tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40999333527310448472024-02-18T20:47:44.949-08:00Hillingdon WildlifeFrom sparrows to sparrowhawks, stag beetles to muntjac stags, Hillingdon and Uxbridge boast a huge variety of wildlife. This blog contains my own observations and I welcome any input from other nature lovers.hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.comBlogger370125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-32080223394182076302023-05-07T07:55:00.001-07:002023-05-07T07:55:24.729-07:00The earliest Hillingdon swifts yet!<p> I saw my first swifts on May 2nd. I heard my first on the 3rd. Today is the 7th and the sky is full of the joyful sound of shrieking swifts. Summer is definitely on its way.</p><p>It's a blue sky, puffy white clouds afternoon, following a drab grey morning, and a pair of red kites is soaring high, too far for my rather feeble camera to photograph. I just spotted a red damsel fly on the pond netting and earlier, saw a pair mating in midair. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRYCjwONlrwmZm8YlI6tlgpOwfoQJ538AIFzC3MHZSNWkLoDuoG3ErVAnKuxq98lqVwoqyZm4vLh_Kdw08OUZmUmEFb9ouCU8GckmErIP_sXslGZrtfTT0CfmSCnufbJiUBjguZ12PRaOsSvZKPFRRB7v-0nL6yzENiMEMEflseDzggjFqKfAwUCk/s1718/damsel%20crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="1718" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRYCjwONlrwmZm8YlI6tlgpOwfoQJ538AIFzC3MHZSNWkLoDuoG3ErVAnKuxq98lqVwoqyZm4vLh_Kdw08OUZmUmEFb9ouCU8GckmErIP_sXslGZrtfTT0CfmSCnufbJiUBjguZ12PRaOsSvZKPFRRB7v-0nL6yzENiMEMEflseDzggjFqKfAwUCk/s320/damsel%20crop.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-90991686311203370312022-05-15T05:50:00.001-07:002022-05-15T05:50:29.969-07:00Our first badger<p>We have never had badgers in the garden before, but I was alerted by a neighbour from two doors away, who had caught sight of one on her garden camera. So we checked ours, and lo and behold, there was the rear end of a badger! By the time we'd perused the whole batch of photos, we found we had caught a blurry shot of the badger's face, proving beyond doubt that the hairy bottom did indeed belong to a badger, but we also spotted our first hedgehog since last summer. I am now worried because I had been told that badgers will kill and eat hedgehogs. I wonder if that's why we have seen so few over the last couple of years when we once had whole hedgehog families visiting the garden?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRF6uNkCbeIh0MPB_TWZ0kpKk-A43oQ9Tpf5Dm82YvsxrAQQUCm8UZs4OJeyVwtKuIXJSdEGVDzeVaUZ8MqhAZ4evJuXcrOzvX9aDNhTNQQb0hDqTO2E3p4GD6KYKbViSzwrQhsMVuL2yYEB6UYkE4ungv5vGGAwAOFMD-jQ8mApT_CK9HA3Zbi_oH/s2592/badger.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRF6uNkCbeIh0MPB_TWZ0kpKk-A43oQ9Tpf5Dm82YvsxrAQQUCm8UZs4OJeyVwtKuIXJSdEGVDzeVaUZ8MqhAZ4evJuXcrOzvX9aDNhTNQQb0hDqTO2E3p4GD6KYKbViSzwrQhsMVuL2yYEB6UYkE4ungv5vGGAwAOFMD-jQ8mApT_CK9HA3Zbi_oH/s320/badger.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WRlWoQdN5bJHZc8Fw6ihM_jwh_7cpnW66C4CnisHE80WlQtcYeDlQ0L62GY4kqW0FP5RuLn8jCqpDM8n8UZ-28_2qZxgerlaxTpwMyyG0jqEzsGb5eUM657G0QCf7OVfL_FS3Mk0CVEda-rf_Gm6x8mOtdy5Bv88RzX-am0Ep4U7qO9DvkHP9hq3/s2592/badger%20face.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WRlWoQdN5bJHZc8Fw6ihM_jwh_7cpnW66C4CnisHE80WlQtcYeDlQ0L62GY4kqW0FP5RuLn8jCqpDM8n8UZ-28_2qZxgerlaxTpwMyyG0jqEzsGb5eUM657G0QCf7OVfL_FS3Mk0CVEda-rf_Gm6x8mOtdy5Bv88RzX-am0Ep4U7qO9DvkHP9hq3/s320/badger%20face.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT24483wUzu2mBZwVTd3YlsHT55KaO9kZ0RLDueXPHQGbXRGJRsJGYa54maNznspKYsxnrSddOEDIaFu44Gsy1dIh9T8fInBclvAvLTwEZ5Idn0HqIXVSqf4kZkhbxI2FjtoB-ucQQxl0c3iFKURPLm0H82TWtjPpBoWEbhH4-GyH4ya19UWXr0HL3/s2592/hedgie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT24483wUzu2mBZwVTd3YlsHT55KaO9kZ0RLDueXPHQGbXRGJRsJGYa54maNznspKYsxnrSddOEDIaFu44Gsy1dIh9T8fInBclvAvLTwEZ5Idn0HqIXVSqf4kZkhbxI2FjtoB-ucQQxl0c3iFKURPLm0H82TWtjPpBoWEbhH4-GyH4ya19UWXr0HL3/w320-h240/hedgie.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-65201895845139806952022-05-13T03:30:00.002-07:002022-05-13T03:30:31.620-07:00Swifts are back<p> I heard a shrieking in the air, looked up and saw a swirling group of swifts and knew our local group had arrived. After conversing with each other, they then flew off in different directions, and probably won't meet up again till August, when they gather to fly back to sunnier climes. Last year they arrived on May 9th. This year it was May 11th. I heard from Edward Mayer of Swift Conservation - https://www.swift-conservation.org/ - that they had been held up by bad weather and strong winds en route. </p><p><br /></p><p>If I didn't live in a bungalow, I would love to erect a swift nesting box. Maybe next year, if I move... </p>hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-15220980220932020302021-05-09T09:12:00.001-07:002021-05-09T09:12:19.818-07:00They're back!