Finally I have had a bullfinch in the garden. I had done nothing to attract it, indeed I have not been feeding the birds for a while. I was just eating breakfast and happened to be looking out of the window at the moment that he perched in the garden. No doubt flocks of them have been through the garden when I wasn't looking.
There are now decent numbers of swallows locally but I haven't seen any swifts or house martins yet.
The arable fields between Ley Hill and Latimer have been harvested over the last couple of days. This morning I saw a group of yellowhammers in the middle of the road by a field gate. From the look of things they were eating spilled grain. Instead of flying into the hedgerow they flew away from me along the road at windscreen height. I haven't seen much else recently apart from a distant glimpse of a partridge and the occasional red kite.
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