Incubation blues

FRUSTRATING BUSINESS, sitting on eggs. when the Robin comes to the clothes post to feed his mate she takes the opportunity to stretch her wings, and vent her evident pent up aggression, by chasing a passing Blue Tit around her garden shed territory.

The Blue Tit is feeling the pressure too. He(?) repeatedly comes to take bread crumbs from the bird table. I just hope these are for his mate, he should really be seeking out small caterpillars for the young.

A helpless looking streaky young House Sparrow hides behind the weeds at the side of the lane.

'Its too young to be out of the nest!', says the little boy on roller blades, using just the same intonation he must have heard when he's told by his parents; 'You're too young to be out at this time of night!'

There is lots of Celery-leaved Crowfoot at the edge of the rushy field. The leaves of this buttercup-on-steroids don't much resemble celery and it is thought to have got its common name from its impressive latin tag Ranunculus sceleratus.

The Currant Galls on the males catkins of oak are caused by small gall wasps that lay their eggs on the flowers. They look so much like little redcurrants hanging there that it would be easy to imagine it was some kind of fruit of the oak. The young stage, a tiny grub develops in the gall, supplied with all it needs by the host tree. It is an unlicensed piece of genetically modified food source.

A valley side pasture has recently been deep ploughed. Eight Magpies are feeding in the furrows, along with a Jackdaw and a hard-to-spot Lapwing.

Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator
E-mail; 'richard@daelnet.co.uk'