Swift Half update - 21st April 2011

• I'm typing away at dawn on the 22nd - thought I'd best get a post in quick, as I hope the next Swift Half update might be "swift-based"!
• Since the last "Swift Half update", I can state that our blue tits who started to build in the very poorly-placed nest box have deserted. This is good news, as our cats (if nothing else) would have forced them to desert at some point - rather now, with no eggs, than later with all the breeding, building, laying effort.
• The hens have destroyed my wild flower patch (as my aunt suggested to me when we got our first hens - nothing is sacred to hens!) Luckily my lovely wife has replanted the seeds and protected them with wire fencing!
• As for other plants in the garden - the sunflowers are doing very nicely - as are the valerians and sage. The pulmonaria along with the marsh marigolds have pretty-well stopped flowering now.
• The pond is boiling with palmate newts each night. Do we have over 50 palmate newts? Very possibly!
• I have now counted at least FOUR broad-bodied chaser dragonfly larvae. I'm sure there will be more - and as they are all "hanging around in a small gang" at the shallows of the pond, I'm getting more and more convinced they'll emerge this spring / summer. May be in the next week, maybe not for 2 months - but I think this summer. In order to facilitate this process, I have provided some sticks for them  - attached to the bottom of the pond and emerging through the water. I do hope they use these sticks, but am well aware that they may well choose to clamber out of my "wildlife-friendly" pond edges, walk for a bit through the grass -and climb up a tree to emerge in adult form. I'd dearly love a few photos of emerging chasers from "Swift Half", so will have to keep my eyes peeled and old FZ50 ready....
• Anna has been off work for two weeks now (in common with most schools)- and has enjoyed stunning weather here - temperatures between 23 and 27c - tanning sunshine and not a drop of rain. We've not had any significant rain since february to be fair - I have a feeling that in common with the last few years, this hot, summery- spring will gang up on us again come July - and instead of a barbequeue summer, we'll get an unsettled summer. If we dont get significant rain in the next four weeks, hosepipe bans look inevitable, and some people in professional circles are already putting drought orders out.
• No swifts yet, but I hope they'll be here sometime over this long easter weekend (I'm off for four days now, in common with a lot of people).
• I managed to get a half decent photo of our female sparrowhawk rushing through the garden a few days ago - more on that in my "How" post above. (Please click photo twice to enlarge).
• Plenty of orange tips, common blues, large and small whites, speckled woods and the odd brimstone in the garden. I've not seen our spostles catch (and eat) any butterflies this year (unlike last) but I guess they have!
• The moth trap I've run for a few nights in this ridiculously warm weather (for April) has given limited results so far - just hebrew characters and a brimstone moth - but thats all.
• No emergence of any kitten moth, buff ermine or ruby tiger moth which I've kept pupae of all winter. I think if they are still alive, they'll emerge in May.