We've lived in this house now for just over a year and one of the saddest things about our time here has been witnessing the local wildlife's struggle for survival. The raptors, which include buzzards, sparrowhawks and this almost-tame kestrel which lives not far from our house, don't seem to be doing too badly, but....
....while there is a variety of waterfowl down on the marshes along the River Deben, including these brent geese, egrets, and a number of....
....swans, the numbers seem to be lower than last year; and we have yet to spot the kingfisher we saw last winter.
The situation with small birds is, however, serious. On a typical day in our garden, where a variety of tasty bird foods are in constant and generous supply, we are lucky to see a couple of dunnocks, a robin, and two or three blackbirds. A neighbour who has lived here for over twenty years says that he thinks there has been an eighty percent decline in garden birds over recent years.
Although we did see two groups of long-tailed tits passing through the garden last winter, we have to walk a couple of miles to....
....this woodland - called The Wilderness - to see them in any numbers. It's also home to blue and great tits and, in warmer weather, a wide variety of dragonflies.
The local mammal population suffers grievously from contact with humanity. This fox was obviously killed by a passing vehicle but lies on the verge with a smile on its face.
The fox may have died accidentally but the recent appearance of these yellow signs in several places along our walks suggests that one countryside sport is on the increase, at a time when hares are also suffering from a return of myxomatosis which threatens a species which has declined by 80% over the last century.
We dread the day when not a single small bird visits our garden.
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