Life and death beneath the hedge
by Mark Cocker from on (#HPK9)
Claxton, Norfolk Blackbirds lack the necessary coordination to master this snail-breaking technique but have found a way to enjoy freshly cracked mollusc
Summertime and the living is easy in our garden, except if you happen to feed on earthworms. Then the withered lawn and parched earth of August drive a number of our neighbours to take special measures. The most conspicuous indicator of summer drought is a bit of avian behaviour that's more often heard than seen.
It results in a small hollow hammering noise of shell on stone and, aside from the wider hush enveloping our flowerbeds, you could easily overlook its quiet rhythmic tap. Yet a song thrush at its anvil is as redolent of Claxton at this particular moment in summer as the bell-like notes of full-blown song on late July evenings.
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