Last spring I mentioned that a pair of Nuthatches had turned up at the 
garden feeders. These were the first we had seen since we moved into the village just over three years before. Now reports are coming in of regular sightings of these lovely birds: Brian has told me he sees them most days on his feeders in Markers Park, Mary in Luton has also been enjoying the sight of them on hers, and they are also being seen on the feeders in Brian’s garden in Colestocks. I suspect that the pair we saw last year may have had a good breeding season and it is to be hoped that they will now prosper.
Andrew and Cherry at Mousehall Farm have told me that they have seen evidence of Dormice in their hedgerow – small round holes in the sides of hazel nuts, all left in a small pile. They are now anxious to encourage these beautiful animals, which will mean a lot less intensive hedge cutting, as the Dormice rely heavily on hazel and brambles. It is going to be a very interesting story to follow and I wish 
them all the luck in the world. The birds in the garden have relied more than ever on the feeders, which are constantly in use until, that is, the local Sparrowhawk embarks on another of its hedge-hopping “bombing” runs. This is a remarkable spectacle to witness, as the Sparrowhawk can turn in an instant, but so far it has not had much success.
The over-wintering Fieldfares can be seen on days when it is not chucking it down with rain – so, not many of them recently. They can gather in quite large numbers in the tops of the trees around us, but never seem to hang around for long. They appear to enjoy a circuit around the village and local countryside, as do so many other birds. It has been known for a long time now that all of the tits and also the Goldfinches (jam-faced finches as my younger daughter calls them) have their regular feeding circuits, all dictated by the location of the bird feeders.
Finally, a slumbering Small Tortoiseshell butterfly woke up and flew into the house on the night of the 3 January. What an early appearance!
Paul Lister 841696
