Birds

2026 Update

In some ways the changes over the last twenty-five years have been quite shocking. The local issue in the UK are diseases transmitted principally to the Finch family. As a consequence, initially on moving here, we had plenty of greenfinches visiting, as well as the odd chaffinch. In the last couple of years, there have been no greenfinches at all and now even chaffinches have disappeared from the feeders.

House sparrows have fluctuated greatly, but thankfully are now back to former levels, as are Starlings. Over the last several years, great spotted woodpeckers have become more common, usually as an occasional visitor during winter. However in the last two seasons they have been far more regular than that and on a number of occasions adult birds have brought in youngsters, presumably to show them the resource.

Birds of prey have always been very occasional, although again over the last several years we’ve been visited by sparrow hawks more often, although they’ve never successfully, in our view, taken any prey birds.

Although most of the smaller passerins have become much less evident in the garden, we still get regular great tits, blue tits, dunnocks and robins, as well as blackbirds. And the most interesting change perhaps has been this last year.

When we first put up a camera feeder in a very prominent and open space, we were surprised to get visiting jackdoors, as they had never been in the garden before. Now two pairs and sometimes youngsters are regulars, and these have joined the occasional magpie and for four or five years very regular visits from jays initially just adults in winter and once more they come in spring in pairs and later in family groups.

One incidental spin-off from this has been a whole number of hazel bushes popping up in my planters, presumably where jays have hidden nuts to reclaim later.

Black caps have also become a regular during autumn and winter. But other birds are very scarce and occasional, such as winter thrushes and other passerins.

 Birds

My first love is birding. I have alsways seen my little patch as devoted to the local birds and try to make it useful to them and attractive to birds too.

I live in an odd part of Britian with a maritime climate that is missing some species that are common almost everywhere else… like Treecreepers.

Like most birders I keep a garden list… those that actually visit the garden, and those I have seen from or right above the garden. These latter have included some interesting birds like European Stork, Osprey and Fulmar.

Birds that have actually visited the garden is a pretty short list… with birds commonly seen elsewhere missing, and birds that people travel to see more regular.

In the fourteen years we have lived here I have seen just one Goldcrest in the garden… but have had a number of Firecrests including, on one amazing day no less than five individuals! Last winter was the first time I have ever seen a Fieldfare here, one came and stayed for five days solid. It sat on an apple (we string them up for the daily Ring-necked Parakeets) and ate it completely sitting there for hours as other birds came and went and even nodding off whilst clinging to the fruit. Next day it came back and again stayed all day eating an apple… when it left we never saw it again.

This is typical of my tiny patch. Some of the birds get pretty tame, especially the doves, Blackbirds and Robins and, latterly, the Ring-necked Parakeets… but there are limits imposed by the neighbourhood cats that come in despite every attempt to deter them.

Most do not allow me close enought to snap them when I have a camera. This courting couple had forgotten to tick the ‘no publicity’ box.