Stormy sky |
The polar vortex stopped spinning or split or slowed down or
misbehaved in some way or another and released the “beast from the east” as the
press have been calling it. A freezing
northeaster bringing blizzards and snow storms straight from the steppes of
Siberia causing chaos and disruption to our shores. In the
garden, the hellebores had progressed from the Christmas rose to its Lenten
equivalent and the snowdrops and aconites beneath the hedges were being
followed by crocuses, yellow then white and purple, when all were buried under
a white blanket drifting in the icy wind.
The community spirit of the village prevailed and the
housebound and old got support. One
cheeky character actually stopped to offer me a lift as I made my way back from
the local shops.
“Got to make sure the
elderly are okay,” he grinned through the rolled down car window.
Feeding the birds has been even more necessary than usual
but the extra effort has had its own rewards.
The sight of four different members of the thrush family in
the garden at the same time was a bonus.
Redwing, fieldfare, song thrush and blackbird all feeding on our
offerings.
The blackie, as usual, couldn’t curb his aggressive behaviour but
even he settled down to let the rest join in along with the tits, sparrows and
robins.
From the top - Fieldfare, Redwing and Song Thrush |
Typically aggressive blackbird |
Imagine flying all
the way from Scandinavia to avoid the snow and landing in the worst weather of
the winter. I happily raked the snow off the windfall apples still under the
trees for them.
The long tailed tits have been back on the peanuts. They
don’t seem to bother with the other food and always arrive mob-handed for few
minutes of frantic feeding then vanish.
Do they have a round of peanut feeders to visit?
Long-tailed tits, two of the gang |
I even found a tiny
goldcrest feeding among some of the aubretia that grows on many of the old
walls, presumably searching for hibernating insects. I‘ve never seen one
actually in the village before though
they are in the surrounding woods. Is it
a good sign that they are coming closer in or is it just the stormy
weather? We shall see.
Regarding tiny
birds, the wrens have been flocking together and roosting in the cracks in the
bark of the big gean tree though they don’t come to the feeders. Presumably
they, like the goldcrest, find insects among the undergrowth and tree
roots. True troglodytes.
The old rhyme was right.
If Candlemas be clear
and bright
Winter will have another
bite
Candlemas on February
2nd, was indeed a great day and everyone was out walking and remarking
how mild the weather had been. Little did we guess what Mother Nature had in
store!
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