Rambling Russells

March has been a mixed month weather-wise. We have had some lovely sunny - dare I say warm - days in the first half of the month but the rain returned, along with cold winds as the month progressed. There has been a busy look about the birds, zipping backwards and forwards across the garden. Mr Blackbird has been very attentive, following Mrs B around wherever she goes. This month's garden max for birds is as follows:- Blackbird  - 2 male 2 female Blue tit - 4 Buzzard - 2 Carrion crow - 2 Chaffinch - 1 male 3 female Coal tit - 2 Collared dove - 2 Dunnock - 2 Geese - 400-500 flying over Great tit - 2 House sparrow - 20 male 10 female Jackdaw - 4 Pied wagtail - 2 Robin - 2 Rook - 3 Starling - 60 Woodpigeon - 4 Wren - 1 Yellowhammer - 3 We have seen our first Bumble bees this month. The Queens will be out and about looking for a new nest. They flit about very quickly and it is sometimes difficult to identify the species. We did see a Buff-tailed queen in and out of our crocus, absolut...

A sunny day always tempts us to go to a beach, but which one? Haven't been to Rascarel for ages, the loss of the parking area to visitors to the chalets means we now have to park at the forest gate. This is no bad thing as it means a walk through the wood and lots of birds and, at this time of year, birdsong along the way. It is a shame most of the trees are fir trees with very dense undergrowth but trees at least! Imagine our surprise therefore when we reached the gate and there were no trees! Most of the trees to the right of the track have been chopped down. It does explain why there is such a smooth new road!   It always looks so desolate when forests have been felled - just the odd tree left standing. A wren was making good use of one of the piles of branches, hopping in and out, and singing away. For such a little bird they produce such a loud, but tuneful, song. We always love to hear the wren and sometimes it is just hear. It ...

The first week of March continued mainly dry, but with chilly nights and cloudy days. The occasional few hours of sunshine kept us happy that we are heading in the right direction towards spring and summer. Blue skies and white clouds have been a lovely sight and we have had some spectacular sunsets.     We have managed to get out to do our first real gardening this month . There was plenty to do – dead stalks needed trimming away from the new shoots that are sprouting on many perennial shrubs and plants. Astrantia, poppies, lychnis, foxglove and penstemons are looking healthy. We have thousands of poached egg plant seedlings but I know the bees love them so they are staying where they are!   Weeds are also growing and need picking out and the soil forking over. Under the bird feeders the soil is quite flattened where hundreds of tiny feet have paraded around during the winter looki...