The flower eaters

Parrots - messy eaters.

Now why would these perfectly good blossoms be lying around on the pavements near our house? It's not been windy, there have been no hard frosts, and the tree is in good health.

Looking up, I spotted the answer... the green parrots of South London (no that's not an April fool - London, and parts of the South East have a resident population of parrots). They seem to like eating the flowers. Which I think is totally charming.

The hard winter seems to have done them no harm at all. I keep on spotting them on my way home - munching away amongst the blossoms of a cherry by the side of a busy road. When a bus comes along, the rush of air makes them scatter with a squawk and an inelegant flap, but they soon return.