As a pharmacist in one the busiest pharmacies in Ashton, I am not exactly confined to barracks at the moment. My wife however, is on her own when I am at work, so my days off tend, at the moment, to be concerned with keeping her company, therefore time in the garden will be very much at a premium. A medium sized (25yds x 25yds) garden, behind a Victorian end-terraced on the busy Huddersfield Road. The garden is south-west facing, with high hawthorn and privet hedging on two sides. Another border contains mature hazel, medlar, and greengage trees. Next door has a large silver birch tree, which is popular with a variety of finches. There is a 15 x 10yd vegetable plot, two poultry runs, and an apiary, currently only housing one colony. Stalybridge Country Park is only 300yds due east, but there are two housing estates in between. In the attached photo, Wild Bank Hill looms to the right, and Harridge is just visible to the left, with Brushes Valley between the two, hidden by the sycamore tree. Proof then, that those three sites are within walkable distance during this lockdown.

I dont keep lists, and my focus at this time of year tends to be recording breeding codes, so it will be interesting to see how many I manage in the garden. A Tawny Owl hooting from the sycamore tree last Thursday got us off to a good start.

Best garden record was a Woodcock (on two occasions), out of a bramble patch that has now been cleared (by order of my wife).