Monday 21 April 2014

Bird, wildlife and flower log, 14-20 April 2014

Hello :) well the bank holiday weekend has turned out to be a mix of weather. Sunday felt like a rainy dull day in November for most of it.

The Camellia is going over now, but this is a photo I took a couple of weeks ago when it was looking its best.

Camellia © 2014 Natasha Forder
Last week was a great week for watching the blue tits. A pair is nesting in the roof next door. So while I am washing up I can watch them coming and going. Last week they were back to their usual tricks of steeling the coco fibres from the half wall baskets on the garage. Three years of blue tits nests as well as the blackbird getting in on the act this year is leaving them somewhat worse for wear!

The hole is small where they get in to the roof and if they have too much coco fibre they have trouble getting in. So they sit on the fence post and re-arrange it and then try again!

The thrush has been back this week, adding a bit more competition for the mealworms.

Birds Wildlife and Insects Flowers
Great spotted woodpecker - female Grey squirrels Camellia
Chaffinch - male, female Brimstone yellow butterfly Yellow flowered shrub
Greenfinch - male, female Peacock butterfly Pulmonaria (Lungwort)
Blue tit - adult Large white butterfly Bluebell
Great tit - adult Pond SkaterPrimrose
Coal tit Bee-fly Muscari
Siskin - male, female Bumblebee Forsythia
Robin - adult
Clematis (hardy variety)
Magpie - adult
Viburnum tinus (I think)
Crow - adult
Hellebore (green flower)
Woodpigeon - adult, juvenile
Forget-me-not
Collared dove - adult
Pansy
Nuthatch
Dandelion
Blackbird - male, female
Aubrieta
Goldfinch
Tulip
Dunnock
Viola
Wren
Lilac (white)
Jay

Thrush
Blackcap

Sunday 13 April 2014

Bird, wildlife and flower log, 7-13 April 2014

Hello, firstly an apology as still no photos this week, although I am working on it! Things have really taken off in the garden, there are so many flowers and they look amazing. The garden is full of forget-me-nots which I adore. Hence the names for my other two blogs.

Actually instead of a photo I am sharing a collage scrapbook page, which I created from nine other scrapbook pages of the wildlife in the garden. I created it for a Daisytrail Alpha Word Challenge, the page had to include the word Wildlife. I created the background paper, the template and the alpha myself in Craft Artist.
Wildlife Garden
There won't be such a good display of tulips this year as the squirrels have been nibbling the bulbs. I will need to get some more in the autumn to plant. Talking about squirrels, one got caught tucking into one of the flowers off the camellia bush (it's not the first time I've seen this, they also like the flower buds too.) Of course they don't eat a whole flower or bud, one bite and then off to pick another one! Honestly I don't mind when it is the dandelion leaves, but I do object to the flowers...

After the goings on a couple of weeks back between two pigeons I'm expecting to see a young one or two in the near future! There was a little bit of blue tit interest in one of the nest boxes, but as I've not seen anything recently I guess it must have gone elsewhere :( Although some of the blue tits have been raiding the baskets on the garage again for nesting material, so they can't be too far away.

Unfortunately I saw a female chaffinch with a damaged wing the other week. She could still fly, but not very well and stayed in the garden that day. I've not seen her since but yesterday whilst in the garden I found a dead bird and I think it is a female chaffinch. I just hope it didn't damage itself on the patio doors. The birds often fly into them and this has killed several small birds in the past, which is really sad.

The blackbirds have all been stocking up on the meal worms we put out and then flying off. So I can only assume they have had their first brood. There is a resident Mr Black in the back garden and a different one in the front. So I am looking forward to seeing lots of young ones in the garden soon.

I'm sure that wasn't everything over the last three weeks, but as the post is already quite long I shall leave it at that for now.

Birds Wildlife and Insects Flowers
Great spotted woodpecker - female Grey squirrels Camellia
Chaffinch - male, female Brimstone yellow butterfly Yellow flowered shrub
Greenfinch - male, female Peacock butterfly Pulmonaria (Lungwort)
Blue tit - adult Large white butterfly Heather
Great tit - adult Pond SkatersPrimrose
Coal tit Bee-fly Muscari
Siskin - male, female Bumblebee Forsythia
Robin - adult
Clematis (hardy variety)
Magpie - adult
Viburnum tinus (I think)
Crow - adult
Hellebore (green flower)
Woodpigeon - adult, juvenile
Forget-me-not
Collared dove - adult
Pansy
Nuthatch
Dandelion
Blackbird - male, female
Aubrieta
Goldfinch
Tulip
Dunnock
Viola
Wren
Lilac
Jay
Yellow flowered shrub