Patch plants and garden birds

Much of our garden wildlife is out and about at the moment, especially the birds. Particularly the finches seem to be stocking up on seeds. Yesterday at about 6:00 in the afternoon, I filled up one of our bird feeders, only to find that it was empty at about 10:00 the following morning- that has to be a record. Even though it hasn't really been very cold over the last week, the birds are glued to the perches of the bird feeders.

In this posting, whilst I am on the subject of birds, I am also happy so announce that we have seen our first fledgling of the year. A very young Robin has been seen in the shrubs around our garden- I hope both parents are still feeding him/her because it does look quite vulnerable. Elsewhere in the garden, I spotted our nestbox Blue Tit male feed sunflower hearts to Mrs Blue Tit, who I reckon is probably incubating a clutch of eggs in the nestbox at the moment.

Below is a photo montage showing some of the main visitors. They all seemed happy to feed whilst I was outside. On the left is a Dunnock , whilst on the top right is a male Chaffinch and a female Chaffinch is in the bottom right photo. The Dunnock looks very thin in that photo, don't you think? Maybe it is currently feeding hungry chicks in a separate garden. The Chaffinches are the most common visitor at the moment, and are the main reason for the bird feeders emptying so fast.

Now, to some garden plants. It has been a while since I have mentioned my flower/wildlife patch. Plants are popping up everywhere, including some unwanted ones too. The photo below, however shows some flowers which were planted a while back. I can't believe it, but I have completely forgotten what they are. They certainly need thinning out a bit, which could probably be a job for another time. In the photo, you may also spot some little flowers. amongst the bigger plants. Again, I've no idea what those are.

Elsewhere, weeds are coming up all over the place. I know they need to be removed, but a closer look at the flowers reveals loads of colour.
Here is a closer view of the flowers that were in the top photo. As a wildlife gardener, I am unsure on many plants, even ones that I have planted myself. It could even be a weed, but I just don't know. If you know, could you tell me please. I haven't seen too many bees in the past week, mostly due to the rain, but hopefully, some of these flowers will help attract them into our garden.


In my next post, I have some more blossom to talk about. But not the apricot tree blossom that has been and gone. No, this blossom is from a different tree. Last year, I don't remember seeing much blossom on this tree, but it is appearing in large clumps at the moment. I also have a Blue Tit video to show you which was captured about 2 weeks ago now. But for now, enjoy the sun!

It's all out there...

You just have to look for it in our garden. Today, as I went outside at first look there was nothing there. But just stand back and observe and you will notice all sorts of nature in almost every garden. But what nature? Well, just by standing around near our garden shed, I saw all sorts of interesting things- birds, plants, the sun. But it takes time to notice these things sometimes, especially when everything appears to be hidden. So why are things hiding in the garden at this time of year?

The cold is probably the most obvious threat for any garden life in the winter, causing most living things to try and find somewhere warm. Obviously this is difficult for a plant seeing as they can't walk or fly to a warm spot in the winter sun, but today I spotted a tiny wild flower at the end of the garden in the sunlight. I was very surprised to see this colour in our garden at this time of year. This really was hard to see and was very well hidden in all the undergrowth. But its not just the tiny wild flowers that were hidden for the winter- the Rhubarb plant really has died down, and all that's left at the moment is a pile of the black and brown leaf remains.

Today, many of the birds were found in our evergreen tree at the end of our garden. Is this because they are more covered and protected there? The apricot tree with no leaves is certainly a bit exposed at this time of year. A predator such as a Sparrowhawk would easily see a bird in our apricot tree and would be a real threat. So I have placed some new bird feeders deep in cover in our garden, in the hope that the more shy birds will take some food from them. We have bought a new fat feeder which we put deep in the cover of our apricot tree (the Blue Tits have already found it)! I have just ordered some mealworms and I will put them in a makeshift feeder as you will see in the photo below. This one is placed in an evergreen bush and is definitely in a covered place.

I went out with my camera earlier to see if I could take any bird photos. The Dunnocks were very shy and were also "hiding" in the trees today. Most of them took a quick snack from our hanging bird table before flying back into the trees, but I managed to get a picture of a more tame one on a branch. Whilst I was outside I also saw a Coal Tit flitting through the conifer with a Blue Tit. Recently I have also spotted a visiting Wren whilst outside. All of these small birds were probably looking for food with lots of energy. The fat block and balls I have just put up must have come in very handy for these birds.

Shirl posted about her visiting Blackcap not that long ago. Well, I am pleased to say that we have also seen our first Blackcap of the year. It was a female with its chestnut brown cap. In previous years we have mostly seen them on our fat feeders and seed feeders but this time it was seen on our peanut feeder. Hang on a minute... I have only just realised. It isn't even supposed to be here at this time of year, but it was definitely a Blackcap - no doubt about it. Blackcaps are summer visitors, not winter ones. So why am I seeing one in our garden?

