Swift Half SWIFTS update - 30th April 2011

• I've recorded hours and hours of nest-space footage today - still no definitive copulation taking place, but as the birds spend so much time on the wing (and are often in the entrance tunnel out of camera view when in the roof, making very strange noises!), they will have mated for sure by now I think.
• That said, I'll keep recording and hope for a lucky break.
• Clip number ten is up on the images site - showing more mutual grooming between our pair - and another "false mounting" I think?

Swift Half update - 30th April 2011

• Because of all the swift activity at Swift Half, I've not posted on other shenanigans round 'ere for a while - so this might make up for that.

• All the marsh marigold flowers in the pond have dropped off now (apart from one!) Far from being a riot of yellow a week ago, its now just a riot of green leaves.
• None of my pupae have "eclosed" yet - none of the moffs at all.
• None of the BBC larvae have left the pond and transformed into beautiful adults yet.
• Stiff northeast wind continues, but still NO rain - warm sunshine instead!
• The palmate newts in the pond are still incredibly high in number - lots of males, quite a few much larger females and young of all sizes. I wouldn't be surprised if we have fifty palmate newts in the pond - possible more.
• My favourite wasp of all (the "ruby (or jewel) -tailed wasp" posed beautifully for me on the kitchen wall yesterday - and I got a shot or two (please click photo above twice to enlarge). I rarely see these stunning, tiny insects at all -  and when I do, they invariably are always on the move, so incredibly difficult to take a photo of - so I'm very happy indeed that one stopped long enough for a wee photo session!
• EDIT at 1820hrs - Our Broad bodied chaser dragonfly nymph (that I've been feeding very special food to for the last week....) has today become an adult! Photos on my images site, here!

Swift half SWIFTS update - 30th April 2011

• Both adult swifts are displaying the classic signs of swift courtship in the nest-space now.
• Both roosted together all night, dozing occasionally and then waking for a spot of mutual groomage.
• Whilst swifts are generally covered in parasites (lice and mites) this grooming doesn't seem to be to rid each other of this beasties - just as a relationship cement.
• Its lovely to see both together - in the sky and in the roof overnight.
• I've recorded two clips from last night (clips eight and nine here) which show both birds entering the nest, both birds screaming to each other in the nest (right at the end of clip eight - the female has the higher pitched scream, the male the lower) and both birds engaging in some seriously heavy petting in clip nine.
• Clip nine does show what appears to be a semi or trial copulation, but I'm pretty sure I have not (yet) recorded copulation in the nest-space. The bird on the right of the two at the start of clip nine, buzzes its wings*, mounts the other bird, appears to "thrust" and then dismounts to allow mutual grooming to continue.
• It would be easy to think that this is copulation, but I'm not convinced that the bird on the right at the start of the clip (the bird that wing buzzes) is indeed the male - I think its the female. So I rather think I have a little more recording to do and a lot more luck, to be able to say I have actually recorded swift copulation on video. Of course many swifts mate in the air, so no matter how much footage I record, I may not get a mating on tape.
• * Many small birds (more often than not, song birds - of which swallows and martins ARE, but swifts are NOT) wing flutter or wing "buzz" before copulation. Very often its the female sparrow or blue tit (for example) which approaches the male, takes up a submissive posture, buzzes her wings and the male responds accordingly. In the case of our two swifts, I've witnessed the wing buzzing a few times in the nest space now, and am of the uneducated opinion that it is purely courtship behaviour, rather than pre-mounting behaviour.
• I am am hoping that a swift expert might visit my site and explain all!
• Because a dual roost (of both adults overnight in the nest) has occurred about a week earlier than last year, one might reasonably assume that the first egg might be laid a week earlier, if all goes to plan.
• This would make an approximate guesstimation of date for any first egg to be laid as 12th May - time will tell I guess.

