Author Archives: jamesnatureblog

Perhaps the key reason why I wanted to engage more with nature in my garden, and then to write about it in this blog, was that I thought it would be a great way to learn. But I must admit that as of today my knowledge is not vast. I’m constantly blown away and humbledContinue reading “Wrong Again”

Last week was the return of the Parakeets but this week an even better return to the garden. Crested Tits, seen below on the feeder camera. Coming from the UK, where these birds are really rare, I’ve never really got over the excitement of being able to see Crested Tits in my garden. Throughout theContinue reading “Crested Tits”

After a period of no hedgehog sightings in the garden it seems safe to confirm that the hibernation period has started for the Winter. At least for my local hogs. The last time I recorded any activity in the garden was the night of the 28-29th October, So I’m going to call 29th October asContinue reading “Hibernating Hedgehogs”

I’ve spent a lot of time watching the bird feeder action this week and although no new birds have turned up in the garden the Parakeets have made a bit of a return. They are not fully back in their previous numbers but when they do come in they seem to be the dominant forceContinue reading “Parakeets are Back”

Highlight of this week has been the return of a Dunnock to the garden. These were more or less ever presents until the arrival of the cats when they disappeared. They feed on the ground and are therefore quite vulnerable. However I’ve seen an individual, only one, bouncing around the garden this week. They’re remarkablyContinue reading “Dunnock”

There’s been a small mystery in the garden this week to keep me on my toes. I haven’t had any hedgehog visits for a few nights now, which is quite normal for this time of year when many have already started hibernating. But I did continue to leave out a bit of food in theContinue reading “The Missing Biscuits”

Now that we’re into the Autumn the garden bird activity has picked up a little. The cats are spending less time outside during the day, compensated by more time during the night? Which is bad news for the mice, who are active and vulnerable at night, but much better for the birds. The overall numberContinue reading “Autumn Birds”

Since the end of July we’ve started to let our two cats out into the garden, roaming freely day and night, and I’m afraid this has had a major, and rather detrimental impact on the mice. They have become by far the favourite prey of the cats who have caught and killed many. The catsContinue reading “Problems for the Mice”

The hedgehog house occupant now appears to have left. He first stayed during the day of the 26th August and left on the 20th September so a stay of 26 days. Interesting to note that I’ve now had three different hedgehogs occupy the house this year. Hedgehog 1 – 4 days between the 22nd MarchContinue reading “Update on the Hedgehogs”

There is a new tenant in the hedgehog house who arrived during the night of the 25-26th August. The nest building started during the night quite rapidly. On the evening of the 25th the box was largely empty but by the following morning the hedgehog had already built enough of a nest to stay duringContinue reading “A New Tenant”