Chiltern Birder

You don't really think about "pregnancy" in egg laying animals but for the last few days it has been striking that there are some very plump hen birds around. I first noticed a greenfinch but there has been a particularly gravid looking chaffinch that has been sitting underneath the feeders eating bits that fall rather than trying to perch. The greenfinch was the first that I have seen for quite a while but apart from the regulars the only other bird of note has been the great spotted woodpecker who has perched in the garden on a couple of occasions but hasn't come to the feeders. Badgers have been visiting fairly regularly. On one night I put out a choice of raisins and fat pellets and found that the badger only took the fruit while a field mouse came out to take the fat. I have seen badgers take tallow based fat products and the pellets were suet based so I tried two fat balls, one of suet and one of tallow. Naturally the badgers stayed away that night! I have...

I went out to top up the feeders today. When I took the top off the ground hopper I found a mouse inside. He must have dined well on the contents because he had great difficulty squeezing out through the feeding port. Not much of note otherwise although I did see a cormorant over the Chess valley between Chesham and Latimer. They aren't exactly rare these days but unusual enough in the area for me to take notice.