Summer Fruits

The rain had eased off yesterday so I was able to go into the garden and discover that the various fruits crammed into such a small area are at long last showing signs of ripening. I have a well established plum tree that never disappoints; red and white current, raspberry, strawberry (somewhere) and a grape vine. The grapes are getting larger each year but sadly taste just as vile. I discovered that the black birds actually devour them with ease and now I put uneaten bought grapes along with apples on to the lawn.

Faithful old plum tree that was already in situ when we moved to our Edwardian house 10 years ago.

Grapes: just visible as cluster of tiny green spheres to the right

I do adore birds and their chirpy way of life. The garden although never planned as such is very bird friendly. The Ivy (and growing on the dining room outer wall) is home to a very gregarious and noisy bunch of house sparrows that can be heard enjoying their own party well into the late evenings.

The clematis rambling up another wall (although sadly not bloomed this year) is home to a blackbird family. One particular youngster found the open door of our garage far too irresistible on more than one occasion and had to be gently escorted out (much to the relief of one very anxious dad)! 

Young blackbird sitting on the garage door 

Last winter we had over twenty redwings stripping the holly tree of its berries (presumably they came into the town because the pickings were lean in the countryside). I also bought apples and grapes to supplement their feed as they didn’t seem to be interested in the seeds that were left out for the finches. The redwing is a beautiful bird belonging to the thrush family and rarely found in gardens. Last winter was the first time that I have ever encountered it at such close quarters and I look forward to welcoming the flock back later in the year and hope that this winter will not be as harsh. If you would like to support the bird population in your garden or simply to encourage birds into your garden then the RSPB website is an invaluable source of information (www.rspb.org.uk).

I almost forgot my first roses in bloom that smell so divine and making the most perfect fragrant display.

A Taste of Twitching

We have just got back from a fabulous morning with the RSPB at Blacktoft Sands in East Yorkshire.

Many thanks to John and his wife, Anne for all their excellent bird guide knowledge.   We all had a thoroughly enjoyable morning.  My daughter said afterwards that it was nothing like she had expected as the birds were free.  I think she was expecting a zoo! We Townies definitely need to get out more into the wilds.

Dressed to twitch!

The highlights of the morning were the magnificent Marsh Harriers and the warblers. There are so many different warbler types and they are far too fast to easily identify, particularly for the untrained eye. We did spot one of the “star” birds, the Black Cap but we were far too slow to photograph it!

I was really looking forward to a glimpse of the Bitterns that have been sighted at the reserve along with the avocets, but they remained elusive. Perhaps we may have better luck next time.

Marsh Harrier being mobbed by Black headed gull

Beautiful yellow Flag Iris and plentiful at the site

I spy with my little eye my gorgeous twitcher

An extra surprise was a glimpse of the recently introduced konik ponies. This is a hardy Polish breed originating from the extinct Tarpan horse which roamed Europe in prehistoric times. They are extremely self-sufficient and luckily they can survive extremely low temperatures and will help control the habitat through grazing.  Pity we just got a rear view of these beautiful creatures and another reason to visit the reserve again.

I highly recommend a visit. For more info visit:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/blacktoftsands