A haven of nature on half-an-acre

THRUSHES, blackbirds and small finches patrol the field beyond our garden from dawn to dusk.

They are sometimes joined by flocks of starlings, while magpies, wood-pigeons and grey crows are constant visitors. A pheasant struts purposely along the fringes now and then, rabbits abound during daylight hours and we occasionally see a fox — a fine fellow, with a very red coat and a bushy tail. He sometimes visits the yard at night and triggers the security light as he sniffs around the flowerpots or drinks from the pond.

The fact that the field has lain fallow for 60 years must be a contributing factor to the larder of insect and invertebrate life that it has become. From break of dawn to set of sun, there is never a moment when less than 50 birds are visible from our windows and all of them are feeding. They quarter the short grass in small hops, sometimes stopping to listen, sometimes fiercely stabbing the ground to snap up a victim. The surface must be crawling with life, an inexhaustible supply of nutrition. And it supplies grazing for three or four horses too.