A dull and dripping morning. A wren investigates the top of the beech hedge.
The heron is a regular morning visitor, perching halfway up one of the trees on a quiet bend of the beck.
At this time of year we often have several blackbirds in the garden, most of them male. There’s an undercurrent of rivalry as two males strut around the lawn. Both have yellow bills but neither has developed a yellow eye-ring as yet.
There’s often a blackbird in the golden hornet feasting on the prolific crop of yellow crab apples.
It’s been our best year so far for Howgate Wonder cooking apples but unfortunately we haven’t had the time to do much with them. The blackbirds are enjoying the odd windfall but I must harvest the remaining apples before they get pecked and spoilt.
Love the drawings and the use of fruit – we grow a fair range of apple trees and Howgate Wonder is one of the more popular with the birds – it gets quite sweet at this time of year. Our blackbirds prefer The Chinese Crabapple – Malus hupehensis to the rest (we sell quite a range). They love the cherry sized fruit and I have seen a blackbird makig off with a bunch of about 3-4 fruits.
The golden hornet has the advantage that it’s colour coordinated with the blackbird’s beak, the must-have autumn accessory for the dapper continental blackbirds that are dropping in on us.