I Love Tits

I've always considered myself a tit man. From an early age I have always been interested in birds, and have always had a great love of tits. Over the winter we have had quite a few Blue and Great tits visiting our feeder, and now that spring is allegedly is here I have erected a nest box underneath the eaves of the roof, in the hope that a nice pair will take up residence for the summer.

When the north wind blows

The first signs of winter are apon us - minus temperatures at night and the first snow flurries have already happened. Technically winter doesn’t start until the 21^st December, but when I see the Cranes flying south for winter it heralds the start of winter for me. During the past couple of weeks I have made the garden ready for winter. The grass has been mown and fertilised, dead plants cut back and the patio furniture has retired to the cellar for the winter months.

I have recently had by blood rechecked because of my thyroid condition, and all appears as well as it can be. Cholesterol and a few other things are border line, but since I developed a dodgy thyroid this seems to be normal. I exercise, hardly eat meat, and have a low fat diet. Not much else I can do really. Since the weather has got colder I have restarted going to the gym and have found it not as hard work as I thought it would be, considering my last visit was 5 months ago. I guess playing a bit of football and going jogging over the summer has really kept me in shape.

Well the advantage of my personal winter starting early, is that spring will come early as well. The Cranes will be back overhead in February, and I can’t wait to see them, as spring is without doubt my favourite time of the year. It’s like a rebirth.

Birds and the Bees

The Haddock house seems to have become a bit of a wildlife reserve of late. We have Mason Bees in the roof (as we did last year) and on the south side of the house we have 2 separate Bumble Bee nests in the ventilation gaps in the outside brickwork. In one of the ventilation gaps on the west side we have a Wasp nest, and on the north side a Hornet nest. So we shouldn’t have any pollination issues in the garden.

Before anyone freaks, the Mason Bees are solitary bees (they don’t swarm) and die off at about this time of year. They are not a problem. Bumble Bees are harmless as I regularly demonstrate with catching them with my hands. Hornets are good natured if you don’t upset them (not actually sure what does upset them though) and they are a protected species in Germany. Wasps will become a problem later in the summer when we dine on the patio, but Mrs H and the Juniorette know to stay calm around annoying Wasps, and then let me deal with them.

A couple of days ago I found a Vole outside our cellar steps, and a few weeks ago a Lizard (see photo) took up residence there for a while. We have a bird problem in our living room. Great Tits keep coming in through one window trying to take a shortcut to the bird feeder located on the patio. Unfortunately they keep on stunning themselves by flying into closed windows once inside the house. Our tomcat then pounces on them and eats them, feathers, bones and all. I guess its nature’s way of weaning out the dumb and unlucky ones – shame though.

We of course still get the half eaten, mangled and injured birds and mice that the cats bring home regularly. But so far this year they haven’t brought back any frogs or toads, and the time will soon come when our girl cat Minnie will start bringing home butterflies.

Technorati Tags: Birds, Bees, Marburg,Cats

A bird in the hand

This a clip of the Juniorette with a bunch of parrots at Gatorland on our last family holiday to Florida earlier this year. Lots of other people had bird feed as well but for some reason the parrots seemed to flock to her.

Technorati Tags: Juniorette, Gatorland, Parrots,Florida

Blooming marvelous

Spring is here in a big way. Temperatures are very warm here for the time of year, with Marburg expected to reach 28°C this weekend. This has of course had a dramatic effect in the garden with both our Mirabella (see photo’s) and Victoria plum trees in full blossom. Last evening we had our first grill of the season. It was good to be back out on the patio setting fire to things, and the food wasn’t bad either!

The new flower bed that I started a few weeks ago is almost half finished and we have added the first plants – Hibiscus, Lupins, Rittersporn, Pfingstrosen & Sonnenhut. Most of these plants were chosen in respect for their attractiveness for bees and butterflies. The next part of the bed will involve roses which should save me a fortune at the florists (slight exaggeration!). My Tomato plants for this year have now been transferred to the cold frame where they will harden off for a couple off weeks before being planted into the ground.

We have Mason bees under our roof tiles again which I am happy about. These do not swarm or cause problems. They are very important for the environment as they are active a lot earlier than normal honey bees. By June /July their life cycle is over until next year. One oddity of this warm spring is that the Swallows and House Martins seem to be a couple of weeks late this year.

The Juniorette is happy with the warm weather as we have set up a goal in the garden so she can play a little footy with me. This week she is currently attending another football school (mixed) in Marburg with a lot of her friends from the team that she plays for.

Technorati Tags: Juniorette, Garden, Football,Marburg

Spring is in the air

The past few days have been warm and sunny in Marburg. The birds are pairing up, and the Daffodils are not too far away from flowering. Spring is in the air. But for me one of the defining signs that spring is slowly on its way is when migratory birds start heading north again. A couple of nights ago I heard Cranes flying overhead on their way to their summer breeding grounds. They are certainly earlier this year than last, but as a rule of thumb I generally expect to see them around Mrs H’s birthday, which incidentally is tomorrow. So I expect with continued good weather to see a lot more Cranes heading north in the next few days.

Of course with all this spring activity I wouldn’t be surprised if winter turns up in a big way some time to spoil it all.

Technorati Tags: Springtime, Birds, Marburg