Mrs Down's Diary March 25 2009

As yet, we have not caught sight of our master builder, but we are infinitely hopeful.

I have been told that blue tits build several nests and then take potential mates around the sites and, with luck, she will chirrup or twitter with delight and settle in. I do not know if this is true and despite looking it up in all of our bird books, have not seen this repeated anywhere else.

Last year, we delighted in watching a blue tit build a nest and grew even more excited as several eggs were laid. The nest was then abandoned. We had had a sparrow hawk around the house and did wonder if our bird had fallen victim.

This year, we have had far less birds coming to the bird table. Despite tempting offerings of fat balls and nuts, only a few tits, finches, sparrows and robins have accepted our offerings.

Last winter and spring we were inundated, but the wet summer was said to have played havoc with young broods of birds.

Nature is certainly not affecting the frog population. Our ponds are heaving with frog spawn. As one of Jessica's Christmas presents, I bought her a 'tadpole habitat' to watch the transformation of tadpoles to frogs in customised surroundings.

Since then, she has been pestering us to know if the frogs have started spawning yet.

They have '“ with a vengeance.

Now, all I have to do is find where Father Christmas put the darned thing for safekeeping after the festivities.

Elsewhere, we are still scrutinising our guinea fowl to see if we can sex them. Again, the experts have been telling us facts that I have been unable to verify.

Apparently, the female guinea fowl gives a two-tone call and the cock bird one strident note. Ours can do both.

The other difference is the wattles '“ males have bigger wattles than females. They would, wouldn't they? Ours, however, all appear to have the identical amount of wattles.

We may be the owners of the only bisexual flock of guinea fowls in his country.

I am scouring the undergrowth to see if I can find a nest, but either they have not started laying yet or they have hidden it far too well for me to find.

Guinea fowl all lay in the same nest, so once found, you are not meant to take all the eggs or they will go off and make another nest.

They may, however, be laying off the farm completely. Several neighbours have rung up to say they have our guinea fowl in their yards.

When they first started wandering, we called on friends in the village to see if they had had visits from our errant fowl. Many had.

Unfortunately, their reputation is becoming somewhat tarnished because they start to call as soon as the sun rises. And it is getting earlier and earlier.