Chiltern Birder

I was in Whitby for a few days in August and noticed that there seemed to be guillemots visible from the piers which is something that I haven't noticed before. Subsequent reports such as this one suggest that this is a "bad thing" caused by a shortage of food out to sea. I took a boat trip down the coast which was interesting and rather disturbing. Plenty of guillemots were visible on the water from just after we cleared the harbour, what was exciting was the sight of gannets travelling parallel to the coast once we were half a mile or so out to sea. We spotted a solitary seal but the highlight was a pod of bottle-nosed dolphins. The skipper took the boat in a circle around the pod which must have been disturbing for them.

The most striking thing about this year so far is the crash in starling numbers in the garden. The regular May invasion happened but numbers were in single figures and, curiously, they seemed reluctant to use the starlign feeder, preferring fat pellets and dried mealworms from the ground feeder. I would normally shift several kilos of fat in this period, this time a single 500gm fat bar sufficed and tht saw more action from pigeons and blue tits than from starlings. After the worries about the dry weather earlier in the year our blue tits seem to be breeding well with plenty of juveniles in the garden and adults carrying food away. We have also had a pair of goldfinches in regular attendance throughout the spring. Today a cock bullfinch appeared in the back garden for the first time since the winter. At ground level the badgers no longer seem to be visiting on a nightly basis. In the front garden wrens have nested in the bat box. It seems almost impossible to open the front door with...

At this time of year there are always fewer birds in the garden and those that are seen are often taking food away for their chicks. Even the badgers seem to have stopped visiting, I went into the garden last night and disturbed a rat on the ground feeder. This wasn't helped by the fact that hardly anything had been touched during the day. I will be cutting back on what I put in the ground feeder for a while. Despite the lack of large flocks or anything unusual it has been a pleasant time for birds. I am not sure where the robins in the front garden nested but they raised a brood as I have seen juveniles in the front garden and also had a family of dunnocks on the back fence. A wren has been very vocal near my kitchen window which does make the washing up a little more pleasant. Sparrows seem to have nested nearby as I have heard them when outside and have seen one or two individuals in my rowan tree. Starlings will probably be absent from the garden fgor at least another week bu...

One thing that has always suprised me is that I never seem to see any sparrows in the garden despite there being plenty elsewhere in the village. Easter was a welcome exception with a pair coming into the garden for just a few minutes. Despite the variety of food on offer they haven't returned. The feeders still attract tits, more commonly great tits than blue at the moment, goldfinces usually as singletons or pairs and the regular pair of bullfinches. At ground level blackbird, robin and dunnock are resident as well as visits from wood pigeons and magpies. In the front garden the robins seem to have raised a brood as I saw one in juvenile plumage in the quicnce trees this morning. I have tried a new addition to the various feeds that I put out. A mix of pinhead oatmeal and Haith's softbill food. Scattered lightly on a ground feeding tray it usually goes quite quickly. On thing that I have learned is not to concentrate the softbill food. A small heap tends to be untouched but ...

Settling in to the breeding season we are seeing some changes in the garden. The redpolls seem to have moved on while the goldfinches are appearing in far smaller numbers. Rather than all feeder ports in use with birds waiting we now see one or two at a time although the pair of bullfinches are still around. Numbers of tits seem to be down but we did get our first long tailed tits for some time this morning. They ignored the seed feeders but took fat pellets from the ground feeder. With fewer birds around the dunnock has become less shy and is now regularly seen taking food scattered on the lawn.

It was a fine spring like day today with the lesser celendines under the front hedge finally starting to flower which attracted a buff tailed bumblebee. In the back a siskin was sampling the sunflower hearts. He posed for some time as I stood at the bedroom window and studied him carefully through glasses. I think that this is only the second time that I have seen one in the garden. The lesser redpolls are still regular visitors clearing up the pieces of sunflower seed that the goldfinches drop. Between them and the pigeons that patch of lawn is getting pecked bar. While I was watching the siskin a dunnock turned up as well but not for long as the lack of a red breast didn't stop the robin from seeing him as a threat. I know that robins can be vicious little devils but I thought that the behaviour was triggered by colour.

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.