ONCE UPON A LAMMAS MONTH

“The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris well when it pauses in its turning. The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn, but the first week of August is motionless, and hot. It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color. Often at night there is lightning, but it quivers all alone.”

~Natalie Babbitt~

The Celtic holiday of Lammas fell on the first of August and signalled the coming of autumn. Also known as Lughnasadh, the summer heatwave continued into August with the mercury remained well above the mid-20s. Now was the time to begin reaping what we had sown, and gathered up the first harvests of grain such as wheat, barley, rye and oats. It was a festival to mark the annual grain harvest, and was the first harvest festival of the year. Apart from the raspberries and some blueberries, we don’t have anything to harvest from our garden. We have lots of wild blackberries dotted around the garden which we left for our feathered friends but from time to time I do pick the biggest, juicest berry. There were also a few dozen figs on the tree but they hadn’t ripened yet.

Because of the heat, our feathered friends have been enjoying having a drink and a bath from the bird-bath and a water tray.  Watching them flying in and lining around the rim for a drink or having a good, splashy bath was a joyful experience. It beats watching television, Blackbirds and Starlings often took a dip while the Wood pigeons just sat in the water to cool down. Bathing kept their feathers in good condition and removed dust, loose feathers, parasites and other debris.

Oh ‘blithe spirit’, you wing through space
In the far sky you are just a speck to trace
As you steer your way through the clouds high
I see your floating shape against the sky

Lowering your pinions down to alight the ground
I hear your warbled words closer all around
How your eyes spot the rain water puddle
And come hopping to have a dip in the muddle

On this sultry summer afternoon
You are going to have a cool bath soon
You flap your wings in quick succession up and down
Spattering little muddy showers from your gown
You are so shy that you bathe with all clothing on

That it takes time for you to feel dry and clean
So once your bath is over, you perch on a tree
Ruffling your feathers until they are moisture free
After preening every little feather to dry

Refreshed and enlivened, off you fly,
Singing melodious tunes all your way
And drowning the valley with your sweet lay!

~Valsa George ‘Bird Bath~

I noticed that the Blackbirds after having a bath might spread their wings to dry on the ground. And sometimes they’d a dust bath. Also known as dusting or sand bathing, it was part of a bird’s preening and plumage maintenance that kept their feathers in top condition. The dust that was worked into their feathers absorbed excess oil to help keep the feathers from becoming greasy or matted. The oil-soaked dust was then shed easily, keeping the plumage clean and flexible for a more aerodynamic flight and efficient insulation. This bird was in a trance-like state with his beak opened, rump feathers puffed up, wings spread white and tail fanned. After 5 minutes, he rose to his feet, shook his feathers into place and seemed to gain a new lease of life.

The tiny bird-bath and water tray was like a watering hole for our feather friends. We kept ours cleaned and topped up as often as we could. But they were dirty little bu****s. The bird-feeder was also near the watering hole. Seeds and bits of fat-balls tend to fall in them and foul the water. We also have to make sure that it was at least a metre off the ground and out in the open so that they could see any of the neighbourhood’s cats coming. Birds were at their most vulnerable when drinking and feeding.

One of our favourite birds to visit the garden was the Goldfinches. I think we have a pair that was nesting in the Leylandi trees that surrounded our garden. When we’d the rose arch, we hung a bird-feeder with niger seeds under it. I loved seeing them queuing, waiting for their turn. Unfortunately, the arch was blown down by a storm in late 2016 and we hung the feeder at the end of the feeding platform. Thankfully, the Goldfinches were the only one feeding on the niger seeds.

Goldfinches had a ‘golden year’ in the 2018 RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch where sightings rose by 11% on 2017 figures and was at number 6 in the Top 20. In our garden, they gathered in ‘charms’, with bright red faces, biscuit-brown bodies and black wings with yellow wing bars. I could hear them even before I saw them. They’d a delightful liquid twittering songs and calls ‘tswitt-wit-witt’. Sounding something like a tinkling of bells had earned the Goldfinches the lovely collective noun, ‘charm’.

