A mixed flock of birds, which had been adorning its branches took to the air, leaving my mossland Christmas tree bare for another year.

In truth such flocks of birds flee at the first sign of danger, for flight is better than becoming a raptor’s delight (at gaining a meal). Sky checked and a sparrowhawk noted, this was the cause of the sudden loss of hedgerow birds.

Danger passed and the yellowhammer, reed bunting, greenfinch, house sparrow and linnet returned to re-decorate my tree.

It then seemed as if the 11th day celebration could begin, as a flock of jackdaw swirled about the sky offering a chorus of their slightly repetitive “daw, daw, daw” calls. A small flock of skylark, not really wishing to upset the Jackdaw Chorus, took to the sky without song. Nothing can compare to their sky brightening notes of pure joy IF they had chosen to sing.

In truth the main aim for these larks in these short daylight hours of winter was to alight as soon as possible and find food in a nearby field of cereal stubble.

On the moss, in the true spirit of our ancestors, it was still in the “12 day’s moment”. At the same time, all living creatures on the moss are well aware that winter still had a sting or two in its tail over the coming few months.

I enjoyed the life that the field I was viewing, which is now owned by Natural England, and I too was fully aware that I must remain wrapped up against the cold until the swallows once more swoop over this field. This is where yellow wagtails (also summer migrants) raised their young, last year, and, hopefully, will return and raise their 2024 broods.

Day 11 over and one day closer to spring.