A 'mindful moment' from the Woodland Garden

Here's a 'mindful moment' from the Woodland Garden…

We have passed the shortest day. Robin song trickles. A hint of yolk yellow from primroses. Snowdrops yet to emerge. The warm butter of winter aconite flowers still under the mulch of leaves.

The Woodland Garden has few places for birds' bathing or drinking so a little raised bed has been repurposed.

• 350mm X 900mm.
• Pond liner.
• Remnants of wood for edging.
• Shallow end for bathing and easier entry and exit.

Chaffinch, jay, great spotted woodpecker, magpie, carrion crow, kestrel, tawny owl, blackbird, wren and dunnock call this part of the garden home.

An early adopter was ‘The Pretender’. This cock pheasant slugged it out with the older, heavier male  ('The Warrior') throughout last year: the older bird held his ground besting the slighter upstart. To the victor the spoils of the best feeding and the pheasant hens. This year has seen a change in the power balance. The old male still battles with his young sparring partner but it seems the older bird has been vanquished. The spoils go to the burnished gold Pretender with his characteristic thick, pure white neck band. This is now his preserve. He struts now rather than skulks.

Other, predicable pond users are the wood pigeons. Their thirst appears unquenchable as is their need to bathe. Less predictable is this species’ downgrading from green to amber in the latest BTO published list of bird populations. When even the ubiquitous wood pigeon is in decline, we are in serious trouble.