A Tiny Corner – Secret Surrey

February 3, 2021February 3, 2021

Time for Thought

Having bumped in to a lovely couple earlier this week, who confessed that they read our musings, I promised that I would shrug off the writing malaise and once again start posting. Francis has also promised to pull a literary finger out!

Not only did Cathy and Tony inspire a return to the keyboard but they have sent me examples of their joint passion, photographing the natural world. The photos are great illustrations as to what you can find on your doorstep and just how beautiful small things can be. At this time of such anxiety and greyness we all need to find solace and refuge in the natural world. My thanks to them both for reminding me of that and for letting me share their photos!

Taken recently and very local to my home.

The wonder to me is twofold, Tony and Cathy are not professionals, the photos you will agree are just great, and just how gloriously intricate the natural world is.

Well, you may ask, now you’ve just been lazy and shared someone else’s photos what exactly have I been up to the last few months? I have been fortunate that certain aspects of my working life as a consultant have continued but simply moved online. Like many others the only relief from indoor routine is to walk most days, locally at present but up until the New Year a little further afield.

For those of you that know me well there will be no surprise that I returned regularly to Chobham Common but also continued to explore pastures new like the Hurtwood and further along the river Wey. Just being out in the natural world is life enhancing and it’s clear that most people “get it”.

Professionals, Doctors, therapists, politicians, Chris Packham, David Attenborough, the Royal Family…………. Everybody now has strong opinions about the countryside and how wonderful it is!

The irony to me is that at the very moment when everybody seems to be waking up and smelling green that very few people are left working in the countryside as guardians to ensure that increased numbers of visitors don’t damage the very thing that they purport to enjoy. Please don’t label me as a killjoy but with the reduction in funding and staffing levels for most organisations responsible for managing the countryside the situation and the air of neglect is becoming an increasing problem.

I accept that this is my personal view but there has to be a better way of organising countryside management in the south-east and in particular Surrey. It is a good and great thing that so many people are now enjoying the local countryside but there are consequences if there are not enough rangers, wardens, parks police whatever you wanna call them. Yes, if I’m feeling positive, I’m delighted that most people understand that they have a responsibility towards other people and the wildlife and habitats that they encounter on their walks. If however I wish to be more pragmatic and perhaps realistic then it is clear that there are many who are either ignorant of their responsibilities or choose to quietly ignore those responsibilities. It is this group of people who can be nudged are encouraged to behave responsibly in the countryside by the very presence of Rangers and the like. This also goes hand-in-hand with the fact that sites that are staffed are usually better managed and invite people to behave well. Simple things like litter free car parks and paths, regularly cleared dog poo bins, wet spots on tracks dealt with, well-maintained noticeboards way marking and a clear and concise means of getting help all encourage responsible and engaged visitors.

The absence or near absence of site staff across Surrey countryside also encourages those visitors who have no intention of accepting any responsibility for their actions. Illegal motorbikes, BBQs, fireworks, vandalism and a whole gamut of antisocial behaviour (at best) has increased. Sadly it also means that the worst of “normal” visitors know that they can ignore common sense with very little fear of retribution. I have witnessed mountain bike riders creating new routes on already degraded slopes, I have witnessed horseriders in areas where they simply know they shouldn’t be and I have witnessed illegal and potentially dangerous flying of drones in areas with lots of other visitors. Sadly I have also witnessed inexperienced or careless dog walkers taking great risks in areas where there are domesticated stock.

There is much however to celebrate. Children out walking with their parents and jumping in puddles kicking leaves and getting muddy. Increasing numbers of people aware of the wildlife that they share their world with which in turn has led to a huge growth in the sharing and enquiry of images and incidences witnessed by the curious of all levels of knowledge.

I have learnt that walking the same routes regularly has meant that you really begin to notice small changes additions and absences the reappearance of old friends.

It’s also possible to be constantly surprised at events in your own garden good surprises and sad realisations.

Shamefully I can confess that this is the first year that I have participated in the big RSPB bird watch! With three adults or staring out of the windows and a rather good track record for birds in the garden you would think we wouldn’t have many surprises or learn much. We assumed wrong! The brief appearance of one starling at the feeders reminded me that they have been largely absent from our garden for months I wonder why.

