There is something strange going on in the garden. Something we’ve not seen before. With the door now firmly closed on September and summertime officially ended with the change to clocks here in the UK, there appears to be quite a lot of animal activity. The occasional fox or badger caught in the garden lights crossing the back lawn and a growing absence of the pigeons who have spent the summer with us – acting as our early morning alarm clock. Since we moved in many years ago, the bird population has changed. There have always been magpies, but now crows and rooks have joined them. When the field behind our house was mowed a few months back, flocks appeared from nowhere to make the most of the seeds left behind. When we first arrived, we had house martins nesting on our south facing wall. Several people have put up special boxes for them, but generally we seem to have fallen out of favour in regard to their choice of where to nest. We do have two nesting boxes in trees at the bottom of the garden, and blue tits are regular occupants. Starlings too, were once common, but not any longer. There are, of course, the odd sightings of blackbirds, jays, woodpeckers and birds of prey soaring above the fields, hoping to catch an unsuspecting rodent or two.
But I’m getting distracted! Back to my opening lines, and a clue. Who or what do you think is responsible for the holes in the lawn and these piles of chewed up vegetation?
Well, it’s these little chaps…
Yes, this year there’s been a lot of food prep going on. The squirrels bring horse chestnuts into the gardens, get rid of the outer casing with their sharp teeth, then break down the chestnut into smaller pieces and bury them. I’ve no idea how they know where everything has been left, but it will be interesting to see whether we can catch them later on as they return. to retrieve their store.
Another event in early September which I checked out on line after witnessing it, was wood pigeons perched on our pergola in the rain ‘having a shower’. Besides the usual ruffling of feathers and preening, they could also be seen stretching each wing upwards to capture water – washing under their armpits as my OH commented. Pigeons have been regular summer visitors here for years, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen them do this.
Since our return from Brockenhurst in late October, the trees have gone into full autumnal mode, and the woods above the village are now a mix of browns, yellows and deep orange. Unfortunately, with this current high pressure system over the UK, bringing with it dull, grey skies, I have yet to catch the full impact of these colours, best photographed against a brilliant blue background! Am hoping we get a break from this, and the blue skies are back before all this rich colour has gone.
JO LAMBERT 