SKYLARK SUE’S REFLECTIONS
OF NATURE
December 2014
Yet again, the
temperature’s this month turned out to be above the seasonal norm.
Unfortunately, due to various circumstances, I was unable to travel far so the
majority of my sightings were just in the garden. To recap, our garden is very
small, approx. 30 feet long, and backs onto a busy road. Across the road are
two large, mature oak trees and an established hedgerow interspersed with
taller shrubs and trees. Our garden has a fifty year old apple tree, a few
smaller fruit trees in tubs, a couple of large conifers and some small ponds
which attract newts, various aquatic insects and the occasional frog. Various
feeders hang from the apple tree and from a feeder pole.
The first day of
December was grey, damp and gloomy, though it was good to see around twenty
house sparrows in the tree and on the feeders. A jay was also visiting, as were
blue and great tits and a robin, while a grey squirrel was feasting on peanuts.
It was quite mild. The following day proved quite a bit colder, and was windy
too. There were three collared doves in the garden as well as the usual birds.
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| House sparrows in the hedge at the end of the garden |
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| Female house sparrow |
December the 4th was
another cold wet day, but when the rain stopped the apple tree branches looked
pretty festooned with raindrops. There were plenty of sparrows around again.
Visitors to the garden on the 5th included magpie, woodpigeon, jays, sparrows
and starling. It was good to see goldfinches in a tree opposite the garden;
hopefully they will visit us at some point. A blue sky showed off the shrivelled russet leaves on the oak tree across the road to perfection. There was a light frost on the 6th,
as it had turned colder again. Heavy snow was forecast for the north of
Britain, but we escaped it here in Essex. We were pleased to see a male
chaffinch in the tree of the garden next door on the following day; they rarely
visit gardens here for some reason.
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| Female blackbird |
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| Blue tit |
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| Blue tit |
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| Male chaffinch |
On the 8th, a group of starlings were
clustered on the feeders, there must have been five or six. There were also
sparrows and wood pigeons around. The 10th was yet another sunny day with a cloudless blue sky, while the following day a particularly handsome great tit, with a glossy black head and wide black chest stripe, was in the
garden feeding on the peanuts. By the 12th it was
still fairly cold, but nothing like the north which has heavy snow. Apparently,
yesterday there was what has been called a ‘weather bomb’ –a mixture of snow,
hail, thunder and lightning, which caused chaos in northern areas. Here,
though, it was business as usual in the garden – jays and blue tits were down,
and there was a grey squirrel on the feeder. We seem to be getting more and
more wood pigeons; there were at least eight in the oak tree across the road
from the garden, while two crows were in the next tree along. After a heavy
rain shower it brightened up and a female blackbird began searching for worms
in the lawn, by hopping around and listening intently. The following day there
were chaffinches in the oak tree, which was a lovely sight, their pink
colouring enhanced by the sun.
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| Great tit |
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| Sparrow |
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| Blue tit |
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| Sparrow |
The 15th was sunny
with a cloudless blue sky, and amongst the garden visitors were blue tits,
magpie, sparrows and great tits, while wood pigeons and a crow were in the oak
trees opposite. The 16th saw starling, great tit, sparrows and wood pigeons.
The next few days proved very mild for December, with temperatures in the mid-fifties,
and although we had plenty of birds visiting the garden, it’s likely that many are
still finding insects, as well as feasting on the year’s heavy berry and fruit
crops.
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| Collared dove |
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| Wood pigeons |
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| Sparrows in the hedge |
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| Long-tailed tit |
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| Long-tailed tit |
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| Christmas robin! |
The 19th was still mild,
with the usual birds including plenty of sparrows, blue tits and collared
doves. The jays were still around, too, and after a slight drop in
temperature the following day they
climbed again, with the 23rd being exceptionally mild with temperatures in the
higher 50s. On a sunny Christmas day birds spotted included a coal tit,
sparrows, wood pigeons, collared doves and, naturally, a Christmas robin. A grey
squirrel was around, too. Boxing Day garden birds included jay, robin and
blackbird, and in contrast to Christmas day, it was very wet. Also, and more
than welcome, was a small group of long tailed tits, one of my favourite birds,
in the trees opposite our house.
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| Crows at the local garden centre |
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| Garden centre colour |
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| Magpie in tree opposite garden.... |
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| ...and crow, ditto |
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| Starling on the feeder |
On the 27th the birds in the garden included
starlings and the, by now, ubiquitous jay. A trip to the local garden centre on the following day - yet again, blue sky and sunshine - showed off displays of trees and shrubs to perfection. By the 30th the weather had grown
colder with a heavy frost, although it was sunny.
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| Plenty of wood pigeons in the oak tree |
Apparently, this year,
2014, has been Britain’s warmest since records began in 1659. The average
temperature was 49.8 degrees F, which is 2 degrees F above the norm, and had
the fewest number of air frosts for 53 years, according to the Met office. However
it was also the fourth wettest (going back to 1910). Only August had below
average monthly temperatures. Will 2015 prove as
warm?
