With all of the rain we had recently, powering in from the south-west, it was a good time to see how the leaky dams were doing … and they were doing well. Interestingly, the first dam held back a lot of gravel, while the second now has a bank of silt. Hopefully, the latter will persist, providing materials for the swallows and martins later in the new year.
The grass in Goyle and Rabbity Woods looks decidedly lush compared to the grazed hill on the other side of the fence, although there is a nibbled strip along the edge where the ewes have been pushing their heads through the wire. Wild watercress has colonised large parts of the water, now that the cows are excluded, and even though it is winter, there are visible changes. Yesterday, a grey wagtail was scouting up and down the stream, while a wren is often seen sneaking around lower down. Both new woods have been patrolled by buzzards, barn owls and our now resident kestrel. All are also seen in the garden, the buzzard looking a bit daft perching in one of our small fruit trees. I keep expecting the branch to bend over and leave her hanging upside-down.
Although grazed, the rough grass in the fields is being used
regularly by a different suite of birds. Huge flocks of starlings come in to
feed on worms and whatever happens to be attracted to the dung, the magpies and
carrion crows make a living, and teams of fieldfares and redwings strip the
bushes of any remaining berries and hoover up bugs.
Just outside our living room windows, where Farmer Ian puts
down grain and has some peanut feeders, our very own Heathrow has evolved, with
a full schedule of take-offs and landings from dawn until dusk. Doves always
seem to arrive in pairs, and then strut around with exceedingly vacant
expressions. There has been an influx of blue tits, dangling from any available
toehold, and thinking nothing of crawling into the Christmas wreath on the door
to firkle out reluctant insects. The sparrows have taken over the swift boxes
and martin cups, snuggling in groups to keep warm, and occasionally popping
their heads over the edge to chat or hurl obscenities at their neighbours.
So far, it appears that the phantom cat is not interested in
birds (good), other than one night stealing a brace of partridge that our
neighbour had given us. Not a feather or any sign left that they’d ever been
there. To date, I still haven’t seen said cat, but s/he is doing a pukka job of
keeping down the rats (although the leaving them as gifts we could probably do without).
We've also had some interesting fungi...
Roll on spring - there are a few brave primroses and snowdrops starting to flower, and daffs are starting to poke out their heads ... but as it is currently snowing, botanical caution is advised.
