January 2008

Weather Stats This Month

Max Temp =  10.9 deg C               Min Temp =   -0.8 C            

 Max Wind  25.9 mph              Max Rain in 24 hr Period = 55.9 mm

 Max Rain in 1 hr Period = 12.9 mm          Total Rain For Month = 404.5 mm

Diary

 Happy New Year  

31st.  The weather is still firmly the main topic in the garden as the it has now turned very windy coupled with ice,snow and hailstone. To add to the extremes as I crossed the road to work in the morning it also threw thunder and lighning at us. The forecast is for snow Friday night but I have my doubts as to whether and significant falls will materialise....although I hope I am wrong. We can sometimes think we are coming out of the grip of winter as the days start to lengthen but February is by far the coldest month of the year so we might just be getting a good dose of cold yet to come. I do like the cold as long as it is accompanied by clear skies or snow, not rain. Not much to report in the garden as I get little chance to watch it whilst the daylight is still short.

We will see what February will hold, I just hope I get what I like but I think it unlikely.

27th,  At last the weather has been less of an issue and has allowed me to plant some plants in the garden, make some nestboxes, pick up some framed Lars Jonsson..my favourite artist and yes get time to watch a small lodge in Barrow Nr Clitheroe in Lancashire for a lovely bird that goes by the name Slavonian Grebe. This normally coastal bird was as proud to be in Barrow as we were to see it in it's finest winter plumage so I took the opportunity to take a few photos. What I shall not mention is the fact that I forgot a SD memory card so I was restricted to the on board camera memory!!! My plan was to also visit another sight for Great Grey Shrike but the weather was dull and other matters stopped this so i hope that I will get the chance before it disappears.

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch was also undertaken with a real poor showing been the result but I guess it's all about what is happening around the country and not just the garden. Here are the results from the Wild Rossendale entry!

Blackbird x 10

Chaffinch x 2

Blue Tit x 2

Wren x 2

Robin x 2

Dunnock x 2

Goldfinch x 12

Grey Wagtail x 1

23rd. The rain continues as a total of 358.4mm has now been recorded with yet another record being set in the process. The record set in the garden for the most rain in a single hour which was attained on the 10th of Jan 08 at 55.9mm. This has now been broken again on the 22nd Jan 08 at 01:59 with 57.4mm falling in the 24 hr period. The rivers have been an awesome sight locally it was a shame I did not take my camera to work to capture a few images as it was an impressive force to witness.

If people are interested the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is taking place on the 26-27th of Jan so if you are interested in helping the RSPB with a very enjoyable hour of bird watching in your garden please click HERE. I shall be posting my results on the site either Saturday of Sunday.

I have been approached for advice on a wildlife site being developed at a local school and have been asked to take a look at the proposals. I think it is great to see schools involved in this kind of project as a lot of the younger ones are, in my opinion, quite interested. I think sometimes a common misconseption is that youngsters are only interested in game consols. Given the right conditions I would challenge anyone not to be interested in mother nature. Steve the landscape developer is already an accomplished gardner so I hope to offer an extra dimension with nestboxes and feeders. I need the weather to dry up though as I need to assemble the boxes quite soon as the ideal time to get them up is shortly upon us.

20th.  The weather continues it's depression with the mentioned redord of amount of rain falling in a month absolutely smashed! The most recorded for a single month is 242mm in Jan 07 but his had now been eclipsed by the toatl so far of 288mm. This really is an amazing amount of rain which has now become a serious annoyance in terms of my need to see the sun a little at this time of year. I realise that this does not compare to those with flooding homes in parts of the country but it does get me down as over 15mm has fallen on average every single day this month. It has stopped my photography oppertunities and has also affected the garden and no doubt I would imagine this constant rain has taken it's toll on some birds particularly Owls that can easily become water logged. I am so desperate to see a bit of sun I have placed a weekly count on the calender to when are holiday abroad to Lesvos will be! 

Looking to  more positive things I was able to get out on the 19th to have a look at some local Bramblings that were hanging around in a park. Mandy took her camera in the hope of some pictures but again the light was poor and hampered this. We did see them and there was at least 30+ individuals but they did stay high up in the trees. We managed a couple of "record" shots" but quality is poor.