Swift Half SWIFTS update - 29th April 2011

• Someone has mentioned something about a wedding happening today, quite near to "Swift Half" - in fact we're only about 8 miles from Bucklebury, which I also hear has got quite famous for some reason, recently.
• Ah well.... the only news of a pairing I'm interested in today is of our swifts - note the plurality - swiftS! Thats right - at about 19:30hrs last night, two swifts came in and landed in our nest space.
• Well.... one swift went all the way in to the nest space and the other sat out of shot, in the entrance "tunnel" and preened for ten minutes or so.
• But, I can formally state that the second bird seems to have returned from Africa last night - we have a pair again and we have a green light for a good breeding season now!
• Please note - last year the pair re-united a day earlier (27th April) than this year (28th), but it was over a week before both the birds roosted together in the next space overnight and showed any visible, recorded signs of courtship behaviour (mutual grooming etc...) so we may have a week or so to wait before I can post that sort of stuff on my video clips.
• The latest clip (clip seven) recorded at about 19:30hrs BST last night (27th April) for most viewers will not the most interesting swift clip to watch, but for me its a relief that the two birds are back together and this clip documents the exact moment both went to the nest for the first time, together.
• I was outside in the garden at the time, and I saw two birds come in low and also HEARD them for the first time since last year - screaming to each other. That's been the strangest thing so far this year - as well as the lone swift (until now!)  - of course NO swift screaming.
• I watched them both circle the house once and then both birds landed in the roof within a second or so of each other.
• I don't know whether it is the female that goes into the viewable part of the nest space, emitting a truncated high pitched scream to her mate as she does so, or its the male entering and calling his partner. I think probably its the male you can see in the clip, and the male giving the confirmation call to his mate - he (it) certainly immediately stops and watches the female (or other bird) perched in the entrance tunnel.
• You'll not see the other bird in the clip - but you may well hear soft calls from one bird to the other, notice the change in shadow at the back of the box, when the second bird preens and also hear the out-of-sight bird preening (you'll need to turn the volume up on your computer to appreciate the noise).
• The second bird left the roof space about twelve minutes after both landed - and immediately climbed out of sight to roost on the wing I guess.
• I'm pretty sure our local swifts all feed at the veritable plethora of local gravel pits which stretch for a mile or three down the M4 - about 60 seconds flight away for our swifts.
• I hope the pair remain together (I have no reason to think they wouldn't -this all happened in an identical fashion last year) and come the end of the first week of May, both birds are roosting together in front of my wee camera - so any interested viewers can see them both.
• The seventh clip can be found by clicking HERE.
• EDIT at 2050hrs - BOTH birds have tonight roosted for the first time together. I've recorded a super clip with both birds on show and calling to each other. I'll update this blog tomorrow.

Swift Half SWIFT update - 27th April 2011

• When I returned from work this afternoon, I once again saw TWO swifts in the sky above "Swift Half" (our house). Is this the pair together now? Maybe, maybe not, as the pair didnt stick together for too long, at least whilst I was watching.
• In came our swift again, back to the roof, with another downy white feather in his/her gob - caught on the wing of course.
• She/he tries to cement it in place on the floor of the nest-space, with a little swift spittle. Swifts really are quite poor at this, even if they don't need much of a nest!
• The latest video update, here, shows the swift nest-building at about tea-time this afternoon, but at about 19:00hrs, just before I wrote this - our swift returned (alone again) to the nest with an even bigger feather!
• I think (looking at the day's recorded hours), our swift has put about four feathers in the nest today -all caught on the wing - it certainly is thinking of breeding - so I hope that second bird is its mate - otherwise we may need our lonely swift to undergo some sort of parthenogenesis to give us some eggs and hatchlings in the nest!
• We've had another stiff northeasterly over the county again today, but with beautiful, clear blue skies this afternoon, which has brought out a huge hatch of mayflies over our local watercourses. Unfortunately, this rich bounty is too low and large for our swifts, which are more interested in midges and wee beetles!

Swift Half SWIFT update -26th April 2011

• The fourth video update can be found by clicking here.
• 4 days (and nights) in, and our swift is still alone, we think - certainly I've still to hear a swift scream in the vicinity (or at all this year in fact) or two birds obviously togther around the house, since briefly at the weekend.
• Swift numbers in the county are picking up a little now, but still very few in number. It is early in the season though - I've never seen my first swifts in the UK earlier than 23rd April (as this year and last) and never later than the 25th April, but many people wait until May for their first swift sightings and its true to say that the big numbers of swifts don't often arrive until a good few days into May.
• That said, I feel quite sad watching our lone swift in the roof - and I don't feel much happier seeing him / her flying around the house on his / her own at present!
• More nest building (if you can call glueing one feather together with a spot of swift saliva - nest building). This swift is obviously set on breeding, is obviously 4 years old or more (the age at which most swifts become fertile breeders  - I'm still convinced its one of last year's adults because of its direct (and unseen) entrance to the roof, with no shilly-shallying about in the area. If that is indeed the case, it would probably make this individual at least 5 years old - but possibly no older owing to what I dug out of the roof in the winter of 2009 (a dead adult and an unhatched egg).
• There has been a marked change in the weather today also - after two incredible weeks of pretty-well unbroken hot (25c+) sunshine and very light wind, we have a stiff north-easterly today, good cloud cover and a temperature drop of 8 or 9c. The temperature drop is of no concern - but the wind is a little problematic for swifts coming in from the south.
• All of us at Swift Half await this bird's mate - and hope it arrives before Friday, when we are due some significant rain at last!

