Topic: What a day yesterday...

[gardening-gal]

Well firstly we saw what I think was a great crested newt, then I saw that some blue tits have nested in one of our bird boxes and then a bird of prey not sure if it was a sparrowhawk or not sat on our garden wall. Normally i would have loved seeing a bird like that but not when the blue tits are feeding young  :-\
  I saw the newt in next doors garden they had lifted a slab that had been on the lawn for quite some time and there he was.  All this time we have had a pond in our garden and I have hoped we would get newts in it.  After seeing it I came in and looked it up and I think it was a great crested newt which is of course protected.  I also found out why it would be unlikely that we would ever have newts in our pond, they don't normally lay eggs in ponds that have fish in as they eat the young. I never knew that, well you learn something every day.

[SamLouise]

GG, your blue tits won't have laid yet, so if you think the bird of prey is going to be familiar to your garden, you could disuade the blue tits from nesting there, perhaps even take down the box?  Seems a shame they might go through it all only to have the babies attacked/eaten at the end of it.

[gardening-gal]

I assumed they had young as they are in and out all the time, thing is I can't see if its nesting material or food they are taking in.