August '09

Weather This Month

Max Temp = 22.9°C                 Min Temp =  8.7°C

Max Wind=   19 mph              Max Rain in 24 hr Period = 17 mm

Max Rain in 1 hr Period =  5.1 mm          Total Rain For Month = 116.4mm

Diary

31st.  A rescue of a Starling has brought about the close to another month. I heard the sound of a bird hitting a pane of glass and as I looked out into the garden from the office window I saw the the culprit of the accident...a young Sparrowhawk had come tearing through the garden. Before long Mandy was calling out as a bird was laid out on the decking. Sure enough it was lay there upside down with beak wide open and panting extremely heavily. It was not really moving and at first sight I thought broken jaw at the very least. My usual ploy is to bring the bird inside and place it in a cardboard box in a very quiet and dark room. I leave them for about 3/4 to 1 hr and then check how they are doing. Looking at this bird I thought it was not going to be any use even though all other casualties like this had been successful. On checking the young Starling after about and hour I was amazed to see that it was sat up in the box, beak closed and seemingly very alert. I popped the box outside when a few other Starlings were feeding in the garden and although he took his time he soon hopped onto the rim of the box, sat looking around and flew to the fence about 2 meters away. I watched him as his levels of alertness increased and the usual heavy amounts of bird poo were expelled due to the trauma. He sat for 10mins before he finally plucked up the courage to fly to some conifers 60' away which he did without problem. I wished him good luck.

The rain continues...it's depressing I can tell you with a new total for the month being noted with 17mm falling in 24hrs last night at 23:00. What I would not give for an Indian summer....

30th. I will stay away from the weather as as usual it is just poor....sooo.....I thought I might share a few words that I thought summed up those who are touched by nature and those, as Simon Barnes recently put it, who as yet do not know they are to be touched by nature.

"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity ... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself." - William Blake

A common thing at this time of year seems to be the noting of Greenfinch that succumb to disease. Up to now I have witnessed 3 such individuals showing signs of disease that leaves them puffed up and basically unable to feed. They often sit near food or water with eyes closed or under their wing. If you notice this kind of behaviour I would suggest reading this article and consider acting as it really can be a very contagious disease that is fatal to finches.

27th.  Our cat Ferly has now been allowed back out into the wild after her incarceration from about April time where she becomes a house cat. She does not seem bothered about it now at all and just goes out now and again although the first night out was hectic as she made full use of the cat flap! The "hunting" cat, of a neighbour, that seems to replace Ferly in the garden when she is kept in has already had a run in with Ferly which has resulted in us not seeing it in the garden over the last few days.

Birdlife in the garden is very much up and down at the moment with busy spells followed by a quiet ones. The real stand out is bird song....from the Robin. This signals the end of breeding season as the song is a precursor to his hopes to hold on to this territory as his. Some say his song is a sadder, slower song but I wonder if that is just something within us and our reluctance to accept the fast approaching Autumn.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker is still with us and just like last years youngster this new visitor is turning out to be a male as once again the red cap is diminishing with a red neck patch appearing. Let's hope he too sticks around for the winter. The female Bullfinch fed early this morning but It looks like her mate must have slept in as he did not show. The lesser Redpolls are still quite regular but these last two species mentioned often disappear very shortly, most likely they head farther South (staying often in the UK) to warmer climbs and where food is more plentiful, and who could blame them!

25th. We have visited the British Bird Watching Fair over the last 5 days and as usual we spent a fortune on various items including clothes, books and accessories. We had a fantastic time with lot's of time taken to meet up with friends. We met quite a lot of new people as the talk on Lesvos attracted people which were eager to discuss findings and of their longing to return in the near future. I always take the fair as a good opportunity to flaunt the website a little bit with most always glad of websites that put information up on trips abroad. We stayed at a B&B this year for the first time and the lady that ran it spoilt us rotten....if you are reading this Ann, thank you very much. If you would like to read about Rutand water and the Birdfair then just click on the corresponding names for more info. In the meantime a few pictures of yet again a great (and I hear record) Birdfair.

            Mandy interviewed for Radio 4                                     This years mural was a special Rutland Birds