Am in West Sussex close to the South Downs and this morning (Oct 1st) my garden was alive with swallow-type birds zooming about. Got a glimpse of one as it flashed by my window and it's breast looked white. I thought it was too late in the year for them to still be here. Can anybody say what they might have been? Maybe house martins? There were quite a lot of them.
A single bird still zooming around yesterday, but the rooks didn't seem keen for it to be around
Germain said:
They are bad this year - ai keep finding the little swine on the dog and he can't have tic preventative due to thyroid issues
I've heard from quite a lot of outdoor folk, hill and moorland walkers along with those who work dogs, that ticks have been particularly bad this year. The general consensus seems to be due to the reduced cutting back of foliage, ie overgrown paths etc, but not the entire reasoning, there will be other reasons as well.