Chiltern Birder

I have spent a lot of time hoping the the small brown job in the middle of the lilac is going to turn out to be a wren but every time a dunnock hops out. So it was quite a nice surprise when getting breakfast ready this morning to hear one at the front of the house. He sat in my rowan tree for a while making the usual racket before fluttering across the path and exploring my neighbours honeysuckle. This afternoon I stepped rather boldly up to the window as the sun was right in line with the feeders to see what seemed like half the birds in Buckinghamshire take flight. I was in time to make out a nuthatch which is one I haven't seen for quite some time. Of course it didn't return.

Living near the top of a hill in the Chilterns flooding isn't much of an issue for me. The present spell of rain is clogging the feeders and means that I tread mud back into the house every time I top them up. It also means that pruning of my quinces keeps getting put off. At this rate it is going to be back to using an old fashioned saw if it isn't going to be safe to use power tools in the garden. On the bird front the goldfinches seem to have moved on and I have seen very few greenfinches this winter. I have had a couple of house sparrows in the garden recently, and they are not the commonest of birds around here and also had a brief visit from a long tailed tit. The squirrels are becoming a serious problem and I think I will be ordering another baffle with my next batch of feed. I am wondering about covering the ground tray as a mesh small enough to keep the squirrels out will also keep out blackbirds, thrushes and pigeons. I did hear a green woodpecker this morning. I have

I went out to top up the feeders today. When I took the top off the ground hopper I found a mouse inside. He must have dined well on the contents because he had great difficulty squeezing out through the feeding port. Not much of note otherwise although I did see a cormorant over the Chess valley between Chesham and Latimer. They aren't exactly rare these days but unusual enough in the area for me to take notice.