THE HOLE IN THE ROOF

We use the barn every day,the wood and coal are stored in it so are all the gardening tools,lawn mower etc,and John's bike.
We knew there was a hole in the roof but a few days ago we noticed twigs sticking out of it,we were in the front garden (the side with the hole )and I kept an eye out to see who was taking up residence.

Soon this Jackdaw turned up.

The next day the hole looked like this.

Both MR and MRS Jackdaw continued to bring in twigs...

....both of them working tirelessly from sun up to sun down.
All this time we have been going into the barn,then yesterday John called me to bring the camera to take a photo of the nest.
Jackdaws usually nest in holes in old trees or their favorite is a chimney ,( they are the cause of many a chimney fire ) they drop twigs down the hole until they get lodged,then build a stack of twigs to the desired hight,and nest on top of it.
OK,that makes sense ,a hole in a tree or a chimney stack is a confined space but dropping twigs into a huge void beneath  a hole in the roof must be an endless task.

This stack  is over 4ft tall and as wide and still they are dropping sticks and twigs in.
Unfortunately the base of this nest is resting on the trellis panels  that are for the new patio area,we were due to start this project this weekend but I have not got the heart to demolish this monumental structure,the fencing will have to be put on hold until the nest is finished with. I can not believe we did not notice it before now.!! I think we both need some new glasses.

Chaos was caused on the road today....

 

....the sheep escaped from a field and blocked the road in front of our house,the locals could not get past them and we could not get out of the drive. We are used to this kind of hold up,though our quiet life is not so quiet,with bleating sheep and tooting car horns.
Have a good week everyone.
Carolyn.