Thank you both for your interesting, and very different accounts of similar experiences. Maybe this is not such a rare event as I had thought. Graham's comments about loose feathers on pigeons and doves is very interesting, but I think he is extremely lucky to have seen other birds stealing feathers from the flying pigeon for lining a nest!!!
At least we did not get problems with soot, as our chimneys have not had a live fire for about 45 years.
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The weblog below is for naturalists to use to report interesting sightings, ask questions, report on field meetings and generally post pictures and any information or questions generally relevant in some way to the wildlife and geology of Essex. You will need to register and be logged-on to post to the forum, and you need to upload pictures first, for use in posts. Find out more
The weblog below is for naturalists to use to report interesting sightings, ask questions, report on field meetings and generally post pictures and any information or questions generally relevant in some way to the wildlife and geology of Essex. You will need to register and be logged-on to post to the forum, and you need to upload pictures first, for use in posts. Find out more