Woodland textures

          The persistent rain has put a stop to much woodland work so far this month as the ground is so wet and the tracks so very muddy. The winds have also made the felling of dead and leaning trees a more risky business and best left for calmer conditions. And birdlife has been pretty quiet too with not much to look out for beyond the "usual suspects". However it has been a real treat to see the occasional Woodcock. This woodland species of wader actually needs the damp and wet as it makes it possible for them to probe the ground for invertebrates. Although the species does breed in the UK many of the birds currently seen in our woods are migrants from Scandinavia, escaping the frozen ground further north. They are devils to spot and even harder to photograph, being incredibly well camouflaged, prone to flushing from right under one's feet and then promptly diving straight back into the undergrowth.....I have yet to get anywhere near one with a camera (the image below is not mine). They are a most beautifully marked and secretive species, one of my favourites. Breeding numbers in the UK are suffering badly from disturbance; they are ground nesters in woodland and are readily scared away by walkers and their dogs. I am just grateful that our wood can give one or two individuals a safe haven for the winter months.

         I try to get to the wood at least once a week, whatever the weather. On my most recent wander around it was raining yet again, a good time to have a narrower focus on the small things that make a wood special even in the wet. 

One of the wood's "usual suspects" but always good to see a Nuthatch

Long-tailed Tits, just balls of feathers with a tail stuck on..seen often in family groups
looking for food

Hazel Catkins ....signs of Spring or a warm Winter ?

The Woodcock (a photo I would love to have taken)