Day 38: Starling

The starlings arrived today, Wednesday 29th April. I'm always happy when these colourful characters return, even if the photo above doesn't do them justice, taken through the window, in the rain, as it was. Like a few other of our avian garden visitors, a small flock of starlings arrive in spring, stay with us whilst they breed, often bringing fledglings to the garden with them, then disappear again come the summer. On our daily walk, we also heard one calling in its clicking-whistling voice and, having not heard them here for almost a year, couldn't place it until we spotted in sitting on a roof.

These birds have a clown-like side to them, and when they turn up in a gang, which they inevitably end up doing, they squabble and bicker and make such a racket. This one, however, visited alone today, probing the wet grass for worms and other delicacies. I think it turned up a slug in the picture above, and happily flew away with its prize. According the the RSPB, they are still one the most common birds found in gardens, so I'm not quite sure why they don't stay with us throughout the rest of the year. However, I look forward to their antics for the couple of months we have the pleasure of them for.

Day 35: Jay

This photo won't win any prizes, but we had an unusual garden visitor on day 35, this colourful jay tucking into a fat cake. These corvids have been very active when on our daily walks and they can often be seen gliding and screeching their way between the large oak trees nearby, but they very rarely visit the garden.

There always seems to be something special about seeing a jay, more so than other members of their intelligent family, perhaps it is their colouring, or perhaps it is just that we see them less frequently. Finding a jay feather, with the various shades of blue sported in its wings, is always a treasure worth keeping.

Occasionally, we find oak saplings growing in our front garden, and I often wonder whether these are thanks to the jays or squirrels forgetting part of their winter hoard.

Day 30: Blue tit

Probably my favourite garden bird, these colourful characters have so much attitude. If I am in the garden, and 'in their way', the individuals we currently have visiting will happily sit and shout at me from the fence. The variation of calls they make is wide, with the very sweet, high pitched calls the pair make to each other, to the loud 'shouty' call we so often hear.

We have been trying to persuade them to nest in the garden since we put up the bird box, pictured below, three years ago, and we think we may have success this year. Originally, we had the box on an East facing wall. but as our garden is a bit of heat trap, we think it probably got too hot. We have since moved it to a North facing wall, but no success last year, and finally placed a large potted shrub in front of it. This final thing seems to have done the trick.

A pair, with a particularly brightly coloured and bold male, have been prospecting the nest box since early January, and, over the last week, the action has really built up. We have seen them taking in nesting material and they seem to have chosen the garden gate as a favoured place to repeatedly copulate.

Hopefully, they will stay and I will be able to report fledglings in the not too distant future.

Day 29: Feral pigeon

I have always associated feral pigeons with city centres and had assumed we were a little too far away from the city for them to be interested in our garden. However, what started as infrequent visits to the area, then eventually our garden, by one bird (the speckled one at the front), soon became two birds, then four, then five. It seemed this one had 'told' all of its 'friends' about the free food on offer. They can now regularly be seen queuing on the surrounding roofs either for us to put food out, or for us to go back inside so they can feed in peace. They have also now learnt how to balance on the hanging feeders.

Feral pigeons are derived from rock doves, the ancestor of all domestic pigeons. The wild rock dove is now only found on islands, the north and west coasts of Scotland and on Northern Ireland coasts. However, feral pigeons breed almost everywhere.

I wasn't sure how I felt about these visitors turning up originally, but have come to accept them as part of our garden wildlife, and think they are just as deserving of a free meal as all the other birds are.

References:
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/rock-dove/ (accessed 22/04/2020)

Day 28: Pied Wagtail

I don't really know why, but I am always a little more excited to see a pied wagtail in the garden than most of our other avian visitors. I am happy to see all of them, of course, but there is something about the character of a pied wagtail that I find particularly charming. Or, maybe it is because I've never experienced them visit a garden in other houses I've lived in.

They patrol the roofs of the neighbourhood, wagging their long tails and chirruping to, it would often seem, to no one in particular. They fly, undulating, down into the garden to hoover up ants and other insects, occasionally trying to chase down flying insects on foot rather than flying, or performing acrobatics to catch them in mid air.

Since we improved the pond, making it larger and easier for birds and mammals to access, a couple of weeks ago, we've definitely seen more of these sprightly little birds dashing around the garden. Yet another reason that everyone should provide some kind of water source for wildlife.

Day 27: Blackbird

The blackbird will always hold a special place in my heart as, when we first bought our house, before beginning our journey from a patch of grass with a clematis and two small bay trees to a small wildlife garden, we were woken after our first night here, by a blackbird singing from above our bedroom window. When I hear their melodious songs, whether morning or evening, on our roof or on the roof of a surrounding house, it always reminds me and makes me smile.

This particular female blackbird has begun taking regular baths, between 5:30 pm and 6:30 pm, each evening in the bird bath on our patio, sending showers of droplets everywhere. She flies to the fence, perches and preens, fanning out her tail feathers, drying off, before moving on. (Unfortunately, this photo had to be taken through the patio doors as I didn't want to disturb her.)

At this time of year, we usually get a couple of blackbirds regularly visiting the garden. This year, I think we have two different females (one seems more bossy than the other) and one male, but in winter we have had up to five in the garden at one time, feasting on the crab apples, sunflower hearts and 'fat cakes'. I can only assume some of these individuals must be winter migrants, escaping the colder climes back home in Scandinavia, as once spring arrives, the numbers visiting the garden always decrease.