Country diary: a little map of bird movements

Stamford, Lincolnshire Hieroglyphics left by fleeting feet provide a record of their ways, written on the groundCold comes, and life hunkers. A hedgehog asleep in a nest of leaves behind the shed. Inside it, there are big spiders and signs of shredding, mice probably. So much life that stays unnoticed most of the year, then moves indoors undetected. But the birds are always noticed. Though in winter, less.Morning, and the inside is filled with a quiet, odd brightness. Outside is a four-inch mantle of snow. Softening, just. No signs of life. Then I see something inscribed in the white. What Richard Clapham called "the hieroglyphics left by the feet of nature's wild things" (Bird Tracks in the Snow, 1920). Continue reading...