Early Morning Visitor

It is quite a while since I last saw a Fox visit the back garden.



Not in the least put off when the floodlight switched on.

Badger Visits

It has been quite a while since the Badger last visited my garden.



It ignored the two apples and proceeded to scoff all the pieces of dried bread I had thrown out for the birds.

Lunch Time Visitor

I never know what I am going to find in my kitchen. A couple of days ago it was:



a small beetle, a Lagria hirta. Photo taken with a cheap DooGee Note 58 Android phone. For just under £100 the phone was really excellent value, though unfortunately no longer available. BTW: I identified it using the Google photo search which I find to be quite useful from time to time.

Little and Large

First the microscopic object. A Tardigrade (water bear) I found in the moisture taken from a clump of moss, about 150 microns long (150 thousandths of a millimetre)



Second, a beasty quite a few (thousand) time larger:



A field cricket which ended up on my kitchen windowsill.

Life in Moss

I picked up a bit of moss kindly thrown on my path by a bird. It was placed in a small petri dish and soaked with boiled tap water for a few hours:



Then the moss was removed and squeezed to drip some of the moisture in another dish. Now a small amount of that liquid was picked up in a pipette and a drop or two placed on a microscope slide. With the naked eye only a few minute dots could be seen in the water. After adjusting the lighting the sample was viewed to see what microscopic life could be found and photographs taken. Here are a few:

A nematode:


Probably a rotifer:


An as yet unidentified creature:


I must try this again with some moss from a different place.

Microscope Camera

I decided to purchase a Swift EC5R camera which is designed to replace the eyepiece on a microscope:

/>

The software which comes with the camera will run on Windows or Mac OS and allows the user to take photos or video clips. I picked a small clump of pond weed from the edge of my raised pond to put under the microscope.



For scale the strands of weed are just under 1mm wide.

Wren Inspects Nestbox

A Wren has inspected the nestbox two days running.



This is a Birdfy nestbox which has two cameras so I can see birds ariving and leaving as well as any interior activity. It looks as though the Wren removed a dead fly while it was there.

Hedgehog Visitor

I placed some solar powered lamps near the feeding station hoping they would be bright enough to get some video clips in colour.



They don't last all night but did last long enough for this Hedgehog visit to the feeding station. One of about four visits it made overnight - assuming it was always the same animal.

Squabbling Starlings

I can guarantee a noisy session when a group of Starlings descend on the seed feeders.



I always think of them as a brat pack, like little children who only what what someone else has.

A Brief Look

This morning saw the first bit of interest being shown in the new camera nestbox.



I took a still shot from the video as the Blue Tit stayed only for a few seconds.

Hungry Hedgehog

After spotting a Hedgehog a few nights ago I placed some food in the Hedgehog house hoping it would return. It needs a few really good meals to put back the weight lost during the long Winter hibernation period.. Delighted to see it came again this morning:



There was dried Hedgehog bites and dried mealworms to choose from. As in the past the mealworms were favourite.

No recent sightings of the female Blackcap. She visited the bird feeder for three mornings and then disappeared. I understand that some are resident in the UK and some migrate here at this time of year. Maybe she was an early visitor replenishing her energy before moving further inland. I live about 4 miles inland from the coast.

Hungry Blackcap

The female Blackcap returned this morning. Obviously very hungry and more confident using the Birdfy feeder.



I wonder whether a male will also turn up one day.

Female Blackcap?

The feeder is working well in its new location. Most birds only land for a few seconds as they are probably still wary of a new feeder. This morning I was pleased to spot what I believe was a female Blackcap. They have visited the garden a few times in past years.



The video is slowed to half speed. If anyone can confirm an identification that would help a lot. The second bird, a Blue Tit, has become a regular visitor already.

Hedgehog Awakes

I was more than a tad surprised when I made my usual daily check for any activity in the Hedgehog house. On one of the coldest nights recently there was one investigating the house.



Yesterday I finally made my mind up to move the Birdfy Bamboo feeder to the back garden.



In its original position there were only three visitors - Male and female Blackbirds and a Robin. That confirmed my decision to move it to a position where a greater variety of birds are used to feeding.



The first to make use of the feeder in its new location was - the Blackbird.

The First Visitor

The camera feeder is in rather an out of the way position but it took less than two hours for the first brave visitor to inspect it. What was it? Just think which common garden bird is always close by when there is anything happening when you are gardening. The Robin.



It was very cautious at first but as the only visitor so far it now has its own private source of food. I am seriously thinking about moving the feeder to near the bottom of the garden. There is plenty of bird activity there plus lots of trees and bushes as safe places for them.

P.S.



A Blackbird has finally found the feeder. Things are looking up.

Fox Visitor

Wow - best part of a month since I last wrote anything. Not that there has been much of real interest to inspire me until now. I was idly checking through last night's video captures when I spotted this fleeting visit:



Not sure whether its coat shows signs of mange or whether it is wet for some reason. On checking my other cameras I see it explored most of the garden. The Hedgehog had been in the Hedgehog House but had left about five minutes before the Fox arrived.

Hedgehog in a Hurry

A quick movement on the monitor caught my intention. The animal was moving so fast I thought it may have been a rat. On checking the video recordings I could see it was my Hedgehog visitor rushing to check whether there was any bird food worth eating and then rushing off to the back of the garden.



The times shown by the clocks are set differently. The first in on GMT and the second on BST.

Thirsty Hedgehog

Last night my regular visitor arrived just before it got dark (no sound on this video):



That was the first of several visits to the hedgehog house to feed during the night.

A Second Inspection

Earlier in the week there appeared to be a very brief visit to the nest box by a Dunnock. Too brief to be absolutely sure on the identification. Yesterday's visitor was much easier to identify:



Another visit from a Great Tit.

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.