I first hoped that the rustling sound under the eaves was due to nesting birds but the sound of movement across the loft put paid to that theory. I have known rats in the loft in other properties and this didn't sound quite right. Talking to neighbours the problem extended along the entire row of houses. A professional identified the intruder as that peculiarly Chiltern problem the edible dormouse.
I checked my loft and found grains of expanded polystyrene scattered over the insulation out of some blocks that the previous owner had left there. I put up a camera trap which wasn't triggered and I haven't heard anything since. As they hibernate for around 6 months I imagine that I will now have some quiet nights until the spring.
At least one brood of starlings have been regular visitors to the feeder and today the fledglings got the hang of taking the food for themselves. Other broods must be less developed as adults were still taking away quantities of fat. The tits aren't so common at the moment, I don't know if this is because they have dispersed, if wild food is available or if pressure from the starlings has driven them off. Single blue tits are dropping in fairly regularly and a coal tit took fat away as well. The woodpecker seems to have become a regular visitor and still has a brood to feed. He definitely comes before the starlings in the pecking order and keeps them off the feeder until he has finished. The new feeder with perching rings is popular with the chaffinches and the goldfinches, the latter suddenly seem to prefer the high energy mix to the nyjer seed. With all this demand for feeding young ones the fat is going down very rapidly and I am putting larger quantities out on the ground t...
Comments