June Nature Notes

June 2014

I think I will start using Latin names for the species which will be an aid to help me learn them and as a way to avoid confusion between species.
So far we have not seen many corvids in the garden although there are plenty in the area around us. However they have started to venture more often into the garden now. By 08:40 on the 6th I had seen three jackdaws (Corvus monedula), a rook (Corvus frugilegus)and a jay (Garrulus glandarius). They are very cautious and don't stay long.
This was another month for the sighting of many juvenile birds visiting the feeders usually in the company of at least one parent. Here is a list of some of the sightings;
8th Coal tit (Periparus ater) and great tit (Parus major)
20th Three blackbirds (Turdus merula) on the bird table being fed by the mother. The young could be mistaken for thrushes because they have similar breast patterns.

21st Tree sparrow (Passer montanus) feeding the young with seeds. These were part of a flock of mixed sparrows numbering at least 30. A young starling was seen on the same day being fed with mealworms.
23rd A baby robin (Erithacus rubecula) on the bird table.
We were also treated to the arrival of our first juvenile great spotted woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major). The first sighting was on the 5th. I could see the male parent taking suet to feed a bird on a distant branch. Eventually the juvenile came closer but still kept his distance from the feeders and waited for the parent to bring the food to him. On the 10th a juvenile was feeding alone on the fat balls.

 On the 15th the two juveniles were on the feeders together with a female GSW. One was feeding independently. However by the 18th the two juveniles were fighting each other over access to the fat balls.
One of the juveniles had a narrow escape when a sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) swooped past the feeders. Another bird did not have such luck and was seen spread spreadeagled on the ground, pinned down by the sparrowhawk, whilst it pecked at. I couldn't see what type of bird it was but it seemed to have wide narrow wings like a swift or swallow. After about five minutes it flew off to the chessnut tree with the dead bird. A few minutes later I saw it fly towards the farm with a very limp looking body gripped in one tallon.

The goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) has been absent from the feeders in the numbers that were present in the past but I did shot this one out the living room window.

Mammals

There is a hare (Lepus europaeus) that comes up the farm road to just outside the garden and then walks back down again, he sometimes ventures into the garden if the gate is open. I don't think there has been a time when I have walked down the farm road and not seen at least one hare. On the evening of the 24th I saw seven.
The mouse is out and about under the feeders from time to time.

There is usually no more than one at a time.
Two or three rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are making themselves at home in the garden.

Three squirrels  (Sciurus carolinensis) come to the garden. During the winter the squirrel never bothered the feeders but now likes to take his fill. Perhaps the food he had stored last autumn has ran out and a new source has not come to fruition.

I saw a fox on the farm road. It was late in the evening in the area where many rabbits gather. This was the first sighting of a fox since we came here.
Insects
The damp brings out the slugs and I spotted a fine example of a leopard slug (Limax maximus).

Time to end with a nice pair of tits.

April 2014 Nature Notes

The need for water for the birds to drink and bathe in became more important as the days grew warmer.

Great spotted woodpecker having a drink to wash down all the suet 

Early in the month the GSWs were arriving thick and fast at the bird feeders, sometimes up to four at a time then a lot of chasing and calling would ensue.

There was a lot of birds visiting the garden at the beginning of the month, some of which rarely if ever came into the garden in the winter time such as magpies, crows and even a jay. The jay was chased off from the birch tree by a blackbird.

The blackbirds are the most industrious of birds. They really burn the candle at both ends. Evidence of their productivity was evident when the first of their offspring could be seen begging for food from the male. It was always the male that fed the young.

Feeding time....

....and a drink to follow.

On Sunday 13th at 18:00 a flock of about 12 goldfinches came to feed. They show the usual pecking order of the top two sitting on the niger seed feeder and the others squabbling about the places on the other seed feeder. 

I spotted two bullfinches on the Roman Road. I also noticed a rather large greenfinch which looked old or ill. I though the birds may be getting some sort of disease but he still visits weeks later and still looks the same.

He may look ill  but he has no loss of appetite

There has definitely been a reduction in the number of tits visiting although two long tailed tits have been spotted flitting from feeder to feeder. One of them rather bravely pecked at the GSW which was feeding on the suet block.

On Tuesday 15th I saw the first (rather distant) swallow of the year.

Two yellowhammer females often visit the garden at the same time. However, I have not seen the male as much as of old. I suppose birds are busier at this time of year with mating and rearing young than the single mindedness of feeding that occupies them in the winter.

On Sunday 13th at 09:45 I spotted four buzzards flying over Junk woods.

 I watched gannets diving in the Firth of Forth.

I also caught this thrush singing on a branch near the buckthorn.

By the 25th the U lake had many ducklings, goslings, baby coots and probably some young great crested grebes.

Mammals

The mice were still out and about picking up seed etc at the bird table. Unfortunately so was the larger more unwelcome rodent the rat. I suppose seed always attracts rats.

The last I saw of the cat was a few weeks ago when he was settling down for a sleep in the afternoon sun.

Come back pussy you have some work to do!

Plants

April was a good month for blossom and bluebells.

Cherry in blossom at the U

Blackthorn in blossom near B woods

Bluebells in B wood

How about a nice millipede to end the month on. 

 Polydesmus coriaceus (?)

Nature Notes for January 2014

January 2013

The sparrows were making the most of the spilt seed as a flock of 15 of them hoovered it up.

A male house sparrow

I also had my first sighting of a male chaffinch pecking at the hanging suet block.

Six greenfinches were all jostling for position on a seed feeder. The greenfinches are wonderful sleek looking birds.

A male greenfinch

The GSWs made multiple visits to the garden but there isn't that much difference to tell between the males except that one appears to be more shy / cautious compared to the other. One of them was always turning up at 08:30 every morning. The female still preferring to eat peanuts.

The strangest bird sighting this month was a moorhen perched in a tree beside the garden. I have never seen this before or since.

The hour long bird count showed that the sparrows and great tits were the most numerous. The peanut feeders were the most popular.

Mammals

I spotted a very small mouse coming out from some ivy covered rocks to pick up a seed and dart back under the protection of his rocky home. I had noticed mouse holes in the soil around the base of the feeders but I had never seen any activity. Perhaps he is a harvest mouse. He certainly spent a very busy day harvesting the spilt seed. I also saw a larger mouse in the garage. I put out a line of four sunflower seeds and in the morning they were gone.

However a new cat has been spotted in the vicinity. This is a large feral looking cat but that perhaps comes from very posh stock. He (I say 'He' but it could well be a female, although it would be rather large for a female cat.) has a long crean coloured body and chocolate brown face and tail. A search on the internet makes me think that he is a long haired Siamese (LHS). He hasn't ventured into the garden yet in the day time but the car has shown paw prints on it in the morning.

I have only spotted two roe deer this month but I have seen four hares. Two were in the fields and the other two in Junk woods.

Other sightings

I saw a couple of buzzards and seven partridges on a local walk. The paths and fields are sodden now with all the rain we have been having.

There were a few tree creepers in B woods and the first signs of spring as a few green shoots were poking up through the leaf litter. In the garden the snowdrops are flowering.

Average temperature 6°C

Total rainfall 97mm