<p> I was out on my daily walk when I heard a familiar sound that I hadn't heard for many months and looking up, I saw swifts! The sight made me feel so happy that I just stood on the pavement with a silly grin on my face. </p><p><span> It's a cloudy, breezy day today and it did cross my mind that, as the weather in the South-East has been so awful lately with heavy showers and gales and temperatures way below the norm for May, they might delay their arrival, but they're bang on target. </span><br /></p><p><span><span> I just hope that, with clearer skies due to the lack of flights, and fewer humans milling around, the insect life might have recovered over the lockdown periods. I shall keep my fingers crossed and hope the swifts will have a good feeding and breeding season in the UK in 2021. </span><br /></span></p>hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-46676056179912044262019-07-09T07:20:00.000-07:002019-07-09T07:20:06.995-07:00A swirl of swiftsFollowing a disappointing start where the swifts were late arriving and there only seemed to be two of them, there were at least 50 high in the sky over the fields and gardens late yesterday afternoon.<br />
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And today, when I walked down the street, there were about ten swifts flying low, darting between the houses, circling and passing me at shoulder height, so I could see every feather and look into their eyes and boy, they are much bigger close up than the tiny eyebrow-shaped arcs you see in the sky! It was a magical experience.<br />
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I felt privileged to be so close to these speedy, beautiful and increasingly rare birds.hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-31383504342510526422019-05-13T05:51:00.001-07:002019-05-13T05:53:26.429-07:00The swifts have arrived - hooray!I had been getting very worried, especially as the red kites are swooping majestically over our local patch in ever increasing numbers. The latest the swifts have arrived since I have been logging them has been May 11th. But I have just spotted two today, the 13th and my spirits have lifted. It's wonderful to have them back.hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-60020250411786638872019-05-11T02:39:00.001-07:002019-05-11T07:14:50.685-07:00Swifts 2019 - none yet!It's now May 11th and I have not seen a single swift. The weather has been showery and blustery and the temperature is low for the time of year. Could this have put them off arriving? I shall keep my eyes glued to the skies in order to note the first local viewing. A friend in West Hampstead got 'his' swifts back a few days ago. As there is plenty of countryside round here on the Western fringes of London, I should have thought they would be here by now.<br />
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I apologise for the dearth of posts. Quite honestly, I have been so depressed about the dwindling numbers of the local wildlife that I haven't felt like putting finger to keyboard. But... we do have hedgehogs. Two of them, in fact. I hope to see the numbers increase.<br />
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Sparrow numbers are definitely down. I have planted bird pockets, e.g. mini nests that you can buy from many wild bird seed websites, in the privet hedge - what's left of it. New neighbours on both sides have torn down their side of the hedging and replaced it with fences. They have also cut down all the beautiful trees, thus robbing the birds of nesting sites and cover. The outlook from the back of our house looks far less verdant than it used to.<br />
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In previous years, I have seen a lot of peacock butterflies, sometimes as early as March. This year, the score is 1 so far. A couple of blues, one orange tip, and that's it.<br />
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We are visited by a limping vixen who scouts around the garden in broad daylight, no doubt trying to feed hungry cubs that are stashed in a den amongst the oak trees in the field beyond our garden. At least we have made sure that wildlife can get in and out via the bottom of the garden - or The Wild Bottom, as I call it! I promise to write some Tales from the Wild Bottom this year!hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-28303155464270927852018-05-30T08:31:00.001-07:002018-05-30T08:31:40.519-07:00The perfect plant to keep bees happyI have a mauve Erisymum. Two years ago it was a tiny twig and just look at it now! It has bloomed throughout the winter and is a magnet for butterflies and bees. I actually counted seven different types of bumble bee on it, including a coal black species which I still haven't been able to identify, plus the honey-bee.<br />
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And as for butterflies, I have seen commas, peacocks, cabbage whites, painted ladies and orange-tips adorning its blossoms. Every garden should have one!<br />
