Category: Notes from the sticks

ONE clear sign that spring is on the way is the sight of jackdaws peering into chimneys, prospecting for nest sites. Jackdaws (Corvus monedula)are smaller than their cousins rooks and crows, … Continue readingBeware, jackdaws at work

THE online BBC weather forecast is not at all reliable round here. One of the things that annoys me is that the summary at the top of the page is … Continue readingWithin these (two-foot-thick) walls

ANOTHER gap in my knowledge came to light this week when I read that mountain hares in the Peak District may be at risk from global warming. (This report, needless … Continue readingHare cuts

MOST birds are pretty quiet in the winter, but house sparrows (Passer domesticus)do not know the meaning of the word. They never seem to stop chirping. There are a lot of … Continue readingOf sparrow and butterbur

THOSE of us who grew up in the 50s and 60s (and earlier) were lucky to live in an age when knowledge was considered a good thing to have, not … Continue readingThe tealeaf academy

I AM not sure if I have ever seen a stoat. Since we have been in Lancashire I have glimpsed one or two animals which could have been stoats but … Continue readingStoat tales

ONE of the less obvious casualties of lockdown will be ‘Plough Monday’ in a couple of days’ time. It was traditionally held on the first Monday after Twelfth Night to … Continue readingPlough Monday

WE still haven’t had any frost or snow. In fact we rarely get snow at all – not like in the south London suburbs where we regularly had to dig … Continue readingThe snowflake’s story

I AM awed by how organised some people are. We received our first Christmas cards at the end of November, whereas I am usually scribbling mine to catch the last … Continue readingThe Christmas bird

A LONG time ago I went to view a house for sale. It had been empty for months but still had the carpets and curtains. After a few minutes I … Continue readingYou’ll be itching to read this