We were always looking forward to early summer when the adults started bringing their young to the bird-feeder. After hatching, the chicks were fed predominantly on regurgitated seeds, The juveniles were less colourful  with grey-brown spotted plumage and the lack of face markings helped them to avoid the attention of predators. The memorable, striking reds and yellows only surface after the first moult. Young Goldfinches were often known as grey pates.

We also enjoyed the visits from the gregarious and noisy Long-tailed tits. They were easily recognisable with their distinctive colouring of patterned soft-pink plumage, a tail which was bigger than their body, and their undulating flight in small excitable party. Their fluffy pink, black and white plumage held in a layer of air, their appearance had been likened to a ball of cotton wool and given rise to the names ‘Muffin’ and ‘Mumruffin’. They were also known as the ‘the flying lollipop’ during flight. We enjoyed listening to their soft, bubbly contact calls that filled the air. 

From our window, we saw fluffy balls of these tumbling, see-sawing birds bouncing towards the bird-feeder, their high-pitched, rolling si-si-si-si-si calls, punctuated with percussive, clipped notes, announcing their arrival.  They were always in flock for many reasons. The more eyes there were, the better the chance a predator will be spotted and also better chances of finding food. Their excitement at finding the fat-balls was revealed by their excited, high-pitched twitterings which usually alerted us to their presence.

One of the most anticipated visitor to our garden was the striking black-and-white Great Spotted woodpecker. We always enjoyed their presence and find it hilarious that it was always trying to hide on the side of the fat-ball feeder away from our sight. This was a juvenile male with a red crown on the top of the head. It was less glossy than the adults and had a brown tinge to its upperparts and dirty white underparts. The markings were less well-defined and the lower belly was pink rather than red.

The juvenile was a lot bigger than the Long-tailed tits but that didn’t stop them sharing the fat-balls. The juvenile will be sexually mature when aged one year, and will start its courtship behaviour in the following December. After feeding, it flew off to the elderflower tree at the bottom of the garden with a very distinctive bouncing flight. I heard the ‘chick, chick’ contact calls and I wonder if there was another one nearby. Then it flew off into the scrubland behind the cul-de-sac.

Babe was very thankful for the presence of these birds to our garden. It kept him company as he was convalescing from broken ribs. Earlier in the month, when we were at our favourite playground, one of the photographers fell to the floor in the hide and had an epileptic seizure. Unfortunately, he fell under the bench and was thrashing badly. Thankfully, Babe knew what to do and tried to help him onto his side. It was just unfortunate that Babe banged his ribs on the bench when he did that. Another photographer called for an ambulance while Babe tried to calm the sick man.

We waited for about an hour before the ambulance arrived. Thankfully, he was stable by this time and was aware of his surroundings. The paramedic had to walk in as the reserve was not accessible to vehicles. The sick guy was led to the ambulance and taken to hospital. In the mean time, Babe had just realised that he had broken his ribs. We left after that because Babe was feeling a bit rough. We didn’t go to the doctor as broken or bruised ribs needed no medical attention as they should heal by themselves within 3-6 weeks. But if he coughed up blood, he will go ASAP.

Babe later realised that there was no poster in the hides in case of emergencies. When we were there, the hide was quite full as there was about a dozen of us in it. If Babe was not there, the others would not know what to do. In this case, the first thing to do was to put him on his side and to make sure he did not swallow his tongue. Early interventions were important because it would take at least an hour before help arrived. Babe suggested to the Trust to put First-aid posters in all the hides and we were very pleased that they had taken the advice and the posters were now up. We had no news from the photographer and hoped we will see him back to Brandon.