Swift Half SWIFT update - 25th April 2011

• Swifts are still hard to come by over Berks by the look of it. A pal in Jersey suggests they're not stopping anywhere long - but moving north in this good weather - making hay whilst the sun shines so to speak.
• Anna and I have seen two, seemingly courting above the garden (yesterday), but we only have one in the roof still.
• Last night our swift brought in a large white down feather (which you'll see in the middle of the roof space on our third video update) which the swift tried to glue into place with a little saliva. Unfortunately I was not recording at the time - lesson learned!
• One might be forgiven that because this swift has started to nest build, it must be the female. Not so I'm afraid.
• Both sexes build a nest by gluing whatever they can catch in the sky (a stray down feather from a pigeon, a stalk of hay, a bus ticket!) down into the nest space with swift saliva. In fact, in case you weren't aware, the eastern delicacy of birds nest soup is made from cave swift nests -which are made from saliva like our swifts' nests! MMmmmmm!
• Our individual swift may be a female, but it could be a male also. What we still need is TWO birds now - both adults are needed to feed the young and of course incubate the eggs, if and when eggs are laid.
• Our swift leaves the roof between 08:00hrs and 09:00hrs each morning - and we don't see it again at present until about 17:30 hrs -when it seems to return from its hunting grounds (who knows where!) to roost for the night.
• Now please come in swift number two, your time is up!

Swift half SWIFT update - 24th April 2011

• Yesterday evening, before Anna and I decamped to a local water-hole for some goan scran and a celebratory beer (to toast our swifts back!) we noticed two swifts courting over "Swift Half".
• This is what happened last year, before breeding commenced - but we still only had one bird in the roof overnight.
• We think this is the male -who spent about twelve hours in the roof, before leaving for the day at around 09:00hrs this morning. Video number two HERE.
• I type this at 17:00hrs - and I've not seen or heard a swift all day - in the roof or in the sky.
• There do seem to be far fewer swifts reported in the county on this date, compared to last year.
• I hope we get a year like last year (5 or 6 swifts screaming around the house all day and a successful breeding season) rather than the year before (just one swift in the roof, which produced one egg (which failed) and died in the roof).
• Cross your fingers, grapple fans!
• I note that the weather is going to cool down markedly this week- to return to the level it should be (around 16c, rather than 27c!). This will make roosting and breeding a far better proposition for any swifts - Anna and I certainly noticed our roof swift panting like a trooper in its hot bed last night!

General (County) update - 24th April 2011

• Quite a lot to say here - firstly a pair of Mandarin (drake and duck) have taken up residence of the local barn owl box. Great photos by my walking companion, here and here.
• Terns arriving over local lakes and rivers.
• Little owl breeding in local oak tree -  I think I may have identified the tree this morning  -time will tell I guess. (I'll get back there when I can).
• Otter watched by a local wildlife expert at my favourite local lake recently - excellent news!
• Goslings and ducklings now appearing in numbers on the Thames and local lakes.
• The barmy balmy weather continues - hot, (27c), sultry and sunny. Anna and I went out for a river-side curry at our local upmarket watering hole last night and watched an electrical storm all evening over Henley, 5 miles north of us - very spectacular fork lightning but we were dry as a bone!
• Osprey spotted drifting above the local lock today by the same blerk who saw the otter. VERY good sight!
• Four baby robins in my walking companions "swift box" - all doing well by the look of it.
• Still no real numbers of swifts in the county, although a few have been reported today I see.

Swift Half update - 24th April 2011

• A quick post on the rest of "Swift Half" (not including the return of the swifts...)
• First appearance of large red damselflies over the pond two days ago.
• First appearance of adult ruby tiger moth (flying during the day and landing in the pond)
• First appearance of lily leaves on surface of pond.
• First appearance of wild flower shoots coming through, in re-planted tub of wild flowers.
• First appearance of growing strawberry from a fertilised strawberry flower in one of my old boots.

Swift Half SWIFT news - 23rd April 2011

• STOP PRESS!
• At 08:30 hrs this morning I started to record the inside of our roof again -empty since the end of July last year. I still had not seen ANY swift on the wing in Britain since last summer. (I still havent!)
• Just before Anna and I left for our saturday volunteering at a local nature reserve, Anna checked the television and lo and behold - an adult swift was IN THE ROOF!
• I didn't see it arrive (in the sky) and I still have not seen ANY swifts in the sky - please bear in mind I rate my eyesight pretty highly - especially where swifts are concerned!
• So..... we have one swift in our roof (although it has left the space for the time being -as I write this).
• We are convinced its one of last year's adults - it knew exactly what it was doing when it returned, quite obviously. It didnt fly about the area, "doing a recce" -it has come up from South Africa and gone straight into our roof - no messing.
• Is it the male? Is it the female? Who knows?
• Will it return tonight? Will it be with a mate? Who knows?
• Why have I not seen any swifts at all in the sky this year? Who knows?! (Although I have my suspicions about that - I'll post on that later).
• Anyway - I predicted they'd be back on St.George's day, before christmas - and thanks to the incredible weather and a lorra luck, I was spot on!
• Welcome home swifts - I hope this season sees you well.
• Video - here (on this site) and on my "dmackdimages" site.
• Awooga!!!

