More worrying feathered goings on

The new Dove Clan have settled in well and are venturing further than the feeding station performing some interesting acrobatic feats by hanging from the netting. They are exceptionally messy, of course I used to feed the original four on the ground and now I am using the feeding platform it gets very grubby. Dove poo and feed combined means I have to sweep it each day, no mean feat through a hatch 12 inches by 8.

Moonzie continues to be a haven for wildlife and two weeks ago saw the return of our beloved swallows. First we saw only one but by the start of the week we were up to at least six and as ever they were in the barn swoopoing low over Herbs head while selecting the prime nesting site. We have always had swallows in the barn and it is great to see them returning each year although in lesser numbers each season. We also have a robin nesting in the barn and already have had several altercations between the robin and the swallows.

A couple of days ago though we saw an unusual sight. It was a swallow on the ground looking for all the world like it was just resting, we assumed it to be a new arrival from Africa and left it to rest in the warm sunshine. However yesterday it was still on the ground although it had moved to another part of the lawn. We took photographs and I gave it a drink. A little later I was astonished to see two other swallows swooping down and to begin with I thought it nice, they were showing concern, however it soon became clear that in fact the downed swallow was being dive bombed and pecked and dunted on the back of it's head. This continued on and off for a long time. After a concerted effort by the swallows the injured one flapped away under a bush and the aerial bombardement stopped. We have been unable to find the downed swallow and assume it may have crawled away and died. It was horrible to watch and seemed like very unusual behaviour.