Magpie (Pica pica) eating a mouse, perched on an ash tree in the garden
Spring is coming to my garden but as well as the usual new life bursting out all over the place, there are some losses, too.
I think the blackbirds are nesting outside my window – I saw a female taking a beakful of grass into a spiky Mahonia bush. But I fear it won’t give enough protection, as the magpies and crows are already gathering for an attack. The blackbirds are mobbing them and trying to drive them away, but how long can they hold out? The Mahonia wouldn’t be a very wise choice, so maybe it’s just a decoy and the birds are actually nesting elsewhere?
The other day I saw a magpie with some kind of prey and for a moment I thought it might be a small bird. The magpie was plucking out what looked like tiny feathers, although the morsel itself was hidden behind a branch. But as the predator moved – and I snapped away with my camera – the prey revealed itself to be a poor little mouse. I hope the picture above isn’t too upsetting to you – nature red in tooth and claw! And thanks to Paul Seligman for pointing out that the mouse was probably dead already and just scavenged by the magpie…
We have had other losses in the garden. This was my butterfly tree (Buddleia) in mid February…
Very old Buddleia in mid February
But when examined it turned out to be on its last legs…
What’s left of our Buddleia in mid March
A closer look at the Buddleia stump
We will of course replace this butterfly bush, again with a hardy common-or-garden type, a Buddleia davidii.
We have also lost some Heucheras, which don’t last for many years anyway, so I will need to replace those at the Cardiff RHS Show in April.
I love fungus, although it is associated with death and decay, and I was surprised to spot this brilliant bracket fungus on a thin old ash-tree trunk in the garden. I can’t think why I hadn’t noticed it before…
Fungus on ash tree
The colours are quite subtle
I think this may be Trametes versicolor, which is very variable in colour, but brighter examples have given it the nickname “turkey tail”, at least in America.
The undersides of the “brackets” are almost white
I noticed these broken peony shoots the other day, so that’s a bit of a blow…
I think that’s the end of the death and decay – now here is a snapshot of the new growth in the garden…
A self-seeded Geranium (I think) – I wonder what that will turn out to be? A blue-flowering cranesbill type, perhaps?
New Hydrangea leaves
New Berberis atropurpurea leaves
New shoot of spotted laurel (Aucuba japonica)
Buds of flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum)
Fuchsia flower buds
Beautiful euphorbia…
Euphorbia is one of my favourites, although all parts of the plant are poisonous, and I have written about it before: Euphorbia is just my cup of three…
Another euphorbia
Leaf buds of Euonymus alatus (winged spindle)
Bud of snakeshead fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)…
The origin of the name fritillary is quite interesting and you can find out more in this previous post: Of flowers, butterflies and Roman dice…
There have been a lot of bumblebees around in the last few weeks…
I hope to identify more bumblebees this year – there is a good simple guide online from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. From that, I think this one might be a tree bumblebee, Bombus hypnorum, although the tail isn’t very white…
A different angle on the same bumblebee on Daphne…
Part of the garden has native wild plants…
Spotted leaves of Arum maculatum or cuckoo pint…
Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) is so sunny…
Sycamore or maple seedling…
These violets have self-seeded all over the garden…
So there are signs of hope everywhere and the days are getting longer. Hooray!
The Squirrelbasket 
You have to look closely to find signs of life – but it is very heartening when you find them
It’s getting to be that you don’t have to look so hard now – spring is busting out all over, even though it’s only March!
All the best 🙂
Nice blog, Pat.
Magpies are scavengers so the mouse may have been dead when found.
I’m no mycologist, but I’d agree with your Turkeytail id.
It crossed my mind that the mouse might have been dead already – maybe killed by one of our many neighbourhood cats – and it would have been wasted! But then that got me into thinking about all those things you see on CSI, where rigor mortis sets in and then passes again. Certainly the mouse was floppy!
All the best 🙂
PS I know ‘ nature red in tooth and claw’ is a phrase, but magpies have neither!
Poetic licence!
I guess you are being very technical as I have seen references to “magpie’s claw”. And talon. Would you rather “red in beak and foot”?
Cheers 🙂
I wish I had violets in my garden!
Love the photos Pat (including the Magpie!).
The rain may have something to do with the rot of the Buddleia …
We moved a winter jasmine (probably wrong timing) at the end of the summer and it hasn’t looked to be ok … however, now it looks as if we can save some of it (father-in-law gave it to us so it has an emotional attachment).
I don’t have ONE blossom on my pear tree this year. Looks healthy but we’re thinking there may not be anything in the area to cross-pollinate. I miss my pear tree from our previous house! I keep telling myself not to take things for granted hahaha.
Sorry about your shortage of blossom. Are pear trees like apples, very short-lived?
I’m not sure about the why of the Buddleia’s demise. I had thought it was OK but the next thing you know our professional gardener friend who does some work for us had ripped it out…
All the best 🙂
Not sure about life-line Pat. Our old pear tree was ancient. This one we bought a couple of years ago and although it has grown loads, not much produce. Two pears last year – maybe it’s too young!
Nice post Pat! My butterfly bush has been on a steady decline over the last few years with very little growth last year. I figured I would be digging it up in a couple weeks, but it is showing some promise now so I am hoping it will come back.
Ours had been pollarded so many times that it would have been ugly even if it had survived.
All the best with yours 🙂
I do love the tender young shoots of spring. Sadly, it is a time for tallying up our losses, too; although that can happen at any time of the year.
Yes, lots of losses, notably the Heucheras, but that’s the squirrels digging, not the weather.
May your losses be few.
All the best 🙂
I have had to watch house wren destroy swallow nests egg by egg. It is not my place to interfere, but I don’t think house wrens are so cute anymore, and I don’t pine so badly if the cat gets one.
Oh dear. I think the house wren is your American version, Troglodytes aedon, while in the UK we just have the plain “wren”, Troglodytes troglodytes. I wonder if ours do that kind of thing, too?
Anyway, ever so sorry about the loss of the swallows, which are amazing birds.
Best wishes 🙂