The Magpie’s nest

Dear Readers, I am uncertain as to what exactly the magpies are up to, but they are still paying a lot of attention to the nest in the whitebeam. Are there eggs in there? Who knows? They’re a flighty pair, though – the merest sight of a human being and they’re off to Bedford Road (another of East Finchley’s County Roads).

From underneath the nest looks very substantial, though I still think it was starting by a squirrel who probably did a lot of the hard work.

And in spite of the wind and the rain and the generally unsettled conditions, the hairy-footed flower bees are still around in force. I’d say it was 3 females for every 2 males today. My tutor has still not given me the go-ahead for my experiment (well, I am jumping the gun a bit in my enthusiasm) but I think I will start gathering the data anyway because nature doesn’t wait, for sure.

Female H_F FB

And another one

And yet another one

And I am very pleased with my grape hyacinths. A green alkanet has snuck into one of my pots, but I rather like them too.

And look, the marsh marigold is practically out…

And how about these lovely tadpoles, just wriggling free from their spawn? Being born is always a struggle, whether you have to break out of an egg or travel down somebody’s birth canal, so I sympathise with these little amphibians as they start their lives. Good luck, taddies!