April 2011 - Easter Waxwings!

Saturday 23rd: After the success of seeing the Waxwings yesterday, I had arranged to re-visit Sandra's garden and this time take my scope and video camera. So at 7:15am, I drove the 300 yards to Sandra's house with a plethora of equipment. "Why drive?" I hear you say. Well, my back has been plaguing me these past few months and lugging all this equipment 300 yards would just aggravate it more! Having set up the scope and video camera on tripods...pikelets were kindly served by Sandra...that's crumpets to you and me! Indeed, as the minutes passed and an hour with no sign of them...Waxwings, that is, we were beginning to feel that they had finally departed back to their native country!





We sat in the garden and were soon rewarded with the local bird life. Amazingly, a Nuthatch visited the sunflower-heart feeder just 5 feet away! I couldn't move to get my camera but Sandra quietly snapped a photo. A pair of Great Tits kept visiting the nest box, two Goldfinches drank water on this warm morning, the odd Collard Dove and Wood Pigeon pecked at the ground and a pair of Robins were constantly around our feet. Yes, both Robins were very trusting and one even perched on one of my tripods not two feet away! But it got better...one of the Robins landed on my knee as I sat in the sun-chair! Sandra grabbed a photo and I hope to show it here soon! With time, I suspect that Sandra would be able to get at least one of the pair to eat from her hand, but it would require enormous patience. A Sparrowhawk slowly circled overhead against the blue sky and headed towards my garden.

Finally at 9:30am the Waxwings flew over and moments later came back and alighted in the same sycamore tree as yesterday. Now we would get much more detailed views and wow, what a view! Looking through the scope showed the pinkish colouring and yellow flashes of the birds' markings. I counted thirteen individuals, Sandra, fifteen. These must've been the same individuals as yesterday. The Waxwings stayed for around 20 minutes and then at some unknown signal they took to the air and away. Well that was well worth the time spent waiting.

What a great time to spend an Easter weekend, in the Sun watching the birds!

Postscript: That morning was the last that the Waxwings were seen in that sycamore or anywhere else around here. It is now about the time of the season that they should return to Scandinavia, maybe these have. But there are still plenty being seen around the country.

Friday 22nd: For the past few days, Sandra had noticed that Waxwings were flocking to a distant sycamore tree. Using binoculars from her kitchen/back garden, she can see these birds amongst the blossoming and unfolding leaves. So this morning at 8:30am, I joined her in the Waxwing-watch and I wasn't disappointed! For twenty minutes we watched as the birds, 15 of them ate the buds. Amazing, but I should've fetched my scope! After the show we walked over to Sandra's local patch; Church Wood Plantation. Quite a few Wrens were about calling, Robins and Blue/Great Tits. The Bluebells were also out and look like they had been for the past few days.

We wandered back down the road towards my local patch; Kirk Moor Plantation Wood. Here we saw my first Black Cap of the year - a male. A pair of mating Wrens were active with, I presume the male holding a small white ball of fluff or wool in it's beak. An unidentified warbler was flying around and harassing the Wrens. It kept flying to the undergrowth were we believe it had or was making a nest. Chiffchaffs were abundant, at least four and we even managed to see one after some astute tracking by Sandra! Like Church Wood, the Bluebells were out in here too but not as many as in previous years. I also managed to glimpse a couple of Jays amongst the blossoming leaves! That was a first in this wood for a few years for me!

Monday 11th: The two Blackbird chicks that hatched a few days ago, appear to be doing well thanks to the constant feeding by both the male and female adult Blackbirds. Unfortunately the third egg has failed to hatch. We left it in the nest for a few days to make sure it was an unfertilised egg and then removed it.

April 2011 - Farewell Grumpy, Pinky & Little Lad!

Saturday 16th: Well they've finally been released...out into the big wide world. The 3 Hedgehogs that we affectionately named; Grumpy, Pinky and Little-Lad were transported to a garden in Tickhill, the home of Elaine and Paul. Sandra also kindly helped with the relocation as it was a major operation moving 3 Hedgehogs, boxes and sundry items to this new area.

As dusk fell, Grumpy was the first out and investigating her new surroundings. Eventually she made her way out of the garden and onto the field where myself and Mel followed her as she moved down the edge of the field bordering the gardens. Soon she became a faint shape as the light faded. She seemed to be enjoying herself as she was tasting the new odours and anointing herself. Farewell Grumpy, we wish you success!

Pinky emerged soon after but seemed content to stay in the garden. Before we broke off the "Hedgehog Watch" to have a bite to eat, prepared by our hosts Elaine and Paul, we had hoped to see Little-Lad emerge, but he stayed resolutely in his box.

After a very nice and welcome pizza and a toast with Bucks-Fizz to the Hedgehogs, we ventured back outside into the dark. Pinky was still in the garden but had moved further along the flower-bed and had been anointing herself. No sign of Little-Lad, his box was empty so he would be out-and-about somewhere but two other Hedgehogs were on the other side of the garden so that bode well. at least there is a community of Hedgehogs that these 3 may integrate into.

So farewell Grumpy, Pinky and Little-Lad, we wish you well in your new location.

April 2011 - Hedgehogs pre-release night!

Friday 1st: The time has come, the bad weather gone and spring is in the air. Tonight at 10:20pm, all three Hedgehogs - Grumpy, Little-Lad and Pinky - are back in the garden. Born last June, we found four baby hedgehogs in the planthouse. Probably two days old and cold to the touch. It appeared that they had either been abandoned or orphaned. We of course took them in and through Mel's perseverance, raised three to adulthood with the fourth unfortunately dying a few days after we took them into the house. They spent the late summer months and early autumn living outside in the garden. But in late November when the freezing weather and the snows came, we moved them back into the house to feed and gain the weight needed to become adults. So now the time is here and they are back in the garden. Here they will stay, probably for three or four weeks before we transfer them to another garden in the countryside where eventually they (we hope) disperse into the wild. The Blackbird nesting just outside the backdoor has today hatched two of the three eggs. Two tiny and helpless chicks are being fed by both male and female Blackbird.