NO ONE can say that I like cliches, so here are some images of the abundant mistletoe seen on our Sunday walk in lovely west Wiltshire (near Iford)
The lime trees towering above our heads supported many big bunches of the hemi-parasite and it seemed a pretty easy deduction that the berries had been transferred to the fruit trees below by birds (thrushes?); the fruit trees were more mistletoe than tree!
- Happy Christmas!
IT was a bit risky to expect much on a windy and overcast day like today, but the thousands of starlings were still quite spectacular. I arrived late too, so was lucky to see them wheeling around the sky. The flock has amassed on a line of willows, then rose up to settle down into the reeds for the night.
A buzzard, and maybe a smaller bird of prey, did spook the starlings for a few moments, but the breezy evening kept the birds low when I was there.
The numbers peak in the new year, but there was still a huge flock tonight and the sounds of the murmuration was as loud as ever - worth the trip.
