Swallows on the Wire

In this episode I take a look at the small wild in my weekly diary from the 10th to the 16th of January 2022

This week we are enveloped in fog and early morning commutes are full of ice and blinding low sun. The long-tailed tits come in flocks to show off their pretty pinks and blacks, gulls fly as ghostly spectres in the murk and grass scrunches crisply under foot.

In this episode I take a look at the small wild in my weekly diary from the 3rd to the 9th January 2022

This week the wind changes direction and brings back the cold. Red kites and buzzards rule the sky and signs of spring show themselves out of the damp and rain.

In this episode I take a look at the small wild in my weekly diary from the 27th of December 2021 to the 2nd January 2022.

This week everything is waterlogged and the backs of sheep are stained green from damp grass. The new year begins in unseasonably warm weather and robin is the undisputed song master. 

In this episode I take a look at the small wild in my weekly diary from the 20th to the 26th of December 2021

This Christmas week there is a perfect white ice winter's day in the middle of yet more rain and grey. Jackdaws play the fool in a rare moment of sun while starlings attempt to cram fifty bodies into one small bird table. As the year draws closer to an end, there is a chance to think back to winters and summers before.

In this episode I take a look at the small wild in my weekly diary from the 13th to the 19th of December 2021.

This week a city of sparrows squabble in the hedge, it is foggy, grey and damp all week; rooks play by roadsides and Canada geese gather in large groups.

In this episode I take a look at the small wild in my weekly diary from the 6th to the 12th of December 2021

This week brings intricate patterns of fern ice on car windscreens, a green woodpecker makes an appearance and a squirrel happily sits at the top of a tree to eat and drop debris below.

In this episode I take a look at the small wild in my weekly diary, from the 29th of November to the 5th December 2021.

This week the first hard frost arrives. Robin comes into his own and claims his place as the winter bird. The north wind brings the lightest fluttering of snow and I accidentally startle a squirrel in a thicket of sloes.

In this episode I share with you my observations of the quiet wild in my nature diary from Monday 22nd to Sunday 28th November, 2021.

This week, winter truly arrives and in the East we escape with only a brief encounter with hurricane Arwen. The temperature drops to zero degrees Celsius and gulls wheel high over Christmas trees newly adorning shop fronts.

In this episode I share with you my observations of the quiet wild in my nature diary from Monday 15th to Sunday 21st November, 2021.

This week the sun returns before a north wind sets in. White ducks move apace on urgent business. The trees are now more bare than in leaf and the robin becomes ever more present.

In this episode I share with you my observations of the quiet wild in my nature diary from Monday 8th to Sunday 14th November, 2021.

This week the sun stays away and it is a week of grey and damp - but all fiery colour too. A red kite stops by for breakfast and a sparrow hawk just misses hers.