March

31st.  The Waxwings have returned several times today so far. I have managed to get some better shots as the weather has turned in my favour with a good bit of light available. I have used my digiscoping equipment for these shots and considering that the Waxwings are a good 200' away and I am taking the pics through a pane of glass I am quite happy with the results. As I write this at 13:45 the Waxwings are not present but I am hopeful that I will get more oppertunity to take some more pics.

30th. At 19:00 the Waxwings returned to the poplars and once again I was not ready with my digiscoping gear that should allow me to get much better pictures even at the distance of 200'. I have replaced the bottom image with one I took tonight. I have taken a day off from work tomorrow so fingers crossed that they return!

29th.  A huge sighting for the diary in the form of 4 beautiful winter visitors ....Waxwings! I noted them sat in Poplars with a few Starlings at 17:30. They were about 200' away from my home garden which is a real cracker to be spotted. I managed a few photos but considering the distance away I hope you will excuse the quality. The actual outline of the bird gives it away. I have included a pic with a Starling in the same frame as a comparison as they are quite similar in flight in particular. I have seen Waxwings before in several places in the UK inc Rawtenstall in Rossendale (8 miles away)so seeing them on my own door step is a great feeling.

The raised crest on the Waxwing is a noticable feature here. Note the bill difference also.

They will be soon heading back to their breeding grounds in Scandinavia

26th.  Two dates of importance are with us today. Mothering Sunday and the start of BST. I had forgotten about the latter until my wife reminded me about this. Light night are here to stay with the sun not setting until 19:30 but we lose a little light early mornings as the sun now rises at 06:55. Isually like to get up a little earlier than 06:45 so that I can watch the birds in a more relaxed state due to the lack of disturbance but I will gladly give this up for the extension of light at the end of the day.

A milestone was noted last night as I looked through my binoculars and telescope at the pond. One Frog appeared to be sat motionless croaking. I have never had any frogs appear "naturally" in the pond in the 3 years it has been there. I have rescued two adult Frogs in the past (one from a cat) and put them in the pond last summer. I also around this time last year placed some spawn in the pond. The spawn did well with hundreds of taddies emerging and becoming good Blackbird food. Plenty of young frogs were found around the pond late summer so I hope this will bode well for the future. No spawn has been noted this year as only one adult frog was about. The other 2 that I saw were much smaller so are probably not ready for mating just yet. I am going to place my outdoor roaving camera near to the pond for a little while to see if I can spot and more activity.

More good news as the one Hog has now become 3. They are all regular feeders within the garden and all have quickly sussed out where the food is placed for them. I try to keep little areas along the boundary of the garden open by digging under the fencing here and there. It is a constant battle as neighbours seek to fill in the holes! I am beggining to understand how Steve McQueen felt in the great escape as I quietly find new tunnels to dig.

The Grey Wag is still visiting and looks in peek condition after loosing his winter feathers. My wife picked up a bright white tail feather from him and it is intereting to note the worn edges to the outer edges of the feather. The Siskins are winning the award for the most vocal as they continue to entice and consolidate thier relationships with one another. No more nestbox visits by the Great Tits have been noted ......I fear I may not be able to see any nesting in the garden this year.

I bought a new plant from a local nursery yersterday. A holly ( J.C. Van Tol) which is self fertile and is a good cropper of bright red berries. I have no place for it yet but I will find a spot if it means more of the lawn being eaten away.

19th. The temperature today has been the highest of the year so far. The maximum was 7.2 degrees with a low of 2.1 deg. The sun briefly shone between 07:00 and 09:30 this  morning, but sadly disappeared for the rest of the day behind thick cloud.