Further surprises included a flock of Redwing in our hedge a pair of Chaffinches at the feeders. The latter was an alarming reminder in that during the course of the last 25 years all the finches in my garden have become a rare treat and now only arrive as the odd pair when previously, shortly after moving in,I could attract flocks of hundreds of mixed finches onto the lawn which in turn cost me fortune in purchasing sacks of birdseed!

Amazingly, to me, I have also joined Facebook! Really for one purpose to join and read/participate in a group Save Surrey Countryside. If you are a social media user do have a look.

My thoughts over the past few months have really centred or coalesced round ideas that may encourage the powers that be to think again about how they manage the countryside and importantly, how they work together to deliver a much more sustainable, well stewarded environment for all us Surrey residents to enjoy responsibly. More on this topic to come.

Keep experiencing the natural world, just try and enjoy it responsibly!

September 28, 2020September 28, 2020

Closer to home

Today I am another year older and wondering on where life is now leading me. I’m not fearful or anxious for myself as I still find awe and inspiration in the small wonders that surround us but I am fearful of what children may miss in our sadly depleting world. An App or new smartphone feature is no replacement for that first encounter with something new in the natural world.

Life at Hempstead continues to inspire, surprise and amuse. Autumn has seen the biggest puffball grow to be joyfully consumed by my mate Clive and his 2 boys, Rowan and Finlay. Sliced and fried, I have to agree yummy but though tempted I couldn’t post the photos that showed the similarity of the base of the puffball to another kind of bottom!

I am not the only gardener to remark on the amazing fruit crop, apples, pears, sloes, damsons, blackberries which bodes well for wildlife food but if its a harbinger of a hard winter, God help us!

Fruit and flowers should mean butterflies and lots of other flying insects and yes I’ve had some surprises in the garden.

After living at Hempstead for 26 years I never expected to see a new butterfly species let alone a new species on a plant by our back door.

10 minutes later and an old favourite dropped in.

Unbelievable as it might seem we suffered our first frost of the season on the 1st September which I took to be another indication of how strange this year has become.

Sometimes fungi are directionally challenged…..

And sometimes runs to the dump have an accidental stowaway….

Happy Birthday me! And just for the beauty here’s a very late jewel

July 20, 2020September 21, 2020

Many smiles

I confess, I can tend to get overly involved with the politics of the countryside but in my defence I never lose site of the joy that the natural world brings me.

We are not entitled to use the countryside as we want, our “rights” do not give us the right to abuse it.

The last few months have reinforced that I am a lucky, a fortunate, privileged man. I live surrounded by wildlife and have some special friends with whom I am privileged to share time with. There is so much pleasure in learning from people who know “stuff” and can communicate that knowledge, whether it’s my friend Adam, sharing his Richmond Park wilderness…

or his son Linden showing me the wildlife in his garden.

Incidentally, children can often be the best and most joyful teachers. The evident passion in Linden for all things natural, and his frankly humbling knowledge is truly inspirational. Children who catch the wildlife bug early are probably are greatest hope, if we can give them the time they richly deserve.

Sue and I have continued to walk locally often and the new discoveries just keep coming as do the unexpected connections.

More peace in the countryside has meant more visible wildlife.

We have encountered Roe deer in many places and yes , to my wife’s consternation, they have returned to the garden! Lily flowers and now anemonies have been neatly munched. The stag has rediscovered sour apples.

Walking local paths has revealed new pleasures

and striking connections

In a tiny glade next to housing or more predictably along the Wey navigation.

The river and navigation have proved a regular joy, always something new or surprising. Countless times we have walked near Triggs lock but the last 2 visits we have seen Kingfishers which is another bird that grabs everybody’s attention. We witnessed a heron fall in the river catching fish, having, we think, forgotten that he was on a raised bank! Didn’t let go of the fish but lost all elegance climbing back out.

And not only first Kingfisher along “our stretch” but this discrete surprise

Walking paths new to me across Stringers Common provided confirmation that wildlife will hold on in the tiniest of areas which at first glance look devoid of anything interesting. Next to housing and in urgent need of just a little management are a number of tiny glades.

In the midst of these are just enough of the right plants for some stunning butterflies.

I was truly gobsmacked to find…

Trouble is my mind then spins off in to all directions, how could you get locals involved? Could you persuade the Parish council to take some responsibility from Surrey County Council? Another challenge for another day.

Further encouragement to get out locally.

