Today I held a Blue Tit

Injured Blue Tit

Today I found a Blue Tit in our carport on the ground.  It appeared to be stunned and, as I approached, it made no attempt to fly off.  I was able to pick it up and hold it.  From what I could tell, it seemed to be blind in one eye so it may have flown into something and hurt itself. I held it and stroked it for several minutes and then took it to a nearby fig tree so that I could encourage it to fly to safety. It was so calm and chirpy in the palm of my hand but I felt very relieved when it took off. I really hope that, in spite of a damaged eye, it will survive.

After the trauma

Fortunately, the bird seemed none the worse for its accident and, after resting for a few more minutes it flew to the bird table for a sunflower heart.

Female mallard checking out nest box

The ducks have shown a great deal of interest in the two riverside nest boxes and the rivalry is intense. At the moment the main contenders are the mallard with a hybrid male and this female (pictured above) and her pure mallard mate.  A duck we've nicknamed Lonely is also a contender whereas the one we call Ringneck seems to have been driven off.  The female (above) spent much of the morning investigating both boxes and was back again this afternoon.

The dominant drake

It would seem that this drake has the edge over the hybrid male and his mate. They have spent much of the morning and some of the late afternoon at the nest boxes. 

Today has been a lovely, sunny day which makes a change from most of the previous days.  The forecast tonight is for settled and warm weather for a while - what a welcome prospect!

I've started clearing the debris in the garden - there's a lot of work to do, but I keep reminding myself of what the people in the Somerset Levels and elsewhere are still suffering because of the floods.  At least the flood water has 'fertilised' our garden and we can now get on with life!