The first of the year today as I walked out to the car this morning. It was a lovely clear call, fairly close I think which carried on for longer than usual. In the garden the last of the starlings seems to have moved on but the great spotted woodpecker is visiting regularly. With the door open this afternoon I heard her calling. Apart from that visits by birds of all sorts seem to be tailing off. While we have had all the regulars in the garden they are turning up less often. A week ago I would expect to see birds if I looked out of the window, now I am more likely to see none on the feeders. Unless a late brood turns up the starlings haven't shifted a lot of fat overall, I still have half a dozen fat bars left in the box.
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.