Not exactly a bowling green

Our front lawn, such as it was, now looks like a scale model of a battlefield after an artillery bombardment. Meandering trails of tufts of moss and grass are punctuated by shallow shell-craters. This happened last night or early this morning – a quick surgical strike without collateral damage.

There’s a long long trail a-winding….

Speculation – what caused it? Sangliers (wild boar) or deer would have caused considerably more damage. Besides, any animal of any size approaching on foot would have to come in via the bridge or the field across more grass, so why there, surrounded by fences and walls? Voles are too small to achieve such destruction in such a short time. We suspect either green woodpeckers or jays, after leatherjackets and other grubs.

Well it wasn’t exactly a bowling green anyway

The mass of feathers under the spruce is the result of another type of monster altogether - we have had woodpigeons nesting there, and the sparrowhawk (probably) got one. We found the corpse of an unfortunate squab, too, and no doubt the rest will die too. Forgive me if I don't grieve over the loss of a woodpigeon or two, after what they do to our brassicas and soft fruit.

Spring is on its way - part III

Two Green Woodpeckers and "Pickle"*

Yesterday morning, we saw our first swallow (hirondelle) flying over the house. This morning, Tim watched a pair of green woodpeckers (pic vert) searching for insects in the verger and two kingfishers (martin pêcheur) zipped past the kitchen window, heading down the millstream like two brilliant blue darts [and too fast to capture on film!]. To top it all, a flight of cranes came by, on their usual ENE flightpath. The red squirrels were clambering about in the alders next to the Aigronne, and the water vole chugged past on an errand.

Green Woodpecker concentrating!
[Not the greatest of pix.... handheld through telescope and double-glazed windows!]

[* For "Pickle" see De la Bonne Bouffe]