Spring Flowers and the Secret Life of a Small Bird

The weather has cheered up this week and we have had the return of some glorious and very welcome sunshine. What a change it makes to one's well-being! I don't need it to be hot, indeed too much heat does me no good but sunshine makes such a difference to the spirit I feel.

I have been trying for some time to get a photo of the Dunnock, which rather like the Wren, seems to skulk around in the shadows in my garden, scuttling about under shrubs and bushes in a very secretive way and when it does show itself more clearly it is usually at the bottom of the garden which is around 100 feet from where I am. However on Saturday it obliged at last by coming to the bird bath for a drink.

A rather strange expression coming up next!

I am surprised and saddened to find that this unobtrusive but attractive little bird is, according to the RSPB, on the amber list of species under threat. So many of our beautiful birds which we probably take for granted seem to be in decline. You may or may not know that the Dunnock has a very . . . umm . . . shall we say, interesting, personal life!

The following information is taken from Wikipedia.

'This species makes up for its drab appearance with its breeding behaviour. Females are often polyandrous, breeding with two males at once, and thus giving rise to sperm competition. Males compete for mating access to the female, but DNA fingerprinting has shown that chicks within broods often have different fathers, depending on their success at monopolising access to the fertile female. Males try to ensure their paternity during courtship by pecking at the cloaca of the female to stimulate her to eject the sperm of other males with whom the female has recently mated.'

Goodness who would have thought it?!!


Next in line for an afternoon drink in the sunshine was a female Chaffinch.



Mr Chaffinch decided to be less genteel and drink in the pub instead of sitting outside!


Once the Wood Pigeon arrives for a drink there is no room for the smaller birds!


The garden is moving on apace now and there is a lot of weeding and tidying still to be done, a little less time spent on the computer and a lot more gardening would be a good idea I think! I know I will regret not doing it if the weather turns again.

Tulip

I could have sworn this Lilac was nowhere near flowering yesterday, or did I just forget to look up!

Lilac

I planted several minature Cyclamen in the Autumn of 2007, they were flowering when I put them in and continued to flower throughout the Winter and into the Spring but this time although they have all put on leaf only one has flowered and not until Spring. Strangely enough I thought if any failed it would be this one as the soil is very poor where I planted it under a Cupressus tree but it obviously likes it so I may move the others to join it.

Cyclamen

Bluebell

Japanese Flowering Cherry

Forget-Me-Not

This minature Rhodedendron seems to have been in bud for months but at last they are starting to open now.

I wasn't the only one who enjoyed being in the garden with the camera!

Louis did too!

Well I think that's it for now, I really admire you bloggers who post almost daily, I would love to do that but it takes me all my time to get posts out as often as I do. Never mind, we can't all be the same can we? Have a wonderful sunny week.