Skip to main content

Rain

Living near the top of a hill in the Chilterns flooding isn't much of an issue for me. The present spell of rain is clogging the feeders and means that I tread mud back into the house every time I top them up. It also means that pruning of my quinces keeps getting put off. At this rate it is going to be back to using an old fashioned saw if it isn't going to be safe to use power tools in the garden.

On the bird front the goldfinches seem to have moved on and I have seen very few greenfinches this winter. I have had a couple of house sparrows in the garden recently, and they are not the commonest of birds around here and also had a brief visit from a long tailed tit. The squirrels are becoming a serious problem and I think I will be ordering another baffle with my next batch of feed. I am wondering about covering the ground tray as a mesh small enough to keep the squirrels out will also keep out blackbirds, thrushes and pigeons.

I did hear a green woodpecker this morning. I haven't seen any woodpeckers in the garden since last spring and it is several years since I actually saw a green around here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Returning to the Garden

High summer and early autumn is always a quiet time for birds in my garden. I no longer feed after my summer holiday as I have ended up throwing away far to much mouldy fat or seed. Normally I would wait until November before putting the feeders back out but a party of long tailed tits appeared in the front garden today so I think that it might be worth while trying a single fat bar for the moment. For the past couple of weeks I have seen a lot of roadside signs saying "beware of deer" in places where I wouldn't normally see them. Last weekend I decided that they might be justified when I encountered a herd of roe deer in the road between Ley Hill and Latimer. While muntjac are seen often enough the roes tend to be shy and this was only the third time that I have had a good look at some in all the years that I have lived here.
1 comment
Read more

Finally

 Health issues mean that I haven't been paying any attention to my blogs but I was roused from my afternoon cup of tea today but a most unholy racket. Yes the parakeets have finallyarrived in my part of Chesham with a flock of five in the tree in my neighbours garden. It had to come eventually as they have been in Rickmansworth for years. Not much else happening apart from the usual circling kites and the occasional buzzard. I haven't seen anything eating my rowan berries but the tree is being steadily stripped. Usually its a mix of wood pigeons and blackbirds. Collared doves seem to be back in this end of the village as I saw a pair while waiting for the bus this week. They used to be garden regulars but hadn't seen any near the house for years.
Post a Comment
Read more

A Little More Normal

 After a couple of days of frost the garden looks more like a typical winter's day with birds visiting throughout the day. Blue tits are the main visitor plus one or two marsh (or possibly willow) tits and the occasional great tit. A flock of long tailed tits paid a fairly brief visit. Robins in the back garden have paired, seemingly a little later than the ones in the front.  Due to ill health the ivy on my back fence hasn't been trimmed and has developed a good crop of berries. The only bird that I have seen showing interest has been a wood pigeon which spent some time yesterday feasting on them. In the front I put out a fat block yesterday afternoon which, so far, has attracted a grey squirrel. The pair of robins and the occasional blackbird are active on the hanging table.
Post a Comment
Read more