The Dawn Chorus And A Chiffchaff Comes Visiting

Thanks for all the Get Well messages on my last post- you are a Lovely Bunch. Officially :o)

I am up today- hooray! Although walking about like one in a trance with a monster hangover. Still, it's an improvement to be out of bed :o)

The sun is shining so photos were necessary. More Orange Tips in the garden again this morning. Again not sitting still but at least they are here.

The White Cherry at the bottom of the garden is blooming...

 

 
My little violas who sit in a pot shaped like a big blue snail add a splash of colour to the path...

The Mahonia is doing well too... 

As is the Quince, whose blooms are daily visited by a range of bee and hoverfly people. Pop got as far as closing her jaws round a buzzing person this morning- I was amazed and relieved when she opened them again and let him go when I told her 'NO!' Although perhaps not as relieved as the hoverfly, who shook his legs and flew higher up out of her reach.

Shieldbugs are out and about too. There are two in this pic. They hop between plants and are surprisingly agile...

I found my first Dandelion clock of the year hidden up in a patch of Bugle which has burst into colour in the last three days..

The Wildflower Turf is growing well...

Ted has been Helping Keep An Eye On It :o)

Most of the birds in the garden right now are boys- all the girls must be busy on nests. There is a gang of six boy sparrows who sit in the hedge and squabble over the feeders, and this beautiful male blackbird has taken to perching in the Oak next door and singing his heart out. Next time, I will record his song for you. I could (and do) listen to it for ages. Another Free Gift from nature which puts the pop songs I have to endure on the radio to shame :o)

And here's the little Chiffchaff who came into the house the other day. He/ she was Rather Worried to be in such strange surroundings, hence the open beak, but soon found the open door and flew off back to freedom none the worse for the experience. Poppy found the whole encounter fascinating, and sat staring at the little bird wondering what on earth it was doing inside her house :o)

I'll leave you with the magnificence of the Dawn Chorus, recorded here on April 15th. I set the alarm for 5.15am thinking that was bound to be early enough, but despite the darkness (as per the vid) a few had already started singing before then. I may try to get up earlier and record it again, this time starting from silence, because it really is amazing how the noise wells up from nothing. Either way, hopefully this video will give you some idea of how many birds we have around us and what the chorus sounds like. It's about 5 mins long, but if you listen to the first three/ four mins you should get more or less the full force of it. If you've never been up in time to hear the Dawn Chorus before, it is well worth getting out of bed for. The RSPB usually organises local 'dawn chorus' walks here in the UK so it might be worth checking one of those out.

 

Hope you're all well?

CT :o)