Before the eventful episode, as soon as we arrived in the car-park, we were greeted by these swallows on the wire. After a summer of prolonged dry, hot spells, they were now gathering, twittering and chattering information about their upcoming  long and arduous journey south to the African continent for the winter months. They were now taking short ‘test’ journeys and searching out safe communal roosts. The long journey over open seas, using the shortest possible route away from safe coast and timed their departure to coincide with a tail wind or ahead of a weather front. The return journey to Africa took about 6 weeks.

Since Swallows fed entirely on flying insects, they don’t need fattening up before leaving as they can snap up their food along the way. We had a nice surprise when we saw them hawking after insects on the lake outside Baldwin Hide. Enjoying their aerobatics, I marvelled at their ability to fly all the way to Africa, across the Sahara to overwinter as they weighed a little more than a pound coin. As I watched them wheeling and criss-crossing each other in flight, it seemed that a collision was inevitable, but they were masters of their flight.

Then we headed straight for East Marsh Hide where the low water level had brought in a few rarities flying in to feed on the exposed mudflats. Last month, a Wood sandpiper had brought an influx of photographers, twitchers and visitors to the reserve. Earlier in the week, a Greenshank was spotted feeding and Babe was very fortunate to have seen it. As usual, I was late to the party and it was nowhere to be seen.

Greenshanks were medium-sized slim waders with olive-grey above and silvery-white below, with dark streaking on the breast. They;d long, slightly upturned grey bills with striking grey-green legs. They fed in the shallow water, pecking at the mud, water or vegetation as they walked and caught fish by using a dash-and-lunge technique. They were passage migrants and scarce winter visitors.

We were surprised when we spotted Common snipes feeding on the mudflats in the middle of the very shallow lake. Usually these cryptically coloured waders were only seen foraging in the vegetated fringes of the mudflats or skulking under the reeds. These superbly camouflaged waders were now out in the open, probing under the moist substrate for insects, earthworms, crustaceans or spiders with their elongated bills. Food on the surface were located by sight and picked up, but prey under the mud was located using the touch-sensitive sensory pits at the tip of the flexible bill.

A pair of Little egrets flew in and joined the party. It was an adult with a juvenile. Usually, individual birds don’t tolerate others coming too close to their chosen feeding site. They were feeding on the shallow clear water whilst walking through and stabbing prey with their bills. Sometimes, they ran through the shallows, stirring up the fishes and then picking them off. They were highly dependant on visual clues when hunting and feeding was highly affected if the water wasn’t clear.

On the main island, we spotted a Lapwing keeping an eye on three Little Ringed Plovers. Small and rotund waders, they blended nicely into the grey surroundings. They were busy foraging for invertebrates and crustaceans in a very distinct way; standing and watching, running forward, pecking, daintily picking up morsels of food then standing still again. It was quite cute to watch them scuttering across the mudflat, sometimes energetically trampling around on the sand to flush insects and aquatic invertebrates out of hiding places. In early autumn, they commenced a leisurely southward movement, wintering in the northern tropics of Africa.

Then between the two islands, a female Garganey emerged, skimming the water for plant materials and insects. It fed by filtering small particles from water that passed through its bill rather than tipping up. Unlike the striking male with its brown head and breast and a broad white crescent over the eye, the female was brown with pale eyebrow, dark eye line, pale lore spot bordered by a second dark line. A pale blue speculum or distinctive wing patch was visible when she was flapping her wings.

We ended the afternoon with a glimpse of the elusive Water-rail making a mad dash through the reed-beds. This highly secretive inhabitant of freshwater wetlands was often heard than seen. Its main call was known as ‘sharming’ which was a series of grunts followed by a high-pitched piglet-like squeal and ending in more grunts. It was used as territorial calls, alarms and announcements. Water rails were extremely hard to see, as they preferred to stay hidden in the thick vegetation.

