfume and very attractive flowers.

Interestingly these butterflies stay with us throughout the winter, hibernating, often in dense ivy and appearing once the warmer spring weather comes.