How Time Flies

It hardly seems like a year since I had to rush Penny to the vets after she injured herself running full speed into some obstruction in the garden. This was her early last January after her operation:



Fotunately it healed up fairly quickly and the only reminder this January is the scar:

Determined Blackbird

One Blackbird got fed up waiting for bits to drop from the suet ball feeder:



Most of the time it was having to flap it wings like mad to stay in position:



In the end the effort paid off:





I have frequently seen Blackbirds use the same technique to grab berries from ivy and privet hedges.

Friday at the Flicks - Starlings + Peanut Butter

 




The last bit of video was so short I slowed it down to about one third speed.

Wordless Wednesday

Peanut Butter for Birds

Now we are nearing colder weather I decided to start adding peanut butter to the Birdy Bistro range of feeders so I looked out the log feeders I made a few years ago. One has one inch holes, the other half inch holes, to hold the peanut butter:

   

 Photo form 2012:



The main thing to keep in mind when choosing a peanut butter is that most made for human consumption must not be used as they have added salt. Here are two types I use:



The one on the left is specially made for birds and costs up to £2.49 for a 330g jar. On the right is a variety for humans which has no added salt and costs around £5 for a 1Kg tub. The CJ Wildlife contents are finely ground, fairly dry and crumbly whereas the Meridian Foods one is much softer to handle though with larger peanut pieces.

This year I have hung the logs together and put them with the other feeders.
In the past they were hung in a different part of the garden.




It takes a while for the birds to get used to them being there but once the Starlings find the peanut butter it won't last very long. Blue and Great Tits also like it as does the occasional passing Great Spotted Woodpecker. Some people spread the peanut butter in the bark on tree branches for the more timid birds to enjoy a high energy treat.

Less than 24hrs later there was never a doubt about which birds would be first:

 





It can be a bit of a messy job stuffing the peanut butter in the holes, usually every day, but worth it to help birds through bad weather with an energy boost and for the entertainment value watching the antics of Starlings as they work out the best way to get at the goods.

Blooming Early

My dwarf iris bulbs (Katharine Hodgkin):



These were supposed to be blooming in February.

All that Shimmers is not Silver

Especially when it's a silvery wingless insect. Lepisma saccharina, commonly known as silverfish after the way their bodies glisten a silvery colour in the right lighting and the way they wriggle like a fish when moving.

I found this dead one .....

Body length 10mm

.... and put it under the microscope.

Head end:


Tail end:


The body is covered in tiny scales which reflect the light:






They are very fast movers on the flat. Too fast for most predators and as they like to stay in dark, damp places they are often too fast to be spotted by us.