This year, the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca for Muslim adults who were able physically, mentally and financially to undertake the journey fell in August. The rites were performed over 5-6 days, beginning on the 8th and ending on the 13th day of Dzulhijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar. I didn’t have the opportunity to join in the Eid prayers because it started very early at about 8 am. Instead, I left a few tins of cookies in the mosque for those who were there to enjoy. It was a co-incidence that on the same day, my department had our annual long lunch at the Farmhouse in Canley.

It was very busy as there were many tables joined together with families having their Eid celebratory meals. Thankfully, we’d made reservations and was seated in a nice corner. We have been here several times and I always chose the same menu which was the mixed Tandoori grill. The only difference was that the rice and nan bread were sold separately when in the previous visits, they were included in the meal. Service was quite slow due to the large number of people but thankfully, the food arrived at nearly the same time.

A week later, my colleagues and I went to Creams, an ice-cream parlour, besides Swanswell Lake again. We needed something cooling to end the working week and also to start the weekend. Every visit was an indulgent adventure for the senses as we perused leisurely the decadent range of desserts, milkshakes and smoothies from the American-style parlour. Although the place was buzzing, we got seated straight away into the comfy booth. We went to the counter and ordered and it arrived in about 20 minutes. I chose the waffles with sliced fresh strawberry, drizzled with strawberry sauce. A pot of vanilla ice-cream was included. My oh my…it was so decadent and rich. Oh…my poor hips

It was also our 22nd wedding anniversary and we celebrated our beautiful day at one of our favourite place, in Slimbridge WWT. After nearly 2 weeks of being cooped up in the casa, Babe was having cabin fever and he badly needed some fresh air and exercises. His ribs was healing, albeit very slowly. Most days I’d to take the bus home so he would not exert himself driving during the rush hours. As soon as we entered the grounds of the reserve, there were a few school buses already parked. It was the school holidays and I guess it was going to be busy day.

The Giant Lego® Brick Animal Trail was also back to spend time with their real-life cousins. The ground had now been invaded by giant animals and excited school kids. Luckily these giants were a lot more static than the animals that lived here all year round, so they posed no threat. Visitors were able to enjoy fourteen individually-designed 1.5m Lego® brick animals that formed a wild adventure trail for kids (and big kids) to inspire them to build a better future for nature. It was an amazing way of putting the spotlight on some really important species, many of which were endangered.

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) had the summer long activity covering their many acres of ground all over England. From the 7th of July right through to the 23rd of September WWT sites  were running these animal trails.. Each sculpture was built by professional Lego builders, taking hundreds of hours and using no less than 253,728 bricks! If meeting  these giant animals weren’t exciting enough, the younger visitors could also build-their-own mini figures and booked onto one of the interactive LEGO^® workshops.

We didn’t go checking them out and only came across them when we wandered from one hide to another. But, I knew they were back with three NEW friends - Sam the short-eared owl, Walter the water vole and Skye the stork. We met Sam on the way to Discovery Hide at the South Lake. Sam  took an amazing 80 hours to build with an incredible 37,884 LEGO bricks. I was so tempted to pluck a brick and see if anybody noticed it missing but I was good girl 

When we walked past the Caribbean flamingo enclosure, Babe spotted this Grey wagtail foraging for aquatic-type insects and invertebrates lurking under the overgrown bushes by the mud-banks. The slate grey upper parts and distinctive lemon yellow under-tail were visible as it moved.  The long tail gave it an elegant profile and it was continually active, pumping its tail up and down as if for fun. It kept on wagging its long tail at an almost incessant rate whilst walking or running briskly along the ground.

Rushy hide was very quiet. Mallards were dabbling for aquatic vegetation and invertebrates in the shallow water. A juvenile Lapwing was also foraging for worms and insects on the mudflats. A wader flew in showing its faint wing-stripe and oval white patches either side of the tail. It was a Ruff. Best known as a passage migrant, it was great to see during the early weeks of autumn passage as they moved from Scandinavia towards wintering sites located within the Sahelian floodplains in Africa.

