The lawn is looking ragged. It’s had the first cut of the year, but looks tired, neglected, in need of a tonic maybe. The appearance of my tiny patch of grass is not helped by lots of enthusiastic digging that’s been going on. The culprits are a pair of blackbirds who have taken control of this part of the garden. Between them they are responsible for tugging at any stray tufts of grass along the border.

It’s not easy to spot them, but the results of their work are more obvious. Leaves are tossed aside as the search continues for tasty worms or other tempting insects. Activity may stop for a snack, but then more debris, left from the winter months, is sifted & redistributed around the garden, as the reward of finding hidden treasure drives them to search for more! Even large twigs are moved in the bid to be rewarded with tasty morsels. Clearly the birds see more in this area than I can. They continue to return to this spot, sifting the soil, checking under leaves, tossing more twigs aside.