Cheeky birds, wicked wildlife

Time for that peaceful hour that comes but once a year, spent side by side with Sam doing the RSPB big garden bird watch and hoping for some wildlife too that you can also log. You don't count them all, only the highest no. of any one species you see at one time, to avoid double counting during the hour.

Every year, without fail, from the comfort of under a Duvet and blankets, with warm jammy pancakes and tea to hand, we wait for the star performers to AVOID our garden for the ENTIRE hour and show up just after I press the submit button on the online results page.

And this year the star performers were in cahoots. Seconds after uploading our haul of birds, which were all lovely I grant you, a red squirrel appeared in the trees frisking his tail this way and that in front of our faces. We were just coming to terms with his bare cheek Tufty Club burlesque show when a wren popped up onto the fence inches away from us. Then, just to rub it in, a deer casually walked past the back grass and one of our young local buzzards alighted on the nearby telegraph pole. It's never attopped the telegraph pole before. It knew. They all knew. All within minutes of me pressing the submit button so not recorded. Cahoots. Then later, woody woodpecker and the long tail gang. The marauding peanut freeloaders just take, take, take and don't have the decency to come on time to be counted.

But we shall do it next year. Of course we will. Mostly because we love seeing the birds, but for me, it's because it's a lovely hour with Sam.