On The Fledge, Air B&B  (Bird and Bat) & Barbie Spinach

Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
15^th July 2023

On The Fledge

Last week I shared that I had been watching the birds in my garden, which are nesting and preparing for their second brood, well this week has been all about watching fledglings.  My wren is still sitting on her eggs but the young blackbirds, which have been fed my raspberries by their parents, have ventured out of their nest.  I can only begin to imagine how these parent-birds feel as my own anxiety escalates witnessing them bounce about.  They are comically petulant at being kicked out of the nest but heartbreakingly vulnerable too.

As tempting as it is, we must remember that this ‘challenge’ is all part of ‘growing up’.  When I found a little sparrow fledgling in grass that I was about to scythe, instead of picking him up and ‘rescuing’ him as my heart wanted, I listened to my head and sat out of the way just watching over him for half an hour.  In that time his mum had revisited him with food and encouragement and within an hour he had half-flown, half-bounced to safety into the ivy on the wall.

It reminds me of The Lesson of the Butterfly:

“A man spent hours watching a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon. It managed to make a small hole, but its body was too large to get through it. After a long struggle, it appeared to be exhausted and remained absolutely still.

 The man decided to help the butterfly and, with a pair of scissors, he cut open the cocoon, thus releasing the butterfly. However, the butterfly’s body was very small and wrinkled and its wings were all crumpled.

The man continued to watch, hoping that, at any moment, the butterfly would open its wings and fly away. Nothing happened; in fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its brief life dragging around its shrunken body and shrivelled wings, incapable of flight.

What the man – out of kindness and his eagerness to help – had failed to understand was that the tight cocoon and the efforts that the butterfly had to make in order to squeeze out of that tiny hole were Nature’s way of training the butterfly and of strengthening its wings. Sometimes, a little extra effort is precisely what prepares us for the next obstacle to be faced. Anyone who refuses to make that effort, or gets the wrong sort of help, is left unprepared to fight the next battle and never manages to fly off to their destiny.”

Air B&B  (Bird and Bat)

Research has shown that swallows returned to their breeding areas in poor condition and are laying fewer eggs, all adding to the widespread decline in recorded swallow numbers across Europe during the last 50 years.

Swallows require rain for the ‘muddy-mud’ they use for nest building and for encouraging a good supply of insect food. The earlier hot, dry weather made nest building difficult for them and now cold periods and heavy rain will reduce the numbers of flying insects needed to build up the chicks as they leave the nests.

And if that’s not enough to push them to the ‘fledge’, recent studies also show that swallows are particularly susceptible to ‘divorce’ – along with swifts and plovers.  Whilst 90% of our feathered friends have a single mate for at least one breeding season, apparently long-distance migrations and other stresses can cause them to break this pattern and push them toward new partners.

Swallows like to return to established nesting sites in barns and outhouses and many of these buildings have been renovated and ‘repurposed’ for human use – outdoor offices and Air B&B, for example.  But the good news is that you can become a ‘swallow-supporter’ by installing bespoke swallow nest cups as recommended by the RSPB.  At just £16.99 you could make such a difference to a swallow family (or two). They are available from the online shop on the RSPB website – along with ‘bespoke housing’ for house martins and swifts. And bat boxes!

Whilst it is too late to help out for this season, these solution-based gifts are absolute favourites of mine to give as presents.  And now there’s loads of time to buy, gift and install these bespoke ‘bird boxes’ before next year’s breeding season.

Barbie Spinach

Amid my many ‘veg-troubles’ so far this year, there has been a major triumph – my Tree Spinach.  It’s the first time I’ve grown it and it is delicious – a far superior flavour to perpetual spinach.  The young leaves can be eaten as salad leaves whilst as the name suggests, the older, larger leaves can be used instead of spinach.  But the main attribute of this ‘new find’ is the pink sparkly bits on the leaves.  I had read about the ‘pink dust’ on the leaves but had few expectations of it actually delivering.  It is fantastic.  I am besotted by it and highly recommend as a ‘must try’ for little green fingers as well as the older (slightly arthritic) ones!

It’s rather grand Latin name is Chenopodium giganteum ‘Magenta Spreen’ but not surprisingly, it is also referred to as ‘Glitter Spinach. It is easy to grow in most conditions as it is a relative of Fat Hen – and that whole family are ‘enthusiastic’.  It is supposed to reach about 6 ft – although mine is only about 4 ft, at the moment anyway – but is also suitable for growing on the windowsill as a microgreen.

Apparently it very obligingly self-seeds and whilst various catalogue descriptions warn you of this trait, I am looking forward to it.  I grew mine in a huge old, recycled water tank this year but it would be stunning at the back of a border – and that’s where I’ll be shaking the seed-heads later on.

There is still time to sow the seeds now, ready to harvest in the autumn, and they are available from most of the seed companies. Or you can buy as plug plants from www.rocketgardens.co.uk

And whilst I am very seldom ‘on trend’, I think I am actually ‘ahead of the curve’ on this one as a friend pointed out it ties in nicely with the new Barbie Movie.  I bet they’ve missed a trick this time but maybe in Barbie 2 she’ll have an allotment with Glitter Spinach.