February 2017 - Part 3

Spring is sprung, the grass is riz

 

I wonder where the winter is?

This has to be one of the best times of year with the Snowdrops, Crocuses and Daffodils coming into bloom.  We are fortunate enough to have an abundance of all of these scattered around the cottage and gardens.  The good work of previous occupants has paid off handsomely.

The air temperature is getting slightly warmer and it's time now for a wake up call for some of our hibernating species.

While we were at the allotment recently, in my rush to tidy up some debris I unearthed the rare sight of two juvenile grass snakes who had been sheltering up over the winter beneath some rotting wood.  Needless to say I covered them over again and let them continue their sleep. They were still there at the end of the cold snap, but now the weather is a little brighter they have moved on.  Hopefully we'll come across them again some time. (Note: Take a camera next time!)

Toad Patrol

Just about 2 miles from the cottage is the main pond, which sits just outside of Brabourne Lees, and every year about now it is a Mecca for breeding toads.  As this was something we never witnessed in London, we signed up  to assist the migratory toads in getting across the roads to the pond.  Now, the roads here are not particularly busy, however, the amount of toads and frogs trying to get across is quite extraordinary and invariably there are many casualties.  But, with the assistance of the good folk of the town in recent years the numbers have increased with the aid of the 'Toad Patrol'.

Toads usually return to their traditional breeding grounds, and tend to make the arduous journey in late February/early March when the temperature is above 5 degrees and preferably it's raining and the ground is wet.  There are several routes to the pond in Brabourne, and it requires some organization to get round to each crossing, and that's where the bikes come in handy.

Unfortunately, most motorists will have no idea of what's happening so it's really a question of just asking them to stop for while the road is cleared enough for them to continue.  You have to bear in mind that the Toads have other things on their minds while they are crossing these roads.

We will take a head count of all the males and females we encounter that make it successfully as well as those who don't.

Hedgehogs

We have not seen any evidence so far of any Hedgehogs, however, it may well be that they are still asleep.  We previously spoke to our neighbour Hester, who thinks there may be one or two asleep under her compost heap, so we have put a camera nearby for a week, to see if anybody stirs.  If they do, we'll put a footprint trap down.  

Watch this space. 

The Fight!

Last week was National Nest Box week, a time to put up the nest boxes and offer them for inspection from any interested parties.  We've had ours up for a few weeks already so that we can test the cameras and lighting inside, and all is going well.  This year I also positioned a camera on the entrance hole at the front so that it is covered from three aspects, inside top, inside side and outside entrance.

While we have had a few interested parties, two birds in particular came to blows over future ownership of this nest box.  This is what happened.  I have slowed some of the motion down so that you can see a bit more detail.

 

I'm pleased to say neither bird was hurt in this altercation, only a bit of wounded pride.

The Blue Tits have been visiting regularly and we hope that in the next three or four weeks when the weather gets a bit warmer, they will start constructing the nest.  The female will probably do most of the gathering of materials which will include, moss, feathers and dry grass and we've even saved some of the cat's fur from their brush which will make excellent bedding for the eggs, and the male will provide her with food.

Fledging is usually the last week in May dependant on the weather.  Once the building starts I'll turn all three cameras on and provide a link.

Badgers and Foxes

It has been relatively quiet from both the Badgers and Foxes lately.  The cameras reveal that they are all still active, but we are now in breeding season and so I wonder if that's what keeping them in a little more.  Hopefully we'll know soon enough. 

New arrivals

We're getting ready for the arrival on Tuesday 28th of Martha, Pixie, Bunty and Sally.  Now that the Avian Flu ban is lifted the hens will be ready for collection this week.

More about them next time...