Spring Walks -19th April 2020

I’m quite enjoying this lockdown on a ‘connecting with nature’ sort of way. It’s given me the opportunity to do more walking as I usually drive to Wintersett.

The best time of the year is spring, and with the lockdown the banks of Anglers country park haven’t been cut by Wakefield council. This is giving wildflowers a chance to flower. This morning I noticed patches of cuckoo flower  

Description

Cardamine pratensis  on the north bank 

The longer grass is also supporting a number of Linnets around the lake



Two Hares were in the back field but wouldn’t let me get too close.

A noticeable increase in Swifts today as they start to trickle in, the bulk will arrive the 1st week of May. So on that note I decided to take the tape off the boxes this afternoon in anticipation for their arrival. 

Red Campion , Finally...

After 3 years of trying, I finally have some red campion in my wildflower edges. 

Not sure why it took so long to take, but this year is seem to have a few plants which I’m very happy about. 

Swifts in 2019

So following the success of 2018 I was keen to develop my colony further. 

14/4/2019 - I added two new boxes of the same Zeist design from the nest box company based in Solihull , they also custom built a box for me to fit in a small space at the edge of the house for a small charge. 

3/5/2019 - over 200 Swifts were just down the road at Wintersett but still non at home. 

27/5/2019- by the 27th May there was hardly any swifts in Crofton, this could be due to a terrible cyclone in Mozambique this winter, followed by by bad weather of the Sahara. Many Swift blogs reporting low numbers returning and mass fatalities. To be honest by this date I was panic stricken. 

28/5/2019- 3 swifts were screaming around the house- I played the swift calls to attract them. 2 swifts attempted to enter boxes from 8pm-10pm. Non entered boxes. 

29/5/2019- Swifts Roosted in Box 3. 

9/6/2019- A Swift flew out of box 4 

10/6/2019- Sunny and Mild, up to 30 Swifts over the house with 6 Screaming round - 2x pairs in box 3 and 4. 

18/6/2019 - 1 Banger 

23/6/2019- 2 boxes placed on neighbouring houses. Even some banging on neighbours boxes. 8/9 screaming around the street. 

3/8/2919- Swifts active in box 2 & 3, screaming parties of up to 10 birds. 2 birds see. Going in A neighbours house where no box was present. Box 3 had layed eggs but were ejected in mid July , maybe they fell out of the nest when an intruder entered. 

19/8/2019- box 2 feeding young, all other birds have left. 

25/8/2019 - Baby Swift peering out of the box 2 , decent sized bird. 

2/9/2919- Swifts still, but seldom seen. I predict only one bird still feeding the young. 

8/9/19- Swifts last heard , I presume the fledged overnight or on the 9th September. 

History of Greenside Swifts

The story of my Swifts (apus apus) started in June 2018. Crofton has two major swift colonies, one on Oak Street and the other on Shay Lane estate. These estates are typically 1950's built council estates, and well established colonies.

In 2018 Wakefield council decided to renovate these properties and have new soffits and facias and some new roofs. This was a tragedy for the Swifts , as many of their access holes were sealed.

After witnessing in June 2018 a number of birds attempting and failing to enter there usual nesting sites I decided to buy a number of boxes. 3 boxes were placed that year.

2018 Was a great Swift year, helped by the good weather. In June I played the Swift calls through a speaker out of the window to attract the birds. I quickly managed to attract 2 pairs within 3 days, which makes me wonder is these were Swifts which were ejected from nesting sites on Oak Street.

That same year I also had 12 'Bangers', these are 1st year birds who bang on potential nesting sites to see if they are occupied, they build a mental picture and return from Africa in their 2nd year to occupy them and build nests.

The Grotto - Walton Hall

Lockdown continues and I saw an opportunity to get into the Grotto, part of Walton Hall but hard to access with the golfers about. With the course being shut I would get in. 

It’s ancient woodland and there is remains of the structure which Charles Waterton built to use as a place to relax, I believe he also allowed residents from sheltered accommodation to visit for respite. 

An interesting place to explore. 

Building Nesting Space for Solitary Bees

Lockdown in full swing , I’ve been trying hard to find things to do. 

Last year I got a solitary bee hive, eventually getting leaf cutter bees which kept be occupied all summer watching them going in and out. 

I wanted to add more so I converted an old sleeper I had into a bee tower. Using 8mm and 10mm Holes drilled 10 cm deep. I got to attract them. I also cleaned out my hive, I stored all the leaf cutters egg cigar until they hatch in May/ June. 

Within a few house a mason bee had found the hive , let’s hope I get bothe mason and leaf cutters this year.

Making House Martin Nesting Cups

I had an idea to make some House Martin Nest cups. 

Last year I was asked in my local Crofton Facebook group to help with a nest which had fallen down. 

House martins use mud for their nests and they can fall down, on this occasion the Martin has made its nest on wood , I can only think that when the wood got hot and expanded the nest had dislodged, 

As the nest was too high and I didn’t have another I had to foster the chicks in other nests which is not ideal. 

I made the nests from polystyrene coated in filler, I then cut the polystyrene out and painted them brown and added some mud. 

I don’t have any plans to put these up but rather keep them in case of emergencies. 

Lesser Celandines

Spring is in full swing today. One of my favourite wildflowers , Lesser Celandine, was in full flower in Stubbs wood near Walton hall. I managed to get a few photos. 

For the first time I have this also flowering in my garden in the wildflower patch. 

Converting Eaves for Swifts

My house was built in 1993 by Ben Bailey Homes. They were built to the standard building regulations at the time which means an outer brick, followed by a insulated cavity (about 3 inches) then the internal brick. The houses were built with open eaves. 

This forms both a challenge and opportunity for converting these for Swifts. Firstly the cavity needs to be Bridged so the swift doesn’t fall down. There needs to be an entrances cut into the bird guard (a cheap plastic lip to stop birds getting in the roof). Swifts can also be helped by adding a nesting cup, and also they need to be boxes off in the roof. 

It had always been my intention to do this as my swift coming grew , so I had an idea to do it this year. 

I used 3mm ply cut to size and added a nesting cup made from interior filler with some fluff and feathers added. Secured with adhesive and cut a hole in the bird guard, using some cheap wood to box off the back. 

4 new nesting races were added this year. 

This was before

After the wood was added to bridge the cavity. 

Island Clearance & Sand Martin Box Repairs

Today we cleared the islands and repaired the sand martin box in preparation for this years nesting season at Anglers a country Park

Also one of the Tern rafts which was built last year had lost its anchor during a recent storm so it had to be brought back to the shallows from the North bank.