THE BLACK RABBIT: Malu

Showing posts with label Malu. Show all posts

Thursday, 10 June 2010

Our male kitten, found a family of newly-fledged blue tits today and brought one back to me. I rescued it and put it in a tree out of the kitten's way, but I don't give it much chance...

Heading helter-skelter into June now (the year is flying by eh - 3 weeks and the nights will be drawing in again!)
Malu has found the second blackbirds nest in the back garden (once again built in a spot where predators can take out the chicks with no effort at all - blackbirds don't half build their nests in terrible places). Over the last two days he's taken all three nestlings (by the look of them only 4 days old) and killed them all outside the back door. Again, there was nothing I could do about this. Malu 6 - 2 Yala is now the kill score.
Eighteen of my bee holes are now occupied with egg, pollen and sealed - a resounding success this year.
Woodpeckers drumming on large trees in and around Swift Half - very late to start displaying - I assume the male is just letting nomadic woodpeckers know that this is his territory (remember there were two males in the garden this winter, as well as a female), and that he has chicks by now, I hope, somewhere.
No dragonflies over pond yet, but blue damselflies have joined the red damselflies in the garden now.
Swifts still only incubating 2 (from 3) eggs...

Carnage in the garden this afternoon as finally Malu (our male kitten, who is now off his uveitus drugs at least temporarily) raided the blackbird nest in the honeysuckle, killing three of the four hatchlings. The fourth I put back (I have no idea why to be honest) and as I type this, the hen is back on the nest, with the sole surviving chick underneath her. I give it zero chance still...
Another buzzard overhead - mobbed by two omnipresent crows.
Couven & Cutlery (our two hens) decide to make their new dust bath in the kittens latrine - we are a little disgusted by that (and will have to watch for parasite transfer I suppose) but hey ho, there you go.
Still no swift eggs or damselflies in the garden.

Both swifts still in roof - its a real shame that the camstreams footage any viewer sees really is terrible quality compared to my direct link to the roof space. I put what I see on the computer next to the embedded camstream footage (on this site or the camstream site) and the quality just does not compare - I can see every feather detail on the swifts - but on the camstreams feed - its so much softer and blurry. You get what you pay for I suppose - and this camstream site was free!
Malu (male kitten) has done something to his left eye - bloodshoot, bit squinty - we'll call the vets tomorrow morning if it doesn't improve overnight.
14 bee holes sealed now, and 14 bees still visible in other (unsealed) holes in the bee post - like I've said before - an incredible success this year!
Very small (juvenile) newt seen in pond for first time tonight.

Last night both swifts spent the entire night in the roof space and this afternoon, both came back for 30 minutes or so, but as I type this, only one is in the roof. I trust the other is around and ok - the only things that can take a swift are the weather (no food) or a hobby (pretty well the swift's only predator). EDIT (20:56) BOTH swifts back now...
Talking of birds of prey, this afternoon provided a three species bird of prey afternoon from the back garden at "Swift half" - with kites, a female sparrowhawk and a male kestrel all seen within one hour.
A new addition to the birdtable - one of the local jackdaws had a go at the monkey nuts - must have learned that trick off the jays (which the nuts were successfully, originally put out for).
Had to drag Malu off the blackbird's nest in the honeysuckle this evening - the hen is still sitting on four eggs - Malu will get them in the end - I still think thats pretty well inevitable.
Anna (6th May) and I (4th May) both wrong with timing of first swift egg then -no swift eggs in space as yet!
No odonates (especially damselflies) over pond yet - incredibly late this year.

Day 4 of occupation of our roof by the lone swift and..... I think he's found a mate!

This evening I watched two swifts courting (well... not fight anyway) in the skies above the house and as I type, one has gone in and I think (she?) is starting to arrange the grass strands in the space - mixed in with a little swift saliva.

I think (she?) looks sleeker and prettier than (him?) also -but I may be wrong here.

Anyhoo - there are definitely two swifts interested in the space now, and if I was a gambling man, I'd put money on the female now occupying the space.

I'm recording constantly now (its tea-time for me and my mate) so I'll see soon enough if I was right I guess...

Other news - Malu caught a holly blue butterfly today and I wrestled it off him before he could eat that too...

Full moon tonight -sometimes known as the egg moon or seed moon or growing moon in the UK in April...