Chiltern Birder

The greater spotted wodpecker is still a regular visitor to the back garden but yesterday I was noticed a lot of starlings on the front lawn next door. One seemed to be moving oddly and taking a closer look I realised that there was a green woodpecker among them. I nave never had a change to watch one quite so closely and I was struck by its very stiff gait as it hopped and by the way the beak was held titled upwards, reminiscent of a cormorant. It was digging quite intensively in one spot in a manner which explains the several holes that had appeared in my grass in recent months.

The starling chicks finally put in an appearance yesterday, making a lot of noise and standing on top of the fat bar and demanding to be fed. One or two did take the occasional peck but they still prefer sitting with their mouths open. That will change in a day or two. We have had a lot of chaffinches including one chick being fed while a very frazzled looking blue tit keeps carrying off beak fulls of fat. Apart form that, over the last two days we have had house sparrows, goldfinches, dunnock, robin, blackbird, wood pigeon and greater spotted woodpecker in the garden. A trip to Oxfordshire today was rather lacking in birds as it was raining heavily on the way out although later in the day we did see a few swifts in Bampton and on the way back six kites in the Thame area. Even though they are a common site around here they still provoke a sense of wonder whenever I see them.

Exactly 12 months ago I recorded seeing juvenile starlings on the feeders. So far this year I haven't seen any although adults are around in numbers. On the back garden feeders I am seeing very few tits at the moment. This morning's tally has been robin, wood pigeon, goldfinches, chaffinch, house sparrows and starlings. At the front a blue tit is nesting in a hole in the cladding of my next door neighbour's house. I have a fat feeder in one of my quinces at the front. I have seen the bird going into the tree and the fat is being taken so I guess that he is taking it.

A year to the day since I saw my first greater spotted woodpecker in the garden and one came to the starling feeder this morning. She kept the fat block between her and the window but I could see a flash of red under her tail and then she moved a little higher and gave me a good view. I hope they will be breeding again this year.

Just heard my first cuckoo of the year, I would probably have missed it if I hadn't had the bedroom window open because of the sudden onset of summer weather. Actually it was heard around here four days ago but this is just the first day when I have had the leisure to actually listen to the birdsong.

I saw my first swallow of the year this morning. One flying past and one perched on a phone line near the village. I was then told that they had been around for a while already but none had crossed my path.

At the moment I am hearing more bird song than I am seeing birds. I am getting a pair of coal tits coming to the feeders so, hopefully, they have a nest nearby. A garden in Great Missenden was open for the National Garden Scheme today which showed up my lack of knowledge about bumble bees as there was a pure black species in the garden with the laden pollen sacks showing up in marked contrast. It was striking that all the plants were well in advance of my exposed hill top location. Coming back we did see a red kite between Missenden and Chesham. A short while ago I had to make repeat of the trip to Goring that I mentioned last May. This time I did not see a single kite on the way down although I did glimpse one flying high over Goring at lunchtime. Coming back I saw a group just before the wonderfully named village of Britwell Salome and regular numbers after that.