Almost crackin the flags!

The Safari was out in the garden chatting to our Extreme Photographer on the mobile blower last night when a very unexpected solitary Sand Martin flew over...Garden #32.

Frank had us up at ungodly o'clock...the numbers on the digital clock began with four! When yer dog's gotta go you've gotta get up and go with him...and we're quite glad we did as the cool morning air was filled with the song of a myriad of Blackbirds, there didn't seem to be much else singing, a Robin here and a Wren there but it was almost wall to wall Blackbirds and made all the better for the almost complete absence of human noise pollution...the milkman went by as did a couple of taxis but other than them it was a natural sounds all the way.

We'd put the moth trap out last night on the promise of a decent overnight weather forecast but almost as soon as we turned the  lamp on the rain, well only light drizzle, started. we made the decision to leave it out believing the good forecast and were relieved this morning to finds it bone dry. worryingly a blog of small bird poo was on one of the perspex sides to the 'funnel' has something twigged there's free scram to be had - would the trap be empty...

No it wasn't empty but it was hardly full either...just one Hebrew Character was all that was in there - it's got to get better than this. Is the weather, is it the local gardeners and their habitat destruction, is it the other local gardeners who go to the garden centres and buy bee and butterfly friendly plants whose compost is doused in neonicotinoid pesticides? Probably a mix of these and more but it truly is a very poor mothing season so far. Last year we didn't get any Hebrews in May they'd finished by the end of April.

After thoroughly searching through the egg boxes in the trap again to check we hadn't missed anything - we hadn't - we went back to bed until sensible o'clock.

Before Wifey got up we were  making her brekkie and noticed the female Blackbird went unto the Crab Apple tree and thence under the eaves into the garage so the nest we showed you yesterday is in use after all - nice! One of the three holes in the House Sparrow 'terrace' is occupied by a pair of Great Tits, we don't think there'll never be a House Sparrow in there.

Our third nest of the day wasn't a bird but a bee. Above the kitchen door is a crack in the brick work and a large White Tailed Bumble Bee was seen to go in a couple of times during the day...a day during which the sun shone very warmly at times, or at least in our sheltered garden it was. Much of the day was spent doing garden improvements with new tubs bought and new climbing plants to fill them, in the process of all this we brought the tub with the Clematis in from the front to put up in the corner of the garages and accidentally nudged the old hanging basket with the Wren's nest in it and out shot a very indignant Wren - so it looks like that's in use too - hope it's all right after all today's disturbance, tomorrow being forecast to be wet and windy should be a much quieter day for them.

So four nests at Base Camp - well chuffed - - big cheesy smiles all round!

Perhaps we should hav gone birding today rather than doing the garden as locally a Hobby and, more remarkably, a Bee-eater were seen nearby, what else might have been about?

Where to next? Little chance of the mothy being put out tonight and we'll be lucky to get anywhere tomorrow...but you never know.

In the meantime let us know who's nesting in your outback.

PS Frank went to 'Fat Club' this arvo cos he has to lose at least 5kgs...and the first thing we have to do is give him more food! Almost double what he gets now; but very little in the way of treats, not that the broken pieces of rice cake he gets now are much of a treat for a growing dog.