Things are looking up. We actually had a pause in the wind from Storm Imogen and the sun came out for ten minutes. After that it was back to normal.
The Farmland Bird Count has got off to a bad start despite the new feeders, with hardly a bird seen today. The ones we did see were clearly struggling in the wind. A long-tailed tit went past so quickly it looked like it had been fired from a bow and several crows have been seen flying sideways. Apart from that we’ve seen a blackbird, a pied wagtail and er…nothing else.
It was all looking so promising too. In the last two weeks we’ve seen a great-spotted woodpecker, a sparrowhawk and some good flocks of redwings and fieldfares. We thought we might be on for some good sightings. Plan B is now in operation – do the count on Wednesday.
We’ve also had pancakes, put new bedding down for the chickens (I think most of the old stuff has blown away!), finished the Chinese New Year masks and completed a grant application form.
We are applying for money to support a community arts project based on bread and baking, and the application contains more waffle than an American breakfast.
It’s not that it’s a bad project, just that the way they ask questions encourages a less than precise style of writing. Half the time I want to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ but they’re expecting 250 words so suddenly I’m peppering it with things like inclusivity, diversity and mindfulness. George Orwell would have been ashamed of me, though Big Brother would have been proud.
I think the bird know! The the hour we did the big garden birdwatch this year was amazingly quiet. Then I wandered into the kitchen an hour later and you could barely see the hedge for chaffinches, sparrows and starlings! The sad thing was that during the hour we didn’t see some of our regulars – the wren, for example. Ah well, we know they are there. The one bonus, I suppose, was that the sparrowhawk did not turn up!!
Yes, and I’m pretty sure they can sense the autofocus function on my camera too!
Ah! Those pesky pc forms
…those awful meetings where ‘ball park’ is mentioned and ideas are ‘kicked into the long grass’ Shudder! It is so easy to join in with this rubbish. I hate it when I realise that the questions I am being asked on application forms and questionnaires are pushing me in a direction I don’t wish to go.
Just had our Monday meeting and a rousing talk on blue sky thinking. I am perfecting the art of sleeping with my eyes open… 😉
😀
The quick brown fox…ha! Good luck with application…
We will see – I once had one rejected within an hour. 😉
At least there was a response…
Never tried to do a grant application but my commiserations in any case.
Where do birds go when it’s stormy?
Not sure – trees and hedges I suppose – but I never seem to see many sheltering. Buzzards often stand on fence posts in the rain and look miserable. That’s why I identify with them. 😉
I’ve never seen them either, which is why I’m curious 🙂
I don’t know about what they do in the daytime, but on cold winter mornings (previous years) I’ve seen surprising numbers of blue tits fly out of a too-large nesting box that they obviously use for overnight shelter!
Yes, I’ve read something about wrens doing the same sort of thing on cold nights. Never seen it though so you were lucky!
Yes, I considered myself very lucky that winter. The bird box was in a tree right outside my bedroom window, and I was treated to a wake-up show every day for a week or two running. 🙂
They are quite small birds 🙂
The project sounds amazing! Bread and Art, a recipe for living… need any help? 😍
Thanks, I will be in touch later – this is just the first stage. We are hoping to run an bread event in conjunction with Open Farm Sunday in June.