Here she is under a strangely blue sky, for Wales– Mother Magpie, unlikely heroine of my last blog — fighting to save her two (there may have been more) fledglings. They are both alive and she and Father Magpie are still feeding them. The Sun is still shining:

This is one of the chicks — having a flying lesson with Mum, fully fledged but smaller than the adults and with a shorter tail. At night they roost close to their original nest, next to the telegraph pole.

But look at this —

Last evening at dusk, not 10 meters from our door, waiting for the light to finally fade — Tawny Owl bides her time.

While we blustered about trying to find the tripod, she flew away and this morning the head count was the same — but she’ll be back!