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female blackbird

Blackbird on Cotoneaster

Tuesday, 6th February 2001, West Yorkshire

male blackbird feeding on berries DURING the last spell of snowy weather, Blackbirds concentrated on stripping the Cotoneaster bush that we have trained up the front of the house. They left their droppings, full of seeds from the berries, splattered along our windowsill.

Today a single female feeds on the berries on the bush in our back garden, along the fence at the back of the herb bed.

redwingsheron As far as I know, we've had no Redwings coming to the cotoneaster this winter. There's a flock in the valley today, where there are still plenty of berries on the Hawthorn. A Heron, a grey juvenile, flies from marsh to canal on its regular beat. Thanks to this dull wet winter the riverside fields are still partially flooded and the woodland paths are about as muddy as they can get. next page

Richard Bell
Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator

E-mail; 'richard@willowisland.co.uk'