The weather has continued to be unsettled here in Creuse and has limited my photography opportunities. According to the locals, this is very unusual and we would normally be experiencing wall to wall sunshine and temperatures of 30 to 35 degrees centigrade. The heavy downpours have been great for the watering of home-grown vegetables but the lack of sun is causing concern that there will be no ripening of the crop unless the weather changes soon. I would normally be photographing butterflies and insects at this time of the year but again, the inclement weather has kept them all away!
Despite the rain, the bird life has continued to flourish. So many juveniles have appeared in recent weeks and it has been amazing to watch the parents teaching the young to feed for themselves. Whilst sitting at my laptop the other day I was distracted by a frenzy of activity in the yard. I opened the door to see a multitude of Swallows circling around, at low level, catching insects. It appeared that the parents were holding a training day for the recently fledged youngsters, one of which flew inches from my head and I actually felt the draught! What made this experience even more special was that one of the Swallows flew into the kitchen, through the house and then out of the back window. Every so often, a juvenile would take a breather from flying and perch on an electric cable.
In addition to the Swallows, a family of Great tits have visited. At the start there were five fledglings but this has since reduced to three. I can only assume that the other two have decided that they can look after themselves or they have been lost. However, they have still been entertaining to watch. One day, being the softy that I am, I threw a handful of dried mealworms out onto the ground for them. I found it incredibly funny when one of the fledglings, being quite mature by now, sat in the middle of the worms and simply squawked at the parent to be fed, making absolutely no attempt to pick up a worm for itself. The parent bird duly obliged several times!
In total contrast to the Great tits, a pair of Chaffinches appeared to have only one surviving chick. A juvenile, female arrived with the parents and sat on a perch in the yard. I watched as Mum and Dad Chaffinch fed the youngster once each and then departed. I felt sure that the juvenile would follow them but when I looked out of the window some two hours later, she was still sitting in exactly the same spot cutting a very lonely figure. Before it got dark she eventually flew off but interestingly, she returned to the same place the following evening and repeated the pattern. It really looked like she was hoping to see Mum and Dad again but after a long wait she departed. It felt as though going out into the big wide world is just as daunting for young wildlife as it can be for us at a young age.
The weather forecast is looking more favourable for the immediate future, I am hoping that this will bring back the butterflies and insects, some of which I have never seen before. It’s an incredible buzz when you discover a new species and I look forward to sharing any photographs with you as and when I get them.
How did I miss this post until now. An uplifting read Andy, thank you! 💚