Just Chilling Out.

After all the miles trudged this week I decided to spend a quiet day just chilling out in the garden and surprisingly there was very little noise from either the local traffic or any of the neighbours ......

 .... just the gentle sound of water droplets.

 Most of the small specie Tulips are well past their best but here are some of the delights that are dotted 

 around the garden providing that important early spring colour.

Now it is the turn of the Alliums as the stems rise up high and their sheaths slowly unfurl to present their spherical balls of blue, purple and mauve hues. Over the years I have been trying to remove the non-native Spanish Bluebell (Hyacinthiodes hispanica) but it continues to reappear and at least provides an addition to the blue palette at this time of year.

The Lilac that provides a hiding place for the Blue Tits before entering the nest box will soon produce a lovely fragrance as the clusters of blooms begin to open.

Even the avian activity today was fairly downbeat ... the House Sparrows hid from view most of the time; Parakeets made a late afternoon visit but refrained from gorging themselves on the recently stocked feeders; Greenfinch and Great Tit were close by with Woodpigeon, Collared Dove and Magpie but everything went deathly silent as a Sparrowhawk slowly drifted over at rooftop level. I recently refurbished an open nest box and today I noticed that there was a lining of moss and leaves so possibly the Blackbird who has been skulking in the border is starting to build for his partner ... only time will tell.

Blue Tit Nesting Update: I checked the box today and the female is sitting but I didn't disturb her to see what the egg situation might be. The male has been flying in and out at irregular intervals to feed her so all is well at the moment.     

Wishing Everyone a Happy Easter.    FAB.

Garden Update.

The recent spell of sunshine has had a dramatic effect on the garden plants with many flowers opening much early than expected.

In the main border (quite small in actual fact) Brunnera 'Jack Frost' continues to send up its dainty blue heads above the mass of architectural leaves and the Cammasia's have just started to open their blue stars while in a pot on the patio a rescued Exochorda 'The Bride' is performing the best I have ever seen it.

 Large hybrid Tulips have produced some colour but I guess, as is typical when kept in pots, the performance tends to drop of each year. The 'Dusky Cranesbill' (Geranium phaeum) spreads itself freely around the garden so we should get a good succession of their small dark flowers; Euphorbia wulfenii providing contrast between the acid green bracts and the grey-green leaves; in the shade behind the shed there is a mass of pale-pink bleeding hearts (Dicentra 'Stuart Boothman') erupting above the finely divided grey-green foliage; the first Columbine (Aquilegia 'William Guiness) will soon be showing off its two-tone bloom and I have noticed numerous seedlings everywhere!    

While I inspect the progress of fruit and veg (Strawberries, Carrots, Onions and Peas) in the new raised beds a local Pigeon wonders how it might gain access to this fresh greenery! Thank goodness it is all inside a well netted fruit cage.

Blue Tit Nesting Update:  I have noticed that there have been a few searches on the blog recently regarding nesting and in particular querying "why have my birds built a nest and appeared to have disappeared?".

I believe our pair of Blue Tits completed the nest building about 9 days ago and since then activity at the nest box has been very sporadic. All species need to time their breeding to coincide with the relevant food source ... in the case of the Blue Tit this means insects and juicy caterpillars. If the eggs are laid too early then there is always the likelihood of failure either at the egg or nestling stage. I did see the male and female hidden in the Hawthorn today and Mrs.was fluttering her wings in the typical courtship display or possibly begging for food and a little later one of them entered the box for around 20 minutes. So.providing the conditions are right I expect she will start laying towards the end of this month. I'll keep you posted.    FAB.   

Nest Building continues.

Over the past few days our pair of Blue Tits have been very busy builders. For a while the material switched from green moss to brown twigs and dried grasses.

 Interesting to watch how some of the lengthy material was stuffed into the building cavity!

AND now they have reverted again to collecting moss again.

AND just to prove that ones efforts don't always turn out as expected .......

By focusing on the entrance hole to the nest box you never know what you may capture.   FAB.

Blue Tits Nest Building.

For several days we have heard the Blue Tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) constantly tapping inside the nest box situated on the rear of the garden shed. This usually indicates that a pair have decided to set up home again and are either making sure that the structure is sound or are pressing nesting material into the base. This box has been used almost annually by Blue Tits for over 9 years and only once by the larger Great Tit (Parus major). Pairs usually persist from year to year when both partners survive and are basically monogamous with a low incidence of simultaneous bigamy in optimal habitats. I have seen at least one other individual, possibly another pair, feeding in the garden up until yesterday when one individual was promptly chased away by the territory owner.  

While gardening today I noticed that at least one of the pair was carrying nesting material and sometimes perched briefly in the Lilac before entering the nest box so I took the opportunity late this afternoon to grab the camera and park myself on a garden chair about 15 feet away and wait for some possible action.

It wasn't too long before one appeared (difficult to tell whether it is the male or female) and landed directly on the nest box plate .......

 ... then pushed its head into the hole, still flapping to maintain momentum, before retracting briefly.

 A momentary pause and then disappeared  inside.

The nest pad inside the box is often 3 to 4 inches deep. It is typically made up of moss, probably scavenged from a nearby garden (my small lawn has plenty, so I'm not sure why they are not using that!) mixed with together with pieces of dead grass and straw. The nest cup will be lined with dry grass, hair, wool and some feathers in readiness for egg laying that will take place during April. If successful there will be one brood and whilst the clutch can vary from 2 to a 18 but providing the location and food source of insects and spiders is adequate usually averages 10 to 12 with incubation taking 13 to 16 days. In a poor year the clutch has been a low as 5 and in recent years I have often discovered that some chicks have not survived to the fledgling stage so we will have to wait patiently for this years outcome.

This whole sequence took only 3 seconds and whilst I waited patiently for another 10 minutes was not repeated so I felt very fortunate to have grabbed these few postable shots. [All taken at F8; 1/200 - 1/250; ISO 800; 210mm and cropped.]   FAB.

For more WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY images hosted by Springman please follow this link.

Building Continues....

Despite my reasonably close presence yesterday the Robin contined to collect necessary building materials and I think the construction is now complete.  FAB.

Building Begins.

This morning the Robin has been collecting moss from the lawn and other materials from the garden and is busily building a nest in the ivy behind the 'blue' nest box. These shots were quickly taken through the window but hopefully I'll be able to get some more 'outdoor' shots very soon.  FAB.

Dunnock: Possible Nesting?

During the last week our local Dunnock has been very vocal. Whilst 'chilling out' indoors on Monday I noticed that visits to the patio were very frequent and then realised that a nest was being built within the Ivy that covers the clothes post. As far as I can recall this could be the first time that this species has attempted nesting in our garden so we will have to see what develops. As it is very difficult to tell male and female apart I am not sure which sex this one is!

Also over the last two days a pair of Blue Tits have been regularly visiting the fat feeder under the patio canopy.

This evening (Wednesday) I heard youngsters calling AND then both parents appeared briefly together with three fledglings to give them a top-up feed.

Nesting Material.

While catching a brief glimpse of a Kingfisher flying up river at work yesterday morning a pair of Great Tits appeared with this one carrying a large mouthful of nesting material. I think the nest must be in the undergrowth beneath my feet on the steep sided bank of the river.

Great Tit ( Parus major)

Just another few magical moments with our resident wildlife.  FAB.