Blackcap Visitor

The weekend was a bit over hectic for my liking. Teatime Saturday I discovered my hot water cylinder had sprung a leak. Fortunately a call to my local plumber was responded to very promptly and the water soon drained off and things made safe. Ben, from ADrip Plumbing, managed to persuade a contact of his to open their shop and supply a new cylinder which Ben spent Sunday morning fitting for me. We are fortunate to have such a friendly and efficient business based in the village. All I have to do now is wait for the bill to arrive!

At least a new arrival at the bird feeders cheered me up. It is a few years since I last saw a Blackcap visit the bird feeders. Here are a couple of video clips I managed to take:



Blackcaps are medium sized warblers usually seen in wooded areas but they will visit gardens, especially when their usual food supply is in short supply. So far this male Blackcap has visited for two days running. The male has the distinctive black cap but the female has a brown top.
All the regulars continue to visit - Wood Pigeons, Blackbirds, Robin, Starlings and Collared Doves, with occasional visits by the Pied Wagtail. Hedgie is still visiting every night for his / her free meal and seems to be getting used to eating the soft food alongside its usual dried mealworms and 'Hedgehog Feast' dried food.

Hedgehog Feast

As well as leaving a bowl of water next to the Hedgehog House these are the items I use to feed any visiting hedgehogs:

Some dried food:


Some dried mealworms:


and new this year ...


Description from the CJ Wildlife website:
Supplementary food can be a great benefit when natural food sources are scarce and hedgehogs are preparing to hibernate (from October - December), or when they are emerging from hibernation (February - April). Paté for hedgehogs is a moisture-rich food containing organic meat. This easily digestible food is akin to their natural meaty diet so our prickly friends are sure to enjoy this tasty feast. Simply remove the foil lid and serve! Composition: Meat and animal derivatives from organic chicken and turkey, Minerals and derivatives of vegetable origin.



It is taking a while for Hedgie to get used to the new food. The first night a small amount was eaten and last night half was gone by this morning.

Hedgehog Visitor

Well, it's been nearly a month since I had anything new to report on the garden wildlife front. The Bluetits have been visiting the camera nestbox several times every day. Always the same routine. One enters and waits. The second one arrives and the first immediately leaves.

During the spell of milder weather there were no visits by the Pied Wagtail but it has returned now the frosts have returned.

The hedgehog I mentioned some time ago has been visiting the garden every night. Yesterday I got round to fixing up the camera in the Hedgehog House.



It seems to be thriving well and appears non the worse for being out of hibernation so early.

Ground Guard

A couple of days ago I installed a large mesh Ground Guard from CJ Wildlife. It comes as a flat pack which is easily assembled in a few minutes to make a safe area for smaller birds which like to feed at ground level but prevents the larger birds, especially Wood Pigeons, from hogging all the food. There is a lid on the top which made it easy to put a tray of seed and a suet slab inside.



First to try it out was a Robin but so far it has been mostly used by the Blackbirds. It is amusing to watch the Wood Pigeons circling round the guard trying to find a way in and failing. I had hoped the Pied Wagtails would use it but I haven't seen them for a couple of days.

Then There Were Two

The Pied Wagtail seems to be a resident these days. I have seen it in the garden every day until ...





... now two have visited the past couple of days. The lighting was poor and the photos are screen shots from a short piece of video I managed to take of them.

Waiting for Spring

Corkscrew Hazel catkins waiting for Spring to arrive so they can open up.



The Blue Tits have been visiting the nestbox several times every day. They never stay for long but at least they seem to be showing serious interest. On a somewhat worrying front the cameras have spotted a young Hedgehog wandering about on several nights recently.



It is not unknown for one to wake for a short while when the weather is mild. I have put some food in the Hedgehog House so that it can keep up its weight and energy. I hope it goes back into hybernation when the temperatures cool down.

Nestbox Activity

At last I have been able to check on any activity in the camera nestbox. For some reason I lost wifi contact with the camera for several weeks but a re-boot of everything seems to have restored communications. There have been visits made by a Blue Tit on several different days. This capture shows a pair visiting:



Notice how the first one calls to its mate and moves to a corner so as not to act as a soft landing for the second one.