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<br />hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-26083899611101932342018-05-11T04:08:00.001-07:002019-05-11T02:29:26.433-07:00SWIFT ARRIVAL!I was away for a couple of days and as I was plodding up the street with my bags, I heard a welcome screeching above my head. They are back - the acrobats of the sky, bringing summer with them.hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-76210764520071052422017-05-04T03:18:00.001-07:002017-05-04T03:18:17.797-07:00First swift of 2017I happened to glance up at just the right time yesterday lunchtime, and saw a swift flying over the house. Usually they arrive in this area between 7-9 May so this one was a bit early. I hope the rest of the group that nest locally won't be far behind - and I hope their nesting sites will still be there and not destroyed due to house renovation or new building.hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-10517790547323477612016-07-03T10:35:00.001-07:002016-07-03T10:44:19.352-07:00Young blackbird or young song thrush?It's often difficult to identify a fledgling because they can look so very different from the adult bird. Take starlings, for instance. The adults have dark plumage which gleams purple and blue when the light catches it, and they are covered with speckles. The adolescent birds, on the other hand, are pale and look more like thrushes.<br />
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You can see the spots quite clearly, and the bluish tinge on the breast of the adult bird on the second left of the picture.<br />
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This youngster, above, is a pale buff and its speckles are only just starting to show. With its chestnut wings, it looks like a different species altogether.<br />
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We are all familiar with the blackbird, the male with its egg-yolk-yellow beak and the browner female. When I saw this chestnut brown bird on the lawn, I thought it was a song thrush at first. Then I saw the dark flight feathers coming through on its tail and realised it was a young blackbird, though, with its speckly breast, it does resemble a suntanned thrush! What a handsome bird.<br />
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And here is its dad, who I have just this minute spotted on the lawn and managed to grab this shot before he flew off into next door's apple tree.<br />
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<br />hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-30456209834220527952016-05-18T11:51:00.001-07:002016-05-18T11:51:24.263-07:00The chiffchaff and other boring birds!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have heard a chiffchaff in the garden for the first time in 19 years. No prizes for guessing how it got its name. It's completely onomatopoeic: all it says is 'chiff-chaff' over and over again. It certainly wouldn't be top of the garden birdsong charts.<br />
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The great tit has an equally boring song. My name for it is 'the creaky gate bird' because it sounds exactly like a gate with squeaky hinges swinging in the breeze.<br />
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My mother's least favourite bird, as far as voices are concerned, was the collared dove. She cursed the woman from three doors down who had a bird table and encouraged the doves, which then sat in the surrounding trees, making their three-note booming call.<br />
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Unlike Mum, I find their song quite interesting. In fact, there was one that I christened 'Bastard Bird' because it sounded as if it was shouting, "You bastard!" over and over again. And that's the thing about collared doves; they do go on... and on... and on. They must bore themselves to sleep!<br />
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From time to time, various bird organisations ask us to pick our favourite songbird. The nightingale, song thrush, blackbird and robin are often mentioned but I have never seen the wren featured on the lists. I don't know why, because it has an amazing song. Piping, piercing, melodic, and syncopated with a regular <i>chirring</i> sound. And then there is the sweet piping of the goldfinch, like someone plinking on a faery xylophone.<br />
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It's about time someone launched a competition to find Britain's Most Boring Bird! I'd vote for the chiffchaff. Sorry, mate!<br />
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<br />hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-21880343109839182962016-05-07T02:36:00.001-07:002016-05-07T02:36:43.600-07:00We have swifts!The swifts are back. I noticed a group of five yesterday, wheeling and screaming over Marlborough Road in Hillingdon - always a good place to spot them.<br />
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I don't know why they like this particular area but my partner tells me that there used to be an old farm there, before they built the council houses, so swifts have probably been nesting there for centuries.What a shame that planners didn't realise this, and build swift nesting places into the roofs of the houses.<br />
