Drove out to
Bedford P's this morning. Departure (from home) slightly delayed because some ignorant motorist had blocked my car in! However, while I waited for them to move, a
Hobby swooped past my window and added itself to the garden list. Magnificent!
Once I got there, my enthusiasm was slightly dampened, so I just pottered around. Not a lot of note. One area of the wood has been fenced off so deer can't graze/browse, and the contrast between that and the rest of the site is quite dramatic. Lots of
Garden Warblers,
Song Thrushes etc. singing where the rest is fairly quiet.
Again, the star birds of the visit were
Long-tailed Tits (pic above). I watched a group of six juveniles perched in one small tree (presumably one brood exploring the immediate area around their nest).
Long-tails are extremely endearing in any case, but the juvs take cuteness to another level. Is it the little pinky eye-rings, or the soft brown and white plumage, or their daft-inquisitive behaviour?
What's in my CD player:
If You're Feeling Sinister -
Belle & Sebastian
Peacock nectaring on Primroses (Small Tortoiseshell and Brimstone also on the wing today)
I think these are Southern Wood Ants, Formica rufa
Quite big and aggressive...
New sycamore leaves
Seven-spot Ladybird
What's in my CD player: Aw Cmon -