The Contesse did very well to spot this today, snaffling some bread from the lawn (braving the jackdaws...). In fact I'd seen it a couple of days ago, sitting on the overhead power lines in the fading evening light, but it was on the other side of the lane, and I couldn't make it out clearly - just a vaguely grey bird, too small for a wood pigeon, wrong shape for a thrush.
Well, of course this is a Jay - garrulus glandarius - really not such a rarity at all, though they are not so common in Scotland, but we've never seen one here before. Only time we've ever seen a Jay was in my parents' garden, almost 20 years ago, when they used to live in Liverpool.
Anyway, he's most welcome (provided he behaves nicely, of course). I believe that you usually hear jays before you see them, so we'll keep an ear open for that.
Separate, though related, topic - Swallows again
I have occasionally recorded here our impressive lack of success in discouraging swallows from nesting in our woodshed. This reached a farcical crescendo with the introduction of a fake owl, who failed so dismally that he is now sentenced to stay in the woodshed until further notice, so that he may observe the annual arrival of the swallows and reflect on his inadequacy.
I hasten to say that we have nothing against swallows - they are, in any case, protected - but it seems a bit unnecessary for them to fly all the way from Africa each Spring just to build another shambolic nest in our woodshed and crap on everything in sight. So this year's Grand Plan involved something a little more ambitious than a plastic owl. I commissioned Chuff the Joiner (excellent fellow - replaced our Velux windows in the attic a couple of years ago) to build a caged entrance gate to the woodshed - timber and 16-gauge galvanised steel mesh - to keep out the swallows (and the rats, and the cats...). I also got him to line the timber back wall (which has gaps between the boards) with the same mesh. Fantastic - now we can stop the nests merely by forcing the little beggars to go and build elsewhere. What could possibly go wrong?
That's right - you guessed. Chuff was late starting the job, so that by the time the gate was complete the swallows already had built their nest in the shed, and had eggs in it. Thus we now have to spend the rest of the Summer being careful to prop the door open, so that the swallows are able to come and go without hindrance, and their babies will not die. I guess we just have to get rid of the nest and clean the place up when they have all gone back to Africa in the Autumn.
In the meantime, it does hurt just a little to have to keep the smart new £450 gate propped open. I particularly did not appreciate the adult swallows sitting on the power lines this morning, hissing and tutting disapprovingly when I was working in the garden. All right - I accept they think it is their garden, but it does seem a little ungrateful in the circumstances.
Next year, though - next year...
Next year you'll be leaving them a key and training them to use a porta potty! LOL.
ReplyDeleteJBM - oh, my aching sides! I think a likely scenario for next year might be that the idiots build a nest on the outside of the new cage, so we can't use the woodshed at all.
DeleteI have a similar problem with our perennial swallows.
ReplyDeleteI always leave it too late to take down the previous year's nest.
I console myself with the fact that birds are apparently descended from the T Rex and its ilk, and apparently our modern problems are therefore minor in comparison to being food for lizards...
(not entirely sure where I was going with this...it's late)
Indeed it is. Just back from our annual holiday in Orkney and Lochalsh. If you ever get a chance to go on holiday on the Caledonian Sleeper - don't.
DeleteBut we did see lots of wading birds, which, frankly, all look alike to me apart from the occasional curlew, and swallows, which whizz around the peat burners in the Highland Park distillery like nobody's business. Quite a nuisance, apparently.
Since I live right on the coast, we see lots of wading birds and seabirds, and I always wish I knew more about them - I suppose I could always do something about that. I was greatly impressed by a flight of about half a dozen egrets which passed within a few feet of me on the farmland a couple of years ago, and we get herons in the rivers - also the herons nest in the grounds at Gosford House, which is a noisy and spectacular thing to see - the connection with dinosaurs is very easily understood at feeding time. Other than that we get various sorts of Oyster Catchers, Godwits (probably) and a whole pile of brown chaps I don't recognise.
DeleteAs for the seabirds, we have a huge Gannet colony on the Bass Rock, about half a mile away, but we never see them ashore apart from the occasional casualty; we have Fulmars which nest in big numbers in the cliffs at the beach here - they are noisy (they laugh at me - I'm sure it's at me...) and have silly short wings, so I recognise them OK. I think that's the pattern, if I take an interest in a particular type (genus? family? breed? species? strain? what?) of bird then I remember it when I see it again. The seabirds are at a disadvantage - anyone who has visited Eyemouth and had their fish supper or ice cream (from Giacopazzi's) confiscated by the seagulls is likely to run for cover rather than study them. Bad press.
This summer in the garden we seem to have no Goldfinches at all at present, and very few Greenfinches - they must be around somewhere. There are Fieldfares in the area, but we never see any. We've pretty much stopped filling the feeders, partly because Magpies were causing trouble in the garden - we are probably being swerved generally now, as being of no use.
I must say that Garrulus Glandarius is such a splendid, resounding (and appropriate?) name that I would most certainly adopt it immediately as a nom de blog if I were not already spoken for.
The Swallows in our woodshed will deliberately zoom past your head - within centimetres - if you go anywhere near. Chuff was a bit traumatised by the end of his work, I think, though he brought his young son along one day and the lad was entranced by the daily riot which passes for garden wildlife here.
M le Duc - in my recent experience, removing the old nest doesn't make much difference, since they just build a new one on the same spot. I was impressed by your argument concerning T Rex and am still thinking about it. I'm not sure I fully understand, but I'm damn sure that 16 gauge galvo mesh wouldn't keep T Rex out. Hmmm. Worried now.
DeleteI could send you a few goldfinches - we seem to have dozens of them - but I haven't seen a greenfinch for years.
DeleteDepressed to see that the wren that has built a nest in the box housing our outside tap seems to have moved on while we've been away, probably for lack of a partner. She had a very loud singing voice for such a wee bird.
I think we have Yorkshire's reserve stock of greenfinches, judging by the amount of black seed they eat. No pheasants this year, but a couple of Jackdaws who balance really well on the feeder full of fatballs.
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