Another fantastic weather day at the woods yesterday. I arrived at a crispy-frosty woodland just around sunrise. The bird feeders were empty and there were signs of squirrel activity, trying to prise the lid off the peanut feeder. I have it securely fixed with wire but that doesn’t stop them trying to bend the metal to get into the nuts. My remit for the day was to cut and chop some 2 year old logs that I just haven’t got around to yet. Clear up the brash where the hazel coppice is and maybe do some more coppicing. As usual I didn’t achieve all my aims. I concentrated on chopping the old logs which were damp and starting to rot. No good for the woodburner at home s0 I decided to store them in my two campfire shelters to be drying out for using there. It’s a nice luxury to have dry fuel stored and ready to use when having a campfire, rather than spending time foraging for it. Nothing much else to report except “The Visitor”

What was the surprise visitor? Ten out of ten if to said Harris Hawk. One of my neighbours was walking the ride with it. I knew he was a falconer and brought birds to the woods but hadn’t seen them here before. It was such a thrill to see this magnificent hunter flying free and landing in my trees. They are not native to the UK but originate from the USA and are at home in woodlands. I was lucky to have a couple of falconry days at centres and have flown two of these. One of the most exciting things I have ever done. We walked my woods and the hawk followed us from tree to tree, often unseen to my eyes. We headed towards the neighbour’s wood to see his Gyr Lanner falcon but stopped half way down the ride. The Harris Hawk was a good two hundred meters behind us when he put a rat’s head on his fist and called the bird. He appeared as if from nowhere and flew straight down the ride, landing gracefully on the falconer’s arm. A truly exciting exeperience.