How can one.....?

• ..... see more sparrowhawks and kingfishers?
• It surprises me often, that many people don't see kingfishers and sparrowhawks (in particular) more often - some people I know have never seen a kingfisher for example, but have had many walks over many years, down suitable habitats.
• I've limited this "how can one...." post to these two species, as these are two birds that many people would like to see more of, and can easily, with just a little advice.
• Sparrowhawks firstly -  I guess the best way of seeing more sparrowhawks these days is to put loads of small bird feeders up in your garden, if you have one, which will attract the tits, blackbirds, finches, woodpeckers and pigeons - which in time will almost certainly attract the hawks! Once a hawk has made a kill in a garden, it remembers - and revisits often.
• We have hawks visit the garden every day, but not often stopping (as I've stopped feeding the passerines, owing to the presence of "trich" in neighbours gardens  - something I certainly don't wish to pass on to my hens.
• I see hawks every day, circling on thermals over the garden - I've already written about identifying birds of prey in the air - but what about seeing more hunting hawks - hawks that race along hedgerows and through woods - doing what they do best - ambushing small birds whilst you may be out on a walk somewhere?
• The secret to seeing more hawks outside your garden, is before using your eyes - use your ears!
• Invariably a hunting hawk will put birds up in the air -you'll see that, but before, or as those birds scatter, there'll inevitably be a few rapid panicky wing claps of a pigeon or dove and coupled with that - a very distinct alarm call from the resident starlings.
• Pretty-well every hunting (low) hawk I've ever seen on any walk that I've taken, has been preceded by me hearing a starling or three shriek "hawk" first. I stop and train my eyes in the direction of the starlings alarm call, and almost invariably, a hawk will rush out of the hedge or copse, or bush, a few seconds later.
• Starlings, or should I say the sound of the alarmed starling is a superb way of seeing more sparrowhawks - the best way by far I'd suggest. Starlings are wonderful mimics (our local starlings take off our local red kites and woodpeckers magnificently) and have a wide vocabulary it seems. BUT- hear a starling or two shriek "hawk" and you'll not forget it - listen out for it, then stop and look and you'll soon be beating hawks off with a stick!
• Click here, to be transported to a page of starling alarm calls and listen out particularly for the very high pitched call they make during a few of the "alarm clips". Thats a starling shrieking hawk. When they see one, they'll inevitably make this high-pitched alarm very rapidly, often then mobbing the hawk whilst peeping at it, if there is safety in numbers.
• The photo I got of our female hawk below, on this page, was taken using this very technique. I stood in the garden, a couple of starlings suddenly shouted "hawk". I raised my camera and a few seconds later, in she came like a stripey rocket. I got a shot.
• Eventually, you'll be out on a walk, you'll stop, announce to whoever you're with that a hawk is coming (you'll have be warned by the starlings!), a hawk will rush by you - and whoever you're with might be quite impressed! (Just keep it a secret though eh - go all mystical on them, and wax lyrical about being at one with nature or something!)
• Thats hawks then - what about kingfishers?
• Exactly the same principle - use your ears, then your eyes.
• Rather like hawks, invariably when I've seen kingfishers when taking a wander up a river, I've heard it first. Kingfishers, like woodpeckers, are kind enough to announce their presence to interested humans nearby. Not always, but very, VERY often, they'll emit a few short-lived, very high pitched flight calls whilst bombing down a river like a tiny cobalt missile.
• Walk down a river (pretty well any river!) and listen out for this sound. Stop and scan the river in the direction of the call, but limit your scan to to more than 3 or 4 feet above the surface of the river. Invariably the kingfisher will bomb by, very possibly calling as it flies by - just to make sure you've seen it! They're very good like that, kingfishers - they seem to want to be seen by you!
• Like I say, these two species of birds can be seen more and more, by listening out for associated calls first - and I'd say that these two species are the best examples of using your ears first  -  then your eyes...

General (County) update - 22nd April 2011

• As described below, the hot (its way past "warm" down here now), weather continues - bring ing horse chestnut "candles" out at least two weeks early.
• Club-tailed dragonflies are emerging from one of their national strongholds, near us on the Thames.
• Anna and I had a drink on the river last night and I spotted only my second Reading fox (outside our garden!!!) in 5 years of living in the area. Quite strange really.
• First of the mayflies appeared on our office window yesterday - joining the St.Marks flies which Anna and I noticed last weekend. (These flies are so-called because the adults all fly for a week, around 25th April  or St.Marks day - it just so happened they were maybe ten days earlier than normal this spring - in common with many other beasties and plants that reside here all year round).
• I've (we've) not had a chance to wander up the river or through a wood recently, so I can't give you more of an update than this, presently - but we'll (Anna and I) try and go to our annual bluebell wood over the next four days and see what's about there....

