Swift half news - 3rd May 2010

• Our swift got up very late today - maybe around 10am, and bad news - sparrows are moving nesting material into the swift roof space. Not much material granted, but there's certainly a little turf wars going on...
• Next door neighbours' vixen was out late this morning also - around 8:30am, and the girls (our hens - Couven and Cutlery) were a little twitchy. Cutlery is still having trouble producing decent eggs, but she managed a reasonable one this morning, and both girls took an extended dust bath this afternoon.
• Both (quite large) fox cubs seen in neighbours' garden at 9:15 tonight - quite bold they were...
• 5 potato plants above ground now.
• Hen blackbird still sitting on her (doomed) eggs in honeysuckle.
• Cold week ahead (northerly wind) - may put the breeding/hatching/growing back a bit.
• The mason bees in my post are really busy though - plenty of pollen brought back to the holes by the bees this morning. I think we'll have a full compliment of eggs in bricked-up holes by june at this rate - at present I have 5 holes all bricked up with pollen and egg in (to hatch next year) and twelve occupied holes (I can see the bee inside the hole) ready to be bricked up soon I hope). Wonderful stuff - my bee post is unbeelievably successful this year!

Swift half news - 30th April 2010

• No swift egg in the roof yet - Anna and I have had a little wager on this - I predict May 4th and Anna says May 6th will produce first egg. Anna may be closer to the mark looking at the weather forecast for this weekend!
• My red mason bees are incredibly busy filling the bee-post holes with bright yellow pollen, laying eggs and bricking the drilled holes up with mud (lifted from our watered potato patch!) One hole has already been sealed by a red mason bee, three others are stained bright yellow inside and I guess will be sealed soon enough (complete with egg). Slightly worried about the torrential showers forecast for this saturday evening - I'll have to make sure the bee posts are sheltered.
• Very low, pale buzzard over the garden this afternoon, mobbed by the sentry crows of course.
• Male blackcap (warbler) in the garden yesterday.
• No damselflies seen as yet - very late now!
• The hen blackbird is back on the nest in the honeysuckle! I'll have a peep over the long bank holiday weekend to see if she's laid more eggs (2 at last count a few days ago - after I thought she'd abandoned).
• First Brimstone moth (photo of a brimstone moth at our old gaff) appeared at kitchen window tonight (didn't even set moth trap up!)