Most annoying bird song

[topground]

Old fashioned racist Collar Doves. ‘Look at the c***, look at the c***’

 

[Y Fan Wen]

Their favourite feed is meadow ants, which thrive in old meadows/pastures/lawns. Much less old grassland around now.

We find if we fence an area off in an old permanent pasture (eg along a stream) we soon get the distinctive grass covered mounds of meadow ant nests popping up. We do see and hear green woodpeckers ('yaffles') around feeding, but where the cows are in the fields the nests don't get a chance to get established, presumably due to constant trampling.

Yes, and following the demise of the Yaffles the ant hills have gone on expanding. Areas previously level meadow are now hard riding because they are so rough. So close together, no hope of going round them. No cattle to keep them under control.