March 18th

Furious tail wag

With war songs the tiny dart

Clamours a warning

 

Wren’s are feisty, for such little birds they show enormous pluck when defending their territory. They have no intention of giving quarter when a big human oaf goes running between *their* trees. And they sing so loudly too. Not only that, but they do so in a place where you can see them, they do not hide. They sing at your eye level. They are staring you out, jumping from vantage point to vantage point to get the best position to stand their ground from. And if they really take offence, they bristle up their little feathers and fly at you, not to poke your eye out Hitchcock style or anything, just to buzz you, to try to get rid of you. They are not afraid! Wrens rock.

(Image from the RSPB website)

February 1st

 

Five snipers huddled,

In the arms of the old oak,

Crystalline in frost.

 

Looked out of our back window today and saw a Hitchcock like scene. Five magpies had settled together in the old oak tree opposite. They were freezing poor things, trying to conserve energy, unmoving, which gave them an air of hatching some sinister plot.

Five for silver though right? Lottery ticket time :)