The larder is full. Just over the wall into our neighbour’s garden, the elder trees are bent with berries. Time after time, the starlings flock over the roofs and dart down to the glistening, black fruit. What looks juicier than a cluster of elderberries? As well as feeding the starlings, elderberries make a great, anti-viral winter cordial for humans. In our garden, the blackbirds are feasting on the large cooking apples, which have been dropping from the boughs for weeks. Goldfinches too are in on the act. Having exhausted the knapweed seeds, they are now riding the long, slender teasels, twisting the goodness from the thick seed heads. A pale green flash in the hawthorn reveals a pair of chiffchaffs. Usually these songsters are summer visitors, but in recent years the species has