Then we checked the rest of the hides. Unfortunately, the Tack Piece was empty and the fields were still dry due to the hot weather. We saw a herd of cattle rushing into the lake to cool down and having a drink. Cattle was used for conservation grazing, a natural and sustainable alternative to mechanical mowing. The selective nature of the grazing produced a tussocky appearance, providing a diverse range of structural habitats for insects, reptiles and amphibians. Their diet was not restricted to grass as they enjoyed eating a wide range of vegetation including brambles, leaves, bark and the dreaded Himalayan balsam. Their hooves also broke up bracken and rushes, so they were essential for managing the spread of invasive and undesirable plant species.

Then we walked back into the grounds and had a very nice surprise when we walked past the Andean flamingos enclosure. They’d chicks!!!! When did that happened??? We read a notice and found out that three pairs of Andean flamingos were given eggs of their Chilean counterparts to nest. The reason was that the Andean had been prompted to lay 9 eggs by the record-breaking temperatures that we’d. Unfortunately, the flock had been infertile for 19 years and as a result the eggs were not viable and the expectant mums and dads were left without chicks to rear

Their keepers decided that, as the Chilean flock was also laying multiple eggs, a foster program might help prompt fertility in the Andean group. They gave six of the birds a handful of eggs to nest and hatch and now the young chicks were being raised by them. Flamingos were fickle breeders and could go years without nesting successfully.Thankfully, the recent heat had the desired effect so with the Andeans in full parenting mode, they were given these Chilean chicks to bring up as their own.

Chilean flamingos are relatively similar to the Andean. They lived side-by-side in the wild but survived on different diets.The Chileans have shallow –keeled bills that filtered algae and plankton from the water and mud. They also fed on plant seeds and small fishes. Andean flamingos have deep-killed bills and  were filter feeders, feeding on food particles from water, by passing food and water over the highly-specialized bill equipped with filtering structure. They fed mainly on diatoms, algae of genus Surinella, taking the food between the sediment at the bottom and the water just above it .

Some of these Andean flamingos had arrived at the centre in the 1960s and had been at the reserve longer than any of the staff. One of the foster mums was from the last set of successful Andean chicks, raised in 1999. These short grey straight beaked chicks looked very different to the adults. It was only a couple of years later that they developed the characteristic pink feathers and the bent beaks. Slimbridge was the only place in the world where all six species of flamingos could be seen.

It was hard to leave these bundles of fluff and we were looking forward to see their future development. We made a quick pit stop at South Lake to see what was about. A large flock of Black Tailed Godwits were busy feeding in the shallow water. They still had the bright orangey-brown chests and bellies. Soon, it will change to a more greyish-brown for winter. They were sociable birds, forming large group when feeding, probing the mud with their bills for invertebrates.

We ended the month with a trip to Longford Park to check out what the resident Rose-ringed Parakeets were up to. We headed straight to  the row of Weeping Willows that overhang the banks of the River Sowe. It was very quiet which meant they weren’t around as their squawkings often led to their presence. We continued walking along the footpath and suddenly we heard loud shrills and when we looked up saw six of them flying past and disappeared. The last time we saw them, there were 4 which meant that they’d 2 chicks. I was so chuffed that they were still around. We waited for about half an hour to see if they returned, but all was quiet. We will definitely come again to check them out.

“August  creates as she slumbers, replete and satisfied”
~Joseph Wood Krutch~

February’s been hard on a heart

Candlemas Day used to have great significance in the rural calendar because the date lies halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, so it marked the day upon which winter was half over. It was a time of the year which naturally formed a transition period in winter, a sense we were moving on into brighter and better days.

