Sunday 10 June 2012

9/06/12

A grey and drizzly day in the garden. A pair of Red Legged Partridges have been coming for the seed we put out behind the house, sheltering together under a pile of scaffolding or sitting on the fence. Today theres only one - have they had a lovers tiff or far more likely has a fox taken one in the night.  Feel sorry for the one left behind, is it grieving or full of fear without another pair of eyes on the lookout for danger. We now have three squirrels visiting the garden, scaring off the groundfeeding songbirds. If I open the door to shoo them off they just tripod, paws held pensively by their chests, staring at me like teenagers claiming they "weren't doing nothing". One comically keeps trying to climb a holly bush to get at the fatball feeder, but the branches are too spindly to support its weight. 10/06/12 Unfortunately the Redatart nest has failed, the wet weather yesterday must have been the last straw for them. We saw the male make several visits with food, go into the nest but come out again wtih the food still in his beak. We've looked into the wall and think we can see dead chicks. Hope they try again.

The pair of Partridges

No idea but it was on a nettle.

At last a Hoverfly !

Friday 1 June 2012

Hares and Snails

Very humid last night and when I went into the garden there were lots of brightly coloured snails eating decaying Centaurea flower heads. Felt mean as just put down some "Growing Success" slug pellets from the organic gardening society around my peas. They are only meant to kill slugs and snails and be safe for wildlife, but the snails were managing to look very beautiful. This morning we had a hare feding on the grass heads in the yard, watching us watching it through the window, eventually it wandered off literally kicking its heels as it went. It appears to be an on again off again thing with the Redstarts they are in and out of the hole in the wall but not that often to have young. Watched two voles have a real barney in the drystone wall by the greenhouse, totally oblivious to me. They chased in and out of the wall, coming to blows in the grass, one tried to run off but the other grabbed its bum and bit and shook it. It was a very, very noisy affair.

Hare eating grass flower heads

White-lipped snail

White-lipped snail

Brown-lipped and White-lipped snails