The last couple of weeks have been quite sensational for April with warm and sunny conditions for most people in the UK. In this mini heat wave many birds will be finding it difficult to find worms and other soil dwelling prey. It is a good idea to offer a range of food at the moment that includes some seed, some live food like mealworms and maybe some addtional treats like grated cheese or soaked sultanas. Make sure you keep the bird bath topped up as well! Returning Hirundines (swallows and House martins) may also find it dificult to find suitable wet mud to build their nests with. If you are lucky enough to have these birds nesting nearby, we recommend keeping an area of soil damp for them.
We have been speaking to lots of people who have been watching birds building nests, some in unsual places like wall mounted ashtrays (at our Fairburn Ings nature reserve!), signpost poles and even in vehicles that have not been used for a while. If you have found any unusual nesting sites we would love to hear about them! Now is a great time to put out fur from any pets you have so that birds have some extra soft material to line their nests with. Many will be incubating eggs already so be very careful not to disturb any nesting birds. However, we have had many people report fully fledged and independent juveniles including robins and blackbirds out and about already indicating a very early start to nesting this year, perhaps brought on by the mild start to spring.
Finally, more great news for osprey fans, the pair that have been checking out the man made nest on the Dyfi estuary have finally settled down and are currently incubating their first egg, fingers crossed for a successful nesting attempt.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.