This young grey wagtail is perching on top of a lump of clay on the edge of the borrow pit. I wonder if it is one of the brood of the pair I see every year at the source of Houghton Brook in Houghton Hall Park? There were also pied wagtails darting around yesterday, amongst the usual gulls and a swan. I gather the pit will be drained and then lined with top soil before being filled with water again.
The foot/cycle path along Houghton Brook is under construction and lighting is in place.
On the Parkside Link, once again it's 'hedge today, gone tomorrow'. All that remains is the doggy bin. The digging of storm drains demanded the removal of the hedge but I have been assured that it will be replanted. I hope so because it provided a safe route for wildlife between gardens and the stream. The tall sycamore on the east side of the Parkside Link was removed because its roots were in the way of the construction of the road.
Squirrels still play in the trees on the west side and I have heard, but not seen, hedgehogs. Something has been using my hedgehog hole cut in the fence but I can't tell what. I have had more mice than usual in my garden this summer and I'm pleased to say the frog has also found its way back though it didn't sing... not much to sing about if you are a frog and the landscape is changing all around you.
As I write, work is starting on the new fence on the east side of Parkside Link.