Well, when I am confused about some bird sightings I tend to resort to a bird book. My question was answered the Complete Garden Bird Book which said, "Blackcaps are generally summer migrants breeding across the whole of Europe, but they are now also a regular and an increasingly common winter visitor, particularly in milder areas of Britain and the warm climates of southern Europe" Today I also spotted a Starling for the first time in a while on a fat feeder near the house.

Whilst I was outside, I took the opportunity to take a look at my "nature patch". I must admit that I am not very good at regularly digging up weeds, but in the winter the weeds aren't growing particularly fast anyway. However, my wild flower seeds are growing quite steadily and look like they are surviving the cold weather we have had so far this winter. The shop-bought plants from Homebase are also doing well and are starting to fit in and flow with the rest of the patch. Hopefully, they also continue to live through the frosts we have been having recently.

Talking of nesting sites for birds, I bet the Ivy in the photo below is a great site for nesting Robins, as well as a nice feature in our garden. Last year we had our Cherry tree (which was not growing very well and looked unwell) cut down. On it was a Robin nestbox, which is obviously now spare. So I wondered if the nestbox could be sited in the ivy. Even if it wasn't used for nesting there, it could at least be available for any winter roosters. Its definitely got enough cover from predators there. Again, it was only today that I noticed the bright green colour of the ivy. Ivy has got to be one of my favourite plants, so I don't really mind that its growing quite rapidly on the tree now.

Coming back to my main post theme of animals and plants "hiding" at this time of year, there aren't any Blue Tits roosting in our camera nestbox, or any of our nestboxes for that matter. I am guessing that it is warm enough for them to be outside in this weather. In fact today has been a fantastic day in terms of the weather. Sadly it isn't going to continue tomorrow with heavy rain forcasted. In this posting I must mention the fact the bloggers which take part in the Garden Blogger's Bloom Day post certainly managed to "find" plenty of "hidden" plants to talk about this month!

All photos taken in my garden on Sunday 18th January 2009.

The seeds are in

My wildlife patch is really coming on well now. Every weekend, I am making adjustments and adding things to it. This weekend, the seeds for my wild flowers went in. The weather was perfect so it was a good day for it. I find that a lot of seeds need to be planted in September and October to flower in the spring and summer. If I can find any more seeds that need to be planted at this time of year, I should make the most of the weather and plant them soon.

There were a variety of different kinds of seeds. Some of them are being started off in pots and others have gone straight into the ground. They all take different lengths of time to germinate too, so its all a little bit disorganised. However, I do know that they have a good chance of doing well as my dad helped me to plant them. I have tried to grow vegetables in the past on my own, but the seeds didn't germinate. Lets just say that I put them a bit deep in the soil!

So what have I planted? Get ready because its a long list: Poppys, Bluebells, Corncockles, Ox-eye daisies, Cowslips, Corn Marigolds, Primroses and Snake's head fritilary. I am also going to plant some Allium bulbs soon. They all needed planting now, so that they flower at the right time. I knew that I was going to need help planting all this but I really wasn't expecting sowing instructions that were completely different from plant to plant. The most stubborn of all was the Snake's head fritilary (pictured below). The pots show just how complicated the mixture is.

I was a little shocked when I saw on the seed packet that Snake's head fritilary seeds can take up to a year to germinate. I won't be seeing anything any time soon! Not only this, but they needed course grit and seed compost to grow in. At this point, I was beginning to think what fussy plants these are. I have to say that the picture on the packet partly makes up for it. They should, if they grow healthily really look the part in my patch.

I am guessing that wild flowers are generally higher maintenance than some of the easy-grow bulbs and seeds that you can get. I am planning to buy some more seeds too. I have to say that this is mostly because I want the patch to be my own plants and not the usual weeds that accommodate themselves there. Once there are actually growing flowers there, the weeds should find it more difficult to seed themselves there.

One of the seed packets was a variety selection. These ones were generally easy to grow and don't take too long to germinate. When we moved in, I think we already had the Ox-eye daisies growing naturally at the end of our garden. They aren't there any more, so it will be nice to grow them in my patch. Hopefully the seeds will spread themselves over other parts of the garden too. I am familiar with all the other flowers in the packet, but haven't grown them before. It would be a real treat if they could attract some more bees and butterflies to the garden too.

Now, all I have to do is water them and watch them grow. Unfortunately the weather has taken a turn for the worst here, and we have had steady rain all day. I hope this won't rot the seeds before they have even had a chance to grow! I also hope that I will be able to weed some more of the patch this weekend and start looking at a water feature to go here, and a pond to go elsewhere in my garden. It really is busy busy busy!

All photos taken in my garden on 28/09/08