It's only about a fortnight since the last Small Bird News but a great deal has been going on in their little world. They're a source of endless interest - though Mrs MW is not amused that the sparrows are still eating her misembryanthemums. However, at least the sparrow population has reduced, largely through our almost abandoning grain feeders, which they monopolised.
The same cannot be said for the blue tit population, which seems to go up by the day, encouraged by our policy of increasing the number of (patented) peanut feeders, most designed so the sparrows can't access them.
This blue tit seems to manage the difficult landing manoeuvre required for these feeders even though he has only one leg.
Another species whose numbers are increasing, but which used to be quite an unusual sight, is the coal tit. If anything, they are even more intelligent and inquisitive than the blue tits. They've been the first to find their way in to this, the only seed feeder we currently deploy - there are small entrances to right and left.
The coal tit featured in the above picture is the 'normal' colour, but....
....we have a new arrival which seems a little more coaly than the others, his breast and tummy being mottled black. I have searched on the internet and he does seem to be quite unusual.
Another species which is around in larger-than-usual numbers is the pied wagtail, mainly because they've had a good breeding year - this is a juvenile. Usually they stick to the wide expanses of neighbouring grassy playing fields but some of them have taken to coming in to our front garden, perhaps because we have recently enclosed it with a wooden fence which makes it more protected, warmer and, therefore, more insect friendly.
The robins continue to entertain us, though what is going on is deadly serious. The newly-enclosed front garden is prime robin territory and we think that this one, the graveyard robin, is making an attempt to take it over from the resident back-garden robin. At the moment there's a great deal of singing, posturing and chasing going on but robins can become involved in serious fights.
It's only about a fortnight since the last Small Bird News but a great deal has been going on in their little world. They're a source of endless interest - though Mrs MW is not amused that the sparrows are still eating her misembryanthemums. However, at least the sparrow population has reduced, largely through our almost abandoning grain feeders, which they monopolised.
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