A mole snuffles around in the leaf litter at the edge of the woodland path. It doesn’t appear to be attempting to dig so I’m wondering if its ploughing through the acorns, twigs and leaf litter in search of food, insect larvae for instance. Perhaps after a prolonged dry spell, what I imagine would be its preferred food, the earthworm, is in short supply.
Apart from its odd behaviour, it looks perfectly healthy. Three jewel-like bluebottles have homed in on it, landing on its back.
It bustles off beneath the path-side brambles and gone-to-seed jack-by-the-hedge.
At the end of winter there are always plenty of molehills dotted about on some grass verges and in places by the path through the wood but this is only the second time that I remember seeing a mole above ground.