Small (and Larger) Bird News

It's so good when a 'different' bird appears in the garden, different, that is, from the usual gang fighting over the vast quantities of food we put out. This female siskin was one of a pair that passed through all too quickly, probably deterred from staying by the squabbling house sparrow hoards. Her mate was in full spring plumage and was quite beautiful.

At the opposite end of the beauty line-up is the dunnock, a drab little bird but one I love for its low-key personality and gentle persistence. It's almost a cross between a bird and a mouse, scurrying into the undergrowth rather than taking off when disturbed.

We continue to experiment with feeders. This is the latest, which delivers sunflower kernels through a small hole. For ages no-one could work out how to get on to it but the puzzle - and the very rich rewards - was finally cracked by a great tit, followed soon after by a blue tit. Of course one doesn't have to do the hard work as this....

....robin discovered: the kernels are awkward to extract so I would guess that 50% fall to the ground.

We are rarely honoured by a visit from a collared dove, another bird I love for its gentleness but also because they almost always go around in affectionate pairs.

There seem to be even more jackdaws around at the end of winter than there were at the beginning, and they get into everything - except, perhaps, the new sunflower feeder. They irritate me intensely but I can't help feeling a sneaking respect for their intelligence and persistence.

Finally, I'm sure readers will be thrilled to hear that our plastic owl, purchased at huge expense as a crow and gull deterrent, is now great friends with the local gulls, who are back to doing their 5am dance on the rather thin roof above our bedroom and, perhaps, teaching the owl how to do it.