Wishful 'thinking' and risky behaviour

Helena is not well today and has had to stay at home from the first day of term. I got up to make her some lemon and ginger tea to ease her throat and to brew some coffee for myself. While that was brewing, and after feeding Bomble, I went outside to top up the two bird feeders with sunflowers seeds. When I saw the second feeder hanging from a support attached to the cabin, I laughed at the sight of this snail doing a circuit round its base.

I nipped inside for my old camera and snapped a couple of pictures before moving the snail into the dandelion and grass vegetation which is in far too great abundance for my liking.

The snail must have climbed up the feather-edged wood cladding of the cabin which can't be easy in itself as there are only a couple of places, where the cabin sits on wooden joists on concrete trenches. Then having climbed to the top of the wall it would have a foot long horizontal traverse of the metal bracket before dropping down to the hook on which this bird feeder is attached by a very thin plastic coated metal semi-circualr hoop. Then it would descend all the way across the grid of the feeder to access the seeds, which I had no idea was a favourite food of a snail. I live and learn. Full marks for ingenuity and intrepid behaviour. I'm surprised some bird hadn't spotted it and whisked it away for its own meal.


A large view (press the 'L' key) will show how it seems to be gripping the metal with two tiny 'arms'.