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.

Swift Half update - 17th April 2011

• Another frog in the pond - making four in total now (two being this year's young from a nearby pond, colonising our little puddle I hope!)
• But more great news from the pond is that I've seen and counted at least THREE dragonfly larvae - and not any old larvae - "broad-bodied chaser larvae". Apologies for the poor quality photo - not used to taking snaps of aquatic larvae in tumblers! (Click twice to enlarge anyway, if you like).

• This is what the less than classically-beautiful larvae will turn into eventually.
• These larvae will have been at the bottom of our pond for at least one year, possibly two (I've certainly seen BBCs perching near the pond occasionally over the past two years - but I didnt notice any ovipositing going on.
• Really good news (they're my favourite dragonfly and my elder sisters) and I've popped some branches in the pond for the larvae to climb up, should they feel the desire to turn into adults this year...
• I may have seen three, but I'm hoping even my bionic eyes have missed MANY more lurking in amongst the blanket weed at the bottom of our little pond!
• First Brimstone moth of the year last night, attracted to the moff trap.

Swift update - 16th April 2011

• My sister tells me the swifts are in Paris! Last year they arrived in Paris three days later (on the 19th).
• Last year it took the advance parties four days to get from Paris to Berkshire -they arrived on 23rd.
• Does this mean my favourite birds will be back with us in four days only - ie on the 20th April?
• We're nearly there......!
• EDIT - I now understand that the swifts my sister reported actually were in the Loire valley (not Paris) on the 16th. They actually arrived in Paris on the 20th - a day later than last year...

Swift Half update - 16th April 2011

Hoppy bird day to me (click twice to enlarge)
• With no more than a week to go (I hope!) before my beloved birds are back, I thought I'd give a quick update.
• All the plants (evening primrose, pulmonaria, buddleja, valerian, sunflowers, strawberries and wild meadow flowers) seem to be doing well. I water them each night - we have three sunflowers grown from seed and an inch above ground now, the strawberries have already flowered and the wild meadow flowers (even though I pick a dozen slugs off them each night) have come up pretty well.
• Blue tits are nesting under the eaves on the west of the house and also (sadly) they have been very insistent on taking possession of the box on the shed. This will only end in tears I'm afraid, because of our cats -which will just sit and watch them - any egg laid will get too cold and any hatchling will starve. I had no idea the tits would take up residence in that box (after two years of not doing so) but should have taken it down anyway. Time will tell.
• Three frogs in the pond now - what look like two large adult females and one sub-adult male.
• Thanks to parents in law for a super angle viewer for my camera (enabling me to get very low angle shots on the ground, as in the hoppy bird day photo above, of conker, to celebrate my recent 40th) or from my boat, Mandarin, in the winter. Many thanks also to my brother and sister in law (and their girls) for my excellent ghillie suit - which will enable me to blend into the countryside like a banana in a milkshake...

General (county) news - 16th April 2011

• I've had a couple of days off the drudgery of work this week, what with it being my 40th birthday n all on Thursday gone - and all the critters in the county are moving at such a pace now, its hard to keep track.
• Firstly - the weather - its still very warm and settled for mid April - although not quite as hot and sunny as the last two weeks.
• Secondly - whilst I know cuckoos have arrived, as have many summer visitors such as the warblers etc.... many winter visitors are still here!
• There are still good numbers of waxwings around - some even seem to be displaying! I don't think waxwings have been recorded breeding in the UK, but I might be wrong. They really should've all buggered off back to Scandanavia by now, alongside their redwing and fieldfare cousins...
• Bluebells seem to be up early also - maybe a fortnight early - Anna and I will make our annual bluebell pilgrimage in a week or two.
• Last night Anna and I went off to a wood in south bucks for a spot of badger watching. No badgers - I was a little fidgety (very unlike me) but a tawny owl and a little owl (nice set of hooters then), a big dog fox and a muntjac. All very nice but I'd loved to have seen the badgers! Maybe we'll go back in a month, and see if the little cubs are around?
• Yesterday my little boat made its maiden voyage. I bought an inflatable craft 6 months ago, with a view to getting water-borne shots of winter ducks (especially goldeneye). I am now licensed, insured and Anna kindly gave me a wee electric outboard motor to power her.
• We launched her on the (well.... I can't tell you that as I'd have to kill you) secret river - and I'm pleased to say she's watertight and pretty sturdy really. All I need now is a frame over which I can drape my camo netting - and we're ready to rock n roll!
• Because my boat's maiden voyage took her past (through I suppose) a pair of mandarin ducks on the secret river (lovely to see from such a low vantage point and from their eye level), I have named my wee boat - "Mandarin".
• I do hope to take her out many times before the winter (Anna and I can both travel in her -she will support us both with ease) - in order for me to be ready for the winter ducks this year - and the photo opportunities they might bring. I'm very excited by this...

