Watch the birdie ...

Big Garden Birdwatch weekend, and this year's total was one of my best ever.  The usual suspects turned up, mostly in pairs except for the sparrows (7) and starlings (I recorded them as 12, although there were probably at least twice as many; they had been feeding in a big flock in the field behind us, but were startled by something into taking refuge in the big ash tree).  The coal tit turned up, as did the wren; there were 3 mistle thrushes (probably a pair and an interloper - there was a bit of a scrap) and, to my delight, the goldcrest.  I didn't report the red kite, which appeared a little later, circling over next door's garden.

Although spring is still some way off, the birds are wasting no time in getting ready.  The robin has paired up, although with a mate from elsewhere, not the skinny robin from further down the garden (which occasionally sneaks up to the patio for breakfast when the others aren't looking), and there's a lot of birdsong, mostly robins but also thrushes and the occasional blackbird.  The weather has been rather milder, except for last weekend when we had something of a snow day (only an inch or so of very wet snow which didn't last long), with occasional murk and rain and still windy from time to time; this weekend has been quite mild, and I've had the greenhouse door open during the day.

The relatively mild weather is bringing on the bulbs very well.  The snowdrops and aconites are all out, and the first crocuses and hellebores (H. x hybridus) are showing colour.  There are some daffodils in bud, although experience suggests that they won't actually flower for a few weeks yet, however promising they may look.  The comfrey is also starting to bloom, and there's a fine crop of hazel catkins; the early rhubarb shoots are showing, and at last the autumn-sown broad beans and garlic are starting to come through (I did put them in very late).

Winter aconites

First crocus: 'Cream Beauty'

Double snowdrops

I'm still hunting for the mouse in the greenhouse.  I took everything out other than the plants (having checked that there's nowhere for the mouse to hide amongst them), and satisfied myself that there is no rodent living in there.  I still don't know how it's getting in and out - there's no tunnel and no gap that it could get through - but it obviously is.  I can only assume that it's being beamed in and out by Scotty.  At least I'm confident that it's not going to be shut in; I only hope that it doesn't decide to make a nest in there.  The heating situation has fluctuated a little; the heater, whose thermostat was becoming erratic, finally packed up with a small bang (fortunately I was standing next to it at the time so could unplug it quickly, and also fortunately the weather was relatively mild at the time); its replacement also had a malfunctioning thermostat so was taken back to the shop; and now I've got one that is more expensive but seems to be doing the business very effectively.  My only concern is that the instructions insist that you shouldn't leave it unattended 'for long periods', whatever that means: do they think I'm going to sleep in there?