October 08'

Weather This Month

Max Temp =  16.4 deg C                 Min Temp = - 2.6 deg C

Max Wind=   23.9 mph              Max Rain in 24 hr Period = 57.4 mm

Max Rain in 1 hr Period = 11.3 mm          Total Rain For Month =  291.6 mm

Diary

30th.  Another month passes by and we move into Autumn proper as I enjoy the colour that Autumn brings. This is definitely one of the best so far as the dry and cold weather has allowed the leaves to be strewn around the garden as they are crispy and dry. I even noted somebody kicking the leaves around on the roadside the other day. The dry weather and clear skies had the temperature tumbling on the 29th at 5 in the morning to a low of - 2.6 deg. It made for defrosting of the car tedious but it really is a pleasure with the lovely feel of Autumn present in all it's glory.

This continued drop in temps (already it has dropped to 2.4 deg C tonight at 19:30) has resulted in Blackbirds visiting at first light and with quite a few all queuing to sample a few mealworm and sultanas I throw out on the lawn. The cold temperatures have most birds making the early visit for food a priority as before I go to work I have watched 1 x Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 x Jays, 3 Great Tits, 7 x Blackbirds amongst others all tucking in before real daylight arrives. I like this time of year and I am hoping the dry weather continues into the weekend which will allow me to do a few jobs in the garden, one of which is quite urgent as the Dahlias now need attention after the fist frost abruptly ended their blooms.

27th.  A day off today due to a gas meter change in prospect along with a possible delivery of a new wireless router as I finally look at the advantages of a laptop which will allow me to work in the garden whilst updating the site. Best laid plans are always threatened and these plans are already crumbling as I received a call at 12:00 from United Utilities telling me that the engineer would not be able to make it (is engineer the most overused descriptive term?) as he has rung in ill. The router is not here as yet (13:30) but I hope it does turn up.

I was up early in anticipation of seeing more migration over the garden as the winds had changed direction to a more WNW and a high pressure ridge was pushing in from the West so I was hoping the birds would be having a high pressure that would push them into setting off. Having set the clocks back it meant getting up early to see first light but as I watched the clearing skies it was clear that migration was not on the agenda, sadly! I watched the garden as the light started to increase where the first visitors were Blackbirds shortly followed by Goldfinch and a Robin. The Blackbirds are nearly all young Male and Female birds and I wonder how many of these birds, which turned up together and also follow each other around the neighbourhood gardens, are migrants. The Woodpecker is still visiting the fat cakes and the Grey Wagtail is now in winter mode as he visits alone on every occasion whilst searching for mealworm.

The Hedgehog has not been seen for a couple of weeks so I hope that he is tucked up nice and snug in his winter slumber. The hogs have been replaced by Grey Squirrel which are eating my feeder ports at an alarming rate. Today our single squirrel turned up with a mate and so battle commenced for peanuts! This battle was watched by two Jays that take the peanuts whilst the Squirrels are burying the nuts or pitched in battle with one another.

More birds have been seen showing signs of disease including a Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Greenfinch with the tell tale signs of puffed up, food around mouth, reluctance to fly when you approach and often in later stages of illness, tucking head away under wing during the day. Th weather forecast says very cold blasts are to hit us as from tonight so I am hoping that the bugs will be eradicated as the temps fall.

19th. The month seems to be going very quickly and the arrival of the first real numbers of winter Thrushes is under way around the Country. A few days ago 6000 Redwings were counted on the East coast along with lesser numbers of Fieldfare and sure enough, as I had hoped the Thrushes carried on inland with me seeing some on the 17th. I got up early on Saturday morning and kept my eyes to the skies. I am lucky enough to have quite a large open expanse of sky to watch without much in the way of obstacle as the garden is situated in a valley which is 800 feet above sea level, so often as they come over the hills around me they are quite easy to spot. Sure enough at about 07:30 with light winds and lovely clear skies the first two parties of Redwing pass over with each party consisting of about 60 birds. It carried on with smaller flocks and then single birds heading in different directions. After this at about 08:20 a few Fieldfare flew over with an odd single bird following. Smaller parties of the Fieldfare were still seen as I had to leave for work at 08:40.

I kept a hopeful eye on the sky this morning but it was a waste of time as heavy fog made visibility impossible. Later on in the morning when the skies cleared a party of about 20 Fieldfare flew up and along Cowm reservoir hillside before sliding out of view. The wind has picked up as I write this at 10:30 but the sky is mixed with cloud and the odd break where a little blue pokes through. I shall keep an eye out as I do like to see these birds in flight...here's hoping for a flyover Pink foot Skein to!

12th. A gorgeous day today with the temperature of 16.4C being the hottest recorded in Oct for three years. It did feel really quite nice as I sat in the pergola thinking that I really should be doing some tidying up in the garden but the excitement of studying the birds of Goa won out for a long period of time. I did eventually get round to a touch of preparation for the Autumn as the table,chairs and parasol were put under cover for the year. I put some bark chippings down in places and added a large amount to the log pile.  I also planted a few new plants which are

1) Helleborus orientalis 'Black Beauty'

2) Helleborus orientalis Mixed (Lenten Rose)

3) Anemone x hybrida 'Honorine Jobert' (Japanese Anemone)

I have also taken some cuttings for a neighbour of various colours from the Buddleias around the garden. I gave the lawn it's final cut of 2008 and put the mower in it's winter store.

I am already thinking of next years tasks within the garden as I look to move the Hemp Agrimony, Purple Loosestrife and the meadowsweet which I shall be moving to the back of the far borders to allow more flowers to be seen nearer to the house. I am also hoping the moving of these will allow the Apple tree some extra room whilst allowing me to support the moved plants better. It seems to early to be talking about next year I know but now that I have seen the first Christmas adverts on the TV I think it is only right!

5th. Not much chance to get into the garden of late as yet again the rain has been taking centre stage. Already a 104.6mm of rain has fallen with much of this falling last night (4th) with a total of 57.4mm drenching the garden in one 24hr period. Today the weather is supposed to be quite reasonable with no rain...yes no rain! set to fall.

The Hedgehog is still visiting in the late evenings where he mops up dried mealworm which I scatter on the lawn. The now, male Great Spotted Woodpecker, is still visiting the fat cake hung up on the pergola but the garden has been plagued with up to 11 Collared Doves and 4 Woodpigeons which is wreaking havoc with the amount of food that is being consumed. The Squirrel has been destroying the feeding ports of the feeders so I am at present having to replace these with metal. Funny really as this is the first time a Squirrel has been so destructive.

Another reminder if you are feeding the birds to clean your feeders regularly at this time of year as even though I have been cleaning mine I have so far had one Greenfinch and one Goldfinch showing advanced stages of disease. If you get the chance please read this HERE