Not about the starling
- Crone
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
Goldcrests! The last two days they have been in the garden!
This afternoon, I was cutting some shrub that had grown up under the protection of the front lilac - I figured that any cutting needed to be done soon, what with the robin's courting and so on, and I saw something moving. The bird was just a foot to the left of my head. It flew six inches closer - then realised what I was and left. It was the size of my eyeball! And the crest - so brilliantly bright! I was very happy.
And then I realised that one of the robins was subsinging in the hedge right next to me. Again, the bird was incredibly close. I scuffed about in the soil before I stepped away and the robin soon flew down to inspect.
While I was there, the pied wagtails were waiting to come onto the patio. The pair foraged around on the roof and the robin joined them. I just stood watching and listening.
The dunnocks have started singing.
The long-tailed tits still visit. Their conversation always makes me smile.
I cut back the acer as well as the shrub. It feels mean, when the acer is so lovely, but I do need some light to get in for the little poplars and the tree peony.
The aconites are in flower and I see the stems of daffodils and something else... bluebells maybe. Spring too soon springing.
All very interesting! Great to hear about the wee goldcrest. I learned last summer that we have a birdie in the very same family - the golden-crowned kinglet. Also eye-ball sized. We were outside the city - sitting at a picnic table under a big tree. The tiny bird was curious, and briefly perched on a low branch to look at us. I was puzzled and intrigued but eventually discovered via sister's birding group that she/he was a kinglet. Last winter I had read about them in Heinrich's "Winter World The Ingenuity of Animal Survival", how amazingly well they survive the harsh winters of Maine.