Spending much more time in the garden as summer arrived and the birds got quieter I much greater understood why. Many adult birds are beginning to moult but all birds old and young are concentrating on food. Hempstead’s garden has been alive with family groups, everything from tits, finches and sparrows on the feeders to young Blackcaps, Robins and Blackbirds pillaging the soft fruit. Young Jackdaws and Crows have entertained with a constant cackle nagging for more food, despite being clearly big enough to feed themselves. The lawn has also been the local health clinic, providing ants and sunshine for pest control.

The lawn and ants have also provided food for a couple of old favourites and a novel copy cat.

Green Woodpeckers are well known for feeding on ants and here they can spend hours hopping and using their powerful beak and amazing tongue.

I find them both beautiful and somehow a bit dumb looking. Maybe they just look like they have been banging their heads against the ground just a little too much.

Parent and young are in the garden as I write.

The copy cat is that a young Great Spotted woodpecker has also been feeding on the ants which was a new sight for me.

Apologies for the poor quality but the hops were fantastic!

The ordinary can also be beautiful, take a look at all the things you often ignore.

Colours and textures on a pigeon really can be stunning.

More to come soon but in the meantime just get out there!

April 21, 2020

Small Wonders

For those of us with gardens there can be little doubt that they are probably one of the few calm spaces available to us. Similar to the exercising walk, more time in the garden has meant greater appreciation of the small things, small changes, new life and, for many, greater appreciation of the variety of life that envelops us. That’s not to say life in the garden can lack drama, whether its the daily high speed appearance of madam Sparrowhawk or the almost constant acrobatic bullying of the local Red Kites by any of the local crows.

Lady killer, but this pigeon did actually live to tell the tale!

Much has been made of the great expansion of the recording of garden birds on the schemes promoted by the RSPB and BTO, and this is clearly a good thing. County based recording via Twitter is revealing all kinds of wonderful surprises for the birders and the expansion of recording overflying birds at night is uncovering simply amazing evidence of migration routes that I find staggering and utterly fascinating. Now we know that there is almost no limit to the number of bird species that could be flying over your house at night! Your imagination now really does have justification for running wild.

Back to earth at Hempstead, spring trundles on, oblivious to the anxiety in the world of humans. The details draw me in; it’s fascinating that fruit trees, even those closely related, follow a consistent sequence of blossoming, stoned fruit (blackthorn, plums, cherries), pears then apples (even they have a variety sequence that remains consistent).

How come? Weather is too variable to be responsible, so I’m guessing it’s day length. I love the fact that it seems many plants have means of detecting changes in their environment of a sensitivity that is hard for even our technology to match. Yes I do get that I could probably find a scientific explanation but often I just love to wonder at the complexity and sheer beauty of natural details.

Yellow is still, just, dominating the wild flowers but bluebells and local wood anemones are poised to take over.

Having planted a couple of Cowslip plants over 20 years ago they have proliferated in to most areas of the garden. As a species they are ready hybridisers with Primroses, of any variety. Difficult to see how you can stop this hybridising occurring in a garden context and I suspect the bluebells, which were here when I moved in, wouldn’t meet the genetic standard for a native species. Hmmmm….. that reads like a future topic for Francis to tackle!

When the wind drops the buzzing of bees has been getting louder.

I know I have several species of Bumbles and a collection of many smaller species. Masonry bees in the brickwork, mining bees in the veg plot (actually in the flower bed in the veg plot, there to be kept safe from marauding deer!). Bee flies chasing their host species of bumble and hoverflies beginning to appear.

A few butterflies are braving the cool wind but the lack of moths is becoming a concern to me, as is the absence of the bats that normally circle my lawn at dusk.

This little piece started with the joy that birds can incite but I’m going to voice my sadness which partners this joy for me in my little patch of garden.

My joy, and puzzlement to be honest, at the appearance of a 40 strong flock of Starlings in the surrounding fields is matched with a sadness that Starlings haven’t bred in the garden or house for a couple of years.

The joy of glimpsing 4 Swallow flying over is tinged with the sadness that this is no longer a daily event, no locally breeding birds any more. Rarely will I see or hear Martins or Swifts yet when I was young our road had tens of House Martins nests tucked under the eaves, my school had dozens of nests and I even did a project on them. Swifts used to barrel down the road screaming, a real joy. I’m so sad that local kids just won’t see these things and experience life to its fullest potential.

