🐦⬛ Nature sightings from in and around the garden at home
August 1: Lots of large whites and several small whites in the garden. Female chaffinch, female house sparrow and a pair of greenfinches on the feeding station. Stock dove feeding on the ground.
August 2: Juvenile blue tits, great tits. Coal tit in the garden, first one seen for a few weeks. Female house sparrow on the seed feeder. Meadow brown in the garden, several sightings. Very vocal muntjac from fields across the road during the hours of darkness.
August 3: Goldfinch, female chaffinch and greenfinch on the sunflower hearts feeder. Three magpies around the feeding station. Adult and very young wood pigeon in the garden. Small whites and large whites in the garden.
August 4: Goldfinch and greenfinch on the feeding station. Stock dove feeding on the lawn. Juvenile blue tits and great tits still visiting in numbers. A pair of juvenile greenfinches on the sunflower hearts feeder.
August 5: Female house sparrow on seed feeder. Female chaffinch and goldfinches on sunflower hearts feeder. Numerous juvenile blue tits and great tits on the feeding station.
August 6: Four magpies around the feeding station in the morning, followed by a single bird. Female house sparrow on seed feeder and the patio. Pair of greenfinches feeding on sunflower hearts feeder.
August 7: Pair of greenfinches, single greenfinch, female chaffinch and goldfinch on sunflower hearts feeder. Stock dove on the lawn. First woodcock of the year, bird in evening flight heading towards woodland at the heart of the valley.
August 8: Greenfinches and female chaffinch on the sunflower hearts feeder. Two juvenile greenfinches, blue tits and great tits on the feeding station. Adult and juvenile wood pigeon in the garden. Female southern hawker around the main pond. Common frog in the pond.
August 9: Pair of stock doves beneath the feeding station. Juvenile blue tits and great tits continue to visit in numbers. Two female chaffinches and a greenfinch on the sunflower hearts feeder.
August 10: We haven’t had a blackbird for a while, so nice to see a male visiting several times today. Female chaffinch, greenfinches on the sunflower hearts feeder. Juvenile blue tits and great tits in numbers.
August 11: Pair of greenfinches on the sunflower hearts feeder. Lots of juvenile blue tits and great tits on the feeding station. Six very vocal ravens soaring high above the garden.
August 12: Pair of goldfinches and a female chaffinch on the sunflower hearts feeder. Hummingbird-hawk moth in the garden. