Bridge sightings

At the top of Willow Lane there is a bridge which leads into a field, at the moment full of barley waiting to be brought in. The bridge looks down on a stream which is heavily choked with plants, wild watercress and others. Recent rains have flattened it and i saw two water voles, one from each side of the bridge. Both were sitting on the flattened vegetation, reaching up occasionally and pulling down a strand before settling down to munch away. A delightful 10 minutes observation, then, leaving them undisturbed, I walked George back home.

Stream drying, nettles cut.

How fortunate we are to have seen so many water voles this year. Recently, the nettles and dense vegetation which had grown on the stream banks has been cut. The important point here is that the agency doing the work wanted to use weed killer and that, through the diligence and insistence of DG they were told to cut it instead.  He pointed out to them that the weed killer may well have harmed the water voles. I caught a very short glimpse of a rather quick moving water vole recently, the lack of bankside vegetation making them very wary at the moment. The song thrushes are busy collecting grass and mud from the stream edge before, with a beak full of material, flying off to build, another nest. Martins and swallows with the occasional swift circle and swoop over head. Moorhens cackle and cluck as they move along the stream in nearby Long Lane. Wild geraniums, a beautiful pale blue grow through the long grasses. Willow Lane is alive with various life, I look down at the stream, now becoming drier and see a lone frog emerge, just it's head and think how lucky we are to witness this transient time. I stroke Milo and give him some fresh grass before returning home.