Country diary: All eyes are on the nuthatch - for different reasons

Talsarnau, Gwynedd: While I can't help but admire its beauty and design, the other birds are waryIn the "mad March days" prior to the onset of nesting, the feeders on the terrace have been encased in feathery, frantic sleeves knitted together from twitching masses of titmice. They're blue tits and great tits for the most part, gorging themselves on seeds, chipping away at fat balls, replacing body mass after the rigours of winter and in preparation for demands of the breeding season.Suddenly they'll take flight, whirr away en masse to nearby bushes where they wait and watch. What's happened? Two elegant, piratical presences have streaked in. I'd been alerted to them over the last fortnight by repetitive faint drummings against the hollow branch of an oak. "Too soft for woodpeckers", I'd thought, focusing the spyglass. Continue reading...