Chiltern Birder

I put some sunflower hearts in a small feeder a week ago as I had seen some blue tits foraging in the garden. Very little activity so far, the level has dropped slightly and I have seen a hen chaffinch using it. I have a feeling that serious feeding is going to start a couple of weeks later than last year. I will have to double check the other feeders and make sure that they are clean and disinfected. The feeders with perching rings are a pain to take apart for cleaning and I always fear loosing one of the nuts that hold everything together.

Not much activity on the bird front close to home. As usual I start thinking about restarting feeding at this time but experience has shown that I should wait for another week or two otherwise food will just start to rot in the feeders. The recent clear weather has meant that the mornings have been misty. When driving between Ley Hill and Latimer this provides some incredible views more like a Chinese painting than an English landscape. If it wasn't for the need to pay the mortgage I would just stop the car and spend the day in the Chiltern countryside. One feature of the mist is that I have seen kestrels hunkered down on pieces of street furniture rather than hovering. One bright spot was a jay seen alongside the North Circular Road in north east London this morning.