Early Flights...

A few days ago, when temperatures were not getting above 2 or 3 degrees, and icy winds were blowing, the sight of a butterfly was something we could only dream of.

What a different story today! From the start the day looked good, with the early morning sun shining on the woods at the back of the house...

Within five minutes of going out into the garden we had seen a couple of butterflies, a Xylocopa Violacea (see here) and one of Colin's favourites, a hummingbird hawk moth..

This narcissus appears to have grown an extra petal, but look closely and you'll see the Brimstone butterfly...

Here it's en route to the cowslips...

and it's arrived...

The Xylocopa Violacea was far too quick for me to photograph but I did manage a few slightly out of focus shots of the hummingbird hawkmoth as it went from the dafffodils to the hyacinths...

Later in the day we saw a Comma butterfly and Red Admiral neither of which kept still long enough to photograph.

Temperatures rose to 18c after lunch, the first warm day of the year. This, and the sudden flurry of insect activity took us by surprise - a very pleasant surprise!

Fierce Siskins

We wrote about our Siskins just over a week ago and at the time mentioned that the poor old Blue Tits were being kept from their favourite feeders by them. Last Sunday we noted that from the dozens we had, we are now lucky if we see a Blue Tit at all.

Further observations have revealed that these small Siskins don't half fight where food is involved and being small does not appear to be a hindrance. (other than to the photographer as well as being small they ain't half quick)

You might be bigger than me but "Get off my fatballs"

 They even don't like their own...

You could say it's just male aggression but think again!

This sweet little female is having non of it...

It will be the Great Tits next, that decide it's toooo much agro to feed here.

She even sees off the male, which can be seen here making a rapid exit.

Don't know how they will go on mating!!!

A Siège Suspendu!

Colin enjoys browsing through the "Annonces Ventes" section on Leboncoin and he's found some very good deals over the years.

He knows I've always had a yearning for a swing seat to hang under one of the trees in the garden. The other evening he spotted an advert for an IKEA swing seat and better still, it was in a hamlet very close to Braye!

With trepidation I picked up the phone to contact the seller. Coping with the French language spoken at break-neck pace is hard enough face to face; the telephone amplifies the difficulty ten times over.

In my best accent I asked if we could view the Siège suspendu a Vendre... s'il vous plait?

There was a bit of a pause, then the man answered in English. All my fears for nothing! The swing was being sold by a couple from the UK. So the next afternoon we went to see it. It was perfect and a quarter of the  price new.

It was duly packed into the back of the car and installed under the remaining big weeping willow.

It is surprisingly comfortable and it looks in keeping in the garden...

 And of course we had to try it out...

Perhaps Colin thought he'd better buy me one whilst there was still a suitable tree to suspend it from.

Sometimes You've Just Got to Admit Defeat!

We've had quite a productive week: Colin with the bird boxes and the bee hotels and me with a couple of additions to Spangledust...

However, when it comes to creativity, there are some things which are just that little bit too ambitious, given the materials one has to hand.

This was one such creation...

Now to the untutored eye this may look like a bundle of sticks..

It is, in fact, a willow planter. But even I have to admit that there isn't much going for it, despite the artistic addition of a few potted plants!

The main problem is that in order to weave it I stuck the uprights into the lawn.... Now it isn't really going to transport very well.

On the plus side, it is still close enough to the 'hole' to throw it back in and call it a day! Sometimes you just have to admit defeat!

Den or Sett??

The other day we noticed some activity in the local woods. What appeared to be a large ferret was lifted from a box, taken out of sight and after a few minutes we heard a single gunshot.

Being of a curious (some might say nosey) disposition, we felt that after a suitable time had elapsed we should go and investigate.

What we found was quite a sizeable area of 'holes' with mounds of earth at their openings. The majority of the holes had been kicked in and roughly filled with earth and sticks. The holes were far too big to be a rabbit warren...

 

We also found this empty cartridge...

We are not clear whether this is a fox den or a badger sett. There was little evidence of footprints, other than those of the men who had been earlier. Nor were there any droppings or strands of hair to help us...

The only real 'clue' was the feeding stations nearby which may suggest someone was trying to protect their own quarry....

Any thoughts on the matter, please??

Where have all the Blue Tits gone.

We are still providing bird food for our small birds and the occasional larger ones like a pair of collared doves who come and clean up all the bits the small birds don't eat.

There is still a great demand and the feeders are empty by mid afternoon. However we are missing our little windowsill feeders...

Last week we had dozens, now there are but the odd one or two. Where have they all gone??

A couple of updates.

1. The nest box has been dried and completed and mounted in the tree from whence it came!

2. The hanging Santa is STILL hanging around down in the village... The bets are still on!!

Violets and Cowslips!

Whilst out walking in our local woods this week we've seen some of the loveliest of our spring flowers beginning to show their faces through the leaves on the woodland floor. The sweet violet was growing in one little cluster but the cowslips were coming up over a large area.

We are in for a real treat when they are all in flower....
And it's a treat we're very much looking forward to!  (Jean and Gaynor you'll be here at just the right time!)