Blue Sky Morning

What a glorious morning for a walk in the wood. The sun shone from a cloudless sky and the ground had dried sufficiently for me to wear my second-best boots, the ones with the leaks.

The Woodpigeons allowed a closer approach than normal before clattering off to the treetops at the other end of the wood.

The pussy willow's catkins were dusted yellow with pollen. Male and female catkins grow on separate trees. Males carry the pollen, an important early source for bees. The females produce woolly white seeds that cover the woodland floor when they fall.

In the northeastern corner, a small party of birds included European Goldfinch, Lesser Redpoll and a quick flash of something that needed a better look. A few moments later a Eurasian Siskin sat still long enough for a picture and is now included on the Bicknor Wood bird list which currently stands at 44 species.

I had previously noticed a pair of Blue Tits investigating a tiny hole in the burnt oak and stopped to see if they were still interested. They have progressed to enlarging the chamber inside. One of the pair would land and have a quick look around before squeezing through the tight entrance.

They have made a cunning choice for a nesting site. As the sun casts shadows across the crevices in the bark, the entrance hole becomes difficult to discern

In the picture below, you can see the bird exiting with soft, pulpy wood that they have pecked from inside the trunk to make room for the nest. 

To avoid leaving a pile of excavated wood chippings beneath the tree to betray the nest's location, the birds used different perches, distant from the burnt oak, to cough up the wood that they had pecked out. 

I am very easily distracted and was feeling gung ho with the blue sky background, even taking a shot at a passing Herring Gull.

The rewards for staying still are that often the wildlife comes to you. I probably wouldn't have see this Treecreeper if I had been moving.