Archive - April 2020


Archive - April 2020

26th April:

In and around Jim’s garden, week 5

We’re now into the 5th week of lockdown and my study of the nature on my doorstep continues. Luckily the weather has been bright and sunny - ideal conditions for photography. Long may it continue. Once again I’ve tried to get a collection of good, and hopefully, interesting pictures for your perusal. After I mentioned in last week’s blog that the Blackbird was seldom seen, he’s been very visible this week. I think he has a nest in the big tree in my neighbour’s garden. I’ve got lots of shots of him calling from the low branches.

Blackbird

The group of marauding Magpies have continued their energetic movements, occasionally resting on the tree at the foot of the garden. They are members of the Crow family, and as such are very intelligent, so it is quite diﬃcult to get near them as they are up to all my smart moves. I got the shots below from inside my open back door.

Magpie

Of course the House Sparrows are ever-present. They all seem to be focussing on nest building and of course, eating. I think I’ve seen my ﬁrst ﬂedgling sitting outside the nest in my neighbour’s roof. The giveaway sign that it’s a juvenile is the yellow back edge of the beak.

Female House Sparrow

Male House Sparrow

The clever Carrion Crows must be taking note of the Sparrows movements as Crows have a taste for nestlings. Let’s hope they’re not too successful, but we must also remember that they too have young to feed. The ground-feeding Dunnock loves helping to clear up the spillage from the messy feeders. I’ve yet to see one actually on the feeder.

Carrion Crow	Dunnock

Also helping to clear up are the few Wood Pigeons we have seen daily. They also have a nest in the same big tree as the Blackbirds. I love their call. It reminds me of when I used to camp in the countryside.

Wood Pigeon

The big Lesser Black-backed Gulls are still on aerial patrol of the area. I’ve also seen a few Herring Gulls, in transit, rather than feeding with the other Gulls. I did also see a Black-headed Gull but I had no camera at the time.

Lesser Black- backed Gull	Herring Gull

I managed a few shots of a Sparrowhawk scanning our neighbourhood from a height of about 50m. Its spiralling ﬂightpath took it past us in about 2 minutes, during which time I was hoping it would strike at the poor Feral Pigeons that were feeding below my feeders. No such luck.

Sparrowhawk

The Thrift in my plant tubs have ﬂowered, a fact that was not unknown to the White-tailed Bumblebee . In the next pot, a seeding Dandelion yielded a nice picture of a wee orange spider, Parasteatoda Simulans . I hadn’t the heart to hoe out the Dandelion (I’ll leave that to my wife).

White-tailed Bumblebee	Spider - Parasteatoda Simulans

I love the red and amber wallﬂowers but I have not seen insects showing an interest in them. The fascinatingly-shaped Rosemary ﬂowers also seem not to attract insects. However I’ll keep looking as I have noticed that insect numbers have increased since last week.

Wallflower	Rosemary

There were no Painted Ladys this week, maybe next week. I did, though come across a few other interesting insects. The shiny green ﬂy, Eudasyphora Cyanella will gradually become more bronzed as it ages. It is often confused with the Greenbottle. The attractive hoverﬂy, the Sunﬂy, is sometimes called 'The Footballer' due to its striped thorax. Rhingia Campestris is another hoverﬂy, easily recognised by its long snout. I noticed a female Orange Tip butterﬂy ready to receive the attentions of a passing male. There were no takers in the time I watched her.

Fly - Eudasyphora Cyanella	Sunfly

Rhingia Campestris	Orange Tip

My favourite birds have to be the Blue Tits. Before lockdown we had no Blue Tits, so it’s great what a few sunﬂower hearts will do. I’ve started leaving water by the feeders, in the ornamental poppy and daﬀodil. The Tits (and the House Sparrows) have already taken a few sips - well it’s thirsty work nest building. My ﬁnal shot was of a Jackdaw, taken in amber light, late in the day as the sun was setting.

Blue Tit

Blue Tit	Jackdaw

Not a bad week for pictures. I’m hoping that next week I’ll see a few ﬂedgling Sparrows or Blue Tits. The Carrion Crows are still about the nest in the tree across the road, so I’m waiting on some Crow chicks to show. The weather might be a problem though as we don’t usually have sunny weather in successive weeks. But you never know.

