COURTESY of a wayward jetstream, on February 18, Storm Eunice roared in from the Atlantic and proved to be the most damaging and disruptive for more than thirty years. In fact, we endured three damaging named storms in just a week. Rather like buses, we wait for ages then three come along at once!

Nature notes: Melody or cacophony?

Trees thrashed around like demented octopuses and many were uprooted or snapped off. However, there may not have been quite as much tree damage compared with the severe storms of 1987 and 1990 because, being February, the trees were completely leafless and offered less resistance to the gales. Roadside trees bearing pink and white blossom seemed to tenaciously hold onto the little flowers although some petals were ripped off.

In the natural world, birdlife probably suffered most. The only birds I saw in flight all day were a couple of black-headed gulls, both being tossed about like flimsy white paper bags, the one in the picture protesting about the conditions! No birds entered my garden; all of them, especially the smaller species sheltering in deep cover and the feeders remained untouched all day. Kestrels too would have found it impossible to hover in such challenging weather.

Nature Notes: So what will February's weather bring?

For once, even parakeets remained silent, being unable to compete with the howling gale. However, the following day as Eunice abated, large flocks of goldfinches, the tit family, wood and feral pigeons, robins and dunnocks spent all day feeding, clearly making up for lost time during such high winds caused by Eunice...