Watching a pair of surprisingly gentle and caring Jays has been fascinating but where are the missing smaller less obtrusive birds? Linnets nested in this garden and the adjacent hedgerows for much of the nineties, now gone. Skylarks could be heard whilst enjoying a cup of tea, not any more. No pipits and only rarely a Pied Wagtail. I will look back over what’s been seen in and from our garden, it is frankly amazing but what matters is where we are now and what we can do to help and to celebrate the everyday.

April 1, 2020

Back to basics

Its no longer possible for me to excuse lack of posting by claiming too busy, but I promise that Francis and I will try and avoid constant reference to what seems to fill most media space at present.

We are both fortunate to have access to gardens and exercise through walking locally. So back to some simple truths and the basics of our joy in the countryside.

Spring has been rushing forward with only short pause for some pretty hard frosts, with the first wave of white and yellow wild flowers.

Early blooms are at least a food source for the early mergers of the insect world, bees and overwintering butterflies in particular. In some ways these early flowers are often ignored, unless they are part of a mass display of primroses or cowslips, because they don’t really contrast in colour against the grass.

Overwintering butterflies like Peacock, Tortoiseshell, Cooma and Red Admiral are all on the wing when the wind drops.

Survivors like these show their age with worn or faded colours but have can have the advantage breeding early. Just as likely that the weather can catch them out and if they don’t find a sheltered spot will perish.

Bees are a lot harder to photograph but we will try, as the variety is amazing and in my garden the mimics, fly species, are also active often following true bees around presumably waiting for an opportunity to parasitise their host species.

Stay safe and get back to basics, find a little joy in the small local things wherever you are.

October 2, 2019

After a pause.

Glorious stroll along the Wey navigation.

Suspect both Francis and I now suffering a little guilt that we haven’t written for a while but there are times when the demands of life allow for little distraction.

Yes, we have been wandering about a bit and no it’s not because late summer and the advent of autumn is a quiet time for wildlife and we are short of subjects!

It would be easy to launch in to a rant about politics and the issues around biodiversity to which only lip service is being made but thought I would first quickly share the joys and places enjoyed over the last few weeks.

We walk the Wey navigation as pictured above, probably more often than anywhere else. The stretch we haunt never ceases to soothe my thoughts whilst providing endless little surprises.

The lure of Chobham in late summer on a fine day is too much to resist. Purple and pink pleasure…

And unbelievable blue..

Some of the colonies showing very poor numbers and others the best for several years. Rarely are wildfires good for heath but by chance one fire 2 years ago led to a great increase in flowering plants. Not all beneficial management is deliberate!

More annoying than distressing is the reappearance/germination of alien Pitcher plants which were thought to be pretty much eradicated 3 or 4 years ago.

Some alien or introduced species are harder to tolerate

Whilst wandering about on the NNNR it was pleasing to find another rarity

Not really a moss but a miniature fern, this lime coloured “tail” of a plant has been identified as meriting its own species recovery plan. Small doesn’t mean insignificant.

Autumn rains shouldn’t put any one off exploring, as we discovered.

The beginning of a rather wet walk was in Surrey, the National Trust car park at Black Down, but we did stray across the border in to Sussex.

Rain but with a light sky creates wonderful effects with the light through the canopy of trees and initially the walk along the ridge was sheltered under old beech giants.

As we arrived at the southern end of the ridge the rain eased and the view was breathtaking.

Standing high enough to be above fast moving cloud in the south of England felt truly surreal. The place is well named and celebrates the poet Tennyson who spent much time here. I like to think that his first reaction on arriving at this point was similar to mine, awe and wonder.

Though clearly a special place, one of the most beautiful I have ever been to (yes really), it simply doesn’t feel heavily visited. Please go, in any weather it will put an enormous smile on your face!

The views continued as the sun woke through and we returned through an open area of heath.

And yes I have also been out of the county for holiday……

And not even I can pretend that this was Surrey!

And yes wildlife still surrounds me at home.

Next post likely to be a tad more stroppy so here’s a photo of dawn 2 days ago to engender a little peace.

July 18, 2019

And There’s More

It seems summer is reasonably intent on remaining glorious or is the wet summer just waiting for the school holidays?

Most birds are in scruffy mode, adults a bit worn out and in need of a moult and young birds gradually changing in to adult plumage. In the garden, woodpecker year has continued with the arrival of the Greens feeding on the numerous ant nests in the turf.

To me, there is something endearing about woodpeckers appearance, they always seem to look rather “too sincere” or , less politely, a little dumb. It might be to do with their rather direct gaze but I love them.

