Why did I think that I would have more time in August? In fact, it has been one of the busiest months I can remember, albeit a fantastically exciting one, with a lovely book launch at Crathes   Castle ( a wonderful 16th century castle in Royal Deeside)  interviews on television and radio-including on 'Woman's Hour'- reviews, articles, the Edinburgh Book Festival and the reading of 'Corvus' on Radio 4. 

Today has felt a bit more like normal life, a quiet day when I've had a chance to sort out the book and paper mountains which have grown stealthily while my attention has been elsewhere. It has been unusually sunny today after this summer of relentless rain, with a distinct feeling of autumn. I've enjoyed having time to spend with Chicken and Ziki- and can only hope they take the same view. I've been delighted too to read the comments from fellow-corvid lovers as I have the splendid letters I've been sent, including one with a most delightful photograph of a  young lady with a baby magpie sitting contentedly on her head.

 By now, Chicken's almost past the period of moulting and, like Ziki, is beginning to look magnificent again. Ziki spends more and more time preening himself and bathing and the other day, gave forth three extremely surprising loud and distinctly crow-like shouts. 

Now, I have to read the many elements of the book-mountain, among them 'The Wisdom of Birds-An Illustrated History of Ornithology' by Professor Tim Birkhead, a gorgeous book which is bound to be as irresistible to other people who like birds, as it was to me. I don't think it's published until next month but I was lucky enough to find an advance copy in the bookshop at the Edinburgh Book Festival. 

On Thursday, I hope that my own choice of  'Ten Best Books'-on the subject of birds-will be on the Guardian's website.

corvus

At last, it looks as if I might have time to write the things I have been meaning to for ages, about the birds, Ziki in particular, and about the book, which was published yesterday. The response so far has been astonishing—and delightful. I still wish that I had a photograph of myself carrying a large cardboard box with a magpie's backend and tail sticking out of it, across the road in Banchory, heading for the bookshop where the magpie and his companion and two crows, all rather larger than life although very beautiful, are now displayed in the shop window, along with copies of 'Corvus', all, I suspect, to the severe mystification of passers-by. 

This morning, Ziki the crow, whose first birthday-or rather the first anniversary of his coming to live here- we'll soon celebrate, made a couple of the odd, non-crow like sounds he does. I will have to keep watch to see what encourages him to try to vocalise-the sound of crows outside  perhaps. 

But at the moment, the most urgent task is to do a bit of corvid-cleaning, that constant requirement in the life of the corvid-keeper...