https://littlebirdsaid.org What's new at Little Bird Said en Mon, 13 Apr 2026 07:53:38 +0000 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 07:53:38 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/winter-gatherings The magpies are back. It is two years since we took away their Wild Cherry, and they have not nested in the garden since. Fri, 05 Dec 2025 16:20:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/passing-gifts Someone has left hammocks in the garden overnight. Strung between thin branches of hazel and cotoneaster, they look like the remains of a secret fairy revel. Thu, 04 Sep 2025 10:40:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/night-and-day July. Hot weather brings out the black moths. Outside, they linger over the brambles as dusk falls, sometimes resting on the warm panes of the greenhouse. Inside, one finds its way into the hall and clings to the curtain by the front door. Fri, 18 Jul 2025 16:35:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/freda-s-garden There is a ghost in the garden. She zigzags down from the tops of the conifers to drink in the pond. Fri, 09 May 2025 07:25:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/the-visitors Heavy rains have brought a bunch of grapes lying in the mud. Lifting one end with a trowel I see stems and gills – they are the fruiting bodies of fungi. Sat, 08 Feb 2025 10:00:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/winter-pondweed Frost has blackened the garden into a new identity. Fri, 29 Nov 2024 19:50:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/stone-crop Heavy rains have brought out the stones again. Sun, 29 Sep 2024 19:40:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/august-is-the-new-autumn Autumn has arrived with blackberries and crows. Tue, 27 Aug 2024 19:30:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/drought-days Hot weather brings memories of another summer, many years ago. Thu, 01 Aug 2024 15:05:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/seasonal-dissonance Cold at 6:00 a.m. Thin sun cuts across a high blue sky reminiscent of a September morning and all the familiar feelings of going back to school. Thu, 13 Jun 2024 08:05:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/slow-starters The garden is reluctant to wake up this year. In the fitful sleep of a mild, wet winter, some plants never even reached dormancy. Sun, 21 Apr 2024 07:55:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/elf-cups Down in the deep wood by the coppiced hazel, the elves have left their dishes to dry in the sun. Tue, 26 Mar 2024 22:00:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/february-morning Cloud hangs heavy in the warm, wet air, stretching out in banks across the low sky. Wed, 28 Feb 2024 19:05:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/points-of-light February morning - written for Perspectives of Nature 2023 Sun, 11 Feb 2024 18:45:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/sleeps-creeps-leaps 19th January: at -3°C the garden is an unfamiliar place today. Fri, 26 Jan 2024 15:40:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/feed-the-birds In the pink dusk an extended family of long-tailed tits sweep the garden just before roost. Wed, 27 Dec 2023 15:35:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/verdigris-agaric Searching for Cyclamen in the leaf-litter, I catch sight of a chip of plastic ... Sun, 26 Nov 2023 16:45:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/strange-behaviours One bright morning earlier this month, I walked into the study to find a baby blue tit hopping irritatedly around the floor ... Wed, 01 Nov 2023 11:05:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/rubus-sorbus-malus Decay of blackberries, ripening of rowans and growth of crab apples. Wed, 04 Oct 2023 07:45:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/exchanged-eyes Amphibians in the woods at dusk. Sun, 03 Sep 2023 17:55:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/small-shell-less-snails Having eaten most of the brassicas in the vegetable patch, slugs make a twilight procession to the flower beds. Sat, 26 Aug 2023 11:25:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/teasels Successful self-seeders. Sat, 29 Jul 2023 15:45:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/riverdance-banded-demoiselles Midsummer and the sudden appearance of damselflies along the river. Thu, 29 Jun 2023 11:30:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/night-garden Small sounds after sunset. Fri, 16 Jun 2023 11:50:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/invasive-species The sudden proliferation of Garlic mustard ('Jack-by-the-hedge') alongside the brief appearance of fledgling magpies. Wed, 17 May 2023 05:20:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/april-days-of-sun-and-rain In 'gusty' winds, a large branch of the wild cherry (Prunus avium) splits away from the main tree, causing three days of clearing. Wed, 19 Apr 2023 18:50:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/march-cold-again A comparison between hardy plants growing in the garden and seedlings growing in the house during low temperatures. Sun, 19 Mar 2023 18:35:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/february-people-in-glasshouses An account of waking up early to witness the dawn chorus and complete a short piece of writing. Mon, 20 Feb 2023 20:25:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/january-out-of-the-underworld An encounter with a sparrowhawk in urban woods - this piece was written last January, and the tree where the bird sat has since been felled. Sat, 21 Jan 2023 15:55:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/december-nature-memory A reflection on early childhood memories of playing in the garden and the importance of writing about what we remember. Mon, 19 Dec 2022 16:25:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/november-seasonal-dissonance A reflection on unusually warm weather in mid-November. Tue, 15 Nov 2022 13:30:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/august-parliament-of-fowls An account of the rise and rise of a juvenile magpie. Thu, 11 Aug 2022 11:25:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/april-diptera-in-the-brownfields-picture-wing-flies A memory of an over-grown, disused railway station - refugia out of ruination. Sat, 23 Apr 2022 17:30:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/how-many-bryophytes-do-you-get-at-a-bus-stop The importance of biodiversity data recording in urban areas. Wed, 02 Feb 2022 13:10:00 +0000 https://littlebirdsaid.org/blog/january-woodlice Species observation: Oniscus asellus, the UK’s common woodlouse. Wed, 19 Jan 2022 18:10:00 +0000