Swift Half update -11th April 2011

• Plenty of blue butterflies around still - they seem to like the pungent odour from our chicken droppings!
• Five swallows now seen from the garden at Swift Half - the first on April 1st and the most recent three this afternoon.
• Blue tits have begun to nest in our long-forgotten next box (but wisely abandoned it due to various factors - my constant presence in the garden, our neighbours working outside very close to the box and the cats watchful eyes!)
• Loads of insect activity - loads of bees in my bee post (as well as the appearance of the first very stunning nomadic bees), big fat honeysuckle sawflies floating about - I've seen the adults and Anna found a larva today, wasps and bumblebees everywhere, the first speckled wood butterflies and plenty of pond skaters on the pond.
• Buzzards appearing virtually every day now - alongside the hawks and kites.
• Malu caught a big bank vole last night (I wrestled the poor beastie off him at dawn this morning) - BAD MALU!!!
• Nursery web spiders seen for the first time this year - along with the zebra (jumping) spiders.
• A new frog has appeared in the pond  - very small, but very sweet - completely surrounded by the dozens of palmate newts of course and in the photo above, next to a dead woodlouse spider.
• The woodlouse spider is an impressive wee beastie. They run around after woodlice - pretty well the only thing they'll eat - and their chelicerae (fangs) are something to behold. I guess they have to be, in order for them to pierce the woodlouse' horny exoskeleton.
• The first eleven spot and twenty-two spot ladybirds have appeared in the garden this week also.
• Please click any photo twice to enlarge.

General (County) update - 11th April 2011

• Well, we've had incredibly little rain for well over a month now - possibly closer to two - as I alluded to a post or two below - very good for some things (including the general "human mood") but very bad for others...
• Badgers, in particular will not be enjoying this warm, dry month or two. It's about now, that the little cubs will be taking their first steps above ground after the spring purely suckling their mother, in the sett. Badgers really need the ground to be soft and yielding at this time of year - in order to forage successfully for the thousands of worms they need to feed their young. A long, dry, warm period of weather in April (and May if it goes on) is really quite bad news for my striped friends - as they simply cannot get to their worms.
• If you are driving around and you see many badgers dead on the road at this time of the year - that is not surprising really - the badgers are on the move generally about now, and even more so with this dry spring - just to get to food.
• Everything seems a little early  -  even the foliage on trees is a fortnight premature I'd say.
• We're into the apple, cherry and laurel blossom period now.
• Cuckoos are arriving (heard all over the county) as are the common terns and summer warblers.
• I hear this week is going to return to more normal spring-like temperatures (14c instead of 24c) and we may get a little rain.

How can one....?

• After posting an extended entry below, explaining how one can.... (tell the difference between moths and butterflies, not to mention grasshoppers and crickets), alongside Swift Half and general (county) updates, I thought I'd start a "How can one...." series of posts as I am often asked these questions out in the field.
• I've recently moved offices -now I have a view through a large window (with some new colleagues and office neighbours) and already pointed out sparrowhawks, kestrels and peregrines to them - and yes they'd like to know how I can tell the difference from pretty poor views.
• I'll start this series of posts with raptors around this neck of the woods - very often if I'm with a few people and I see a raptor high in the sky, I'll identify it and am then asked how can I be sure?
• Here's how, then, to tell the difference between common raptors round here, without a decent view.
• Round here, but replicated in many parts of the UK, if I see a raptor in the sky, regularly it'll be a sparrowhawk, kestrel, buzzard or kite. Sometimes it'll be a hobby or a peregrine also.
• I can't be completely sure of size, or plumage markings, so I have to rely on behaviour - what its doing and more importantly, how its doing it!
• In brief then...
• Red kites - often more than one in the sky - unlike other raptors which are more often than not (when not breeding) alone in the sky. Play with the wind - a tail twitch here, a wing flick there, but not much else. Tend to hang their wings or hold them flat. Often quite vocal (more so than buzzards) because they flock more than the similarly-sized buzzards.
• Buzzards - wings invariably held in a very shallow V shape - kites don't tend to do this. Spotted perching far more often than kites. In Scotland the buzzard is known as the telegraph pole eagle, for obvious reasons! Less vocal than kites, less often found in flocks.
• Sparrowhawk - apart from the fact that you'll often know when you're about to see a sparrowhawk by the very distinctive alarm call of starlings in particular, if you see a hawk in the sky, it'll invariably be holding its wings very flat and punctuating glides with a series of short, rapid wing beats. This is pretty-well a hawk giveaway a lot of the time. If you see a bird of prey that goes "flap flap flap flap gllllliiiide. Flapflapflapflap gliiiiiiiide" - you can be quite confident that its a hawk.
• Kestrel - the windhover is really the only common raptor that hovers in one spot in the sky for any period of time, looking down, and flapping its wings quickly. There are other raptors that will attempt that occasionally, some with a little success- but the kestrel is really the only true hoverer. Tends not to use thermals or soar like kites, buzzards and hawks.
• I'll not go into the harriers (which tend to quarter low over scrubs or reeds), goshawks (which are really just supersized sparrowhawks), hobbies (dainty little falcons which rush around bringing down dragonflies etc...) or peregrines (large, solid falcons, which fly with that in mind) - but that covers the four most common raptors round 'ere - kites, kestrels,buzzards and sparrowhawks. Thats how I tell the difference without relying on physical appearance or size  you don't need to get a good close up or lengthy view- never a good idea to rely on that. Rely on where the thing you've seen is (often habitat) and behaviour instead!

