The most striking thing about this year so far is the crash in starling numbers in the garden. The regular May invasion happened but numbers were in single figures and, curiously, they seemed reluctant to use the starlign feeder, preferring fat pellets and dried mealworms from the ground feeder. I would normally shift several kilos of fat in this period, this time a single 500gm fat bar sufficed and tht saw more action from pigeons and blue tits than from starlings. After the worries about the dry weather earlier in the year our blue tits seem to be breeding well with plenty of juveniles in the garden and adults carrying food away. We have also had a pair of goldfinches in regular attendance throughout the spring. Today a cock bullfinch appeared in the back garden for the first time since the winter. At ground level the badgers no longer seem to be visiting on a nightly basis. In the front garden wrens have nested in the bat box. It seems almost impossible to open the front door with
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.