Snow - in May

It's freezing! My poor tulips look as if they're getting a good dressing down and are busy inspecting their shoe laces. Even a fleece layer wasn't enough to protect the outdoor tomatoes or the gunnera - the toms are a gonna but it was only the leaves on the gunnera which will survive and put out some more leaves from the (so far) undamaged crowns.

On Monday Mrs Bossy Blackbird did as was bid and brought her new babies for us to see, but they weren't quite ready and one of them got a rather too close inspection from three curious dogs who just about terrified the life out of it but did, in fact, leave it undamaged, not even pinked (well done Hebs). I carefully moved it from the middle of the dog yard into the shrubbery but it was all in vain, later on the birds giving a real yammering and there was a sparrowhawk plucking the baby blackbird spreading feathers all over the lawn. As if one wasn't enough she (yes it was a female hawk) came back later for another go but I think went away empty taloned. In the evening we were watching TV and a large shape kept swooping past the window in the evening gloom - then the picture went fuzzy, a quick glance out of the window showed a tawny owl perching on top of the satellite dish!

Sparrowhawk

We've had a male sparrowhawk through the garden twice over the weekend. On Saturday he sat on the back fence just watching whilst the rest of the bird population made itself very scarce. Gave us an opportunity to get a good look, he's rather beautiful - as long as he leaves my tree sparrows alone! Have a chaffinch, or even a gold finch we've lots of those...

Willow Tit & Sparrowhawk

First the big one (bird that is); yesterday afternoon a lovely female sparrowhawk sauntered across the field and landed on one of the fence posts. She sat there for a minute or two before launching off to glide over the gardens and disappear.
Shortly before a small Willow (or could have been a marsh) Tit was hopping around the new shrubbery. Another, or it could be the same, was on the sunflower feeder this morning.