Spring has Sprung.

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My Spring Garden

When we were at Junior school there was, at the back of the class, a ‘Nature Table’.

In the Spring there would be jam-jars full of Catkins (Hazel) and ‘Pussy Willow’ twigs. Later would come sprigs of ‘Sticky Buds’ (Horse Chestnut) and in the Autumn the table would be covered with berries, acorns, conkers, hips and other wild fruits.

And I can remember being taken on ’Nature Walks’. A long snake of children would weave it’s way out of the school gates and down into Bournville Park.

In pairs, and if I remember correctly we were supposed to hold hands when walking along pavements. Once in the park we were sent off to find wild flowers and such things. In those days there were no restrictions on picking wild flowers. Even bird’s eggs were not protected as they are today and sometimes the Nature Table would contain an old dilapidated bird’s nest.

We also used to take in jam-jars of frogspawn: I can remember the tadpoles but can’t recall a classroom full of frogs. I expect the teacher would had released them to the wild after school.

One day I remember Dad finding a wasp’s nest in his shed. After much spraying of “heaven knows what”, (probably DDT or something like that), I was allowed to take down the delicate, now empty nest, and proudly take it off to school for the Table.

I wonder, with all this Elf ‘n Safety, whether the schools still do this sort of thing?

My garden is a bit of a ‘nature reserve’ at the moment. The frogs have been busy by the look of it. I had read that there was a shortage of frogs due to some disease, but certainly not in my ponds.

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I get Pheasants all the year round, and once a Red-Legged Partridge.

A Heron pops in to see if I have any goldfish.

Seen here yesterday on my neighbours roof.

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The Red Kites circle to see if I have thrown out any chicken scraps.

But the most unusual visitor I have had was a Muntjac deer.

The photos, I’m afraid weren’t very good. They were taken through my lounge windows which were in need of a clean and the deer himself was right at the bottom of the garden.

Originating in South-East Asia, it first set hoof in Britain as a legal immigrant in 1900, brought into the country as a plaything by the then Duke of Bedford.

The ones in this area are from the Estates like Clivedon and Dropmore.

Some suspect their escape wasn't entirely accidental and that they were released into the wild in different locations.

It is a conspiracy that remains unproved, but one thing is certain: once free, they made themselves right at home - and their numbers have boomed.

Standing just 20in tall, they are expert at hiding away in brambles, rushes and long grass. As my picture wasn’t very good, here’s an official one.

They are more likely to be heard than seen. Also known as barking deer, they tend to bark at night and can be confused with dogs.

Oddly for deer living in Britain, they have no breeding season and the doe can give birth to a solitary 'kid' at any time. The gestation period is only seven months and within days the doe is ready to mate again - enabling them to reproduce at breakneck speed.

My garden is quite well behaved compared to the goings on at a Lincolnshire Wildlife site. The LWT have asked visitors to remember that there are rules to be observed while birdwatching and that the hides are for "quiet enjoyment only".

The misuse of the structures, which remain unlocked all night, came to light after a bird spotter heard loud sexual sounds coming from a nearby hide.

A blushing spokeswoman, Rachel Shaw said: "Someone complained that they thought they had heard someone having sex in the bird hides.”

“Nature reserves are for quiet enjoyment only and anything else, could possibly disturb or cause harm to the animals that live there."

"There's certain things that happen at nature reserves that really shouldn't.”

Unless of course….you are a pair of birds!

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