19th April 2020:
In and around Jim’s garden - week 4

I’ve approached this week’s blog slightly diﬀerently from normal; I’ve concentrated on quality over quantity. It’s obvious that since I’ve been limited to sightings in and around my garden, the blog could get a bit repetitive. So my main focus has been to gather some fairly good-looking shots of my usual crowd of “suspects”.
Pigeons are so commonly seen that we don’t look closely enough at them. They’re actually bonny birds. In the right light, Feral Pigeons and Woodpigeons show intense iridescent green and violet colours in their plumage.

Feral Pigeon	Wood Pigeon

The Starling too has similar iridescence. Again, it is a very underrated bird that, on closer inspection, you’ll agree it’s actually a bit of a looker (and, to be honest, a bit of a noisy pest). A cousin of the Starling, with a rather more mellow song, is the Blackbird . It’s neat black plumage is set oﬀ by its yellow beak and eye ring. Quite often, at dusk, I see ours atop a tree singing its heart out.

Starling	Blackbird

I’ve spent a lot of time this week photographing a pair of Blue Tits as they’re a new arrival in my garden since I’ve put up my feeders. They’re messy eaters though. Going by the mouthful of moss, they seem to be setting up a nest in the tree in my neighbours garden.

Blue	Tit

They like feeding, usually acrobatically, on the branches of the tree, but they’ve been regular visitors at the sunﬂower/peanut/suet mix feeder.

Blue	Tit

My garden hedge is “Sparrow Central”. I’ve seen about a dozen at any one time, usually at the fatball feeder, but they make enough noise for double that number. They quarrel regularly, for why, I don’t know, perhaps it’s something to do with courtship.

House	Sparrow

There’s been a lot of them gathering nesting material, so perhaps they’ve been ﬁghting over nest sites. I spotted a busy cock Sparrow making repeated journeys into the the roof of a neighbouring house, undoubtedly making a nest there.

House	Sparrow

I spent a couple of hours in the back garden taking ﬂight shots. There was no shortage of birds. Lesser Black-backed Gulls were continually circling overhead on the lookout for back doors opening and scraps of food, usually bread, being chucked. Likewise the scavenging, cawing Carrion Crows sat high on chimney stacks waiting for the same opportunities.

Lesser Black-backed Gull	Carion Crow

A trio of squabbling Magpies were also very active, swooping between roofs and trees, occasionally descending into gardens. The Feral Pigeons were on the rooftops most of the time, only gliding into a garden when it was threat-free.

Magpie	Feral Pigeon

I have come across a few early butterﬂies this week namely, the Comma, Small Tortoiseshell, Orange Tip and Peacock.

Comma	Small Tortoiseshell

Orange Tip	Peacock

I’ve noticed Bluebells in my garden are now coming into bloom as are Wallﬂowers . Great, I now await the insects they should attract.

Common Bluebell	Wallflower

On one of my daily exercise walks I discovered two species of Anemone - Wood Anemone and Balkan Anemone . Taking care nobody was about I sneaked a couple of shots for the record.

Wood Anemone	Balkan Anemone

There’s no “Pictures of the Week” section as all the pictures are, arguably, worthy of the title, but for the record, my favourites are the butterﬂies. Let’s hope more arrive in the coming week, maybe a Painted Lady.

12th April 2020:

In and around Jim’s garden - week 3

While taking breakfast I noticed a wee spider on my kitchen ﬂoor. It turned out to be the Jumping spider, pseudeuophrys lanigera . It is fairly common and widespread in England but gradually spreading north into Scotland. After consuming my cornﬂakes and banana I noticed a cock House Sparrow in the front garden, trying to carry oﬀ a large feather (probably a Gull’s). It gave up in the end.

Pseudeuophrys Lanigera	House	Sparrow

As I “dug in” for a long Lock-down, I’ve been assembling an array of Bird feeders - now up to 5: seed, fatball, sunﬂower hearts, nuts and porridge oats.

The main feeder users are the large ﬂock of resident House Sparrows. They are very noisy and quarrelsome, but I like them nevertheless. A couple of pairs of Blue Tits like the sunﬂower hearts and have apparently nested in the large tree in my neighbour’s garden. Hopefully they’ll breed there. The Robin (see also, “Pictures of the Week”, below), more usually a ground feeder, has a taste for porridge. It’s nice to see a daily visit, around all the feeders, of a Coal Tit. Let’s hope it comes back more often and brings a few friends. There’s no sign of the Greenﬁnches or Goldﬁnches this week, but I live in hope.

