Swift Half update - 1st September 2010

• You'll note that I'm updating here less and less since my beloved swifts have left.That said, I've seen the odd swallow and house martin in the skies above the garden over the past few days.
• Malu has chased one of this years fox cubs (more like a lanky fox teenager now - very "boingy" and in very good nick) off the hen's coop TWICE this week. I'm very proud of little Malu!
• Other visitors to the garden in this sunny, warm week were two migrant hawker dragonflies (photos on flickr), a few "Old ladies" (moths) and a few "Yellow underwing" (moths again) - seems like the chilly, clear nights are favouring the larger moffs right now.
• We have what looks like a red admiral chrysalis on the large shed. Strange as ALL red admiral chrysalises are normally in a "nettle-leaf tent" - but I saw the caterpillar that produced the chrysalis, and it did look like a red admiral (albeit strangely coloured). I'll keep an eye on it. Photos on flickr
• The jays are back collecting their peanuts from the bird table - but the woodpeckers I've yet to attract back (but I have no doubt at all that they'll be back when it gets a little colder).
• Huge numbers of squash bugs are in the rear (rear) garden as well as a new species for me - a cinnamon bug, normally found in southern sandy coastlands, but moving north rapidly. Nice to see though.
• Plenty of pears to pick from the trees this weekend, as well as our huge crop of football-sized potatoes!

Swift half news - 9th May 2010

• Bad news regarding our male 9 month-old kitten, "Malu". I noticed a haze to his left eye on friday gone and Anna and I took him to the vets on saturday. He has an internal inflammation of the eye -not caused by an external source (bee sting, stick in eye etc...). This probably is anterior uveitis and in extreme cases can lead to blindness in the eye or even loss of the eye. Very often this ocular inflammation is caused by a more serious internal problem in the cat - feline leukaemia, feline immuno-deficiency problems, cancer or something more mundane like toxoplasmosis. The real trouble is that in about 75% of cases of anterior uveitis, the underlying cause is never diagnosed. Not good news then I'm afraid to say. His eye does seem to be responding well to three sets of drugs though, but I am well aware that we could be just treating the symptoms with these drugs, rather than the cause. Fingers, toes and everything else well and truly crossed.
• First (two) strawberry flowers out this weekend (so I planted four more strawberry plants and re-furrowed all 21 potato plants (even though only 11 are showing at present) to errr... celebrate).
• Both swifts seem to be spending longer and longer in the roof, at least in the morning.

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 - 2nd May 2010

• The swift that spends the nights in our roof (we still hope that its a female) is spending more and more time in front of the camera - and the local house sparrow population are giving her quite a lot of grief. They had months to move into the hole though, and chose not to, so I have no idea why they are so insistent on sitting by the roof space entrance and shrieking constantly!
• I'm still going for a May 4th first egg, Anna May 6th...
• First potato plants appear above ground this week (three weeks after planting on April 10th).
• First bit of proper rain over this weekend - yesterday evening and this morning especially.
• Off to my annual bluebell pilgrimage in an adjoining county tomorrow at dawn, weather permitting...

Swift half news - 10th April 2010

• Damson blossom appears on our garden trees this week
• Marsh marigold blooms appear in pond
• Cuckoo bees find honeysuckle leaves this week
• Red Mason bees investigating shed and walls
• Tadpoles have hatched, but not very active
• Robins have deserted shed nest (thanks to cats probably) and now nesting in front garden
• Heron visiting most days to be mobbed by local crows
• Potatoes planted today in rear (rear) garden
• First mow of lawn today
• First bat of year seen today at 05:30am
• Cutlery finally lays an egg with a shell after two weeks of no-shelled eggs!
• After a week of warm, sunny weather, moth trap set up for first time this year, tonight.