The first of the year was last Sunday (7 May) when I heard one to the east of the house in the morning and to the west in the afternoon. Naturally I haven't heard one since. Otherwise bird activity in the garden is now light with goldfinches and bullfinches the most regular visitors. The breast feathers on the cock bullfinches are now very faded but the black crown stays glossy. While driving yesterday I had a brief glimpse of what may have been my first house martin or first swallow of the year. On a winding country road I really couldn't risk turning my head to actual look straight at it to get a firm identification. In the garden the badgers have been very active and there seem to be at least two individuals visiting. A few days ago I went to aerate the compost heap and found a bumble bee nest inside it. This morning I went into the garden and found the lid right off and a hole dug into the compost. Judging by the flattened grass nearby I looks likely that one of the ba
Once upon a time you could find me birding on the Thames marshes almost every weekend through the winter. For various reasons I am now seldom able to travel to good birding sites. I am lucky, however, to live in the beautiful Chiltern Hills and this blog is to document the birds that I see on my own patch.