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I have seen swifts flying into what must be a ventilation space in the loft of one of the houses. Who knows, perhaps a barn that was a good swift home used to stand on that very spot.hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-16258676801146946042016-03-23T05:32:00.003-07:002016-03-23T05:32:47.607-07:00Bug BoxWe've bought a bug box. There was a bit of a disagreement about where it should be put. "At ground level," I said, 'so that things can crawl in."<br />
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"At eye-level," said my partner, "so things can fly in."<br />
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He won. It's now on the wall of his workshop, beside the window. And he had the last word, too, with, "Anyway, the crawling ones can crawl up the wall and get in that way."<br />
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We shall see. Nothing has taken up residence yet but I will report on the first arrivals.<br />
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<br />hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-12143818379082970952016-03-18T05:56:00.001-07:002016-03-18T05:56:38.203-07:00Kite v CrowOnce, the sight of a red kite above our streets was a rare occurrence. Now we see them on an almost daily basis and this morning there were three!<br />
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Yesterday, I witnessed a crow mobbing two kites, trying to drive them away. One kite took the hint and flew off but the other was determined not to be deterred and the two of them wheeled and tumbled through the sky, the kite trying to shake off the pursuing crow. In the end the crow triumphed and flew back to its perch on the biggest oak tree, from which it cawed and... well, crowed! It was if it was proclaiming, "Aren't I the brave, clever boy!"<br />
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These photos aren't very good as the birds were way up in the sky, but they give some idea of the crow's tenacity and persistence.<br />
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<br />hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-24684467871050646712015-11-17T09:14:00.000-08:002015-11-17T09:14:03.309-08:00Blue tit population explosion!Blue tits have been popping out all over the place! In the last few days, I have seen far greater numbers on the feeders than I've seen all year and I'm wondering if, due to the mild weather, late broods have been raised. They seem to be everywhere, mobbing each other to get onto the peanuts, queuing up at the suet ball feeder.<br />
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Last year, there seemed to be fewer than in previous years, so it's great to see their numbers increasing again.<br />
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<br />hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-17758636941577197252015-10-31T12:29:00.003-07:002015-10-31T12:29:51.380-07:00Great Spotted WoodpeckerI took this photo from a good 60 ft away and was rather pleased that the woodpecker was visible when I zoomed in! He just about polished off all the peanuts, as you can see!<div>
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hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-16314422836598515332015-09-01T11:56:00.000-07:002015-09-01T12:33:39.987-07:00Small White should be called Small Yellow! It really has been a miserable year for our butterflies and moths. I thought this was a Brimstone when I saw it in the distance, but now I realise it's a Small White as they have pale yellow undersides to their wings.<br />
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<br />hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-25877531264650544402015-08-20T06:17:00.001-07:002015-08-20T06:17:56.375-07:00Parrot-proof!As if squirrels weren't bad enough, with their ability to break their way into bird feeders to gorge on the contents, parakeets are even worse. Their agility and strong claws enable them to approach the feeders from any angle and direction and they then use their razor-sharp bills to hack their way through plastic and wire to get at the tempting peanuts.<br />
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This bird feeder had lasted for three years and had outwitted the squirrels, but it was no match for the pesky parakeets. Just look at the havoc their beaks wreaked on the wire at the bottom. And, being such large birds, they set the feeder swinging so that peanuts tumbled out to the delight of squirrels and pigeons waiting below.<br />
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Expensive feeder No 2 lasted even less time. The parakeets simply bit away the plastic that was meant to deter larger birds, leaving gaping holes and gobbled the nuts to their hearts' content.<br />
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I went on line and looked at various designs and finally plumped for this one from the RSPB, perfectly perforated to allow access to the smallest beaks only.<br />
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I hung it on the tree. A parakeet arrived. It tried it this way...<br />
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It tried it that way...<br />
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... and finally it gave up altogether!<br />
