Babies in the bird box

The Great Tit pair which are nesting in the garden nest box now have babies. The chicks hatched between 16th and 17th May. There were eight eggs but it is difficult to see how many have hatched. There are definitely six chicks, perhaps more.

See below for a video clip of the chicks being fed.

Garlic in Hawthorn Dene

I have been walking in Hawthorn Dene yesterday and today. The garlic flowers are very impressive all through the bottom of the valley and there are also drifts of cowslips and bluebells in the Magnesian Limestone meadow near the sea. Some of the early orchids are also in flower.

The first butterflies are showing with Large White, Orange Tip and Speckled Wood in evidence. I also saw one Wall Brown butterfly on the cowslips.

Gorse and baby bunnies

The Gorse is splendid along the old railway line footpath at the moment. The Hawthorn is coming into flower in the hedges and we have a baby bunny in the garden helping us mow the lawn.

Eggs, Cuckoo and fox in the city

We now have eight eggs in the Great Tit nestbox. The female is sitting most of the time and being fed by the male.

Chris heard a cuckoo calling on Thursday 30th April.

We had a weekend break in London 2nd and 3rd May. Walking back to our Hotel late on Saturday night we saw a fox strolling along in Lambeth Palace Gardens about 15 feet away from us.