goldfinch-a-go-go!

Today I was cut-off midsentence by a squeak of excitement and I was pushed aside.  'How rude!" you might think but I just couldn't compete for attention (understandably, I was droning on) as a pair of goldfinch flew in.   

They chittered and trilled quietly to each other as they searched for seeds among the dried thistle heads in the wildlife area.  These are the first of these beautiful birds we have seen here at the Phoenix and lovely ones they are to add to our birdlist - they're smashing!

Only two rather dodgy pics of their visit.  Here's what they look like elsewhere and not snapped by me.

pic: Lukasz Lukasik

cat snacks

The garden provides good habitat for breeding birds, both for those that actually nest here and for those that visit to forage.  The tall trees give height for a quick get-away, dense shrubs give cover for nesting and a wide range of herbaceous plants support the wide range of insects hungry chicks need.  This year wren, blackbird, blue and great tits have all nested in the garden and now fledged chicks are making their first forays out and about.  They leave the nest as soon as they can, the whole brood is vulnerable to predation while in the nest, many predators watch foraging parents to discover the whereabouts of the nest, so splitting up and moving about lessens the chance all will be lost.  The individuals are still vulnerable and yet to learn it is a hard world out there. 

Wrens are shy birds and nest low down in dense cover.  This year they have used a log stack, dense ivy on a wall and a 'twiggy bundle' to build in - twiggy bundles are simply bunches of spiny prunings tied with twine to form a hollow ball, these get tucked into dense shrubs and wall climbers in quiet corners to make predator proof nesting sites.  Young wrens are out and about now, concealed in the bushes and calling with high pitched breathy 'wheesps'.  They and the parents forage eagerly for any small insects and get excited when I give a hand by turning the top layer in the compost bins.  They can be in such a rush that they forget I am a danger until a parent frantically reminds them, with sharp calls to 'run!'  

Blackbirds usually raise a number of broods each year in the garden, building nests from twigs, grass, string and mud in concealed places.  Sometimes they make odd choices where to build - last year they built a nest neatly on top of a paint tin in the tool shed - this year they have been thoroughly conventional using a dense bush of ivy to conceal them.  The young have recently fledged and are out and about, so trusting they will happily wait in the garden office for feeding time.  They follow their parents round the garden calling loudly to be fed - and seemingly to be eaten - the local cats must be drooling at the mouth!  

Blue tits feed their young on thousands of small insects and will collect vast quantities of aphids in the foraging frenzy.  This makes them vulnerable to the effects of pesticides and many young birds are poisoned while still in the nest, so we use no pesticides - aphids are soon controlled by everything that eats them - and everything does.   The parents keep their energy levels up with occasional visits to the feeders for a sunflower seed or two and now the Red Hot Pokers are in flower will drink sugary nectar for a quick energy boost.

  

why i am a pig

or rather a wild boar.

It is nice to see that this winter a new robin has decided to stake out a territory in the garden. Visitors often tell me about their special relationships with friendly robins in their own gardens. I don't usually dissillude them about this but I am more pragmatic about the birds desire for companionship and am free of any 'mister bluebird on my shoulder' Disney expectations. I know I am simply a blundering beast, just another great hairy wildboar rooting through the forest, turning over leaves, twigs and soil exposing worms and grubs for the bird to dart in and snaffle.

I feel used!

Sparrers!

For the past few months there has been a flock of house sparrows visiting the garden daily and they are usually seen busy on the feeders. The flock has numbered up to 20 individuals, the most I've seen at once here. The only nesting site locally is, I think, at Odhams Walk, Longacre, and this does make them vulnerable to disturbance - I have written in support of the Odhams residents attempts to encourage these lovely birds and to try and protect the dense ivy growth where they nest (ivy does make building managers nervous). I do hope some decide to cross Shaftesbury Avenue permanently and use the nestboxes at the Phoenix this spring. It seems only fair payment after all the seed they've gone through.

greedy pig's and the first ant

The blackthorn trees were full of wood pigeons today wobbling and flapping like fat tightrope artistes.  They were stuffing their beaks with the tiny pre-fruits left from the just finished blossom.  It no wonder we don't see many sloes come autumn.  

I like wood pigeons and their comical ways.  A serious pest of countryside crops they have huge appetites for greens and will strip cabbages bare in no time.  In town they eat the usual bread and kebabs but still go for greens in a big way.  In the garden each summer they turn one of the elder trees leaves to lace, but surprisingly won't touch any other elder growing here.  I've noticed this elsewhere with two seemingly identical walnut trees growing next to each other in Clerkenwell, one is tall and proud, the other almost weeping from years of pigeon pruning. What the difference is between tree to tree I don't know but they eat the same trees year on year.

They are larger than feral pigeons with a distinctive white patch on each side of their neck and beautiful lilac, grey and white plumage.  I stood within six feet watching them feeding and they just kept a beady yellow eye on me.  Their country cousins would have been long gone being very, very wary.  They have to be or they are soon pie filling!

This is the first ant I've seen this year.  A common black ant making the most of the sunshine  climbing a bergenia stalk (Ballawley, a new variety here - very nice green 'eye' highlighting the bud) hunting nectar and looking for aphids to milk.  

I watched it's shiny black busy-ness and felt good.  Ants make me cheerful.