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Since that day a week ago, not one squirrel or parakeet has tried getting the nuts, BUT... there have been some attempts at sabotage. I keep seeing puzzled blue tits perched on the tree gazing longingly at the feeder and when I go out to see what's wrong, I find the two metal screw-in perches lying in the grass below. Something is responsible - squirrel or parakeet? - but so far I have failed to spot the culprit. Who is your money on?<br />
<br />hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-55849304467361215112015-06-24T08:15:00.000-07:002015-06-24T08:15:15.500-07:00Goldfinch trioIt's been months since I last saw a goldfinch in the garden. I was kicking myself for foolishly investing a big bag of niger seed, their favourite food. The seed in the feeder is very stale. It must have been there for at least three months.<br />
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About twenty minutes ago, I heard a goldfinch singing its beautiful, liquid, babbling-brook of a song. Moments later, I happened to glance at the old feeder and this is what I saw.<br />
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I reckon its mum, dad and a youngster who is waiting his turn. I shall now rush out and put some fresh seed in the feeder.hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-16050508601691333052015-06-20T03:46:00.003-07:002015-06-20T04:35:27.193-07:00Jackdaws and ghostly hawksSomething was cawing loudly from next door's apple tree, its outraged din no doubt aimed at Charlie the ginger cat, who was sitting right next to the bread I had just thrown onto the lawn. I thought it was a crow but when it flew off, it was making a kind of chuckling, grunting noise to itself that I have certainly never heard a crow make.<br />
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Now, I realise it was a jackdaw. I have been hearing their <i>chack-chacks</i> in the distance for some months now and the sound whisks me back into the past, first to Bangor, North Wales, where I studied for my English degree. Jackdaws nested in the clock-tower - the very same one to which I, and another daring, drunken soul climbed one day to string up some men's underpants that we had snatched in a raid on the men's hall of residence, in revenge for their bra-nicking raid on one of the women's halls. I used to sit on the steep slope of College Park, listening to the jackdaws chattering away, their sounds more soft-edged and musical than the harsh cries of the crows and rooks.<br />
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The second place I am transported to is St Agnes in Cornwall, where the tall trees near a dear-departed friend's garden housed a family group of jackdaws. I would sit by their pond on a drowsy day, being lulled by the soft, chuckling 'chacks'.<br />
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So I am very pleased that jackdaws have moved into the neighbourhood. They appear to have displaced the crows that once nested in the oak trees in the field beyond our garden.<br />
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I'm also delighted to spot a song thrush in the garden. It's been at least six years since I last saw one. I heard it first, singing away at dusk, its song mingling with those of the blackbird and nightingale, but when I saw it running across the lawn, its feet drumming on the grass to bring up the worms, I was thrilled. The thrush was my mother's favourite bird. She got one so tame that she would hand-feed it and it would hop through our kitchen door and stand on the red York stone tiles, its head on one side, making a soft <i>preeping</i> sound and waiting for a hand-out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyj3pOw49UFwDtDmdEb09FJKqZIpO2WxdOvtu4MqkD1IGtyHJv6r4f9QhuL9GQ1PfPaxlSjzQJ-sYwp3RuxxkP0y7AOxZMiYZk9pLf0q_rNQ9RzORRfX33Yt3M-63g3MHqrJbUn8eYhC8/s1600/thrush+bench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyj3pOw49UFwDtDmdEb09FJKqZIpO2WxdOvtu4MqkD1IGtyHJv6r4f9QhuL9GQ1PfPaxlSjzQJ-sYwp3RuxxkP0y7AOxZMiYZk9pLf0q_rNQ9RzORRfX33Yt3M-63g3MHqrJbUn8eYhC8/s320/thrush+bench.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I don't think we dare risk taming this one. Not with Charlie about. He is a mighty mouser, but I'd hate him to develop a taste for bird, too. Mind you, my mother trained our huge silver tabby, Cloudy, to hunt mice but ignore birds. She was the best cat-whisperer I've ever known. By praising him whenever he caught a mouse and delivering a telling-off and a light tap on the nose when he went after a bird, he soon got the idea and would sit meekly on the lawn, like a furry statue, whilst the sparrows fluttered and cheeped all around him.<br />
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A odd post-script: soon after my mother died, while my sister was on the phone to the vicar, making funeral arrangements, I happened to look out of Mum's bedroom window and there on the fence was the biggest thrust I had ever seen, with a wonderful speckly breast. It turned its head and gave me an unwavering look from a golden eye. I shivered. I just knew it was Mum, come back to say hello to her grieving daughters. I yelled downstairs to my sister to look out of the window. She shouted back crossly: "I can't, I'm on the phone."<br />
