Skip to main content

Redpolls

It was quite an exciting moment this morning when I spotted three redpolls on the lawn. I think they were in the garden yesterday as well but they are quite nervy and fly off at the slightest movement at thew window. Today I managed to see them from upsairs and had the little monocular that I carry when not explictly out birding handy. They were working over the patch under the feeder where the goldfinches drop fragments of sunflower seed. At night the badgers are still cleaning up everything in the ground feeding trays with at least two individuals visiting the garden. I had, legitimately under covid rules, to visit the Rush Green area of Romford at the weekend. What struck me immediately was the sound of ring necked parakeets in the taller trees. The usual blue and great tits were audible as well as house sparrows. I was brought up two or three miles to the north and back then all we saw in the gardens were sparrows and starlings.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Finally

 Health issues mean that I haven't been paying any attention to my blogs but I was roused from my afternoon cup of tea today but a most unholy racket. Yes the parakeets have finallyarrived in my part of Chesham with a flock of five in the tree in my neighbours garden. It had to come eventually as they have been in Rickmansworth for years. Not much else happening apart from the usual circling kites and the occasional buzzard. I haven't seen anything eating my rowan berries but the tree is being steadily stripped. Usually its a mix of wood pigeons and blackbirds. Collared doves seem to be back in this end of the village as I saw a pair while waiting for the bus this week. They used to be garden regulars but hadn't seen any near the house for years.

Harvest

The arable fields between Ley Hill and Latimer have been harvested over the last couple of days. This morning I saw a group of yellowhammers in the middle of the road by a field gate. From the look of things they were eating spilled grain. Instead of flying into the hedgerow they flew away from me along the road at windscreen height. I haven't seen much else recently apart from a distant glimpse of a partridge and the occasional red kite.

Returning to the Garden

High summer and early autumn is always a quiet time for birds in my garden. I no longer feed after my summer holiday as I have ended up throwing away far to much mouldy fat or seed. Normally I would wait until November before putting the feeders back out but a party of long tailed tits appeared in the front garden today so I think that it might be worth while trying a single fat bar for the moment. For the past couple of weeks I have seen a lot of roadside signs saying "beware of deer" in places where I wouldn't normally see them. Last weekend I decided that they might be justified when I encountered a herd of roe deer in the road between Ley Hill and Latimer. While muntjac are seen often enough the roes tend to be shy and this was only the third time that I have had a good look at some in all the years that I have lived here.