Green and country this week - 25 June

I have realised that these notes of being green and country in the city are mainly about wildlife rather than community, craft, food, etc. And it is the same again this week.

• The foxes are still bringing clothing into the garden.
• Tuesday morning there was a magpie flying from fence to wall over several gardens and back, cackling every time it was perched. Then it was on the end wall following a fox pecking at the fox's tail. Fox not bothered.
• Saturday morning magpies saw off two collar doves who wanted to settle on the fence.
• Tuesday after KAPAP there was a kestrel hovering over the sports field behind the VIth form college.
• Had to get a red admiral butterfly out of the photocopier room at work.
• My perennial sweet pea has flowered for the first time - I've had it several years.
• Got pots of african marigold, oregano, Garvina (first winter hardy gerbera variety),a yellow coreopsis and a scabiosa. I have had many more bees and other insects this year and want to make sure I have the flowering plants for the rest of the season.
• I saw two Egyptian geese when kayaking today and one had its wing extended - lovely blue section. I'd like to get a feather of that!

Birds in the garden

Delighted to see a great tit in the garden this morning.

When I first moved here I didn't see birds in the garden. Some would be in the ash tree that partly overhung it, often they flew over it.

Before I moved here I had an allotment where I used grow some sunflowers each year. I would be down working on the allotment while birds were taking the seeds from the sunflowers. I only ever had one self-sown sunflower. My first year here I had sunflowers and the first time I saw a bird on them was one finch on Christmas Day. The next year there were sunflower seedlings everywhere!

The past few years I have seen birds in the garden more and more frequently, though I put no food out for them. I don't encourage birds directly because of the amount of cats that use the garden.

I was worried that the clearing of my elderly ex-neighbour's garden might impact on the number of birds in mine as I have no shrubs. There has been the occasional magpie and wood pigeon. The sparrows were getting nesting material from the plumes of what's left of my neighbour's pampas grass.

But today there was the great tit. And then a group of 5 sparrows on the beanpoles.

One rook is a crow - not so!

This isn't exactly green and country in the city as it takes place in Great Dunmow a town in Essex (a very pretty little town too with a very good local museum).

I went there yesterday in my friend Tony's sidecar and we met up with our friend Tina in the carpark by the co-op. There was a rook there - it was definitely a rook and definitely on its own.

The saying is that lots of crows are rooks and one rook is a crow.

I don't know about the country but here in London you can definitely see large groups of crows. And now it seems one rook can really be one rook!

Green and country in the city 16 June

I had an update on my computer which upset my antivirus so I had to download it and then reinstall. Problems with reinstallation which meant I haven't been able to use my home computer for over 2 weeks, so one big update!

• Got French marigolds for conservatory - I find these most successful at keeping aphids out of the conservatory.
• My neighbour, Pat, says 4  fox cubs in her garden. She's only see one but Winston has seen 4. They are carried along the wall at the back by one of the parents. I've seen the adults with one cub since I spoke to Pat, but only the adults in my garden. The last few mornings I have found bits of clothing etc, probably used by the club to practise its prey-catching skills.
• Have got rid of 2 large scented leaved geraniums in conservatory as they were too big. Have taken one cutting, but I will cut this back every year. I do try to learn from my mistakes!
• The winds we have had recently have knocked over the plum trees in their pots - so a few more plums lost. Will it be yet another year with no ripe plums?
• My bird of paradise plant has 2 flowers this year!
• Been having early autumn raspberries, loganberries, wild strawberries, one ordinary strawberry, red currant (one bush just finishing) and blackcurrants (just starting) with my breakfast cereal every morning.
• Last Saturday got 4 lots of horse shit on my cycle ride for the compost.
• Only 14 gooseberries from the 3 plants in pots but enough from the little bush I have had for years for a large crumble and more to come.
• Wednesday evening at 9.40 pm saw what I am pretty sure was a bat flittering over the garden. I have quite a lot of evening primrose - not yet in flower - which is good for night insects, therefore good for bats. Want to find out what else is good for night insects too.
• There has been a comma butterfly in the garden all this week.
• There have been more bees in the garden than there have been for several years - is this because of what I have done, or that my next door neighbour's garden has been completely cleared so nothing for them there?