Woody's Escape

It was a beautiful tranquil morning, the sun already shining, patio doors wide open with the faint hint of a breeze wafting in. I'd just seen daughter off to school so I settled down with a fresh cup of tea and began what precious moments of Open University study I can snatch.

Suddenly there was a commotion in the garden, lots of movement and what sounded like a frantic flapping of wings. Sparrowhawk, I thought! Fleeing into the garden, there I saw a cat gripping a woodpigeon by its wing. I'd been watching the woodpigeon pecking peacefully for bits of grain earlier on. Waving my Open University unit wildly and spluttering expletives, the cat darted off and Woody flew to safety.

During the encounter the woodpigeon left behind quite a few feathers..... some large wing feathers and lots of little downy ones. I wanted to immediately clear away the visible signs of the violent scene..... but I needed a cup of tea first! Sitting with my cuppa I felt glad that Woody had had a lucky escape and hoped that he would recover well . Looking out at the garden I saw that the sparrows were taking advantage of the incident...... there they were flying off with beakfulls of fluffy feathers to refurbish their nests! Just as well I didn't dispose of them.

Here is the very unit that helped to save Woody's life! :D

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Bon Voyage Harry!

Today is a special day because Baby Harry has taken his first steps (or slithers) into the big wide world. Here are some photos he posed for this morning.

This illustrates his size. I said I'd release him when he grew to the size of a nasturtium seed but, as you can see, I put it off until he reached the size of a pea.

Here he is chomping on a fresh dandelion leaf

Hi there big boy!

At half-past eight tonight Charlotte and I said our goodbyes to Harry and took his jar from the shed into the garden. Whispering a short prayer, we released him on to a cherub statuette under the Angelica. We decided to let him go in the evening while it was cool and damp. As the saying goes, the world is now his oyster...... or the garden at least, full of abundant greens and minerals. From the tiny dot I first encountered on my kitchen worktop, it was wonderful to see him skimming over the surface of the cherub like Stirling Mollusc...... way to go Harry!

To all the humble beasts there be,
To all the birds on land and sea,
Great Spirit sweet protection give,
That free and happy they may live!

John Galsworthy

Bittersweet Sunday

I arose quite early yesterday morning to find hubby coming out the shed with the garden spade. "What are you doing?" I laughed, as 99% of the gardening jobs are mine and it was too early for spadework. The smile soon left my face when he told me he was going to bury one of the robin chicks which he'd found lying lifeless on the path. It didn't have any apparent injuries, so we ruled out cats and bigger birds, and guessed that it could have been blown against something when attempting to leave the greenhouse, as it was very windy yesterday. We were devastated but had to put a face on things as we'd promised Charlotte, our daughter, that we'd have a look over to the coast.

This is the beach at the village of Hawthorn in County Durham, looking down from the cliff-top. It's a fantastic view and to get down to the beach from here, you have to climb down a winding series of wooden steps, which was lovely because you get to see all the beautiful tiny wildflowers at eye level, growing on the cliff-side.

You can see some wonderful photographs of these wildflowers by going to Phil Gate's blog. Click here. I'd been to Hawthorn many years ago and it was Phil's post that made me want to return.

This is a closer view of the beach which has been blackened by the tipping of colliery waste during the industrial days of coal mining. The pits were closed by the 1990s and the action of the sea is restoring the sand to its natural condition.

It was very windy and the sea was rough as the waves pounded the shore. Exhilarating! We even managed a game of tennis with the plastic racquets that Charlotte had bought from Poplar Trees Garden Centre at Shincliffe, when we stopped there for something to eat. Whilst attempting a magnificent tennis dive I had a fall and grazed my right knee but it could have been much worse..... if I'd fallen on my left side, I would have broken my camera which was in the left-hand pocket of my coat!

Evidence of pre-medieval settlements have been found all along the Durham coastline, being ideal for fishing and foraging for other foods further inland. We found traces of modern-day campfires and empty bottles of Frosty Jack.

Fungi growing on a felled tree

To get to the beach, we walked through Hawthorn Dene. Some parts of the woodland here has existed for 400 years!

Although tinged with sadness, it had been a good day out and when we came home I saw that the nest had been lined with new pieces of moss...... so it looks like Mrs Robin will soon be laying a new clutch of eggs. They're still busy feeding the other chicks at the bottom of the garden. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth getting so involved in watching wildlife closely....... but how can we help ourselves?

"Aye pet, they're not babies for long........"

Click the photo to enlarge and see the chick


One of the first things I do in the morning is pop into the greenhouse to make sure everything's alright. This robin chick had moved to the top of the nest, the spot where mummy robin perched in the evenings. I took a quick photo and left. Before I went out yesterday, I checked the greenhouse again and there on the ground was the chick, looking up at me with its bright little eyes and taking a few tentative hops backwards. After a gasp of delight I backed out of the greenhouse, leaving only the smallest of gaps in the door so that no cats or larger birds could get in.

I couldn't wait to get home later to get another glimpse of the chick and mabye peep into the nest again to see how many were left. I did see the chick but when I looked into the nest there were no babies there at all! I'd assumed this was the first chick to leave the nest when, in fact, it's the last. Both parents are still frantically busy taking food into the greenhouse so the chicks must be sheltering in various 'hidey-holes', which is a relief as they should be safe in there till they're ready to fly properly in the big world outside. No more dashing in and out of the greenhouse for me and the dogs are barred out for now.

It doesn't seem like two minutes since I noticed the presence of the new family and now they've left the nest, soon to be fending for themselves. I'm going to leave the nest in place though, perched on top of the seed trays....... just in case they have a second brood. :)



Mummy Robin

Click the photo to enlarge and see mummy robin..... she is there, honest. :)

Updade: Robins' Nest & Baby Harry

Mummy and Daddy Robin have chicks! A couple of days ago I peeped into the nest, standing on an upturned stone pot. Amidst that pile of leaves is a compact cup-shaped structure, but I couldn't see anything. Neither of the Robins were present and I wondered if there were eggs so I very gently reached into the nest. I felt something warm and soft, quickly withdrew my hand and up popped some little heads with beaks wide open. I don't know how many there were as I was too excited to stay long enough to count. I went running to the house to tell hubby that there were chicks in the nest only to be firmly rebuked for having felt inside it. He's right and I wont do it again now that I know there are babies there.

The Robin parents are on the go all day long, bringing food to the babies..... then in the early evening the female sits on the nest with them. I'm doing as little work in the greenhouse as possible so that they can get on with the feeding undisturbed. When I need to do potting on, etc. I have a table on the patio where I can work and catch glimpses of them flying in and out of the greenhouse window.

I said before that I wouldn't release Harry into the wild until he was at least the size of a Nasturtium seed. That time has come, so I've begun the process of hardening him off..... just like a plant. I think it would be too big a shock to his little system to put him outside after being in the warmth of the house for so long. I've been putting his jar outside during the day and bringing him in for the night. Gradually, I'll leave his jar out all night until I think he'll be accustomed to the temperatures outdoors, then I'll take him from his jar and find a safe place to leave him. Shouldn't I just keep him protected for a while longer..... until he's the size of a pea perhaps.... or an olive.... or a chestnut.... or a....... I knew this would happen!