Another Week Gone by Nature Lovers.............

[LoftyLottie]

................ and I'll start it off with this link to a lovely website I have just found

http://www.mywildlifefriendlygarden.com/index. html

[burnhal]

Not a bad day on the reserve- got out of the car and spooted a pair of bullfinches immediately- maybe not a rarity but we just dont get them where I live. Also a turtle dove churring away in the dead tree by the car park. Grasshopper warbler singing away just over the hedge (oft heard but rarely seen, Cettis Warbler shouting its head off, whitethroats dashing about, yellowhammers trying to outdo each other. Sometimes I think I ought to spend more time in the car park!
Out on the reserve lots of damsel flies- mainly common blues but some blue-tailed and loads of ruddy darter dragonflies- food for the four or five hobbies skimming around overhead. Highlight of the day was a marsh harrier.
Was pleased to see two male ruddy ducks which have so far escaped the cull. Stacks of balls of fluff paddling around after their parents- gadwall, shovellers, mute swans and tufties seem to have done well. And crowds of noisy young starlings- or fraggles! Once raised a baby starling which fledged and flew. It had two tufts on its head like something from fraggle rock so since then young starlings are fraggles!

[raysparx1]

Hi all, you have got a great life there burnhal, sounds brilliant, love the fraggles name.

Well what I saw was right, we had five nests, 3 on the gable end and 2 on the front, and all is quiet, the squirrel has taken the lot, will the house martins return to us again or will they never come back to the same nests? next door also has some nests and the birds are very busy stil, so the squirrel obviously hasn't spied those yet, hope he doesn't, very quiet here apart from the lovely blackbirds entertaining us, the owls were out last night which was lovely to hear, I go to sleep very happy when I hear them outside,

take care all and keep posting, I really enjoy these posts, Ray

[LoftyLottie]

Good morning everybody. Lovely postings from everybody!

We had a jay in the garden yesterday. They are very beautiful but now I am anxious for all my 'babies'. I told the jay to go elsewhere. Don't think he took any notice though.

Loads of baby sparrows around now. They are so fluffy and sweet. They seem to have all hatched at the same time and are just so noisy with all their twitterings in the morning. Puss cat has been told she must stay in for a few weeks now - we'll see.

Not a bad morning, but muggy and damp, and the garden has gone completely green and overgrown looking (more than usual!).

Like you yogasun., we are at the stage when our own chicks have fled the nest and we should really downsize, but I no what will happen to my lovely 'nature reserve' garden if we do. It has happened to the garden next door - now all fences and walls stripped of climbers. Everything stripped out and very 'twee'.

Oh, and I'm sorry about your baby Housemartins Ray. They will come back next year. Resilient things birds - I don't think they pine for lone for their babies - just get on and produce some more.

See you all later.

LL xx