It snowed today! Did you see it? Quite cheerfully it timed its arrival to the backdrop of Shakin’ Stevens singing “snow is falling, all-around” on my car radio which rather added to the ambience!
As exciting and beautiful as snow is, it is a stark reminder of how our wildlife will struggle through the winter. Hopefully, most hibernating creatures will be tucked up somewhere dry and safe as this colder spell sets in. Birds, mice, voles and foxes are all still about though.
The rats of my village appear to have all moved into my garden and are tunnelling away underneath my chicken run making it look like a training ground for a wartime escape drama! Every morning they seem to have 5 new tunnels exiting into the run! I’m not up for poisoning them, so am currently trying a hopeful technique of removing the food containers overnight so there is no food source to temp ratty in. Unfortunately, this relies on my remembering by dusk, so it isn’t going brilliantly as yet....
The garden has been full of blackbirds this week, they have been really enjoying the holly berries which have reduced levels of toxicity after the first frost apparently, and even though they are quite a territorial bird, several of them are out there at the same time. They managed to knock off one of the bird feeders which was filled with fat balls and they had a terrific time munching them up from the ground, so much easier for them!
The other bird feeders have been covered in blue tits and great tits, but no sign of the sparrows this week. The fat balls are being consumed at a staggering rate, this will surely only increase more as the colder weather sets in. It is so important to keep them filled up with fat-rich foods, suet products, sunflower hearts and peanuts as the birds use up so much of their calorie intake just keeping warm. If you want to make your own high-fat bird feed, there is a recipe and instructions to make homemade fir cone bird feeders on our website which is a fun activity to do for yourself or with kids, also makes a lovely little present for family or neighbours, but remember to keep them cold!
I recently discovered that one of the important things about a birdbath is that the birds use it to regulate the oil in their feathers which helps them to control their temperature! There was me thinking it was just for cleanliness! It will, of course, be a huge bonus for the birds through the winter to be able to access water for drinking as well, so let’s try and remember to get rid of the ice each morning. Hopefully, I will do better at that than remembering to bring my chickens feeders indoors at dusk!
Great swathes of geese frequently fly over in ‘V’ formation all honking away, such a beautiful sight. The crows are also back in the garden after several weeks away. About twenty of them gather in the tops of the trees, watching and cawing. There is something otherworldly about crows...I can’t quite put my finger on what it is about them, but they seem to have such a presence. They do a great job of clearing up the roadkill, unpleasant, but better than it being left.