June 2008

Weather This Month

Max Temp =  22.1 deg C               Min Temp =   4.8 deg C           

 Max Wind  25.5 mph              Max Rain in 24 hr Period = 56.9 mm

 Max Rain in 1 hr Period = 16.5 mm          Total Rain For Month = 148.6 mm

Diary

29th.  Little time has been given to the garden as so much seems to stop me bird watching anywhere never mind within the garden at the moment. A couple of good sightings though are of the male and female Bullfinches visiting quite regularly with the continued presence of Lesser Redpoll as well. I have not had a great chance to get any snaps of the young birds within the garden as the weather is so changeable with very heavy rain at regular intervals. Some of the plants have not recovered from the weather with many now losing any shape they once had. I have tied a lot up but some are just past it sadly.

One visitor today took my attention for quite some time as it whipped through next doors garden to take one of the many young Starlings. I noticed this and slowly opened the window to take a few pictures. I am pleased with the results as the light was poor and the distance was over 16m away. I would recommend not viewing these images if you are upset at a birds demise as whilst it is unpleasant for some others are happy to unfold before them....however gruesome.

22nd. A quick break to Northumberland for 4 days has taken us away from the garden to celebrate our anniversary. I shall be updating the Holiday section shortly with a few pics and trip report. I really should concentrate more on this section as I am still well behind on the Lesvos trip.

In the garden on our return it was clear that quite a bit of rain had fallen with heavy winds also contributing to a very sorry and damaged plant count. When the wind subsides I will have a lot of work to do if some of the plants are to survive as a lot of them have been badly torn and wind swept. I wonder what effect this hard wind has had on any nesting birds. Goldfinches in particular are at risk as they seem to prefer nests at the tips of branches. Lets hope not to many casualties.

10th. The weather has been great of late with plenty of sunshine to be had. I carried on the task of tidying the garden which took most of Saturday and Sunday. I have just to give the lawn a trim which always gives the garden a more manicured look.

A great sense of AWwwww has arrived in the garden as a lot of young have descended on the garden. Young Great Tits, Starlings, House Sparrows, Blackbirds and the most recent is the 7 Wrens that decided to use one of the nest pockets attached to the shed as an evening roost where mum was ferrying mealworm to and fro. There heads were popping out with there gapes on show. They are now around the garden as there faint high pitched calls seem to come from any bit of cover the garden gives. The Coal Tits have now shown us this years colours as what seemed like a cloud of young all headed to the Black Elder tree where mum was handing out mealworm........AWwwwww.

Another good bit of news was the brief sighting of our Male Bullfinch that I was concerned about due to a Cats recent interest in the garden. Mandy alerted me to him as we were out on the decking having lunch on the 8th. I have not seen him since but at least he is still here and still remembers where we are.

I came in early from tea tonight to watch a bit of Euro 2008 interspersed with Springwatch  when from the office window I was alerted to a commotion in next doors garden.  A male Sparrowhawk had a young Starling in it's talons on the lawn. It sat on it with a very intense forward glare. The Starling calling all the time whilst the rest of the garden birds made all the calls possible. The odd thing was that not 4 meters away my next door neighbour sat in her recliner chair totally oblivious at all as she carried on with her crossword!! The Sparrowhawk was not comfortable with the close proximity to human presence so in a flash the Starling was free and the Spawk followed it out of the garden, amazing!

I have ordered some Wildflower seeds to fulfil my role as a Guerrilla Gardener as I have spotted a large area where a local housing project has been put on hold. The land has been turned leaving the subsoil on the top with very little in the way of quality topsoil on show...perfect for wildflowers. I hope to take a picture of the area in question before and after as I am praying that the seeds will germinate or this could be an expensive trial. I wonder if I could give the Chelsea flower show a run for it's money?

All this great weather is also hindering my attempts of finishing the Holiday Reports section  of our latest birding hol to Lesvos. I really should try although the call of the garden is a firm winner.....wonder if it is time for a laptop so I can do both?

2nd.  The garden has undergone a mini makeover today as I spent about 5 hours ripping up tired and boring plants, moving some existing plants whilst also adding some of my more preferred species such as Dahlias, Rudbeckias, Anemones and another Viburnum Opulus (Guelder Rose) which is one of the most beautiful shrubs I think mother nature produces. The biggest reason for the uphevel is the cat which is now seen every morning waiting to pounce from under some of the plants which give it good cover for an ambush. I am very concerned as the Bullfinch has not been to the garden for some time now and I just hope the cat has not taken this cherished beauty. Mandy has kindly made a bracket to attach to the pergola which raises the large feeder to about 5 foot off the ground so i hope these measures will lessen the cats chances.

My mealworm provider has let me down with my usual 4Kg supply and the birds are really pestering for these. I have not had any since Saturday so they are becoming a little desperate as this years young are no doubt very vocal about this. One Great Tit, again a female, has become very bold and is now entering the house to tell us that the worms have all gone. She follows me up the garden to the shed where the mealworm are kept and then feeds from my hand. She also joins up for dinner when we are out on the decking looking for her "fix" of mealworms. I have ordered some elsewhere for now so I hope to receive these tomorrow. i wonder if it is the same female as the last couple of years as in these previous years it was also a female that took from the hand although this one is particularly cocky in her behaviour.

The garden has had a new youngster for the year in the form of a Greenfinch which was shepherd by Dad. It's cheeping had the desired effect as Dad regurgitated some food straight away. No young Robins have been seen as yet which is a shame.