Chiltern Birder

The only reason that I continue to feed is because I don't want the seed hanging around until the winter. This morning I had a juvenile chaffinch and a house sparrow in the garden. Still no sign of the M10 kites but near junction 25 of the M25 I did get a glimpse of a large bird of prey, I didn't get a clear look but I am 85% sure that it was a buzzard. I used to see them quite regularly a near J23 but that is the first that I have seen in Hertfordshire for a while.

A big suprise today was the return of greenfinches to the garden, well one anyway. After being absent all year it was nice to see one back on the feeder to provide some variety from the goldfinches and chaffinches. After commenting in my last post about the lack of red kites recently I saw two circling over the village today. Apart from that the sightings have been pretty routine. I am still getting the occasional house sparrow on the feeders and at least one juvenile robin is around. Yesterday I saw him flying at speed straight for the living room window, I was braced for a sickening thud when at the last munute he dropped onto the window sill, gave be a beady eyed look, then flew back the way he came.

I haven't been commenting so much on the state of the River Chess as the year when it dried up fades into memory. I was reminded this week, however, when I was stuck in a queue of traffic near the swimming pool while a heron stalked along the river beside me. I didn't see what it caught but it pounced three times and ate something each time. There was also an article in the local paper recently about trout being released into the river. At home everything is very quiet. The recent hot weather melted a lot of the fat bar in the back garden and it is taking about a week for one of the blocks on the quince tree to be eaten. A far cry from the three hours earlier in the season. The goldfinches stay regular visitors and blue and great tits are also coming to the feeders. Chaffinces are less common than earlier in the year and I am seeing occasional house sparrows. Starlings have become infrequent visitors now and I haven't seen a woodpecker for quite a while. Driving down the fo