showing the flag

we have reached the stage where the hedgerows look like a floral union jack, with bluebells, stitchwort and the vivid pink of campion.

slender threads

unfortunately not everything makes it. This little chick was dead when I found it, possibly dropped by a magpie thieving from the nest. The five chicks in the great tit nest are doing fine, but one egg has failed to hatch. At the moment the young are being fed on spiders and beetles.

down in the woods today

The bluebell display this year is not as dramatic as usual. The cold wet weather after a dry sunny March seems to have confused the plants; some are past their best, some are yet to flower when normally they tend to flower at much the same time. It might get better, we will see. The very heavy rainfall has replenished the old mast pools and ponds. At long last there were plenty of butterflies about.

happy birthday

It has been a miserable few days of cold cloudy rainy weather, but at least the first two great tit eggs have hatched (gaping mouths above), the first of several expected  arrivals both in and out of the nest. New life is uplifting whatever the weather. The female has been eating some of the shells and removing the residue. She appears unsettled by all the movement underneath her.  Now the parents' monumental task of feeding this lot begins. I hope to get some better pictures over the next two weeks.

on the towpath

apart from death and taxes two other things are certain, as soon as the cherry blossom appears a gale will blow it all away, and as soon as a drought is declared in England it will pour with rain.

he looks fierce

I couldn't resist one more picture of the feisty little goldcrest. He can see his own reflection in the window pane and is determined to see off this handsome rival!