Heron at sunset

Just as it was getting dark, I spotted a heron flying past the window. It came to rest on the roof of a house opposite, so I rushed downstairs for the camera, praying the bird would still be there when I got back. It was, and I fired off a few shots, all pretty blurry as it was so far away. Here is one of them. It really looks king of of the castle!

Limping fox

For the last few days, we've seen a lame fox in the garden. He/she also has mange quite badly on the tail and hindquarters. I still have some of the homeopathic mange treatment left, though it's a bit old now. Still worth giving it a go, though, even if it means having to make Mr/Ms Reynard a nightly sandwich. Peanut butter, probably. We've got two jars of that.

Woodpeckers

When I lived in Highgate, North London, February was a terrible time and all because of the Great Spotted Woodpecker. From around five in the morning, it would start drumming in a tree not far from my bedroom window and my, what a row! It woke me every day and the rapid drilling noise would assault my ears and set me issuing all kinds of curses.

I can hear one now in Hillingdon, drumming away in the distance, announcing its presence in the hope of attracting a mate, and establishing a territory. Fortunately it has chosen the trees in the field at the bottom of our long garden and not, thank goodness, the one directly outside my bedroom window!

Squirrel pests!

Much as I love wildlife, I wish there weren't so many squirrels. As fast as I fill the peanut feeder, the flippin' furry tree rats are performing acrobatics on it and within a couple of hours, it's empty again and the poor birds haven't got a look in. And what's more, they've been burying their loot in the lawn. Wonder if we'll end up with a peanut plantation?