An ancient Scottish rhyme :

If Candlemas day be dry and fair, the half o’ winter to come and mair

If Candlemas’s day be wet and foul, The half o’ winter gane at Yule

It meant that if it was nice on Candlemas Day, 6 more weeks of yucky, winter weather was on the way. If it wasn’t nice on Candlemas Day, the weather should get nicer. A sort of Catch 22 weather. This photograph was taken on that day. Be afraid…be very afraid

Around the university grounds, pockets of Snowdrops were popping here and there. They were known as Candlemas Lilies and Candlemas Bells and a welcome assurance that the brighter days of spring were on their way. In the language of flowers, the Snowdrop was synonymous with ‘hope’ as it bloomed in early springtime, just before the vernal equinox, and seen as heralding the new spring and new year. In British folklore, they symbolised hope and purity. But the bulbs were poisonous which led to the superstition that a single bloom in a house represented death.

We made another visit to Longford Community Nature to see what the Ring-necked or Rose-ringed parakeets were up to. Thankfully, it turned out to be a sunny day and we hoped they would be out in the open. We headed straight to their patch on the Weeping Willow with the branches drooping over the River Sowe. These deciduous tree were often found near lakes and ponds and planted in parks and gardens due to their ornamental morphology. Raindrops that were falling to the ground from the drooping branches resembled tears and that was how the tree got its name.

Their shrill screeching calls gave away their presence.  We looked up and they were chilling out deep among the twisted branches and twigs which was void of leaves. Again, they were playing hide-and-seek with us and when they found out that we weren’t going anyway, came out to play. From our observations and reading, we think that this family consisted of 2 adults and 2 juveniles. The male developed a thin black ring round his neck which ran from his throat, becoming thinner on the sides of the neck where it ran into a light coloured collar on the nape of his neck. The ring developed by about 17 months old and the male was usually sexually mature by age 3, a year later than the female.

The female and juveniles either showed no neck rings, or display shadow-like pale to dark grey neck rings. Bedecked with emerald green feathers and rose-red beak, the family brought a touch of tropical glamour to the park. One was seen speeding through the skies with its stream-lined body, pointed wings and long tail, so graceful and elegant in a brilliant green whirl. It was magnificent in flight. Unfortunately, it was just too fast to photograph.

Yellow catkins were appearing on the trees and in spring, the twigs and branches will be covered with the lance-shaped leaves. These catkins were important for producing an early source of nectar and pollen for bees and insects and we saw the Parakeets feeding on them. They also fed on a variety of fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, grains and household scraps. I am sure they were frequent visitors to the bird tables and garden feeders from the houses that bordered the park.

Native to Africa and Asia, Ring-necked parakeets were now thought to have one of the fastest-growing bird populations in the UK, estimated to more than 32K individuals at the end of the breeding season. These free-living parakeets were descended from multiple large releases into the wild, leading to a genetically healthy population with rapid growth rates. They evolved to tolerate a cold niche due to their ancestral origins in Northern India and was believed to have the potential to be ‘the grey squirrels of the skies.’This was because the mushrooming numbers might displaced other hole nesting birds such as the woodpeckers and nuthatches.

We also popped over to our favourite playground when we found out that flocks of Bullfinches were feeding on the seeds from the dried heads of the Buddleia flowers. In summer, with its purple, golden-eyed flowers full of fragrant glory and was a butterfly and bee paradise as they were an important nectar source. No other plant was such a magnet to them. We had photographed Tortoiseshells. Peacocks, Red Admirals, Whites, Brimstone and other species feasting on them. Buddleias provided nectar and pollen to bees and other insects. On warm nights, moths took their turn. And now, in deep winter, it was the turn of the Bullfinches. What a versatile plant. We’d 3 in our garden and they were always bedecked with glorious blossoms, butterflies and buzzing bees. Let’s raise a glass to the 17th century botanist and Essex clergyman after whom the shrub was named, the Reverend Adam Buddle.

Bullfinches were striking birds. The name was said to describe the bull-like appearance with their compact, neckless body and short, deep bill. In Victorian times, they were desired captive birds due to their beautiful plumage and calls. It was believed that the caged bird could be trained to mimic music and it became a popular pastime to play a special flute to the birds. Their call note was a low, piping ‘deu-deu’, while the song was highly variable, quiet in nature and audible at short distances and was often described as ‘mournful’.

