February 2017 - Part 2

The Owl and the Pussycats.

As I write this update the snow is coming down and settling all around in Brabourne.  The sight of the snow on the fields and trees is quite amazing to see, but it's not welcome in all quarters.  The birds are gathering in numbers on the feeders as the temperature drops and it's vital they get their source of energy to get through these cold days.  Water is also vital and this morning for only the second time I had to break a thin layer of ice on the pond and water dishes.

It's particularly hard for the Tawny owl when it's either raining or snowing, as the owls' feathers differ from other birds in that they do not repel water very efficiently. This does have benefits in that their flight approach is almost silent to their unsuspecting prey. 

If the owl cannot fly at night to gather its food source, then it will have to resort to hunting during the day at a time when most of its' prey are safely tucked away.

There is a good water source nearby located in our landlord and neighbour's garden which has a freshwater stream running through it.  Many animals drink from it including our two adopted cats.  There are also many animal tracks leading across the stream and last week I put one of the cameras down by the stream to see exactly who was using them.  

This is what I captured. 

At last, our first decent sighting of Hooty.  I've slowed the video down a bit so that we can see her taking to the air.  It looks as if she's popped down to the stream for a drink.  I have left the camera there for a further week to see if this is a regular spot for her.  Watch this space!
  

Cats

Motty and Mim are still visiting regularly and seem to enjoy the company.  So much so that Motty left us a present on the doorstep earlier this week in the shape of a dead mouse.  Now, this cat by all accounts is 16 or 17 years old, so for a cat of that age and limited mobility with her hips, she did well to catch it.  She did trot through the front garden making a sound which said how pleased she was with herself, and made sure we were all aware of her catch.  She also got the praise she deserved.

Motty - Mum

Mim - Motty's Daughter

We think Mim bears an uncanny resemblance to the cat with no pulse in the Specsavers Ad. 😀

Blackbirds

Being so close to nature in the country, death is inevitably going to raise it's ugly head now and then, and we were both unfortunate and fortunate in this respect this week.  

We have two male blackbirds frequenting the garden with their partners, and sadly early on Wednesday morning I found one of them had been taken by the fox.  He must have been foraging at first light when the fox was still about. 

About an hour later there was a crash against the conservatory window and I couldn't believe our bad luck, but the other male had flown into the window and was laying dazed on the lawn outside.  I managed to get to him first, and he appeared to be moving his head so I figured his neck was in tact and took him in to the garage, covered him with some clean cloths and put him in Mim's cat box high up out of reach of anything.  When I went back about an hour later he was sitting on the handlebars of my bike looking towards the garage doors.  I opened them both and he flew straight under the car where he stayed for another half an hour.  He was OK.  We have now put some bird decals on the windows to deter them flying into it.

Later that afternoon he was seen tucking into some meal worms on the lawn.  So, he lives to fight another day and hopefully many more.  Since then he's been feeding regularly outside the kitchen window and no damage appears to have been done.

Visitors

At last we have had some visits from Starlings.  For some reason there are plenty of them down the lane by the church but have never quite made it to the feeders at our place.  Yesterday was the first time we saw them, so I will put the Starling nest box up where hopefully they will make use of it.

We have also seen a Nuthatch around the garden and he's been very busy taking the sunflower hearts. I'm rather hoping he's got one eye on one of the open fronted nest boxes we have secreted away in the hedges.

More next time.... including the battle for the nestbox....