Swiftly Gone ....

Three years ago we were regularly seeing 5 or 6 House Martins and a smilar number of Swifts and often on a warm evening a group of 20 diving around over our garden. I have hardly seen any this year, in fact just one loan Swift battling with force 7 winds today. What is happening? Are their Summer nesting sites damaged, disrupted or destroyed? Are they lost to predators or bad weather on route or are their Winter destinations the problem. Who knows? Please let us know, we are missing part of our Summer. It's really sad. :-(

Rain Rain Don't Go Away, Please Keep that Mad Mower Man at Bay

A little rain in showers over the past days. Bumble bees out now and again. Trying to identify them all but they never stick their bums up in the right direction for me to suss out the stripes. Think Bumble Who is a common carder bee, any ideas anyone? Our lawn mower blew up at the weekend and G dug out the tiny flymo from back of the shed. He looked like Mr Bean with a toy mower as not much grass shortening for the effort!  Needless he has bought yet another mower ...we now have 3 and they are probably all useless. At least the bumbles will enjoy more dandelions whilst they are not being mowed.

Watch this for an alternative idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFOcWQ_fks

Feeding Frenzy

The pair of Long Tailed Tits that knocked on our window are nesting somewhere between our garden and the neighbours, possibly in  a conifer. A continual supply of food is being collected. Have noticed that caterpillars are abundant and favourite at present.

Frogs Legs

Had a pond dip today to check out the development of our tadpoles. No legs yet! This might be helpful info for April, who is also looking for frogs legs, just a few miles away!

Bumble Bees

Really hard trying to work out which is which ...they move so fast! Think we have red-tailed and common garden ...with a white bottom. To look closer go to :
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/bombus/key_british_colour.html

Good luck!

Baby Blackbird

The baby blackbirds are getting bigger. Spied this little fluffy one in front garden a few days ago.

Tall Tales

A couple of weeks back we put some manure around shrubs by the back window. Insect life in the manure attracted a pair of long-tailed tits. They scoffed up then one of them head-butted the window...again, and again and again. For days they returned repeating the same ritual! What's occuring? Is the behaviour to do with spotting  the reflection of 'other long-tails' in the window and so starting territorial battles? Are they trying to come into our cosy room for a cuppa? Are they saying 'more manure please'? Are they just yobs? It was amazing to see them up so close and literally ...looking through the window...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GgVEnMgJ5s

When the blinds were shut we knew they'd returned as the tapping caught our attention. Lifting the blind they would just carry on with us a few cenitmetres away!

This tale is for Rhiannon ....hope this makes you laugh and that you are feeling better ...and the song is for your mum .....she is old enough to remember it ...ha! ha!

Life in Mars

Just found these pix.

Harvested over 30 pumpkins last year and kept some in storage over the Winter for lovely soups etc. One variety, Cucurbita maxima Mars F1 did well producing firm, round, organge pumpkins. In February 2011 cut one open ready for the oven but was really surprised to find some germinating seeds inside!       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-wvgmZxbe8&feature=related

It's Raining Men

Hooooray! After weeks of dry ...it is now damp, not wet, we only had a few bucket loads of that H20 stuff. Just walking up to the polling station to put the x in the box about AV and was deafened by the clacking of male blackbirds everywhere. The worms have surfaced and the male BBs are having both a banquet and a territorial sound out! Maybe my pile of hydrated mealworms have caused a population explosion and we will soon be experiencing ' The Birds' ...aaaaagh!

I just can't help this nostalgia disease ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBlbPw7WAqM

Meals on Wheels

Bought a tub of MEALWORMS today. Decided to put them in a tray of water in the front garden (on the ground). Why in water? In the past I'd noticed that mealworms were left on the bird feeding station, perhaps birds prefered nuts or mayby they are too dry, as uninspiring as rice cakes are to me? Anyway, approx 2 hours later ....I'd stayed in to wait for the gas meter engineer and do some work...oh joy ...how I love being in on a sunny day like this.... peeped out at the tray and hey ho! .... all the mealies had gone. I suspect the greedy little blackbird fledglings have had a bit of a scoff and are presently having a siesta in the hedge. We do see them in the front and if we don't hear them we hear rustling.  Next time, I'm gonna hide under that ripped, green, plastic poncho that I bought at the scout shop in Durham some years back (it's OK ...it was intended for festival wear) and jolly well see who is eating the meals on wheels. Good job the front garden is full of bushes!

UK Ladybird Survey

Just received an email from Helen Roy of the UK Ladybird survey ....and the good news is that you can follow the latest about ladybirds with twitter:

http://twitter.com/#!/UKLadybirds

My Little Prince

Frog or toad? If you are stuck on this go to:

http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/default.asp

We have a massive population of Common Frog in the garden. I'm hoping to soon download some footage of the nocturnal activity that went on in early March. In the meantime a few pix of our amphibious friends for scrutiny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDcE4clM42Y

Dread Duck Holiday

Those of you as old as me may well enjoy some nostalgia - play this whilst reading:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGLsAkeRd84

A few weeks back one of the local Mr and Mrs Mallards decided to have a bit of an excursion from the large pond yonder into ours. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm loved them being there, they were really happy in their private pool, but what a mess! Weed pulled up all over, a murky, muddy pool left behind and those poor frogs trying to mate must have been shoved from pillar to post. Action happened. I marched down to shoo them and they said...." I don't like cricket, I love it "  we had a banter for a while.....and then drake flew off followed by a very noisy duck.  Well I did win but then felt rather guilty about it.

They returned a few days later making me turn into a hard-nut again. This time, to prevent any further awkward meetings, I put some netting over the pond. :(

Up, up and away .....

Ladybird Ladybird

Whilst trying to take a pix of a Dunnock fledgling feeding on the lawn ...and succeeding to scare it off..... I noticed a ladybird. Think it is a 2-spot but the spots are a wierd shape so went to find out more....NEXT ....joined in with the national ladybird survey. Why not go and have a look at the ladybirds in your patch? Then tell the survey .....
http://www.ladybird-survey.org/

Once Upon a Time

Not so long ago the weather was quite different. As we bask in the heat of this weird and fabulous April weather I have been organising old photos ready to post. The Winter of 2010 will never be forgotten for many reasons, no less than the beauty of it. Check the Garden Habitats pictures to take you back to colder times. Apologies for not having slideshows but Flickr is not playing ball!

So What's There Then?

Take a look at the 'Garden Habitat' pictures to get a good idea of what this patch has to offer wildlife. It is situated in suburbia in northern England, 1/2 km from farmland and woodland, about 2 miles form the coast. The climate here is remarkable mild, we never seem to get the worst of it. However, like everyone else the Winter of 2010 was gruelling and took it's toll on some of our plants, and no doubt animals as well.

Our front garden is north-facing and the back is south facing. It is bounded by walls, fences, hedges and trees.It is roughly 1/10 acre in size. Approx 120 ft long and 25 ft wide at the back. I applied for a Cheshire Wildlife Award last year and was given Gold status. Had to submit a similar set of photos to provided evidence of wildlife habitats in the garden. It is a great idea and helps you think about what you may want to add to help all those lovely plants and animals out and spreads the word about the Wildlife Trust as Well. Suburban gardens play a major part in providing habitats for wildlife. This country has a rich network of gardens. If everyone made a few changes or additions to their patch the situaltion would be even better for wildlife.