Greenwood

After yesterday's late night I was up at 5.30am to record my regular fortnightly breeding bird transect at Thorpe Wood. The sheets of bluebells have gone, and have now replaced by the pearly blooms of ramsons, which takes on a strange greenish glow as the morning sun filters through the leafy canopy. 

The heavy foliage also makes it harder to spot the birds, and many have stopped singing, but it's still a pleasure to be out when the rest of the world is sleeping. Highlights of the visit were watching a great spotted-woodpecker taking food to its young, who were calling very insistently from the interior of a hollow ash, the raucous family of mistle thrushes and a very melodious garden warbler, singing in plain view. 

Almost as soon as I returned home it was time to leave for a dental appointment (thankfully a clean bill of health) and then I did some admin while waiting for an engineer to come and mend our shower, which had recently turned into a dribble - apparently all the fault of a blocked filter. The afternoon was spent at a committee meeting organising the winter speakers for our local Wildlife Trust group. Just time to come home and cook dinner before taking Chris and Pete to the station, ready for their next three days of survey in Kent. 

My eyes are already feeling heavy, so I think it's time for an early night!