Yesterday’s visit was busy and satisfying but also revealed a sad discovery. It was one that touched my heart deeper than expected and raised a question about how I feel about Nature. The main tasks of the day were to take my quarterly fixed point photos for the Woodland Trust and to clear out and check the bird nest boxes. Out of the fifteen boxes, only a couple had not been used. I remove the old nesting material, mainly moss and this is what I found in one of them. How would you describe it – gruesome? For me it was heart breaking. What appears to be an adult bluetit that has died on the nest while sitting on an egg. I wondered what had caused it to die and my woodland neighbour friend gave me a possible answer. Probably it was a second brood. He explained that the work of raising the first brood totally exhausts these tiny birds and trying to start a second brood is just too much for them.

Above photo -bluetit feeding

Why should I feel so sad? Am I just a complete softie? Yes, but there’s more to it than that. It made me ponder over my feelings for Nature and wildlife. Many people can say they have a love of Nature but that is similar to saying they have a love of chocolate or fast cars or sunny days. It just means they like it very much. You can say you love dogs but when you say “I love my dog” then that is totally different. It’s more than just liking something, it’s a feeling in your heart that is hard to describe. I’m sure we all know how that feels though. So what’s the difference? I reckon it’s through familiarity first, then a growing connection with the object that you love, be it a parent, child, dog etc. It doesn’t happen with chocolate or fast cars, it only seems to be with living things. We make a connection on a deeper level that somehow gives us these feelings we call love. Sometimes it manifests as joy, a warm and uplifting emotion and sometimes when we see our loved ones hurt or pass away, then it really hurts and saddens us too.

Above photo – Nuthatch feeding.

When I saw the little carcass of the bird and the unhatched egg, it made me realise how much I actually love these little creatures and that seems to be something that has turned from a love of Nature to a love for Nature. Since having my woodland, I have formed that connection with it and all the things that live there. It’s like a part of my family now. I guess that’s the difference and taking the dog analogy, you might be a dog lover but it’s only when you have formed a bond with a particular dog, that the true feeling of love arises.

To think about that tiny bird working itself to exhaustion just raises my admiration and love for it. It spends days foraging and building a nest, lays perhaps ten or more eggs, then constant trips back and forth foraging for food to feed them for the next three weeks. If that’s not enough, then they will often attempt a second brood. Burnt out with the effort, it passed away. If that doesn’t tug on your heart strings, then I don’t know what will. Sorry for such a long ramble about a dead bird but it had to come out!

The day was dry but very windy. At one point a fierce gust blew up causing these tall lanky sycamore trees to clap together loudly as the tops gyrated randomly, hitting each other. It was alarming to see that the heftier, older trees were moving significantly too. It’s easy to see how the weight and stress on them can cause them to topple or at least break large branches. This was Nature in a violent mood and one that deserves respect in a different way. You need to lift your eyes to the top of the trees to stay safe.

Lords and Ladies (Arum Maculatum)

Plants are starting to push through and some buds on trees are opening already, though it still looks very wintry. I’ll leave you with a few more photos.

Honeysuckle

Large old hazel – some nice walking stick material!