MAY

22nd.  Just a short note to record a bird that sadly only visits on the rare occasion. This House Sparrow came to have a nosey at what the Starlings were feeding on, then after not being taken with sultanas hopped around the garden and then dissapeared. They never seem to stick around considering how much and diverse the food available is. I presume it may well be looking for food for it's young and decided the seeds were not up to the mark, sadly!

21st.  The rain continues to fall at quite a rate which left the pond as full as I have ever seen it. The temperatures are remaining low with a temp of 8.5 deg at 11:30 this morning. Sadly for the most things in the garden this trend of very wet and cool weather is set to continue for at least another 5 days or so. A lot of the plants have come into flower at the moment, but due to the conditions they have suffered considerably due to the rain and wind damaging a lot of the flower heads and stems. The clemtis is well into flowering which seems to be wasted on these very grey days at the moment.

The mealworm consumption is hard to keep up with at the moment as Tits,Grey Wag, Blackbirds, Starlings, Robins, Dunnocks and Wrens all tuck in to the easy meal option. The sultana count is also rising as mainly the Starlings take them away to feed thier young.

Afew images have been caught around the garden by Mandy or myself. Very few insects are about so the larger species have mainly been the focus.

The Lily beetles are doing what comes natural as the common Frog chills out in the pond

As the image of the beetles were taken a sharp "(sreaming) could be heard from the beetle if you touched them. It was, for such a small critter, a loud noise and one I had not noticed before. The image of the Frog is evidence of the only adult Frog in the pond. I presume this is the Frog I placed in the pond 18 months back. It was rescued from the clutches of a cat and transported to the garden pond. There are other frogs (11 counted) but they are much smaller and are most likely from last years frog spawn which we took from a tractor track that was drying up locally.

The Wood Pigeon enjoys a few fleeting rays of sun, enough to allow a little nap while the Blackbird sings his flute like song as another day ends.

The First of the Juvenile Starlings sits begging with his usual strong vacal outburts.

The Male Greay Wagtail is now taking food away with him so it looks as though we may have the privledge of seeing some young Grey Wags in the garden, something which has not occured before. The female has not been seen so I guess she is still sat on her young incubating and keeping those that may have hatched warm and dry.

18th.  A few more notes for the diary as the growing plants really get a grip in the garden. May is always by far the greenest month of the year  particularly as the sometimes heavy showers and warm sunshine combine for good growth conditions. The Clematis ( Montana Elizabeth) which was planted about 3 years ago, is a mass of flower buds which started opening on the 16th. It grows well over the pergola which extends to about 20'. A honeysuckle also grows along the same structure but is later flowering. The red campion has made several apperarances around the garden but sadly it has already been damaged by the strong winds and rain of the last few days.

Last year I decided to let the garden do a little more growing without much in the way of pruning. I think this is going to be a good decision as the Pyracanthas in particular look like they will be a mass of flowers as I watch the flower bud count increase in number and size on all three plants. The Black elder also has plenty of emerging flower buds so I am hoping for a bumper berry crop and also hoping for a good selection of insects etc.

The Bird Cherry tree I planted 3 years ago has been a success this year as this was the first year it had a number of flowers on it. The flowers have now gone but it will be interesting to watch the fruits develop to see which birds ( if any) like the fruits.

More young birds have come to the garden with a Juvenile Starling been seen on the 17th, the same date as last year. The 2 young Blackbirds are still seen around the garden with a few Robin young joining the feeding sessions. The Blue and Great Tits are still feeding their young with the mealworm with at least 2 pr of each birds taking food. The box in the garden is still seeing the Blue Tits going in and out so incubation is still underway.

15th.  Sadly I have lost all my work on this page during May for some unexplained reason. I will try to add some of the lost images as and when time premits.

The weather has now turned from it's sunny warm state to a wet cool affair that is probably most welcome in regards to the water levels and plants. The weather is set to continue in this vain all week. The max temps of last week seem long gaone as more familiar 12 - 13 deg return. The positives are that the newly planted plants will be well bedded in and the water butt that I use to keep the pond topped up will be replenished.

The Tawny Owl returned but met his match with a Rat that has been in the Garden for a few nights. It pounced on the Rat three times only for the Rat to carry on regardeless. This state of affairs probably means that we have a young Tawny visiting as I would imagine an adult would make short work of the Rat.

The Blue and Great Tits are now feeding thier young as more and more mealworm is being ferried out of the garden to the respective nestboxes. Thye Blue Tit box in the garden is in use with Blue Tits but all is fairly quiet which suggests the female is incubating her eggs.

Young Robins and Blackbirds are now regulars in the garden with the Male Blackbird feeding his two young within a meter of the table I sit outside with. He has become quite at ease with me as it now recognises that I am provider of food. It follows me up to the shed and waits while I throw some mealworm on the lawn and then after it eats some his self, packs his beak with more and feeds his ever increasing call of the young.

Lost Images from the 14th May and before are all below

The Linnets have returned to breed locally somewhere.

The Tawny has taken to the Frogs in the pond

Eyes Fixed as the Owl goes for an easy meal

The Blue Tit as he sits in a box to recuperate

The Blue Tit recovers from a window strike and soon carries on his daily feeding