Wild Wanderings
Diary Entry 16th March 2018
Nutty's and Reedy's
WET, WET and WET that’s the only way to describe this past few days. On Tuesday there was a lovely spell of sunshine, so I took the opportunity to mow the paddock. The birds love it when I get the mower out particularly the Blackbirds and Thrushes. They soon get into the grass cuttings and root around for insects. And worms are on the menu also. I’ve got a theory that the vibration of the mower brings the worms to the surface and so they are easier for the birds to locate. When I used to go fishing as a boy we used to stamp around on the ground to bring the worms ‘up’ and it usually worked.
Reed Buntings have been regular visitors to the paddock recently. I always get the males but not so much the females. However, this week I have had two females together and a few males at the same time. They sit around on the top of the hedge for quite a while before coming down to feed. The female is particularly pretty and at a distance can look like a House Sparrow. Only when they get closer can you pick out their striped head pattern which makes them distinctive. They also have well defined striped patterns on their back which are a sort of russet colour and of course the bunting beak. The males with their black head and pale grey chest are not so hard to distinguish. The flight of RB’s is a gentle fluttering and they always look delicate. I would love to get a classic photo of them clinging to the stem of a Reed or Corn. I ‘m always on the lookout.
Nuthatches have also been visiting. Nicknamed the ‘Bandit Bird’ because of the black stripe running through the eye looking like an old fashion bandits mask. We have some old conifer trees forming our border and this is where the Nutty’s congregate. Because of the denseness of the trees they are hard to see, and they usually find enough food there. In hard times they come down from the canopy and mix with the Finches and Sparrows and take their chances in the open. When they do appear they always seem in a state of alarm nervously darting and prodding. They are very nimble and are often seen upside down on a tree trunk neck and long pointed beak craned and looking frantically around before flitting off somewhere.
The Sparrowhawk makes regular visits now. I can often see him sitting in the Horse Chestnut Tree at the bottom of the field. When he does come in it is always fast and furious. The dexterity of his aviation skills is amazing to watch. The spectacular swoop just above the ground level and then traversing the hedge before circling the fruit trees, talons outstretched reaching first this way and then that. The small birds scatter as one, and rush for cover. I have mixed emotions when I see the Hawk, as awesome as he is, the small victims are no match for his vicious ferocity in search of food. Nature can be cruel. The will to survive is the overpowering driving force.
The Bog Area has been completed and the Lady Smock are planted. One thing this recent weather has been good for is planting Lady Smock. Sometimes called ‘Cuckoo Plant’ as they flower about the same time as the arrival of the Cuckoo. How I would love to hear a Cuckoo. Another one of those distant memories of my childhood. The Cuckoo’s call certainly heralded spring and early summer. Idyllic memories you may say but a bright spring Sunday morning with fresh crop in the fields and the sound of local Church bells in the distance is a memory that I often have when sitting in my seat watching the birds. Alas gone now, but ever hopeful they may return.
Till Tomorrow
