The cycle of life
30 degrees and counting. It's hot and London's mosquito season is in full swing, evidenced by the itchy and angry red swellings on my ankles. Flying insects outnumber frazzled and fractious people in the Capital, luckily there's a horde of swifts and other birds having a feeding frenzy high above us. If only they could gobble-up all the mosquitos!
More earth-bound birds have sensibly taken to the shade and lie-low to keep cool. I must have blackbird genes because I wilt quickly and prefer to loll in the shadows rather than dash about in the blazing sun like a seagull. Cycling to and from work in this weather is fine, until you stop moving. I won't bore you with the details but once I lose the cooling effect of moving through air, my entire body does an impression of a sieve filled with water. Our Tate Modern peregrines always look cool and to maintain that chilled out composure they need to remain cool, so they've been hiding on the shadey side of the Tate's chimney, avoiding the full glare of the sun.
You can try to catch sight of them from our pergrine watch by the Millennium Bridge on the South Bank. These birds are the world's fastest creatures and have a wingspan as long as the average ten year old child is tall. Loitering at the Tate you also get to see some twenty or more other bird species, including cormorants diving for food in the Thames and drying themselves on the buoys and bridges nearby. They perch with wings outstretched like capes to help them dry faster. I'm told by one of our volunteers that it takes some 20 minutes for cormorants to dry-out and restore their buoyancy before they're able to dive for food once more; they don't fare too well with heavy, sodden feathers.
One encouraging trend that I'm hearing from visitors to our Tate pergerine watch is of the increasing number of finches in London. Most tell me how proud and pleased they are to see goldfinches, greenfinches and chaffinches in their gardens. Almost without exception they report this increase followed their decision to put nyjer seed feeders in their gardens. Nyjer are small black seeds and finches love them. Whatever you do, don't just pour nyjer seed in to a conventional seed feeder. They're so small you'll just end up with a pyramid of seeds on the ground. You'll need a new feeder with smaller appertures to prevent all the contents spilling out.
I've resisted temptation so far, but finches are such colourful little birds that I've come close to buying that new feeding kit. Instead I'm playing the long-game and planning my garden accordingly. I'm setting aside an area for teasel, nettles and thistles. This should provide seeds and insects that will attract goldfinches and help fatten-up them up before they migrate to Spain come winter. As a parent with a small child I'm still debating whether to create a pond or water feature. Our Homes for Wildlife advice pages offer a wealth of free gardening information and we'll be conducting two surveys in August that we're urging participants to join.
A couple of weeks ago I started to lose my garden birds as they went to hide in the trees and shrubs while their feathers moulted. Some are starting to reappear and are bringing their young with them. I've a fearless juvenile blackbird that has come close to taking food from my fingers. No doubt its parents tell it off when it returns to them, but for the moment I'm enjoying the encounter. There's something quite wild and emotional about the experience. Two species, eye-to-eye, exploring issues of trust and generosity. I hope this young blackbird stays nearby. I have images of me resting in the shade while my friend the blackbird sits on my knee, singing to me, as we share a bowl of nuts and seeds. The odds on that ever happenning are probably higher than David Cameron getting his stolen bicycle returned!