Swift Half update - 9th April 2011

• After our recent computer woes, I'm glad to say we're back on line now. A little TLC was needed, a little technical wizardry (safe mode, system restore, checkpoints, deletion of downloads, viral scans, malware reinstallation and finally virus and spyware eradication). I think we're ok. Phew!
• A wonderful week weather-wise over the UK and Swift Half was no exception. Temperatures up to 24c, clear blue skies, very light winds  - really nice for us humans - less so for other creatures (more on that in the "general update".
• With the warm sun comes the leaves (and away goes the damson blossom).
• Cherry blossom and apple blossom is now forming on neighbouring trees, but our damson and pear blossom is pretty-well over.
• The two frogs are still in our pond, but after a week of being clamped together, in coitus, they have finally decided to go their semi-separate ways, and live at opposite ends of the pond, having produced no spawn at all, as far as I can see...
• Our newts are still rampant -I think if I emptied the pond and sifted through the organic matter retrieved, I'd find three or four dozen palmate newts - really abundant they are.
• I'm glad to say that my old bee post has once again been taken up well by the local mason bees. Yesterday afternoon in the sun, the bee post was a real hive of activity hur hur hur, oh stop it.
• Lots of blue butterflies around  - I've not had a chance to get close to any to confirm they're holly blue butterflies -but I assume they are.
• Lots of mining bees nesting in the lawn (providing they can avoid being smooled by the cats - the hens tend not to eat bees - just everything else!)
• I've run my moth trap for three nights already and caught lots of plume moths, plenty of hebre character moths and a rather nice male "brindled beauty" (more on that later).
• Two weeks to the arrival of my beautiful swifts (I hope!) - but plenty of bird activity in and above Swift Half gardens - nesting blackbirds (I guess the spostles will have them eventually), nesting robins at Mr.Ts, the omnipresent red kites, the heron is still around, as are the woodpeckers and jays and a surprise visit yesterday afternoon from a white and blue budgie! There's no doubt that someone keeps exotic birds locally (remember the Java finch turning up in our neighbours' garden last summer). If the budgie is still alive this morning, our hawks will soon make short work of it, undoubtedly...
• The three moth larvae I have kept over the winter have not turned into adults yet, (I think I have a ruby tiger moth larva, a buff ermine and a sallow kitten -time will tell), but the red mason bees are certainly breaking out of their overwintering nests in the bee post - nice to know that has come full circle successfully.
• Other insects of note - first appearances of the Feather footed flower bee's "cuckoo bee" -the black and white Melecta albifrons - which just like the last two years, seems addicted to the honeysuckle leaves, and the first appearance of the nomadic bees - striking little insects with eyes to die for...
• On the subject of the moth trap and the male brindled beauty caught this week (not a rare moth, but a lovely gold dusty sheen to it) - what would you say if asked "what is the difference between moths and butterflies?"
• Most would say moths are nocturnal and dull, butterflies are diurnal and showy - and in the main of course, that would be quite correct - but there are too many exceptions to really go anywhere near relying on that generalisation.
• There are two much better answers.
• Firstly, a behavioural answer - at rest, butterflies invariably like to hold their wings upright above their body (when not sunbathing), whereas moths fold their wings along their body, or flatten themselves against the surface they are resting on. This is virtually a foolproof method of telling the difference between moths and butterflies. So many people have asked me "whats the difference between x and y" when asking me about animals -and most people rely on physical differences that can be observed easily - size, colour, etc.... but almost invariably, the best way to tell the difference between two animals that superficially appear very similar (dunnocks and sparrows for example) is to note their behaviour. Almost certainly if I'm told what a bird or insect is doing, rather than what it looks like to the observer (never rely on size -its so subjective) I can give a half decent answer to a query.
• Secondly, a morphological differenc, if you really get a good look. Butterflies have clubbed antennae - ie thin antennae with little clubs on the end. Moths do not have clubs on their antennae. At all. Male moths have feathery antennae (see close up photo) and female moths just have thin, unclubbed antennae. Get a good look at your moth or butterfly and this method is pretty-well cast iron, to differentiate between the two.
• Another good example of a rare, easily observable morphological difference between two similar animals - "whats the difference between a cricket and a grasshopper?" Do you know? Get a good look - sneak up to the wee beastie and check out its antennae. A cricket will have long, hair-thin antennae. A grasshopper will have short, stubby antennae. Cast iron again.
• Anyway, that concludes this weeks nature lesson class. Please read chapter 7 from your textbooks over the easter holiday because when we return in two weeks time, we'll discuss why seagulls are incorrectly named and what we should do about it!
• While I'm here - its Grand National day today. I'll stick my neck out and suggest that one of these horses WILL win the big race. BALLABRIGGS, OSCAR TIME, BACKSTAGE, KILLYGLEN.







