I went into the garden this morning to work out what jobs need doing this week and heard something tht I didn't immediately recognise calling in the bushes. A few moments later it hopped out onto a branch and I could see that it must be a warbler. It then very conveniently posed on the fence and I had a good look at the markings. I don't have the minutiae of warbler identification consigned to memory so after a quick look in the field guide and listening to a couple of recordings on YouTube I was 100% sure that I had added a chiffchaff to my garden list. I have a small quantity of sunflower hearts in one of the feeders and I get one or two finches every day. This morning's was a singleton chaffinch but I have had pairs of goldfinches on previous days. They all seem very reluctant to use the lowest feeding ports and with the wet weather I suspect that I will have to empty out the feeder to remove any damp and clogged seed before the main winter activity despite giving it a
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.