Kitchen Garden Forum

Does anyone get a dawn chorus like this, 5.30am birds start singng next local peacock starts squarking away, then the wolves start howling, followed by the lions roaring, next doors ducks are quacking, but best of all the cuckoo is singing.
And i'm not joking about any of this.
Anyone else get woken to strage noises.
Maybe trains or partners snoring like trains?

Kind regards an earlybird Old Herbaceous.

Theres no fool like an old fool.

Where are you? Living inside Whipsnade Zoo? Or are you lurking at Longleat?

We haven't got wolves or lions, but half the world's birds are here, along with foxes and horses.

We have 3 buzzards living in a nearby tree who make a racket all day, a magpie who thinks he's a telephone and a pretty little bird who taps on our bedroom window every morning at 6am prompt.

Living in the country isn't quiet! When we first came here, we found it impossible to sleep past 3am as the incumbents made so much noise getting up and about. Now we're used to it and it's lovely.

last week or so the small birds in the garden have been singing all daylong.

There's a lovely Mistlethrush just started singing this morning,he picks a good high tree and just blasts his heart out advertising his charms to the passing ladies.
Last year I couldn't work out where it was comming from and I spent all one evening in the garden with the binocs.trying to track him down,he's loud and proud alright!
And have you noticed the smell out there this morning? It's that warm,wet earth scent,things just can't help growing when it's like this.

Hello Carole, now thats something i'm really missing, the singing of a mistlethrush or just an ordinary thrush would do. I have not seen a thrush up our end of the village for ages now. Hopefully they will be back one day.
There is nothing to match nature.
Chantal no its not whipsnade or Longleat.

Kind regards a hoping Old Hebaceous.

I'm a hard man with a soft collar.

I once had a peacock 'yodel' and drop onto my head from a tree walking back from the pub at dusk one night......I nearly pi**** myself with fright!! OH thought it was hilarious though....

I can never hear a thing - apart from my husband snoring his head off!!!!!!!

We have a song thrush in the garden sat tight on her nest......

And I even heard a Cuckoo Friday morning! Just waiting for the swallows and house martin now!


Jerry

thanks for the clue, Old H., I think I've finally guessed! Unless there's another village in Beds with lions nearby......

Hi Jerry,
We have had a constant stream of Swallows since the 28th March when it was very cold and the first pair of our regulars appeared on 5th April and they were joined by another today and they are in an out of the Hay Loft and I suspect the first pair have their nest sorted out already. Last year was a superb breeding year for Swallow here and the last of the fledgelings vacated the nest and were gone, migrated, within the hour and they obviously were to be taught what to do on their long journey. We had 10 nesting pairs and four pairs had four broods and the others only 3 broods so you can imagine how many young little darlings we had about. I am always so happy when they all return as they really are the heralders of Spring to come. Last year we also saw the return of the House Sparrow to nest they had not done so for 15 years and this year there are about 4 pairs hanging about.
Carole, are you sure that it is a Mistle Thrush and not a Song Thrush because the Mistle Thrush to me has not got much voice at all but I have a Song Thrush that sings it's heart out each day. We have the Mistle Trushes and they nest in the Orchard and they are buggers for dive bombing you if you approach anywhere close to their nests.
I have actually got a pair of Ravens nesting in the largest of my very large Apple Trees. English Heritage decided that the trees that the Ravens nested in were endangering the Roman Camp on my plot and had them all felled. There were about a dozen pairs and we have the one pair and the rest have dispersed to where I know not.

We have a tiny wren nesting in the top corner of our chicken shed. I'm worried that if any babies come out the nest a bit early the girls will kill them. Anyone got any ideas on how I can help them?

Johnboy

Nothing on the swallow front here is Sussex as far as I can tell yet. We have an old barn they use year after year.

After speaking to Dad down in Devon over the weekend he has not seen any yet. They have a pair that nest in a passage to the kitchen each year. Just about 6" above my head. It is some what startling to walk into the passage, about 15 foot long, to have 2 mini rockets scream inches from your face as they dart outside.

The passage is also used by a group of bats which make a hell of a mess, and annoy mum into the bargain!

Agree with your comments about Mistle Thrush, they always nest in Dad's orchard and I have been bombed numerous times!

Roll on spring!

Jerry

Hi Jerry,
Two more pairs of regulars this morning.
We have exactly the same as a pair always nest in our back porch and they whizz past your ear as you go out the back door.
I have two large barns, a Stable and Traphouse and a smaller lean to Stable and in the small one there are normally 4 pairs of Swallows and to watch them go in and out without colliding is amazing as they seem to be flying full pelt as they go in and the place is only 14ft long. I always wonder how they stop!
The earliest I have seem Swallows in England in February 9th over Chew Valley Reservoir and on the way home we went through a blizzard and I have always wondered if they all perished.

The wrens that sometimes nest in our side passage have been investigating it again, but I don't think they will nest there this year, because they used it last year and they seem to rotate between three or four sites. I suppose it would keep down parasites.

The bats are still there though, so while we won't get the daytime fly past we will get the evening one .