After persevering with a makeshift tarp-hide for over a year, it has now been replaced with a more permanent structure in the form of an almost-new shed which was destined for the skip. It's warm, dry and already working well. I arrived in the dry this morning, and after filling the feeders with peanuts and smearing lard in the bark crevices in the desired spots, I set-up the netting, tripod and bench seating before disappearing off to have a look at the dam - giving the birds a chance to realise I had arrived with food.Sadly the heavy rain, coupled with the existing leak, has turned the dam into a bridge with very fast flowing water beneath it. Flee removed the upstand last weekend to reduce the water level and enable us to get in and start work on repairing it, but there is not much left to repair in reality, We will build again over the coming months, taking more time to let each layer bed in this time. With any luck we will have something even more impressive to marvel at this summer.
As the clouds formed and the rain began again, I returned to "Immac" and settled in with a brew and some bikkies to see what was about. The trusty tits were first in to scoff; Blue, followed by Great, followed by the Coal tit - the cheeky chappy nabbing the stray peanuts that failed to make it into the feeders. Then came the Robin, who lingers longer than most, and finally a pair of Nuthatches. No sign (or sound) of the woodpeckers, but I'm sure it won't be long. The sun made an appearance for a short spell before the heavens opened in apocalyptic fashion and I decided it would be safer to head home. No bird would be out in that anyway. I got home to a garden covered in tiny hail stones, seriously charcoal skies and overflowing drains. Don't you just love January.
