Fledgling Starling Feeding Time

A couple of days ago there were two fledgling Starlings in the garden. Yesterday there was only one, patiently waiting to be fed. After feeding the youngster the parent had a shower and dried off in the Sun.



So far today I haven'n seen any in the garden.

Juvenile Blackbirds Enjoy Apple

The two young Blackbirds continue to spend most of their time in the garden. As Blackbirds usually like a slice of apple in their diet I put a couple of slices on the bird table to see who would eat them. This morning I managed to take some video of the youngsters tucking in.



Hand held recording through the kitchen window so a bit unsteady.

Hedgehog Midnight Feast

Hedgehog visits to the garden are sporadic so I was really pleased to get some video capture of one using the Hedgehog House as a feeding station.



Food provided is a mixture of commercial Hedgehog food, dried mealworms and crushed unsalted peanuts.

Hedgehog Feast

Finally managed to record some video of the hedgehog feeding inside the hedgehog house:



The light spilling out of the hedgehog house is IR which looks bright when seen by the trail camera. I tried my first camera attempt with the 12V supply from a battery. The video was still suffering interference so I obtained a tp-link tapo TC-60 wifi video camera to try. Bingo!



All went well, slightly out of focus as the hedgehog house was too small to move the camera well away but still a fair result. The camera has a microSD card to save the videos. It can be programmed to record only when motion is detected. The video clips can be downloaded by wifi to the makers app on a smart phone ot tablet. This is an indoor camera so should be OK in the hedgehog house but is not waterproof for exterior use. The 9V supply is in a nearby shed.

The feast .....



..... is a mixture of bought hedgehog food and dried mealworms. Water is available elsewhere in the garden.

Learning Fast

This young Blue Tit has mastered the art of holding food under its feet:

Painted Lady and Feeding Time

A Painted Lady spent ages feeding on my Lavender bushes.
It never stopped moving so I only managed a few record shots.





The first I have seen since the last big influx in 2009

I have many House Sparrow families around the building.
Here a fledgling was being fed.





As I lifted the lid of my green waste wheelie bin I spotted



a small black beetle which I managed to photograph before it ran away.
Size about 8mm and much shinier than the photo shows.
So far I have failed to identify it.

Blue Tit Eggs Hatch

About 9.45 yesterday morning I saw Mrs Blue Tit eating egg shell.
The first one had hatched. By 7 p.m. it looked as though five of the eight eggs had hatched so far.

Some snippets of video from the nestbox camera:

Blue Tit Incubation Started

I had been a bit worried that the male hadn't been seen visiting the nest for a couple of days.
Worries over, as I saw two visits today where he brought food for the female.



Looking forward to the start of hatching near the middle of the month.