Over a number of days the spotty young bird was taught and fed about ants nests. As I write the young bird is now flying solo and seems to be making a good job of mining ants.

Surprises round the house has included one inside when I noticed a gem like wasp trapped on the inside of the window above my desk! Though I have seen these wonders in the garden they are usually so active, bordering on frenetic, that they are impossible to photo. As you can probably deduce being caught inside allowed photos whilst covered by a glass.

Even the photos I have don’t really do justice to the amazing colours. Beauty can’t disguise behaviour as they are parasites on other insect species, this one I think on solitary bees which nest in my brickwork. Tiny but definitely a designer insect for everybody!

The flower meadows on Broad Street have moved in to a further glory with mass Knapweed attracting hundreds of Marbled White butterflies.

There are definitely losers amongst the natural world as the UK experiences climate change but there are also the occasional winners. Marbled Whites used to be an uncommon species, a special sight when I was young, but this year numbers really are exceptional.

Broadstreet has provided surprise after surprise. Round the corner from the meadows is a woodland glade that has been managed “by accident” as it follows the line of some electricity pylons and stretches of path. The first time I have walked down this path, ridiculous as this sounds after 25 years of living locally, to immediately encounter a sunbathing White Admiral butterfly.

My wife was thrilled and Francis was well chuffed on subsequent visits to see not just the White Admirals but the orange glories that are Silver washed Fritillary’s.

In fact we have now seen 14 species of butterfly which for a local patch is really wonderful. patience and a bit of sun really pays off but do remember there are losers in the fallout from climate change. Just for 1, ask yourself when you last saw a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly?

Surprises haven’t just come butterfly shaped or flower shaped. met an old friend Brian whilst walking round the meadows and he showed me an unusual tree in the adjacent woods.

Thanks Brian! Hope to write a little piece about this “stranger” in the woods so I’ll leave it here for now.

June 18, 2019

Babies and Blooms

Sadly I have the kind of mind that readily gets distracted by the politics of life, but over the last few weeks, following a series of family dramas, pleasure and peace has been found in the living world which surrounds all of us. Rather than write a logical and sequential piece about walks and wildlife, thought I would simply share a rather random number of thoughts, experiences and encounters. Late May and early June is the time for young birds and hopefully a display of natures fecundity.

Couple of weeks ago my wife, good friend Jo and myself repeated a walk, in reverse (always a good idea, looks and feels rather different) starting at Cutmill.

Woods a little quieter as many birds are now in the midst of breeding and spending less time on singing but the lake busy with breeding birds. There were already a couple of family groups of mallards with very small ducklings and interestingly there were 2 pairs of Tufted ducks.

Though the Bluebells were over, and much of the hedgerow blossom, the Surrey countryside feels rich and burgeoning at this time of year.

There is such simple joy in encountering and observing the living world so don’t walk with me or my ilk if you want to get anywhere quick! Though I am impressed at those who use walking as serious exercise or as a means to get some where I am always going to want to stop and stare. A long walk with me means time , not distance!

Our garden, like many others, is full of young birds and very harassed parents. Poor weather has meant fat balls and sunflower seeds are disappearing at an incredible rate! Both feeders are designed to restrict the size of the feeding birds (Jackdaws are capable of emptying normal fat ball feeder in under an hour!) and I am amazed at just how many birds you can squeeze in to a cage feeder with the record so far being 12 tits! As usual our tits, Great and Blue , have apparently done well but the entertaining surprise this year has been a Great Spotted Woodpecker family that successfully bred in a very neat hole made in an old apple tree. One of the young birds has remained in the garden and still continues to be fed by mum, whilst generally lounging about.

If birds have character……..

Persistently lazy and incredibly persistent in calling for mum, who has cleverly figured out how to access the fat balls (upside down from underneath!), this young bird even survived a collision with our back door.

Yes, that is our door mat.

Pleasingly both the House Sparrows and Green Finches have returned to the garden as breeders but no Starlings or Song Thrushes this year. It’s also now the second year without a cuckoo around which coincides with a lack of Whitethroats in our hedgerows. Might be a link but declines of species are as a result of complex factors and rarely a single pressure. It is clear that, locally, there is a shocking lack of Swallows, Martins and Swifts.

To repeat myself, larger birds doing well often disguise the underlying trend, downwards.

