Yet more disappearance

Our birdlife seems to be disappearing.. I'm confident they will return. There seems to be two main causes.

The first is undoubtedly the weather. Rain & winds seem conducive to the urge for our birds to stay inside as much as possible, just like humans. It certainly has been raining. The fact the lake to the greenhouse isn't too deep is related to the amount of wind blowing. The gardens really needed the water. Our bog plants are looking a lot fresher for the deluge. The ground there was only superficially dry anyhow, even with weeks of very little water. Beneath the surface you soon hit mud.

Perhaps the main reason is the return of the peregrine falcon. The little birds, in particular, are nervous about coming out until they're sure the coast is clear. You can see them dodging between twigs in the hedge, but they're not very keen to come out in the open.

The needs of the stomach are the only things that draw the birds into the open at the moment. But even then they do not dally long. A quick dash to the feeders & that's it. The blackbirds are more obvious but then they can hunt their worms  & slugs under the shelter of some of the lower big-leafed plants. Even the love doves (our pair of collared doves) are less noticeable, preferring to leave their usual place sat on the trellis, for the shelter of the trees.

I'm already looking forward to dryer weather & the return of our avian friends. Enough greyness say I.