Prospect Lake is for the birds.

Our guest blogger for February is Peter Horsfall.

I spend most of my time in London, but can’t wait to get back to what we call “home” – our cottage near Prospect Lake. One of the major attractions (apart from all our wonderful friends) are the birds.

In the winter it’s the cardinals who provide a splash of colour amidst the bleak mid-winter greys, fluffing their feathers against the single figure temperatures.

As spring comes and the migratory birds start to return, I get excited when a shy oriole appears in the magnolia tree, trying to decide whether it is brave enough to come to the bird feeder.

Talking of the bird feeder, I’ve noticed that many bird species will tolerate each other’s company and seem to enjoy it.

But for some reason chickadees and tufted titmouses (titmice?) – which tend to forage as a group – cannot abide the presence of a nuthatch on the feeder and will scatter when one shows up.

I have wasted many hours hanging out close to the fuchsias waiting for humming birds, but I am never quick enough to get a decent shot, just the whirr of their wings and they are off. Fortunately I was able to get a few when they came to the more distant bee balm which they also love.

But the lake is not just for the birds! The insects can also be spectacular.