A local friend has been watching two goldcrests nest-building in her garden! I have a robin similarly engaged in a big clump of ivy on the fence outside the living room window and have seen a blackbird carrying nest material. Bumble bees are on the wing; haven't seen any butterflies yet! There is less traffic/aircraft noise over Wirral - usually planes to and from Liverpool pass over frequently - so the birdsong sounds that much better. It's deliciously mild this afternoon too.
In the midst of the urban sprawl that extends from Manchester to the Peak District, I watch as a pair of crows traverse the sky in a flight of courtship.
The Goldfinches, Blue Tits and Hedge Sparrows visit the bird feeders with increasing frequency, whilst the occasional Bumblebee and butterfly fly over the cotoneaster, yet to bear flowers to sustain them.
Out in the garden the daffodils nod their golden heads in a gentle breeze. The Ribes Sanguinium, already in full bloom, adds a splash of vibrant pink to the border and, as I tip crumpled tissues from waste basket to wheelie bin, my ear is caught by the distinctive sound of a tom cat retching in the shrubbery.
(inspired by Les Dawson)
------------- Never argue with fools........They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
I look for 5 pieces of fun or joy each day, like the 5 a day fruit & veg. Good for mental health! Recent ones - camellias, magnolias, old fashioned double daffodils & a very late variety of huge snowdrop at Culzean (the day before lockdown). In the garden - 8 goldfinches on the feeder, 6 long tailed tits, I think our goldcrest is single, first greenfinches for several years. Apple blossom but no bees here yet so there may be no Discovery apples in the autumn. Today’s joy has been finding a book that I’d lost, like hugging an old friend.
It's been windy here so it hasn't been too pleasant outside. However the daffodils and crocus are in bloom and it's lambing time at our friends smallholding. Unfortunately, we can't really visit them at the minute.
------------- Two drifters off to see the world.
I'm tired of reality, so I'm off to look for a good fantasy.
Already turfed out 2 jackdaws from a fireplace, where they dropped the twigs & tried to retrieve them - reckon on past years experience, I'll have at least another 4!
Having rescued all my bird feeders from the gully (visiting stag got caught up the other night) and made what repairs we can, the feeders have been mobbed today and are halfway down already! The pair of bullfinches are ignoring them now that the buds are appearing on the blackthorn but chaffinches, sparrows, coal, blue ad great tits have been jostling for places and the goldfinches have been winning over the green finches for a change. The blackbirds seem to have sorted out their territories and even sharing the spoils having cleared out two gutters today with the robin bossing them about! We've got two pairs of wrens entertaining us and as I type, one of the tawny owls is sitting on a branch outside the window ready to pounce on the voles on our other bank.
------------- " When I die I don`t want my life to flash before me in an instant, I want it to be a 3 hour epic !"
Wow, what a great collection of birds! There's one squirrel that visits my garden; I caught the little perisher munching on the freshly unfurled leaves of my 'Penelope' climbing rose the other day. Spring pruning, squirrel-style! Hmm...
Hedgehugger, Squirrels we don't have, nor badger or foxes. Mull's been suggested many times as a haven for reds but the powers that be don't agree as they've never been here (but now someone brought over pine martens, which we also didn't have), they're protected and spreading! We are getting rid of the mink though - evil creatures!
Although didn't see it today, the song thrush is about - heard and broken snail shell evidence. Should explain my "garden" isn't quite standard! I've only got about 12 square yards that's level just outside my kitchen/snug and the rest is all different levels sitting as we do on top of two lava flows (which means not too much top soil!) The banks between the two levels are about 1 in 3, one with native trees and one that's a mass of wild flowers from April to end July, so we've lots of habitat choices including a pond, though that's in need of attention as a stag thought it would make a good wallow. We even have a bat colony next to us - great for dealing with the midges!
------------- " When I die I don`t want my life to flash before me in an instant, I want it to be a 3 hour epic !"
The variety of small birds has changed a lot in recent years here.
We still get blue tit and great tit, but I haven't seen any of the coal tits that we used to get. Still lots of finches, wrens, robins and sparrows - and occasionally a sparrowhawk swoops in to take one.
What has increased noticeably is the number of crows and jackdaws.
Buzzards are very common too.
I've been re-making our compost bins and they are full of worms. This hasn't gone unnoticed by the local blackbirds who are having a feast.
------------- Two drifters off to see the world.
I'm tired of reality, so I'm off to look for a good fantasy.
Some dog walker have stopped using poo bags and are leaving piles of dogs mess on and beside the paths in the valley. To maintain social distancing you have to walk into the grass on either side of the paths where the dogs mess lurks.
In the spring sunshine the dogs mess is starting to warm up and stink attracting clouds of nasty flies that swarm around your ankles as you walk along.
This tends to spoil an otherwise pleasant walk in the valley.