I first hoped that the rustling sound under the eaves was due to nesting birds but the sound of movement across the loft put paid to that theory. I have known rats in the loft in other properties and this didn't sound quite right. Talking to neighbours the problem extended along the entire row of houses. A professional identified the intruder as that peculiarly Chiltern problem the edible dormouse.
I checked my loft and found grains of expanded polystyrene scattered over the insulation out of some blocks that the previous owner had left there. I put up a camera trap which wasn't triggered and I haven't heard anything since. As they hibernate for around 6 months I imagine that I will now have some quiet nights until the spring.
The garden has seemed very quiet with hardly any birds seen but I hadn't been explicitly looking. I have just started putting a little food out in the front and in 24 hours have seen Robin, Great and Blue Tits and Magpies landing in my tiny front garden. Yesterday I heard a song that was unusual to me which the Merlin app identified as a Blackcap. Unfortunately for me the bird was ensconsed in the middle of my Forsythia which is still in full leaf and I couldn't get a sighting. This afternoon I saw Robins in the garden and corvids overhead. I set Merlin running while I swept fallen leaves from the front path. The app identified Robin, Rook, Wren, Jackdaw, Greenfinch and Blackbird. I also heard Parakeets but not while the app was running.
Comments