Fruit, birds and bees

Hi everyone and a Happy New Year to all. I trust you all had a great time over the Christmas and New Year, managing at some stage to venture into the garden even if just to top up the bird feeders.

With the current harsh weather it’s beginning taking its toll on our wildlife. Any drive I’ve recently been on, has seen thrushes playing Russian roulette with cars as they flit low across roads between hawthorn bushes. Touchwood, I’ve avoided collecting a figure head for the front grille but it’s not been without its near misses.

I popped into the town green grocers before Christmas to snaffle up any past-it apples so I could quarter them and put them out for the thrushes. At times like this its worth while keeping a look out in the garden for redwings and fieldfares as hunger outweighs their normal shyness. Look also for ‘chunky’ blackbirds – it may be likely they have come all the way from Scandinavia and will be bigger and heavier birds with longer wings. Often these are young birds from last year and if it’s a male, as in the splendid photo below by Steve Round, it will have a lot of dark brown plumage and lack the distinctive yellow bill of the adult birds.



If you have mature Ivy in the garden (everyone should have Ivy), the fruits are starting to ripen and will become a magnet for birds. You may even be lucky enough to glimpse a blackcap in it foraging for fruits and insects. That tenuously links me to the next item.

In complete contrast to all this cold weather, I was out Sunday morning walking the neighbours’ dog and saw my first bumblebee of the year. It seemed quite happy flying in the weak sunshine looking in vein for some nectar. Unless it managed to find somewhere to settle again I fear it may have succumbed.