The starlings are back. There seem to be several families turning up with their chicks working their way through the fat bars. We are shifting about half a litre of fat per day at the moment.
What puzzles me is the location of the nesting colony. Apart from a few weeks when the juveniles are recently fledged I am unlikely to see any in the garden at all. This year we had one or two individuals turning up and then a day or two later the numbers exploded.
Out and about we had an interesting encounter driving home in the car. Near Ley Hill, just at the edge of the headlights a long grey shape crossed the road. From the outline it seemed to be a ferret or polecat. It seemed pale in the light but at the extreme point of the beam I couldn't make out any colouring.
Coming back from Oxford yesterday in early afternoon the car in front of me suddenly started slowing and eventually came to a halt. I was just wondering what the problem was when a muntjac strolled nonchalantly past without any fuss and vanished into the hedgerow.
What puzzles me is the location of the nesting colony. Apart from a few weeks when the juveniles are recently fledged I am unlikely to see any in the garden at all. This year we had one or two individuals turning up and then a day or two later the numbers exploded.
Out and about we had an interesting encounter driving home in the car. Near Ley Hill, just at the edge of the headlights a long grey shape crossed the road. From the outline it seemed to be a ferret or polecat. It seemed pale in the light but at the extreme point of the beam I couldn't make out any colouring.
Coming back from Oxford yesterday in early afternoon the car in front of me suddenly started slowing and eventually came to a halt. I was just wondering what the problem was when a muntjac strolled nonchalantly past without any fuss and vanished into the hedgerow.
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