Tweet , tweet , tweet at Pentre Bach!

We do our best to encourage birds at Pentre Bach by providing nesting boxes and putting out food on birdfeeders around the house and gardens. We also leave access to the barn through a special 'swallow door' so that our regular swallow visitors can get back to their nest in the roof of the barn where they've been returning to raise their young for a number of years. We don't really mind putting up with the bird poo all over the work bench for a few weeks! The house transformation from dull grey to magnolia has been coming along a treat and two sides have been completed. However, thanks to our feathered friends, the painting of the front has now been put on hold. The swallows have built a total of 14 nests under the eaves all around the main house and Y Popty. They're fascinating to watch as they come and go, sometimes landing on the nests and squeezing them selves in and at other times just swooping in near to the nests and swerving off into the sky again. we'll enjoy watching the young making their first attempts at flying in the next few weeks and then we'll be able to resume with our painting again. We've also been busy planting and growing a number of hanging baskets which have been coming on nicely in the greenhouse. It was time to hang them out this week but as we were coming and going from the greenhouse this week we noticed a little wren hanging around. Then when Mike was hanging one basket outside the back door of the main house, he noticed a perfectly round hole underneath. On further examination he could feel five or six tiny eggs inside the hole. So... ...... back to the greenhouse with that particular hanging basket until the wrenlets fledge.

The wren's nesting place! Then this evening, after a stroll down to the beach, we were just closing up all the windows and doors when we just caught sight of our local, friendly robin, hopping around the back porch. One more minute and he would've been locked in there for the night. Mind you that wouldn't have been the first time!