The Garden Diary 2012

19 February - Well, the forecasters were nearly correct last week. The snow that fell on the 10th had all disappeared by the 13th, and by the next day so had all the ice on the ponds as daytime temperatures rose to over 10C. Over the rest of the week the garden thermometer exceeded 12C a couple of times. The downside to the weather came in the form of cloud, so it was largely a dull week.

This morning is different, with bright sunshine following a weak cold front that passed through yesterday afternoon. That brought light rain (the first all week) preceded by a strong breeze, and followed by a rapid drop in temperatures as the afternoon progressed - down from a morning high of 11C to 5C at 5pm and 1C during the night. At lunchtime today it is back up to just 7C, despite the sunshine.

 The only significant observations during the past week come from the ponds where I have seen the first signs of frog activity - at least the disturbance made by frogs retreating under the water surface as I walk past.

My lack of bird reports during the last week reflect the lack of activity in the garden since the previous entry. The Jays haven't returned and neither have I seen any other of the winter visitors that made brief appearances during the first half of the month.

The wait for more sightings came to an end this morning with the appearance of a couple of Willow Warblers.

My attention was first drawn to the movement of shoots of the bamboo plant in front of my work shed. This plant is usually ignored by our garden birds, and it wasn't long before I caught sight of a warbler.

However, it wasn't until one flew up into the Birch tree and perched briefly that I managed this all too distant shot.

It was only afterwards that I spotted a second one, the pair clearly interacting as they flitted between the Birch and the conifers beyond the end of the garden.

26 February - Since that last entry the weather has continued to at least give a good impression of an early Spring, with largely sunny days and just one night-time frost. After a dip to a day-time high of just 6C on the 19th, prior to a low of -3C during the following night, the day-time temperatures since then have been 8, 11, 10, 16, 13, 9C with it reaching 12C today.

Over the last four days we have experienced quiet a bit of bright sunshine, with just a touch of dampness on a couple of occasions. While this makes for great weather to get on with some gardening (lawn mowers and strimmers heard this weekend!) it only helps to ensure that this part of the UK will have serious water supply problems as the year progresses - we are already in a state of drought and a hosepipe ban cannot be far off.

Bird activity continues to be at a low level in the garden, with no new sightings over the last week. However, the warmer conditions are bringing the pond to life. My eldest grand-daughter was here on Thursday and helped to search for frogs. While some disappeared as we approached the ponds she was still able to count seven individuals.

Today I was able to spot 13 individuals (with splashes again indicating that there were more present. And my neighbour commented on hearing their croaking a few nights back when the temperature didn't drop below 11C. Tonight at 9pm I could see 17 frogs, with two pairs in what I can only describe as a relaxed amplexus.

 Last night Sheila thinks she heard the snorting of a hedgehog. I have yet to see any signs of their presence, but I will be listening out for them from now on.

On the plant front the Snowdrops are now showing signs of passing their prime. With the temperatures exceeding 10C their petals are opening right up but I'm not seeing signs of insects visiting them.

Back on the 23rd, while my grand-daughter was frog spotting I also spotted the first of this year's Lesser Celandines to come into flower.

As usual, the majority of the Celandine plants are not yet ready to flower, but today I spotted another two flowers amongst the moss at the opposite end of the big pond from this first flower.

Primroses are now starting to flower in several parts of the garden.

Yesterday I finally got round to checking the Great/Blue Tit nest box for the first time this year, and there is no clear sign that any bird visits have taken place. I have now switched on the rear view camera and the low level lighting but have yet to set up a recorder in the house to monitor it. This is a task that I must get done over the next day or two.

27 February - A grey start with water drops along the rim of the veranda awning and on the car being evidence of a bit of rain before dawn, but with little sign of wetness on the paving outside. The rain was brought by a cold front that moved across the country during the night but which had all but petered out by the time it reached us.

28 February - Another cloudy day, but dry, and with a high of 12C after the temperature only dropped to 9.5C last night.

My neighbour has decided that it is time to replace the fence that separates our gardens. The old one is many years old and is in need of rather more than TLC. However, it may cause me a few problems  and I need to sort out a few bits and pieces on my side of the fence. For example, the Ivy tree has sent out branches over the fence. This morning I started to deal with some of these but family visitors meant that job came to a premature end, for today at least.

During the afternoon I saw a clear sign that Blackbirds think that Spring has arrived - a female made a number of visits the the big pond, not to bathe or drink but to collect the soggy vegetation needed for the base of her first nest of 2012. I wasn't able to establish where she was taking these materials but she seemed to head for (or past) the Ivy tree. Tomorrow I will need to watch more carefully. If she is indeed nesting in that Ivy then it could cause a problem for the person who replaces the fence.

29 February - The month has ended with a leap day that has been cloudy (until just before dusk) and dry, with a high temperature of just over 12C after an overnight low of just over 8C.

If this wasn't a leap year, our Daffodils would have had their timing just perfect for St David's day (tomorrow!). Quite a few of them chose to open today despite the lack of sunshine, four days later than in 2011.

I can now confirm that the Blackbird is nest building, not in the Ivy tree but in the conifers beyond the bottom of my neighbour's garden. While I usually look forward to her building her nest in our garden, on this occasion it was a bit of a relief to see her flying straight past the Ivy tree.

Once I knew that the 'coast was clear' I headed down the garden to start work on taming the Ivy, a task that I have been meaning to do these last two years. By the end of the day I had removed some three feet from the height of the Ivy tree and removed most of the growth that had spread over the fence. I also removed the trellis panel that supported the camera-equipped Robin nestbox. I haven't been monitoring this for several years and  the box was almost completely filled with nesting materials - I don't think a Robin could have fitted in there, let alone have a family!

There is more clearing to be done, although family commitments mean that there will be a pause of at least a few days before I'm able to continue. As soon as that job is done I will be installing a new trellis panel and refitting the nestbox (and its camera).

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