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It was a good ten minutes before she ended the conversation. Then she stomped upstairs to ask what I was going on about. "There!" I said, pointing to the bird that was still sitting on the fence.<br />
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"Wow!" she said. "It's some kind of hawk."<br />
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Indeed it was. It gave us both a long, long look, then slowly and majestically flew off across the garden. We both knew that something weird and strange and wonderful had happened. The hawk was the Ancient Egyptians' messenger from the other side. What normal bird, especially a large bird of prey, would have sat on a garden fence in suburban Liverpool all that time, just waiting until it gathered both of us together? We both felt a sense of truth in the knowledge that it was, indeed, if not Mum herself in spirit form, a messenger from her to tell us she was okay. It wasn't a sparrowhawk; the colouring was wrong. It might have been a kestrel. I don't think we'll ever know.hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-9913747908307691302015-05-18T03:40:00.002-07:002015-05-18T03:40:41.161-07:00Midnight cubI came into the kitchen just after midnight this morning and noticed that the outside security light was on. I went to the window and saw a fox cub playing with a stick on the decking at the back of the fish pond. A big, fine, healthy-looking cub. I reached for the camera but the flash bounced off the window glass and I couldn't take a photo. I hope next time I see him or her, it will be in daylight!<br />
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I really miss the old days, when the semi tame vixen we named Olive used to bring each year's clutch of cubs to meet us. She would come on a recce first, to see if anyone was in the kitchen, then sit proudly in the centre of the lawn while her cubs played around her. We miss her greatly but, you never know, one of her descendants may yet carry her human-friendly genes and we might get foxy muzzles pressed against the patio doors once again, noting every mouthful we eat, until we open the door and share our food.hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-54620750188884495102015-05-09T13:15:00.004-07:002015-05-09T13:15:26.613-07:00The swifts are back!Bang in the middle of that ten day window, the swifts are back. I was standing at the bus stop when movement caught my eye and there were three of them, their graceful curved shapes swooping over the rooftops. Wonderful.hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-63430059816746648002015-05-04T11:42:00.000-07:002015-05-04T11:42:02.751-07:00Swifts expected!I have started scanning the skies every time I go out, to see if the swifts have arrived yet. Last year, I saw a large group in the sky on 5th May, wheeling and shrieking and eventually splitting up to fly off in all directions. So... any day now!<br />
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A couple of pairs nest in the roof of a house down our street. They are council houses and I noticed yesterday that some have been given new roofs. I hope neither of the nesting sites have been destroyed. I shall cross my fingers until I see those familiar crescent shapes screeching over my head and hurtling acrobatically between the houses. I find that sound they make really exciting. It gives me goose bumps.<br />
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I noted last year that they seem to arrive here any time between May 5th and 15th, giving a ten day window. I suppose that it it's grey, wet and windy, they will stay in balmier climes for a bit longer. Roll on the sunshine!hydrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17050622432144268086noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4099933352731044847.post-42443366258426974852015-04-25T12:32:00.002-07:002015-04-25T12:32:47.104-07:00Springwatch surveyI don't know if you are aware, but the Springwatch TV series have got together with the Woodland Trust to encourage people to fill in a survey noting the dates when they first saw certain birds, butterflies and budding trees. You can find it here, if you'd like to take part.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: 'Segoe UI', 'Segoe UI Web Regular', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Helvetica Neue', 'BBAlpha Sans', 'S60 Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0799999237061px; line-height: 19.9935989379883px; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="mailto:www.naturescalendar@woodlandtrust.org.uk">www.naturescalendar@woodlandtrust.org.uk</a></span><br />
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So far this year, I've seen a Comma, a Small White, lots of Holly Blues and this slightly tatty Peacock, fresh out of hibernation and sunning itself on a garden chair.<br />
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