Springwatch survey

I 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.

www.naturescalendar@woodlandtrust.org.uk

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.

Pasta-eating vixen

What? I haven't posted since December? I don't believe it! It's now April, Springing is springing in all its glory and there seem to be more birds in the garden than ever before. Pride of place has to go to the nightingales. For the very first time, we heard one in the garden during the last week in March. A couple of nights later, there were two. I thought it was a pair and I emailed the RSPB, to be told something I never knew, that only the male birds sing. So what I heard was two male nightingales, either calling for mates or trying to win the territory. It was thrilling to hear them.

We also had rather a cute black backed gull who came down a few times to see what food was on offer. He took rather a liking to a piece of chicken. But isn't bird eating bird cannibalism?

It's good to hear a song thrush warbling away for the first time in a couple of years. I haven't managed to get a picture yet.

We have obviously lost 'our' vixen, but there's a new one on the scene and she's lactating. I can't wait to see her cubs. Here is a video of her eating spaghetti off the lawn.

Bags of birds

The first bit of news is that the goldfinches are back in our garden. We hadn't seen any all year and guessed that our next door neighbour must have been providing a superior quality of niger seed. But two days ago, I looked out and was thrilled to see one on the feeder. Welcome back!

We have sparrows galore, apart from last Sunday when there weren't any around at all and the feeder stayed well stocked all day. We think that perhaps they were all scared of being hunted for dinner by this fine specimen, a female sparrowhawk who sits in a neighbour's tree and every so often makes a low dive over the hedge to try and snatch an unwary sparrow or blue tit. Here she is, sitting on top of the hedge that you can see in the background of the goldfinch photo. What a magnificent bird.

We're also very lucky to have a jay family in the garden. I have hung up a new peanut feeder about twenty feet from the window, and my zoom lens has captured several half decent shots. This one, showing mum, dad and junior, was taken from at least sixty feet away, down by the apple trees. 

The lower photo shows the colours in a more natural light.

Now that the peanuts are closer to the kitchen window, we get frequent sightings of the great spotted woodpecker, another magnificent garden bird. This female is much more adept at hanging from the feeder than the rather clumsy jay is.

But for sheer agility and amusing cuteness, nothing beats the ring necked parakeet...

... though this pigeon had a jolly good try.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! 

A fine fox

Now that 'our' vixen is no longer around, we haven't got to know the current set of foxes individually yet, but this fine, thick-furred specimen is a frequent visitor. It's a male, I think, perhaps one of our friendly vixen's last lot of cubs.

Incidentally, noisy foxes woke me up four times the night before last, screaming and yipping outside the window. I think it's getting near the mating season.

The Magpie and the Rat

Last night, Charlie, our big ginger cat, killed a rat and kindly left it on the kitchen floor for us to find at breakfast time. (Thanks, Charlie. All contributions to the larder are most welcome. Now, would you prefer it fried or fricassee'd?)

My partner threw the stiff rodent into the garden. Twenty minutes or so later, a magpie descended, gave the rat a few mighty stabs with its beak - you'd have thought it was a green woodpecker raiding an ants' nest, the way it attacked it - then hauled it into some long grass. It then started picking up leaves and laying them over the rat, to disguise it and keep it for later, I suppose.

I never knew magpies stockpiled food. I didn't think they would eat a rat corpse. The way it stabbed it makes me wonder if magpies ever stalk and kill live rodents. Has anyone else witnessed this type of magpie behaviour before?

Jay family

The other day, I was lucky enough to see three jays all feeding from the peanut feeder. From the way they got on with each other, I feel sure they were parents and offspring.

Albino sparrows

I haven't added anything to my wildlife blog for a while for one simple reason: nothing particularly interesting has been happening in the garden. Until a few weeks ago, that is.

"What on earth's that?" I asked my boyfriend, having spotted an unusual-looking bird on the feeder.

Whipping out the binoculars (as one does), I saw it was a sparrow with white feathers on its tail. And it's not alone. There seem to be three semi albino sparrows, with differing amounts of white on their plumage. Here's one I managed to photograph yesterday.