Bird activity has been high in numbers but few in species. Goldfinch, Starling, Blackbird, Dunnock and Siskin have given a good account of themselves, whilst Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Collared Dove and Magpie have all been thin on the ground. Good news though, the Song Thrush has become quite a regular visitor. I am now quite sure that the Robins are in the process of building a nest elsewhere as the usaul pair that I had high hopes for in my garden have been disappearing with mealworm to a neighbours garden. Better news on the Great Tits as the visits have continued from about 09:00 this morning. The usual happened with the Male enticing the female into the box but once inside he makes a sharp exit to leave the female checking out the possible new maternity ward.

The hedgehog has stuck to his routine of early evening visits at around 19:00. I watched his progress as he began to wander around upon where he stopped and drank from the garden pond for what seemed like ages. Once he has been fed and watered he makes a dash for the opening in the fencing and away he goes with only one more thing on his mind.....probably a good job they are nocturnal! 

16th. A quick update to the diary to mention a new year visitor. A hedgehog has broken it's winter slumber and returned to it's usual feeding spot in the garden. I had my suspicions that the hedghogs had returned as I was sure that Hog droppings were around the garden pond. I started to put food out and on the 15th the Hog was spotted at about 23:00. As I write this at 19:00 the Hog is already out and tucking in to some crushed peanuts and ready made Hog food. Up to now only one has been noted but as the weather begins to warm up so will the numbers....hopefully.

12th. The snow is falling as a write this at 10:00. The temp has not yet got above zero and is residing at - 2.4 deg. The forecast is for the snow to continue today with the possibility of up to 4 inches!!! Hurraahhhh!! I hope the prediction of the 4 inches is correct as I long to  see some reasonable snow coverage.

 A  picture of the snow fall so far. Keep it coming as I dream of not having to go to work due to the heavy snow.

It is taking some time and effort to keep the snow off the food on the ground as the snow seems to cover it in no time.

ADDITION  Fantastic....... at 11:00 today as I looked out into the garden a group of Fieldfares numbering 60 decided to sit in a Sycamore that sits over my garden. They made their "chack chack chack " calls as I hoped they would come down to feed on the sultanas, Ivy and Pyracantha berries. My hopes were dashed as next doors visiters decided to make a snow man at the same time. They flew off with much noise but I will be waiting and hoping for a return visit.

6th. I have now installed the DVR inside the computer. I can say that I had imense trouble which led to an extra large financial outlay as my computer failed to boot and had to be sent away for repair.

It all seems ok now and the DVR is working a treat. The software that I use can now display all of the 4 cameras I have. The cameras are in A Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin box and  one is a camera which I use all around the garden and is wireless  The real bonus is the ability to record the cameras footage  straight to my hard drive as I can set the software to detect motion within the picture. It is very clever as I can also set the software to detect motion in set places within the frame of the image. This system now saves me recording to a traditional video which often lead to 6 hours of no action footage.

Todaywas the first day where I tested the system as I had to go to work for the day. I set the system running at 07:00 and stopped it at 17:00. On checking the footage I could see that between 11:30 - 11:40 a pair of Great Tits visited several times. As usual the Male enters the box and seemingly entices the female in with a quivering song interspersed with sharp monosyllabic calls. When the female is suitable enticed she enters the box which then always signals the exit of the Male Great Tit. The female, after several turns and cursory looks, sets about her "dance". The dance consists of lowering her body to the bottom of the box, opening both wings and then scooting her chest along the floor with wings vibrating fast. This behaviour is a positive action as this seems to signify that she is happy with the decor but justs wants to check if the internal dimensions are suitable for a nest of chicks. This "dance" is also used later on to push the nest material into position making the cup visible.

The weather has been very cold which led to snow on the 3rd of March. The temps dipped down to - 7.5 deg on the 3rd and - 8.5 deg on the 4th. This has caused quite a bit of activity around the feeding station. A Song Thrush has noe begun taking sultanas from the garden along with up to 9 Blackbirds and two Mistle Thrushes. As I write tonight ( 20:00) the temp is down to - 1 degree. If the forecast is to be believed rain and warmer temps are expected in the next few days although my digital barometer is saying sunshine for the next 12 - 24 hours.....we will see.!