It's been a decent birding winter so far, albeit much wetter and more windy than expected.
First, a summary of the birds I am feeding this winter: Lots of Great Tits, Blue Tits, and Coal Tits. Two resident Robins, who don't get along. Three to five Blackbirds and a couple of Dunnocks. A handful of somewhat shy Chaffinches and the occasional Wren. So far I have only seen one female Great Spotted Woodpecker, but last spring I saw a male as well. The family of Long-tailed Tits I mentioned in my last update have joined up with another group, so now there's at least 8 and possibly a dozen. The new year has also brought the beautiful Bullfinch couple from last winter back, and I have also spotted a male Siskin and a Goldfinch. There is also a Treecreeper in the area now, but I haven't seen it take food off the ground yet, so I can't claim to be feeding it at this point.
In the feeding area, I also have the usual "undesirables", namely Magpie, Carrion Crow and Wood Pigeon. As soon as I leave for 10 minutes to have a look along the river, they swoop in and fill up, scaring the small birds off. It's not that I don't like the big birds; they too have a place. However, the big birds can eat a multitude of foods and are better equipped to survive the winter, which is why I don't feel a need to feed them. The same can be said for the grey squirrels. Therefore, I "stand guard" in the area for an hour or two every time I put food out, whistling my usual call. The in-betweener of these two bird groups, the medium-sized Great Spotted Woodpecker, appears to be learning that I don't want to chase it away, but it also has the distinct advantage of not being as afraid of the large birds as the really small birds are, so it may join both groups.
With the weather being very windy and wet, the river has been a rather unwelcoming place. As a result, I haven't been down there much, and haven't seen other species than the lone Goosander. On the other side of the hill where I live, I've seen two Song Thrushes (at least that's what they look like to me, but they could be Mistle Thrushes). I also see the Long-tailed Tits there, perhaps a quarter of a mile from the feeding place, as they move from tree to tree endlessly during the day.
So that's the latest report. Nothing particularly unusual, but still a good turn-up, and fairly promising for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch which is at the end of this month. Below are the latest pictures.
Yes, the first frost came at the beginning of November, but then the weather turned very mild. I still fed the birds on occasion, but I save the large portions for sub-zero temperatures, which have only returned recently.
The latest photo selection features several Robin pictures. They're not my favourite bird, as they're quite aggressive towards each other and other small birds, but they are very bold and sometimes come very close to me.
Today's feeding was a particularly good experience. When I put out the food and whistled, only a Robin and a couple of Blackbirds seemed to notice, which is highly unusual. I waited, watching the squirrels feast on the food on the ground, but eventually moved to chase them off (half an hour is enough!). After that, and another whistle, all the small birds came, and eventually also - to my great delight - Long-tailed Tits. They were only there for a few minutes; they tend to continually move from tree to tree, and might pay several short visits during the course of the day. Five of them swooped in and headed straight for the coconut shells.
Different birds have different preferences - the wee Coal Tits seem to prefer the bird table, whereas the Great Tits are quite happy to use both table, ground and coconuts. Because some birds prefer eating on the ground, today I made two different bird food mixes. The mix I scatter on the ground contains mealworms (for the Blackbirds) and nyjer seed (in the hope of attracting Goldfinches) as well as an extra dose of sunflower hearts for the Chaffinches. And speaking of which, there *are* Chaffinches in the feeding area, but as they arrived late last season, they're not quite sure of me... yet.
The first frost had appeared this morning, which was my cue to start this season's bird feeding. It coincides with Bonfire Night, which is celebrated mainly with fireworks rather than bonfires, thus causing immense stress to wildlife, so I reckoned the birds could do with a little extra energy before nightfall.
The birds had not forgotten the whistle I used last winter to inform the area about fresh food. As soon as I called, Great Tits and Robins lined up by the bird table. There are still two Robins, so it looks like their territorial dispute was never entirely resolved. Perhaps they have simply learned to live with each other. I also saw two male Blackbirds; I think they were fighting on the ground (slightly out of my sight, but rustling quite a bit in the fallen leaves!). There were also a few Blue Tits, a Coal Tit and a Dunnock, but nothing out of the ordinary and at this point no finches (but they will come when they realise there are plenty of sunflower hearts on offer). In the treetops above were Magpies, a Carrion Crow and a Wood Pigeon, and of course one of the Grey Squirrels immediately appeared to fill up on the seeds scattered on the ground. I took a walk along the river and spotted a Goosander, which I followed for about half a mile as she lazily drifted upstream while diving for food.
So, in a nutshell, there were no surprises, but a good start to the season. Over the course of the winter I hope to spot Long-tailed Tits, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Goldfinches, Treecreepers, Siskins, Wrens and Great Spotted Woodpeckers in the feeding area, as well as Fieldfares, Goldeneyes, Kingfishers, Coots and Grey Herons by the river. Last winter I also saw a Grey Wagtail, a Dipper and a couple of Teals. For a busy, dirty, semi-urban area, the amount of wildlife on the White Cart is pretty amazing.
I'll kick off this diary with a dozen pictures from today. The quality is a bit mixed but generally not very good. Since last winter I have begun wearing glasses, and I have yet to learn how to negotiate this obstruction when I focus the camera. I hope you'll enjoy them nonetheless.
