Sadly it would appear that no birds have successfully nested this year, and while I was outside I may well have spotted both causes. Firstly, next door's naughty cat joined me, looking longingly at the site of the blackbird's nest she attacked last year.
The other cause was up in the tree in next door's garden. Furiously chakked at by daddy blackbird - presumably they have managed to nest nearby - a magpie, known raider of songbird nests, was cawing dryly until it got fed up with the racket and flew off. I now wonder if it was a pica pica, one for sorrow, that spilled the eggs from the nest in our pergola.
I was hoping a few bees might be around, but alas the sun was already below the roofline, and our bee hotel remains unused. But I'm still hopeful.
I've just this second come back in for another look at the garden, now settling in to sleep under a heavy twilight. A couple of birds are still tweeting gently somewhere, but the returned screaming swifts have gone to bed. Venus, in the west, and Jupiter further south, are already hanging bright in the sky, and a few moths are about, fluttering about in blissful ignorance of the bats that patrol after sunset.
It is beautiful.
Si
All text and images Copyright CreamCrackeredNature 11.05.15
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| The only caption for today. This is Anoushka's grave. |
I can only apologise, I ave no idea why Blogger is displaying these pictures in some horrific low resolution, they look fine when you click on them. I thought uploading from google drive rather than my phone had solved this problem. They are also ignoring the CSS script about sizing, again I have no idea why
ReplyDeleteYour apology is meaningless to me Si - I just load into 'pictures' press the button and hope for the best. A case of a little knowledge is probably advantageous in my case. I love your little garden ornament - not sure what it is - is it some sort of burner?
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty garden Simon. Sorry can't help with the photo problem am not at all technically minded when it comes to computers. I do the same as The Weaver of Grass upload photos (one by one which takes hours!!) and click the ok button and then centre them!
ReplyDeleteNot too late for the insect hotel - we've had leaf cutter bees using ours much later in the summer in the past. Empathise with cats and magpies (the magpies have chosen one of the silver birches at the top of the garden to nest in this year :(
Stepfather has excelled this year! Looking very nice already, although I prefer it with a more wild look.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a nice garden and a pond too, we have had bird boxes up for years and get nothing, like you due to cat from next door using the shed to watch the birds, even though the dog likes to chase it off, and one year Magpie's raided nest of Blackbird, pulling all the young out, managed to save them but it meant getting up at six every morning as that was the time the Magpies would come back, this went on for three weeks :( it was like having another baby, we had no sleep !
ReplyDeleteAmanda xx
When we had two cats, one of them was very naughtily efficient at catching blackbirrd fledgelings, despite the bell. His twin sister only ever brought us butterflies to the back doorstep!
ReplyDeleteLovely writing, and photos. Cats are adorable, but, alas, evil.
ReplyDelete