ED Nature Watch

[Karrie]

[Deleted] Safety reasons

[The Minkey]

I envy you your ripening tomatoes. What with one thing and another, I got mine going far too late this year and the crop will be small and late, if they manage to ripen at all.

Watching the bird life out the window, I'm amazed to see a pair of goldfinch fledglings, fluttering their wings to be fed - could this be a third brood? It seems really late in the year for dependent youngsters.

The parent birds have got the hang of the sunflower heads at last and are busy picking out the seeds. Last year, the squirrels made off with them, whole heads at a time.

[Karrie]

[Deleted] Safety reasons

[SteveT]

Plums have been fewer this year but now they have ripened they are delicious straight from the tree.

It is an old victoria plum and is due for the chop, I plan to replace it with a plum called 'Opal' which is earlier to deliver and according to the books better flavoured and more reliable cropping. The victoria I inherited tends to crop in 3 year cycles.

[SteveT]

Had a dozen tomatoes today varying shades of pink skin so they are now indoors to ripen.

They are the Gardeners Delight variety which are very sweet, and have thin skin.

[ianr]

> Ianr, I've thought about the squirrel situation, and I think they must have been chasing each other at speed

Karrie, yes, I can't think of anything more likely. I shall have a look next time I'm there for any sign of a nest above the spot, but I think it's very unlikely. And, though I didn't examine closely, no obvious sign of any action by a predator. Quite bizarre really.

On a pleasanter note, I was interested to see the goldfinch reports. I saw some in Greendale, near the railway line, on 1 June. I don't remember ever having seen one before. They're very attractive creatures.

[SteveT]

The weather has changed recently and we have had around eight inches of rainfall this month.

When it rains it seems more like a tropical delivery as we have had an inch or two per shower, when I was young it would drizzle for hours and sometimes days, but now it pours and it is all over in a couple of hours.

One thing remains unchanged though, it always rains most at bank holidays and annual vacations.

I know my apples are bigger as the rain has swelled them to giant size.

The tomatoes are reaping the benefit too.

On the downside the back door is swollen and now sticks in the frame, so I have to lift and wrench open it.

[ironjawcannon]

We now have a greenfinch on our feeder.

My tomatoes are cropping well but unfortunately these recent downpours are causing them to split, if I can keep them from the woodlice they'll be ok though.

[The Minkey]

The sparrows are back - the last few days, I've had a flock of @ 20 or so visiting the feeders. Among them are a few very young ones. Like the goldfinches, I'm amazed they've bred so late in the year. The birdbath, a large 15" plantpot saucer, is proving as popular as the feeders

The tomatoes are finally beginning to return a few ripe ones. I grew both Gardener's Delight and a large fruiting heritage variety, Brandywine, which make delicious tomato steaks.

As for crickets, I stand corrected, they are indeed (more) active at night - I've had to conduct cricket rescues from the bedroom a couple of times recently. Thanks to all this rain, the lawn is now the same shade of luminous green :-)

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Noticed first fairy rings this morning. Probably as a result of all that rain.

Does anyone know the name of the tree (Eric probably) that is by the Oval in P.Rye Park, near the stream, has broad, dark green leaves and white flowers that smell like honeysuckle?

[SteveT]

I watched a fisherman at Surrey Quays pull out a golden carp weighing 26 pounds yesterday whilst roaming around between the Decathlon sheds.

It costs ?20 a year to fish there but you cannot remove them, you have to put them back.

Another fisherman had caught one at 38 pounds last year.

[PeckhamRose]

I love reading this thread!

[SteveT]

Ist of September and the temperature dropped to 4 degrees,

at this rate when winter comes in full force,

I shall have to hire an eskimo to clean the windows.

[The Minkey]

At the tail end of its flowering season, I've finally identified a mystery wildflower in my garden as Flax. It's been sending out sky blue flowers all summer long. Lovely plant.

[louisiana]

SteveT Wrote:

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

> Ist of September and the temperature dropped to 4

> degrees,

>

> at this rate when winter comes in full force,

>

> I shall have to hire an eskimo to clean the

> windows.

You'll be better off leaving the snow there, igloo-style.

My wood-burner gets installed tomorrow. Roll on winter B)

[sophiesofa]

> My wood-burner gets installed tomorrow. Roll on

> winter B)

My electric blanket arrived this morning. Not quite as exciting as a wood burner but still nice and toasty!

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Please get it serviced every year - my parents had a house fire from a faulty electric blanket, thousands of pounds of damage!

[sophiesofa]

Agh now I'm too scared to use it. Thanks for the warning.

[SteveT]

Servicing blankets is expensive it is almost cheaper to buy a new one.

To return to the topic.....

The squirrels are having a field day with my hazel, creeping off with the cob nuts, although 'new' nuts was the name when I was a lad.

I have lots of tomatoes ripening inside so tomato soup is imminent.

[Sue]

Has anybody on here had any luck attracting goldfinches with niger seeds?

[The Minkey]

Hi Sue - you can feed them Niger seeds but, from my experience, they are just as happy with sunflower seeds, especially hearts, or good quality finch mix. I regularly get them on my feeders even though I haven't had the Niger feeder up for several months.

[Sue]

Thanks - niger seeds are all I have at the mo, apart from peanuts, waiting for my fat balls and seed mix to arrive :)

But I've never yet seen a goldfinch in my garden, or any other finches come to that - not sure why.

[Karrie]

I've started mixing thistle seed in with the normal stuff I use. I have had a few finches in since.

[Sue]

Is thistle seed the same as niger??

[The Minkey]

No, it isn't the same as thistle seed. I had some growing in the garden last year, underneath the feeders. This is what is looks like: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/85/282266617_b0ac14b2a0.jpg

It takes a while for birds to realise there's a food source. I'm lucky in that I'm up by One Tree Hill and the trees edging the reservoir act as a bird highway, depositing them directly into my garden ;-)

I had Greenfinches coming in long before I saw a Goldfinch. Now I see Goldfinches more regularly than any other small bird apart from the Sparrows.