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BrandNewGuy Wrote:

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> Just heard the first swift of the year near

> Dulwich Hospital. Summer is definitely on the way.

> Here's how the arrival compares to previous

> years:

> 2011 ? May 9

> 2012 ? May 1

> 2013 ? May 17

> 2014 ? May 8

> 2015 ? May 9

> 2016 ? May 4

> 2017 - May 6

> 2018 ? May 8


Thanks for that! We have been wondering when they would arrive!

dazeykat Wrote:

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> Swifts arrived yesterday (or that's when I first

> heard,then saw, them)And I still haven't got round

> to putting up a nest box. Next year..!


Ah, thanks! I was in Mitcham yesterday biting my nails and then celebrating Dulwich Hamlet's victory, so didn't notice any local swifts :-)

A pair of beautiful small but perfectly formed greater spotted woodpecker fledglings in the garden on Copleston Road a few days back, exhibiting a behaviour I've never seen before: they seemed to be making repeated passes through the stream of the little ornamental fountain in the pond, though whether to catch a drink or just get a bit of water on them (it was one of the scorching days) I don't know. I know there are plenty of insects hanging over ponds, but they were quite definitely deliberately flying straight into the stream.

Robert Poste's Child Wrote:

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> In Brockwell Park there's a swan sitting on a nest

> with seven big blue eggs. It seems completely

> unfazed by all the interest from passers-by but

> the park keepers have put up a fence to stop

> people getting too close.


Now six fluffy grey cygnets swimming on the pond in a tight group, one parent in front and the other close behind.


Can't help wondering what happened to number seven.

Robert Poste's Child Wrote:

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> The walled garden in Brockwell Park is looking

> gorgeous and smelling delicious right now. There

> are big fat peony buds just about to open. A great

> place for shirkers like me to spend the afternoon

> with a book.



That's my favourite garden.


Apart from the hideous thing they did to the pond :(

Clearing up behind my garden shed this morning, I lifted up a bin bag in which I've been storing a dismantled mini greenhouse. Underneath was a small smooth newt - around 5-6cm in length. It didn't appear to be discomfited by having been disturbed but I quickly replaced the bin bag and left it in peace. The clearing-up can wait until another day!

Comeback Book Group Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> a

> small smooth newt


How exciting! And may I congratulate you on your flawless 'newt etiquette'. I spotted my first dragonfly of the summer yesterday - not quite such a big deal, but still really pleasing.

  • 2 weeks later...

that's bad news - because if they (blackbirds) did eat them (snails), i probably wouldn't have a gardenful of bare chewed stalks - and good news - because me getting rid of the snails hasn't left the blackbirds to starve. well, i hope you see what i mean...


and does anyone have any humane suggestions for getting rid of snails (besides tying them up in a dog-poo bag and sticking that in a bin?)

civilservant Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------


>

> and does anyone have any humane suggestions for

> getting rid of snails (besides tying them up in a

> dog-poo bag and sticking that in a bin?)



Take them to a wood or something far, far from your house :))

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