Chiltern Birder

I am getting worried about the starlings. Normally I would  have expected a hoard of juveniles all over the fat feeder by now. So far I have had none in the garden. On the other hand at the weekend I managed to see both fox and badger cubs while driving home after midnight.

I took a trip to College Lake near Tring yesterday. With lots of invisible songbirds in the bushes I really should make an effort to learn a few calls. On the islands the common terns were very visible while the lapwings had clearly nested successfully as there were a number of chicks around. I did get a nice view of one parent driving off a crow. I hadn't realised how well camouflaged the redshank were until I had a glimpse of what looked like a pair of disembodied red legs at the waters edge. After a quick lunch I took a walk on the towpath of the Grand Union Canal as far as Marsworth. There was nothing unusual visible on the reservoirs but coming back a heron flew past a few feet above the water following the line of the canal. At home I woke early today and went to put the bins out at 6am. Without much disturbance the birdsong was very loud with, faint in the distance my first cuckoo of the year. In the garden a pair of bullfinches seems to have taken on the role on "b

I was in Oxford today and saw my first swifts of the year flying over St John Street. Other than that it is a very quiet time for birds. There are usually a couple of goldfinches bookending the feeder and the blackbirds and robins paying occasional visits to the fat feeder.