ED Nature Watch

[reetpetite]

And beautiful Goslings toothough sadly 3 less than last week.:(

[ianr]

Two robins happily wandering about the garden and feeding. One of them presumably a juvenile, as no red breast yet, though not much smaller. And the redbreast still occasionally chose to take tidbits to the other and feed it, beak to beak.

[Karrie]

[Deleted] Safety reasons

[red devil]

Heron spotted on top of tree in the Japanese Garden in Peckham Park last week..

[The Minkey]

I'm glad to see the Goldfinches have finally made a reappearance - I thought the winter had done for them.

[Moos]

red devil Wrote:

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> Heron spotted on top of tree in the Japanese

> Garden in Peckham Park last week..

Lovely photo! Mine was taken with a phone, hence teeny-weeny heron. That tree is one of its favourite spots.

[SteveT]

The family of sparrows are feeding their young which are now out of the nest.

I've put down some bird food which the fledglings although walking in it do not help themselves, they wait for the parent bird to feed them with it.

[tiddles]

just seen a woodpecker on one of the trees by the road on peckham rye. Quite a different colour to the reddish ones I have seen before = more of golden/green and black. Very excited (am I VERY sad???)

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Not sad at all! I've seen a green woodpecker on the Rye before - could it be that?

[ruffers]

We saw a green woodpecker in next doors garden at the weekend and were excited too.. Much bigger than I thought.

[SteveT]

I have been honoured by a pair of blackbirds who are now nest building in my wisteria.

The robins are in a feeding frenzy at the minute, so their young must only be a couple of days from fledging,

when their previous family fledged they left the garden and I never saw them again.

The sparrows have taken to giving the fat balls a good hiding,

and the youngsters no longer need any feeding from their parents.

The runner beans have finally started to show, they are about four inches above ground, they will grow a few inches per day when conditions are good, which is fast and furious growth for a garden.

The peas are being crowded by a blessed chickweed (brought in with the compost) and with all the pea sticks it's not easy to keep them weed free.

[bbug]

Am loving scents at the moment. The showy magnolia, the cow parsley so redolent of the countryside and the sweetest, most delicate smell of the hawthorn.

[SteveT]

The bright yellow in amongst the rhododendrun bushes in Dulwich park are scented azaleas, they're about over now but are highly perfumed.

Honeysuckle is about due and the lilac is gorgeous too.

Cow parsely bbug you can keep it and it's scent,

the only thing it was good for by late August was pea-shooters, by that time it's main stem had a large inside diameter although we never used peas we used hawthorn berries.

[Karrie]

[Deleted] Safety reasons

[Domme_Jay]

I seem to have stumbled upon a bumble bee nest while removing an old shed in my garden, its under the platform, easy to get to, I have temporarily halted procedings because I would like to if possible not harm the nest- move it somewhere else or would anyone be interested in collecting and removing.

Anyone with any advice?

J

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

There is a bee-keeping thread in the lounge - perhaps you could post on that.

[Domme_Jay]

Thanks, will do

[ianr]

beesical threads

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?28,318990,319346

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?28,458864,459492

And the lbka thread in the latter points to this, which looks useful

http://www.kentbee.com/kbka/info/faq/faq-bees.shtml

[SteveT]

The baby robin twitted around as I dug up some of the garden whilst the parents perched nearby, it makes me feel chuffed that they have succeeded.

The next ones will be the blackbirds, but not for a couple of weeks or so as they only finished nest building last week.

The great tits just disappeared with their family a week ago and I haven't seen them since.

[Karrie]

[Deleted] Safety reasons

[SteveT]

Had to replace a couple of the tomato plants since the slugs or snails did their worst, so I placed some of the bright blue (cake sprinkles they look like) stuff to give them a hard time.

I have had a crop of 2 robins well thats as far as I know, if I see more than that I shall be delighted to gloat, said he smugly.

I tried the first radish from the 'guttering bed', phew it was hot, I hope they cool down with age.

The apples are forming on the trees now and the blackberry is in bloom, also the bees are in attendance which is good.

The bees seem to like the blue gentian it's always buzzing so it must issue lots of nectar.

I remember kids in the street and at school, having it painted on various parts of their anatomy as an antiseptic, which the scientists extract from the gentian root.

[SteveT]

It is now three baby robins as far as I know.

There might be more as I haven't seen both parent birds together.

Just one parent and three youngsters so far, I am putting out bird food for them, the bag has the hideous countenance of bill oddity.

[The Minkey]

My garden is full of baby birds - green and goldfinches, great and bluetits, sparrows & robins.

True to form, a couple of adult starlings introduced a large posse of juveniles into the garden yesterday and left them there. I had to give up on fat feeders at this time of year last year cause they turned the garden into a warzone.

Apart from that, everything is coming up roses ;-)

[Karrie]

[Deleted] Safety reasons

[ruffers]

We have a nest of what I think are mining bees, I inadvertently covered up the entrance earlier. After trying to reopen the entrance I watched them bury their way on the right place - they're very determined!