Female House Sparrow	Blue Tit	Robin	Coal Tit

One unexpected visitor to the feeders has been a Mouse . I think it is a Field Mouse (see also, “Pictures of the Week”, below), but it could be a House Mouse. I got a few pictures of it clambering up and down the trellis, trying to reach the fatball feeder, usually when the Sparrows weren’t there.

	Field	Mouse

Tidying up on the ground most days have been a Dunnock (see also, “Pictures of the Week”, below) and Woodpigeon, and of course the Sparrows. Jackdaws often appear on the tree but I think they are after bigger food such as dinner leftovers. It’s hard luck on them as we usually clear our plates. The other big eaters that are always on the lookout are the Lesser Black-backed Gulls. I see them on roofs or circling overhead.

Dunnock	Wood Pigeon	Jackdaw	Lesser Black-backed Gull

I noticed what looked like a large nest on top of a tall Silver Birch tree opposite my house. I wondered if it was a Crows’ nest. I watching it for the best part of an hour, annoyingly against the sunlight. During that time I heard a calling Crow, but could not see it, until a large Carrion Crow ﬂew in and landed by the nest. The sitting Crow became visible and very animated, seemingly accepting food from its partner, who then ﬂew over to the TV aerial of a nearby house. I look forward to watching, and hopefully, photographing their ﬂedglings in the coming weeks.

Carrion	Crow

On the ﬂower front, I noticed small ﬂowers of Wavy Bittercress , each with 6 tiny stamen (Hairy Bittercress has 4). Nearby I also came across some Field Speedwell starting to ﬂower in a grassy patch. Near my front garden gate the strong sunlight caught the petals of a Daﬀodil but I didn’t notice any insects near it. Between the stones of my driveway a few small Common Groundsel plants were seeding - time to get my hoe out!

Wavy Bittercress	Common Field Speedwell	Daffodil	Common Groundsel

On a Dandelion I noticed a small, hairy bee, an Early Mining Bee. It’s a fairly common bee, widespread in parks and gardens throughout the UK. Another common insect is the Hoverﬂy, Eristalis Arbustorum, which was hovering around a leafy shrub of mine. It looks bee-like but it doesn’t sting. Later I found another bee though, an Early Bumblebee , small as bumblebees go, 2 yellow bands, with a red-tinged tail. Probably the most numerous of insects in my garden are the ants. I believe they are a species of Common Red Ant . Some years I am forced to take measures to limit their numbers before they overrun the place. There were a few butterﬂies about, mainly Peacock (see, “Pictures of the Week”, below) and a few Small Tortoiseshell.

Early Mining Bee	Hoverfly - Eristalis Arbustorum	Early Bumble Bee	Common Red Ant

Well, the nature in and around my garden is certainly holding my interest. I’m seeing little stories unfold as more birds are attracted no my feeders, birds pairing and nesting, promising ﬂedglings and the promise of more insects and birds appearing as the weeks go by. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing the Swallows and Swifts that visit my area each year. Again, you’ll be the ﬁrst to see the pictures!

Pictures of the Week

Robin	Dunnock

Wood ( Field ) Mouse	Peacock Butterfly

5th April 2020:

In and around Jim’s garden - week 2

The Lock-down continues and I continued nature watching from my back door - working from home, as it were. For your perusal, I’ve gathered together in this blog my observations of birds, plants and insects, mainly from the weekend. The ﬁrst morning was rather dull but I managed to capture pictures of some of my “regulars” such as a Magpie and Blackbird. I was surprised to see a pair of Blue Tits skipping across the branches of an Ash tree at the foot of my garden (see also, “Pictures of the Week”, below). I didn’t realise they frequented the area. I had only recently put up 4 feeders - fat ball, seed, nuts and sunﬂower hearts. However, I was really surprised to see an almost immediate sighting of a pair of Coal Tits.

Magpie	Female Blackbird	Blue Tit	Coal Tit

I had started my session by watching from inside the house, from an easy chair at the glass back doors. I even took some photos through the glass, before progressing to shooting through the slightly opened double doors. A huge queen Buﬀ-tailed Bumblebee buzzed past me as I sat in my chair. I managed a nice shot of it at the window before rescuing it (see, “Pictures of the Week”, below). I next decided to sit outside on a stool. The birds didn’t seem to mind. The House Sparrows were still noisily active in the hedgerow (see also, “Pictures of the Week”, below). They used the dividing hedge as a base, able to nip into my garden or my neighbour’s, or to hide deep in the hedge whenever a threat appeared. Starlings too were on and in the hedge. Occasionally they bullied the Sparrows oﬀ of the fat ball feeder, but they ﬂed at the least distraction. The safety positions for the Jackdaws were the roofs. They grabbed bread in their beaks and ﬂew to the top of the house for a quick meal.

