Notes from the country with Vicky Turrell

An endangered bird is in danger in our ‘safe’ garden. The spotted flycatchers nesting in our climbing rose have successfully reared four nestlings. Suddenly, one morning the young fledglings flew to our woodland, one by one. The frantic parents are feeding them, but it is an even harder task now they are not all in one place. Desperately looking for extra food the parents have taken to going into our greenhouse through the open window. I think that they are attracted by the plentiful supply of flying ants in there. The problem arose when we found a flycatcher anxiously trying to get out and the window had closed. You see when the temperature drops the window automatically closed trapping the bird inside. It needed to get out to feed its young and it was desperate. It was flying with its beak full of insects. It flew from one side of the greenhouse to the other, backwards and forwards until, tiring at last, it fell to the ground. Now we have had to leave the greenhouse door open...

Have you noticed that birds are already looking for a place to nest? I have seen blue tits going in and out of our bird box opposite the kitchen window. At the bottom of our garden I have a little summer house. It is beyond the woodland and away from it all. A place to read or listen to the radio or just to look out and soak up the sun and watch the comings and goings of birds. I had an idea a few years ago, that I could have a glass sided nest box and if there was a rectangle cut out of my summer house wall, I could see the birds and watch their antics. It was such a simple idea with no special equipment needed. I even made a curtain to give the birds privacy. What could go wrong? Well, everything went wrong because no birds have ever nested there. Perhaps they don’t like the position, perhaps they don’t like the glass or even my curtain. Whatever the reason, they don’t nest there. I have stopped looking until this week. I went to check, just on the off chance. I pulled th...