LIFE IN THE MAKING

Ahhh, the joys of Spring.

For a welcome change the sun is shining in Edinburgh, albeit with a chill breeze from the East, which has become the norm in recent years. In fact, in general it is cooler, and this has had an effect on nature in a big way.

The Birch tree in my garden for example, all fantastic 30 feet of it, has only just come into leaf, as has the Hawthorn. Although this is very late, whilst in the Highlands on Tuesday I noticed that many of the trees just 100 miles north are still completely bare.

This hasn't put off the birds from nesting however, but of course, it could be creating problems for them in terms of food. There are definitely less bugs flying about, and the cold ground will no doubt have delayed the reproduction of all the tasty creepy crawlies that they rely on for food.

As you will have read in a previous blog, I have been entertained by the sheer joy of observing a pair of Robins use the walls of my house to raise a family this year. However, though the Birch came into leaf late, the Robin fledglings left the next a few days early last weekend. One flew down to Pauline's garden and hid among the myriad of pots she has, whilst the other two dropped down into my garden.

Eager to keep an eye on them, I positioned cameras to watch over the garden. Within a couple of hours the dreaded murderous cat from next door appeared, clearly after the fledglings. Thank goodness I was watching the monitor, as I was able to intercept it and save the fledglings, now in a bit of a panic.

It was clear this was going to be a tough time for the Robin, the male now on his own, and so, pardon the pun, I hatched a plan to help it by installing a Starling-proof feeder for live meal worms. Yum!

The Starlings are also raising young in my garden, and the noise they have been making in the last day or two, makes me think they are also about to fledge. But they seem to have both parents working hard, and there is a near constant flow of worms and bugs coming back to the nest, so they're doing fine. So the Starling-proof feeder is not because I don't want to help them, but more because the Robin has a much harder time, and the Starlings can devour everything in a few seconds.

Now the Robin seems to know when I'm going to be around. Each day, as I'm making my breakfast, I look out of the window, and there he is, staring in from his perch on the Birch. He clearly associates me with food now, as he rarely flies away when I go out to put the meal worms in the feeder.

Life has been hectic for me too, and not necessarily in a good way, but the visits by the Robin, and the seemingly friendly nature toward me, albeit for food, definitely makes for a less stressful day.