It is however a real thrill to sit outside our back door and watch a Red kite spiral to the ground and pick up food scraps!

Whatever the reason it does seem that this year and its weather has proved to be great for triggering flowers whether its on hedges with fantastic blackthorn and hawthorn or wonderful Cowslips and meadow flowers.

Our usual visit to the Hogs back illustrated this “bloom” year with unexpected and rather large Bee Orchids.

To further surprise me (or so it felt!) I then glimpsed some purple in a roadside verge on our return journey which the following day proved to be dozens of Pyramidal orchids.

In close up….

I suspect this verge has by chance been missed off a mowing schedule as the verges along the Hogs back have been cut, leaving a couple of similar orchids in the long grass away from the road. So unexpected were these glories that I submitted a record to find that they had not been recorded before!

Some flowers are much less obvious but on closer inspection just as beautiful. Nearby Broad Street common is clearly going to outstanding for grassland flowers and hence, if the weather gets better has huge potential for butterflies.

On a recent stroll I was surprised at the number of a little often missed vetch

On closer inspection…

More flowers more butterflies

And more moths…

In between the showers do get out and look, you will find little gems like these.

May 9, 2019

A Not so Gentle Reminder

Spring and Easter were rudely interrupted for me by a probable mini stroke and assorted family dramas that left me with a temporary loss of desire to write about the joys of life.

Have to say that a reminder of ones own mortality soon led to two thoughts. Firstly, get on with your life and enjoying every moment that you have. Secondly, and for all it’s present woes, it really is a beautiful world.

As an expression of all that it could be summed up in happenings at home. During the last couple of days; my wife witnessed last years twin Roebucks play fighting on the back lawn like a couple of teenagers just released from mum’s apron strings, this years Roe deer babes have arrived and a Red Kite has now joined assorted crows, magpies and “our” young male fox (truly glorious he is) in the argument over any meat scraps we put out!

One of last years twins before growing up!

Yes I know some will cry foul over the feeding of meat to a fox or other predators in a garden but to honest I don’t care! The privilege of seeing wildlife close up is such a thrill, a glorious joy! And it’s probably the high point of my elderly mothers day which is reason enough.

More time in the garden and the planting of some new wildflowers also had a speedy insect response.

Female Orange Tip homing in on newly planted Cuckoo Flower.

April 8, 2019

To Plant or not to Plant?

There are, and always have been, many joys of living in our little slice of countryside for approaching 25 years but some dilemmas return every year.

I have a somewhat imaginative (my wife would call it lazy) approach to gardening and outside the deer fenced veggie patch and a few small formal flower beds tend to rely on mother nature and a sense of curiosity as to what is going to appear each year.

It’s fascinating to speculate where some of the plants have originated from. I confess I have assisted nature over the years with planting and seeding some native species but others have both arrived and multiplied all on their own. A few primroses when we moved in is now a lot but they are outnumbered by cowslips and now the odd oxslip (I think) are beginning to appear.

It is likely that there are some conservationists who would disagree with planting native species if they were to be outside of their normal recorded geographic range, hence the dilemma of plant or not to plant. I am not such a purist and tend to lean in the direction of “if the conditions are right and the plant grows” then its ok!

I love Snake’s head fritillary flowers! There are famous meadows full of these glorious blooms and every year I fail to go and visit them. I make do with my mini meadow where 6 plants, 23 years ago, have kept spreading.

The name, incidentally, refers to the growing stem which seems an odd choice when of many other country names include the “chess” flower which I think is a lot more obvious.

Though the temperatures as i write do not exactly feel spring like the pulse of life is beginning to beat faster. Nests are well under way for many species of bird and blooms in the garden are already attracting lots of insects, in particular my neighbours honey bees, hooray!

My old pear tree has been humming with activity, weeks ahead of the apple trees as usual, and has yet to be caught by the frosts.

More importantly perhaps is that the blackthorn flowering has been fantastic this year.

Just past its best but still glorious the adjacent hedge is now spreading in to the field to create an excellent bit of habitat. Some years ago the owners of the fields, a nearby college, ill advisedly cleared a new fence line (leaving the old fence buried in the hedge!) but left the cuttings in heaps nearby. Unsurprisingly much has now taken root, ‘bobs your uncle’ new scrub thicket.

Our (sorry can’t help but be a little possessive ) Roe deer seems certain to birth in this patch again and I’m hoping for a more unusual avian visitor to arrive, finger crossed.