May 1st – I thought the starlings had one nest at the front of the house like they did last year; under the roof tiles. Actually there seems to be two, both near the bathroom, and fairly close together. There is also one nest at the back of the house again under the roof tiles above one of the bedrooms, this location was used last year as well. This afternoon I saw four swallows swooping over the field. They didn’t stay around unfortunately but its good to see them back. I was heading home and was already running late; then I spotted a tractor in the next field ploughing. There were loads of gulls and in the distance following it a red kite. Why when you have no time to stop do interesting things happen?!
May 3rd – I put the trailcam out in the field last night with some left over food and some eggs. Although it was misty it did show a mouse, a hedgehog and a fox. At least we now know the hedgehog is travelling though the field and not across the road! The fox took the food away.
May 4th – The starlings are definitely feeding their young; when in the bathroom you can hear them calling in the roof space. I’m not sure which nest it is though seeing there are two close to the bathroom!
May 8th – This morning I noticed the starling chicks at the back of the house are calling when the parent disappears under the roof tiles. There was a Streamer moth on the kitchen window – thanks to all those on Twitter who confirmed this for me. Identifying moths is new to me and this one didn’t seem easy to find!
May 9th – I was out working on the garden, the starlings at the back of the house are working hard to feed their chicks, I could hear them calling once every 10-15 minutes or so 🙂
May 14th – I haven’t seen them yet but the owner informs me there were 10 fledgling jackdaws lined up on the fence being fed suet this morning!
May 15th – The starlings are busily back and forth to the nests taking in food. At the back of the house the parents have been sat outside the nest with food calling, I think they are trying to encourage the young to leave! At the front the parents don’t seem to be calling, just flitting in and out. One carried out a fecal sac but I missed getting a photo and one has also been taking in a bit of nesting material. I wonder if they are starting to get prepared for a second brood?! The jackdaw in the the middle chimney has been sat on the edge of the brick work with food. I have been seeing many more moths in the garden but I am having problems identifying them!
May 17th – Tonight I discovered house sparrows are nesting under the roof tiles at the back of the house 😃 they were busy taking in food.
While I was trying to take some photos of them I took a very quick picture of two birds on the roof thinking they were house sparrows. After correcting the exposure that was, well, not correct! I discovered that they were actually linnet. I have never knowingly seen linnet before and this was a definite first for the garden, I now wonder if there are more out in the field.
The jackdaw nesting in the end chimney was sat on the TV ariel with food, they seem quite jumpy when there is anyone in the garden and are reluctant to actually go into their nests.
I went to walk around the field but its getting too over grown to get around. I will have to try a different route on another day. Hopefully they other side of the field has a wider margin, at least I know on that side there are no rabbit holes to fall down!
May 24th – There are fledgling starlings in the garden 🙂 I don’t think they are from the nests here as they are still taking food in and I can hear the chicks calling still. Hopefully ours will fledged soon.
While I have been working on the garden I have noticed a lot more of the small creatures that live here. A potential Ichneumon wasp, lots of snails and slugs, and some very fast moving spiders that I haven’t been able to have a good look at yet! I may have to relocate some of the slugs and snails out into the field as some of my sunflowers have met a slimy end!
May 30th – The cuckoo is stall calling from across the field. He always seems to be where I am not!
May 31st – The jackdaws are still feeding young in one of the chimneys, I could hear them calling this morning. The fledgling starlings are making it difficult to hear if there are still chicks in the other nests as they are just so loud!
