A small stream runs past the side of our house. It’s nothing fancy and holds no fish, but its river bank is blessed with some wonderful trees: Oak, Hazel, Eastern Hornbeam, Mediterranean Medlar, Sloe and Laurel. As the sun rises so its rays filter through the lush leaves in summer and the trees skeletal forms in winter. Our bedroom window overlooks the river and the field beyond and as the morning sun peeks over the range of trees at the far end of the field, so this beautiful light manages to squeeze through even our closed wooden shutters to pervade our bedroom with its brilliance.

These past few mornings we’ve had a pair of rather large, plump Magpies hopping around our river bank trees. I find them pretty birds, with their black and white plumage and beautiful greenish blue sheen on their rounded wings and long tail. They are noisy birds; uttering loud squawks and rattling alarm calls and certainly let you know when they’re around. They are joined by another noisy bunch of birds: Great Tits.

There was a time (before we had our five cats) that I’d hang out bird feed, dangling myself over our wire fence to attach the hanging baskets. This was a magical time as a variety of birds would come to enjoy my offerings. I was prouder still when I saw a couple of river voles feeding inside the basket until Nigel pointed out (after looking through binoculars) that they were actually rats.

So the basket came down and, with the arrival of our cats, I stopped feeding the birds. But the trees (and stream) still attract our feathered friends: Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Jay, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Redwing Hawfinch, Robin, Wren, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Blackcap and Starling.

As I write this, morning has broken and sunlight is filtering through into our office, it too looking out over the river bank and field. Bird song fills the air and another day dawns on the French Riviera and our little part of the world.

As to our Ratty "friends"; Archie Airedale, Freddy Fox Terrier and Maggie May Lakeland Terrier gave them their matching orders quite a while ago!