I am glad I waited 10 minutes before leaving the house today, waking to the sound of pouring rain was not very inviting. However, it turned out to be a lovely morning, bright, damp and fresh. Trickles of water droplets fell from the tree lined footpath as I made my way out into the meadows. My first sighting today was a lovely Robin singing its sweet song from an Apple tree while on the ground a pair of Blackbirds moved along the path, sucking up Worms from the damp ground.
An electricity pole was a hive of activity for the Blue Tits, as they pecked inside holes and around the wooden/metal structure to find some tasty food. In the distance the sound of a Pheasant and a Cockerel rang out, followed by a Green Woodpecker.
The Slugs including Large Red and Leopard were enjoying the damp grass as I scanned the meadows. Now filled with white Wild Carrot and purple Knapweed, while seed heads of Selfheal are a dark marron colour.
A beautiful Bullfinch caught my eye, as it moved around a Hawthorn tree picking off red berries. The sound of mooing lead me out to check on the cattle, all looking happy and munching away when I arrived. From the back of one of the dry-stone walls, a female cows was very inquisitive of my movements coming up to say hello and giving me a rough lick to check if I was edible, I dutifully handed her some Ivy which she was very pleased with.
Along the same meadow, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown butterflies flitted around and as I walked into another meadow another pair of Bullfinches appeared again in a Hawthorn tree, such stunning birds.
Walking between two raised sections of scrub was a great place to pause as I was treated to many different species of bird moving around the hedgerows: Chiffchaff, Whitethroat, Goldfinch, Yellow Hammer, Siskin, Linnet, Garden Warbler and Stonechat. Also on my walk this morning, flying over I saw a Sparrow Hawk, Kestrel, Ravens, Swallow and a Duck.