• Please click any photo twice to enlarge.
• EDIT (POST GRAND NATIONAL)..... I don't wannae get "I told you so, on yo ass", but my quote taken from this post - almost twelve hours before the Grand National was run:
  
  
  
  "While I'm here - its Grand National day today. I'll stick my neck out and suggest that one of these horses WILL win the big race. BALLABRIGGS, OSCAR TIME, BACKSTAGE, KILLYGLEN".
  
  
  
  In case you didnt see the result, of the four horses I suggested you considered, Ballabrigs (mentioned first) won the race - and Oscar Time (mentioned second) came second.
  
  
  
  Remember this blog for next years tips eh?!

URGENT UPDATE - COMPUTER FAILURE

• I'm sorry to say that like last year (when the motherboard on our processor decided to burn out a week before the swifts fledged) we have a computer problem this year also.
• Last night our c-drive became very heavily infected with viruses - and our computer has had to go to rehab to be fixed.
• I am not using our PC to post this and will not post again until our home PC is back up and running.
• We desperately hope we don't have to wipe our hard drive again (twice in less than a year), but I guess thats what we may have to do - time will tell.
• As I write this there are maybe 17 days before my swifts return, so we have a little time to get things working again, but as for how long any remedy may take - who knows? It could be fixed today, or could take two weeks.
• Please bear with me - I hope to be back on line and bringing you swift videos soon.
• Thanks, TBR.

Swift Half update - 3rd April 2011

• This blog is celebrating its first birthday TODAY!
• It was one year ago today that I thought I'd start blogging again, after I had an initial attempt over at Blue-grey.
• A year on and we're still here, at our super little rented house, "Swift Half", with the garden to die for, our two cats, three hens (RIP Cutlery), jays, hawks, woodpeckers, foxes, newts, frogs, bees and.... in about three weeks (I hope!) our beautiful, fascinating swifts back again.
• Anna treated me to an early birthday present today - a trip to a garden centre to choose some bee and moth-friendly plants - what a lovely wife I have!
• We bought a buddleja, a white valerian, a scabious, two lavender, a pulmonaria (which my bees have already found!) and an evening primrose.
• I am not a botanist, nor a particularly avid gardener -I know very little about plants and flowers - and in the main, think of them not as pretty, but there to do a job - attract all my insects! I am very lucky that Anna knows me very well now - and what a lovely birthday present - a whole load of insect-friendly plants!
• I hope our bees appreciate Anna's efforts - and maybe, just maybe, we'll get a hummingbird hawkmoth in our garden this summer....?
• So here we go again - another year at "Swift Half"?
• You know what  -  I hope so!
• So for the first post "this year" (year 2 of the blog, but year 3 of our residence at "Swift Half") - I'd just like to start by saying that spring has most certainly sprung a good ten days or so earlier than last year.
• The whole point of this blog originally was to record certain natural events in the locality, to compare in years to come (plus of course, to show anyone interested our nesting swifts!)
• The garden daffodils have already come and gone this spring - last year they were only just blooming.
• The blue and red mason bees have been with us for at least a week - last year they didnt appear until ten days or so into April.
• The damson blossom is masive this year, but has already peaked - not so for this time last year.
• I guess all this is down to the very hard winter of 2009/2010 and a less harsh season at the beginning of this year - not to mention the very warm temperatures we've had for a month or so now.
• So... does that mean our swifts will arrive back before St.George's day then (3 weeks). I doubt it - thats as much (if not more) to do with the weather in Africa than it has to do with our weather.
• My money's still on 23rd April!