Thursday 23 May 2013

Springwatch!

Happy May!

It's been way too long. Thanks to those who have emailed or called me in my absence, I'm now officially a Home Counties mama instead of a Sarf London mum. There's plenty to do on the house, but the garden keeps drawing my eye to the window and I find myself gazing vacantly out, not achieving very much. I have plenty of my usual random nonsense to get around to writing about, but in the absence of any actual Springlike weather here's my Kate Humble-esque nature report from Hertfordshire. [You'll have to imagine me in a fleece, the odd leaf tumbled artlessly in my pre-Raphaelite locks]

Wood pigeons are even stupider than I always suspected. Did you see this picture on Yahoo? [It was a slow news day, obviously]. I have something similar on my kitchen window, after a collision sounding and looking like the Grinch had lobbed a Christmas turkey at it with some speed.




It flew off, then it or one of its equally dozy cousins did the same thing to an upstairs bedroom a couple of days ago. When they're not being kamikaze at our windows they tend to strut around the garden, puffed up with their own importance, giving the ladies piercing looks and shitting all over the lawn. [Only one of those things doesn't make me think of Paul Hollywood off Great British Bake-off]. One met an untimely end at the claws of a sparrowhawk in next door's garden - we'd already seen him narrowly miss a siskin in our own - which was unfortunate for the pigeon, but another exciting day for the twitchers in the house. That's all of us, with the possible exception of boy2. He insists on referring to certain avian visitors as 'Batman birds' and 'the boy wonder'. [He has a pretty good sense of humour for a 5 year old]. Incidentally, the boy wonder has made a nest in the ivy on our fence, so we should have baby robins soon.


Mentally traumatised but undamaged siskin recovers at Lakota's bird hospital

'Batman' bird


Squirrels are annoying little buggers. The seeds of this thought were planted long ago when one ran up my leg in Singleton Park, Swansea when I was about 8. It shot down a tree and up my sock about as far as my knee before exchanging an alarmed look with me and running off. [I once had a lost homing pigeon land on my head too. Evidently I resemble Nelson's column]. Still, I'm fond of wildlife in general and boys were pleased that 'Squirrelly' appeared to have made the move with us from our old house. I don't mind him helping himself to a few peanuts or sunflower seeds from the birdfeeder, but I do object to him then burying said peanuts in my newly planted rocket - merrily digging up seedlings as he does so. Also running off with not one but two entire fist sized suet balls hung up for the birds is just plain greedy.

Apparently there are black squirrels locally. Now if that doesn't sound like some kind of witches' familiar I don't know what does. Cute though.



Far away Tawny Owls manage to sound just enough like a crying child to make me go upstairs and stand outside a bedroom door, listening intently. Hearing nothing, I return to my Sons of Anarchy boxset only for them to do it again. Outwitted by an owl. I must be losing it.

Lakota x

25 comments:

  1. Welcome to sunny Hertfordshire! (Okay I lied about the sunny.) Keep away from those black squirrels, they are very aggressive. I'd never heard of them before we came here and thought I had discovered a whole new species!
    Hope you're settling in nicely! x

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  2. I've been thinking of you Lakota.
    Do you love it? Are you happy in your new digs?
    Hope so, x

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  3. Glad to see you back. Stupid pigeons are always flying into windows especially when they have just been cleaned.

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  4. I think flying into windows is on a wood pigeons CV! we are always wiping off their marks. Glad you are back and settling in :)

    Bee happy x

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  5. Welcome back! Wood pigeons are the most dim of birds but scare our cats witless. Hope the move was smooth! x

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  6. Yay! You're back!

    Enjoy your Sons of Anarchy box set! I started watching it last year and now I'm obsessed!

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  7. The Black squirrel is quite a cute little thing. And so is the bird that came to your hospital. =D

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  8. You're back! And surrounded by animals. Lovely. Look forward to more Wildlife Tales. :)

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  9. Welcome back! I'm sure you'll get used to the country ways in no time, hope that wee bird is recovering well x

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  10. Glad you are back!
    Wood pigeons seem so dim but they must be good at something - their numbers are incresing rapidly around here...

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  11. Why didn't I know about black squirrels? I am dim, obviously! Our common old grey ones are indeed a pain, pinching all the bird food. Charlie is on a mission to kill them all. Birds as well, he is a murderous cat, so he has had wood pigeons too...
    Glad to have you back, you Home Counties girl you! xxxx

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  12. One of our cheeky local foxes (the one with the bad limp) now comes searching for food on the lawn in the daytime, chasing off the magpies and crows, and looks pleadingly at us through the window if there's nothing about. The blue tits are back at the feeder now that I have put out the expensive birdseed! Fussy buggers.

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  13. Welcome back! And welcome to my world! We haven't had a lovely siskin yet though, but we've had everything else on your list. I like the way male pigeons sit and reflect after they've been rejected by a female. I love Batman birds and the boy wonder! Great names! If you stick the fat balls in metal feeders then the squirrels can't get quite as much but nothing stops the evil buggers! Xxx

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  14. Welcome back! I have to agree that wood pigeons are the most annoying of birds. They never SHUT UP, just that constant cooing. Give me police sirens and car stereos any day.

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  15. Been wondering where you had got to.

    We have squirrels, the grey ones. One little beast will sit and squeak at the dog until the dog barks and runs along the fence.

    Then there are the squirrel wars. Don't get between two squirrels and grand theft nuts from a nest.

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  16. Glad to hear you are moved and settling in, missed your blogging!

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    1. Also, I've only ever seen black squirrels in Canada, didn't know you could get them in the UK too.

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  17. Welcome back girl! You have been busy, hope you are getting settled right in. I love that you saved a bird! My lil cat kills too many for me to even think about. I too have never seen a black squirrel but I'm pretty sure they will inherit the earth:)
    Xxoo

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  18. Awwwwwwwwwwwwww, I love blackbirds!!!! Love their new name!!!x

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  19. Missed your humour! Glad to be lol-ing again at your hilarious posts! We are twitchers too, and like to see birds other than crows and magpies which bully the tiny ones here.

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  20. Welcome back Lakota! I have a couple of those ghost prints on my windows courtesy of pigeons. It makes a hell of a noise as they hit the window and then fall on the extension roof, but so far, thank goodness, no fatalities. Hope life in the home counties is suiting you.

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  21. Welcome back! I'm glad you are settling into your new home & enjoying a bit of wildlife! The little bird you nursed is so sweet. My house is like wild frickin' kingdom & my dog is always "squirreling" (kitty is dying to as well, but she's still skittish so I won't let her out yet). Few grey ones left here, mostly black & red (now that I've said that I'll be inundated with grey ones.) They are aggressive little pests always digging up something, steal all the birdseed & make the birds go nuts squawking! Don't get me started on the coyotes... XXX

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  22. Glad to see you back Lakota! And Happy New Home, it sounds like you've settled in to your new surroundings xxx

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  23. Ooh, I'm shortly going to be making the move from SE London to leafy Hertfordshire. I was a bit nervous before about the whole "not being in London anymore" thing but now I'm more concerned about Tippi Hedren-esque levels of danger and mayhem. Who said the Home Counties were safe eh. Congratulations on the new home and hope the avian violence dials down a bit ...

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