Chiltern Birder

With the heavy snow and cold weather I have had a lot of activity in the garden and have been breaking ice on the water bowl and putting out additional food during the day. This morning I was pleased to see a song thrush, the first that I have seen visiting this winter. After lunch however, out of the corner of my eye, I was aware of something large landing in the tree at the bottom of the garden with quite a thump. Looking up I realised that it was a fieldfare, the first that I have every seen in the garden and the best naked eye view that I have had. Sadly it didn't come down to feed but flew off a minute or two later.

The wood pigeons seem to be a permanent fixture now. Yesterday morning the pair of them were on the garden fence indulging in their courtship display. I thought that they were supposed to wait until St Valentine's Day. Another effect of global warming? A party of long tailed tits as been in residence for the last couple of days and has been delighting us with frequent visits to the fat feeders. Apart from that it has been a case of the usual suspects with the exception of greenfinches which seem to have abandoned us entirely and brief visits by a song thrush and a pair of house sparrows.

I had to make a trip to Stoke Mandeville Hospital this morning. In slightly misty conditions there was only one red kite to be seen, just on the Aylesbury side of Wendover. At the hospital itself there were redwings on the grass just outside the room I was in, with one being very close giving a superb view of the plumage. I haven't seen any around the village for a few years, I don't know if this is due to the birds being absent or my being absent at key times. In the garden the pair of collared doves finally returned after a prolonged absense. They make a nice change from the wood pigeons, as long as they keep quiet. The pinhead oatmeal in the ground hopper is proving popular with a song thrush who has returned to the garden several times. Normally it is quite unusual to see a thrush in the garden. There were only two robins around today but they kept up a fascinating dance around the feeders. The dominant bird (clearly brighter red plumage) would visit the feeder while the ot