House Sparrow	Female House Sparrow	Starling	Jackdaw

Throughout the weekend my neighbours made full use of their back gardens to engage in their noisiest activities, so scaring the birds away. Undeterred, I moved to the front of the house and looked to the sky. I was able to snap a few passing birds such as a Lesser Black-backed Gull, a few Feral Pigeons and, to my great delight, a Goldﬁnch. For a time I used my car as a hide, even scattering sunﬂower hearts in the front paving hoping to draw in the small birds. I noticed the call of a Greenﬁnch coming from a tree in a neighbours garden. I easily located it in a treetop and, shooting over my hedge and across a road, I caught an image of the greenﬁnch singing its heart out.

Lesser Black-backed Gull	Feral Pigeon	Goldfinch	Greenfinch

With all the wee busy birds around, birds of prey were bound to call in from time to time, and this weekend I did see one pass, a Buzzard (see, “Pictures of the Week”, below). It was escorted by a few gulls, but it shrugged them oﬀ without a ﬂinch. I remember photographing a Sparrowhawk last September. It was sitting on my hedge waiting for a Sparrow to lose its cool and wing it from the safety of the hedge. Before long it had its catch (sadly, out of sight).

Sparrow	Hawk

As I explored the garden looking for small wildﬂowers and invertebrates, from the corner of my eye I caught sight of the ﬂight of a Grey Heron. It was probably looking for ﬁsh in garden ponds. When I turned my attention back to my original task I found there were no insects, other than a couple of quickly passing butterﬂies (Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell). Flowers worthy of comment were cultivars, Forbes' Glory of the Snow and Grape Hyacinth nestling in the small clump of trees.

Grey Heron	Forbes' Glory Of The Snow	Grape Hyacinth

More prominent in my garden were the young, bright red leaves of Pieris that looked at ﬁrst-sight to be ﬂowers, but in fact they will change colour to green by the summer’s end. A few elusive bumblebees were feeding on the white, densely-packed, hanging Pieris ﬂowers. Eventually the Blue Tits discovered the treasure trove of sunﬂower hearts inside my makeshift feeder, as did a Robin, although I think it was only using it as a perch.

Pieris Folliage	Pieris Flowers	Blue Tit	Robin

Other “regulars” are the Carrion Crows. They are familiar sights, usually perched on the highest points such as old TV aerials, which are also favourite stances for their cousins, the Jackdaws. My ﬁnal weekend shots were of a couple of my favourites, a Woodpigeon and a Magpie, both of which were relatively scarce here only a few years ago, but now there are well established groups of each.

Carrion Crow	Jackdaw

Wood Pigeon	Magpie

I must admit, before the Lock-down, I hadn’t studied the wonders of nature happening in my own doorstep. Now that I have been forced to do just that, I can see what opportunities I’ve missed. It will be interesting logging the changes that happen over the term of our conﬁnement.

Pictures of the Week

Blue Tit	Queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee

House Sparrow	Buzzard

Highlights - April 2020

The pictures below, of ﬂowers and insects, were taken safely on my daily exercise walks during the month of April 2020.

BULBOUS PLANTS

Common Bluebell	Daffodil

Forbes' Glory of the Snow	Ramsons

BUTTERFLIES

Comma Butterfly	Female Orange Tip Butterfly

Peacock Butterfly	Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

HYMENOPTERA

Carder Bumblebee	Early Mining Bee

Marsham's Nomad Bee	Early Nomad Bee

FLIES

Dark Edged beefly	Eudasyphora Cyanella

SPEEDWELLS

Field Speedwell	Germander Speedwell

Thyme- leaved Speedwell	Wood Speedwell

FUNGI

Clustered Brittlestems	Dryads Saddle

ANIMAL NAMES

Cowslips	Cuckoo Flower

Dog Violet	Dog's Mercury

HOVERFLIES

Eristalis Arbustorum	Rhingia Campestris

Riponnensia Splendens	Syrphus Ribesii / Rhingia Campestris

YELLOW FLOWERS

Crosswort	Gorse

Lesser Celandine	Primrose

Primula	Welsh Poppy

WHITE FLOWERS

Common Daisy	Barren Strawberry

Garden Strawberry	Garlic Mustard

Greater Stitchwort	Sweet Cicely

Wood Anemone	Wood Stitchwort