The other bright things are the continued appearance of up to 5 Siskin and the Grey Wagtail which has started to visit less and less which I wonder is a sign that he is now looking around for this years mate. I also saw a female Great Spotted Woodpecker high up in the poplar trees  in Jubilee walk at the side of the garden but sadly she did not visit the garden. I was also cheered to hear my first Song Thrush of the year in song on the 16th. I was posting a letter on my way to work in Stacksteads at 07:20 in the pitch black when I heard him going full throttle. I was also happy to hear a Song Thrush singing early morning on the 19th from just outside the garden. I guess I will just have to hope this rain subsides for the much thought of Spring.

13th.  The Wild in Wild Rossendale is very apt at the moment as the weather is taking centre stage with record amounts of rain being seen.  As you can see form the data above we have had a lot of rain so far with two of my personal records in the garden being broken since I first started keeping records of the weather within the garden back in September 2006. The first record amount was recorded on the 10th Jan 08 at 01:07 as 12.9mm of rain fell in a single 1 hour period (prevoious record was 12.4mm January 07.)  The other was again rainfall and was set on the 10th Jan 08 at 16:59 with a record of 55.9mm of rain falling in a single 24hr period (previous record was 44.5mm in December 2006.) It will beinteresting to see if the total amount of rain for a single month of rain due to these high rainfall amounts. The record amount to fall in a single month is 242mm in December 07 so if this carries on we will easily beat that total.

I did venture into the garden yesterday to do some clearing up of old vegatation and the rain totals have made the lawn area very "boggy" indeed. My new site for the compost heap is great as it has made room for more planting areas and the new rebuilt frame has now allowed a larger capacity whilst remaining very functional as I have added a sliding plate to it's face so that I can now take "ready" compost from the bottom of the heap. The pond is now easy to see with the clear up and I noticed we have a couple of Frogs still bathing in the pond. It reminded me that spring is not far away now and that it will be interesting to see how many Frogs the pond will hold this year. On my clear up I noticed the odd plant poking through the lawn which I think is Daffodils so I shall have to watch my step when filling one of the feeders.

A signal of my first real glint of spring was noted today as the gem of Whitworth finally began to sing. The Mistle Thrush has normally been heard by now but whilst it may be late it was still a welcome note as I left the office window open for an hour as he sang his repetitive song hidden in high trees.

I had ordered a few new plants for the coming season which are mainly for the new log/soil heap which is now in place of the old compost heap. I use Naturescape a lot for my plants as they are very effiecient and well worth the cost.

Primrose - wild - plant 10 

Cowslip - plant 3

Cuckoo flower - plant 5

Iris - gladwyn - plant 1

Purslane - pink - plant 2

Sorrel - wood - plant 1

Yellow archangel - plant 1

Chicory - plant - 1

A lot of these plants are well suited to shady areas so this shall be good as the placement of these is tight up against a fence where sun is minimal. I am now not sure where to put the Chicory plant but I just felt the need for another as the flower is just gorgeous. I have also ordered some other plants from Jparker with a few special offers being taken advantage of.

6th. A mixed bag of weather has emerged for the new year with snow,rain and sun all showing it's face although I would rather have the snow at the moment. The Blackbirds and Goldfinch are the main visitors at the moment with upto 25 Goldfinch and 9-10 Blackbirds. The Siskins are now coming to the feeders more often and the numbers have now grown to 3 males. There are larger flocks around the area but only these 3 are feeding regularly. I hope this number increases over the next 2-3 months.

The bird song has now begun with Dunnocks, Blackbirds,Wrens, Great Tits and Robins all singing. Strangely I have normally heard the Mistle Thrush song well before now but whilst he has already attracted a mate he has not stretched his vocal chords. Today a third Mistle Thrush turned up in the tall Poplars at the side of the garden but he was soon chased off. The Blue Tit has become very interested in the only box without a camera in with many visits and entry being see. he did for a short time visit one of the boxes on the side of the house with a camera on this morning but he soon departed back to his usual nestbox. I keep checking all three boxes for overnight roosters but non have been used sadly. I hope this year a box with a camera will be used as it is fascinating to watch. We will keep our fingers crossed.