My trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands was
spectacular. But despite enjoying once-in-a-lifetime experiences such as
swimming with sea lions and walking with giant tortoises it was so nice to be
back!
As I drove home I couldn't help feeling a sense of excitement at the way the
countryside looked so lush and green - and familiar. Despite having just
endured a 24 hour trip home, I couldn't wait to find out what had happened
to all the wildlife on my local patch whilst I had been away.
As soon as I walked into the house, I turned on the nest cam
monitors in my kitchen and saw that the kestrel was now on five eggs – she only
had one when I set off!
I swallowed down my supper as fast as I could and was just
about to head out to see what the badgers and barn owls had been up to whilst
I’d been away when the sparrowhawk came into the garden to feed.
It was like an old friend had stopped by and I paused to
watch her, wondering if she had laid any eggs yet.
Then I climbed into the car and headed out. On my way I saw
a roe dear in a hedgerow. It sprang out into the open in front of me and then
ran up the bank and looked back at me. I love watching roe deer, but I was keen
to get to the badger sett before dark so I set off, forgetting to check to see
if she was still pregnant! This is the time of year fawns are born.
As I neared my hide I heard a green wood pecker yaffall and
a curlew call overhead. Then the sharp alarm call of a red start caught my
attention.
It was great to be able to recognise the sounds of each bird.
Although I saw so much that was new and exciting in the Galapagos and Ecuador it
was difficult to remember the names and markings of each new species, let alone
their calls, and of course there’s nothing like the familiarity of the birdsong
of home.
At the hide I checked on the barn owls first. I knew some of
the six eggs laid by the female over Easter had hatched but it was difficult to
make out how many from the pile of wriggling bodies underneath her wings.
At about 8pm the male barn owl arrived with a vole and
presented it to the female. Then he noticed I had put food out on a post nearby
and swooped down and took four mice in quick succession. He picked up the fifth
one and swallowed it whole then sat up in the tree and started to preen.
Then we both watched as the badgers started appearing below
us, one by one. Nine adult badgers in total emerged that night, the most I have
seen at this sett since 2009.
Sadly there are still no cubs - confirming my
suspicions that the new boar I spotted last time may well have killed them – he
was mating a different sow that night, so I will keep my fingers tightly
crossed for cubs next year.
I didn't get back from my local wildlife tour until 10pm
when I began to put food out on the garden
bird table for the tawny owls. I
waited a few minutes and sure enough one swooped down to collect my offerings.
I
counted as it collected, one by one, eight dead chicks from the table – a sure
sign that it is feeding its own chicks somewhere. I will have to find out where
the nest is this week!
It was another half hour before I got to bed, but it was
difficult to sleep knowing there is so much wildlife to watch and this was only
my first night home.
I've yet to find out how the little owls, the peregrines,
the foxes and buzzards have been up to whilst I've been away and where they are
nesting or whether they have cubs.
But a few days later the kestrel eggs began to hatch. It was the perfect homecoming. I think they must have waited for me. Click the link below to see three of the chicks.
