Bog Myrtle & Peat

Having commented on the blackcock’s current scruffy appearance a couple of days ago, it is now only fair to mention that he is trying to salvage his reputation by having frequent dust baths. I went up to the Chayne this afternoon to cast an eye over the new oat installation, and was surprised not to find the blackcock sunning himself in the hot afternoon. He usually wanders around the main lambing field by the side of the road, and after searching in vain, I drove on to where the oats are rapidly establishing themselves in the recently drained patch.

On my return journey, I spotted a plume of dust emerging from the dry banks of the freshly dug ditch which runs diagonally past the farm buildings. Focussing my binoculars, I spotted flashes of black and white feathers fluttering up and down in the dry soil, and after a few moments, the blackcock emerged like a bedraggled and semi-plucked hen. He shook himself in the sunlight, sending a cloud of dust into the air and picking at the feathers on his neck absent mindedly. As he moved away, I went up to where he had been bathing to find numerous scrapes and shallows in the mud where he must have been dusting himself over the past few days. There was no sign of the greyhen, but then again, she was always far less concerned about her appearance than him.