Spring has been and gone and summer is well and truly with us but the birds are still being fed in the garden. I listen to the sound of a little coal tit being fed by its parents. We have a large hedge opposite where the birds are feeding. There is a lot of activity in the garden at the moment. The coal tit is interesting as it bears a similarity to a great tit, but there is a white mark on its darker black crown. We have more robins now. I saw a young robin being fed by a parent. It was very young and its feathers were very fluffy. I had recorded no robins at all at the time I submitted our annual RSPB bird report earlier in the Spring though there were lots of dunnocks. The young wrens have flown the nest; it is amazing how such little birds have such a loud song.
There was a pair of green finches here today and the gold finches are back which is very exciting (we had thought they'd gone); along with the coal tits being fed, there was a lot going on. However we have lost the long tailed tits, and the great spotted woodpecker seems to be missing! We usually have chiffchaffs on our patch too! Some people let out their cats first thing in the morning, which may be why some of the nesting birds in our gardens have become scarce. We sometimes have parakeets in the garden but not as many as some other people in the area.
We didn't have the mass of foxes this year. Last year we found them standing by the front garden gate late at night! A big fox still comes into the back garden; it walks along the wall and jumps into the garden from the side. We are overrun by squirrels, which the dog likes to chase but no way can she catch them! We still have quite a challenge trying to stop the squirrels eating the peanuts we feed to the birds. We have bought a squirrel proof nut holder to feed the birds but the squirrels still have great fun eating the fat balls.
The rambling rose is tumbling down the hedge on the one side of the garden and the lilac has just finished. The pear blossom is over now but it seems as if its lovely perfume lingers in the garden. There is a maraschino cherry tree with a very sour fruit much loved by the birds next to the rose.
We have no grass. We tried putting turf down on the "lawn" but a huge tree sucks all the water out of grass. The neighbour next door finds the tree annoying but it's hers not ours! AstroTurf is something that a friend of ours tried and could help but it is expensive and most people don't have that sort of money.
This is proving to be one of the loveliest summers.
There was a pair of green finches here today and the gold finches are back which is very exciting (we had thought they'd gone); along with the coal tits being fed, there was a lot going on. However we have lost the long tailed tits, and the great spotted woodpecker seems to be missing! We usually have chiffchaffs on our patch too! Some people let out their cats first thing in the morning, which may be why some of the nesting birds in our gardens have become scarce. We sometimes have parakeets in the garden but not as many as some other people in the area.
We didn't have the mass of foxes this year. Last year we found them standing by the front garden gate late at night! A big fox still comes into the back garden; it walks along the wall and jumps into the garden from the side. We are overrun by squirrels, which the dog likes to chase but no way can she catch them! We still have quite a challenge trying to stop the squirrels eating the peanuts we feed to the birds. We have bought a squirrel proof nut holder to feed the birds but the squirrels still have great fun eating the fat balls.
The rambling rose is tumbling down the hedge on the one side of the garden and the lilac has just finished. The pear blossom is over now but it seems as if its lovely perfume lingers in the garden. There is a maraschino cherry tree with a very sour fruit much loved by the birds next to the rose.
We have no grass. We tried putting turf down on the "lawn" but a huge tree sucks all the water out of grass. The neighbour next door finds the tree annoying but it's hers not ours! AstroTurf is something that a friend of ours tried and could help but it is expensive and most people don't have that sort of money.
This is proving to be one of the loveliest summers.
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