The male Bullfinch was unmistakable with his bright pinkish-red breast and cheeks, grey back, black cap and tail with a bright white rump. The female had a brown back and pinkish-fawn underparts. They formed strong, lasting pair bonds and it was usual to see them in pairs all year round. In winter, the resident population was joined by ‘northern’ bullfinches from northern Europe. This pair were feeding voraciously on the seed-heads and because of their huge appetite were once ‘a pest’ of fruit crops.

We were surprised not to see any Robins harassing us for food when we walked along the path. Perhaps the weather was much better and there were plenty of food around. But we saw one who was busy singing. The sound of a Robin chirping in winter was a good sign. It meant the bird had built up enough fat reserves to survive the cold nights and had enough energy left to defend its territory. Robins traditionally sings in spring to attract a mate, but in winter, when food was short, it faced a dilemma. Should it spent its time hunting for food to get through the next cold snap or burst into a song? Choices…choices. We helped by leaving a large mound of mealworms on the ground.

We made a pit stop at Baldwin Hide but there was nothing much about. As soon as we got out the door, a family of Long-tailed tits had just landed on the tree near the hide. We watched this cute bundle of fur showing off its acrobatic skills as it gleaned invertebrates from the branches and from under the leaves. The tail was the most remarkable feature of this very tiny bird, and accounted for more than half of its total length. During its short, undulating flights, the tail dipped up and down. The flock moved in rapid surges through the tree in restless waves.

At East Marsh Hide, a pair of Gadwall was swimming quite close to the hide. They were grey-coloured with an obvious black rear end. When seen close up, the grey colour was made up of exquisitely fine barring and speckling. As a dabbling duck, they fed mainly on emergent and submergent vegetation which they gathered by surface-feeding and ‘up-ending’ to strip the greenery from the shallow water. Since such plant material was nutrient poor, they needed to eat vast amounts of it for sustenance.

We scanned the Wigeon banks hoping to see the pair of Muntjac that Babe had seen earlier in the week. As usual, they didn’t get the memo. Muntjacs, also known as barking deer and Mastreani deer, originated in South-east Asia but was introduced to Woburn in Bedfordshire in 1900. Many escaped from their private estates and were now well-established where they colonised woodland and dense scrubland. Active by day or night, they were mostly seen at dusk. They uttered loud barks over prolonged periods and equally loudly distress calls. They were mainly solitary animals but may be seen in family groups.

The males, or bucks, had short backward curving antlers which were shed in May and June and re-grown to full size by October or November. These were not used as weapons, but instead the elongated, protruding tusk-like teeth were used. Females don’t have antlers or the elongated teeth. They had a hunched posture due to haunches being higher than their withers. Both sexes had black scent glands under both eyes and a large characteristic tail which was held upright when they were startled revealing a white underside.

This year for the first time since 1945, Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday fell on the same date. I guess many Christians had faced a dilemma as they tried to reconcile their faith with the traditional celebrations of romantic love. How exactly do you observe Valentine’s Day on the day Lent began, marking the season of atonement leading up to Easter? Could you be a believer and still celebrated with champagne and chocolate, the indulgent mainstays of Valentine’s Day??? It wasn’t a dilemma for us. We don’t celebrate Valentine in a big way but still exchanged cards. It was good to remind your significant other that you loved them.

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love  and be loved in return,”

~Eden Ahbez ‘Nature Boy’~

I ended February with the dreaded lurgy. I was so proud that I didn’t catch anything so far when everyone around me was down with something. I coughed for Britain and I think I had woken up the neighbourhood with my persistent coughing. My nose was winning the running race. My constant companions were the hot water bottle, cough syrup, boxes of tissues, Vicks vapour rub and Paracetamol. I took 3 days off work to recover and rest. Resting had allowed the body to focus all of its energy on overcoming the virus.