Bug Box

We've bought a bug box. There was a bit of a disagreement about where it should be put. "At ground level," I said, 'so that things can crawl in."

"At eye-level," said my partner, "so things can fly in."

He won. It's now on the wall of his workshop, beside the window. And he had the last word, too, with, "Anyway, the crawling ones can crawl up the wall and get in that way."

We shall see. Nothing has taken up residence yet but I will report on the first arrivals.

Kite v Crow

Once, the sight of a red kite above our streets was a rare occurrence. Now we see them on an almost daily basis and this morning there were three!

Yesterday, I witnessed a crow mobbing two kites, trying to drive them away. One kite took the hint and flew off but the other was determined not to be deterred and the two of them wheeled and tumbled through the sky, the kite trying to shake off the pursuing crow. In the end the crow triumphed and flew back to its perch on the biggest oak tree, from which it cawed and... well, crowed! It was if it was proclaiming, "Aren't I the brave, clever boy!"

These photos aren't very good as the birds were way up in the sky, but they give some idea of the crow's tenacity and persistence.