Trees of Sanctuary

Things have not gone exactly to plan.  The two hundred bird / wildlife boxes we put up in the wood are largely unmonitored, which is a shame as I was really looking forward to seeing who would take up residence in the new homes.  But for the wood and the wildlife, none of this matters; it is business as usual, with the added benefit of some new housing.  And the wood will still be there when we are able to spend more time in the trees again. We are lucky that we have been able to walk through the wood during lockdown; here is a glimpse in pictures of how life is moving on beneath the canopy.

We have seven baby badgers at least this year – fabulous fluffy cannonballs!

Wasps nests appear everywhere at this time of year – I had evict this one to from the toilet shed.

Tiny nuthatches.

Shield bug pretending to be a leaf.

Ahhh – the bluebells.

Sitting bluetit, determined to stare out the camera!

Tiny bluetits.

Beautiful crab apple blossom.

Our early spotted orchid.

I’ll try anything to get them to do school work!

Great tit and some of the brood looking remarkably like pitcher-plants.

Song thrush sitting proudly on her nest.

New waxy layer growing on the bracket fungus by the campfire.

My those nuthatches grew up quick!

Great tit keeping the brood warm

So snug.

Song thrush nest.

So many precious eggs.

Black headed cardinal beetle –

Nuthatch on her bark chip nest.