A fine calm morning, thick mist at 6 a.m. which soon cleared. The garden looks lovely and smells exquisite; mostly the two perfoliate honeysuckles but also lilac and wistaria. I stood outside at 8 a.m. watching the swallows who were suddenly all circling the yard, maybe 40/50 of them, clearly something amiss. I couldn't see a cat and they don't mind me or the dog. There was constant twittering. Also a blackbird with beak full of worms was perched high on the barn roof watching them and not continuing the journey back to her nestlings. I watched to see if each swallow was continuing to circle - yes, and NOT swooping into the old stable as would be usual. This last fact registered more strongly and I went to have a look in there, (somewhat apprehensively!) where there are many nests. As I went in to the dark, a big crow flew out of the window. Never seen that before. He was on a raid. The circling stopped almost instantly, and normal flying and swooping in and out was resumed. The blackbird then flew down with her worms and disappeared under the workshop door; she is probably using the same nest high in there that was made last year.
It is amazing what you discover if you start to read the signs of nature!
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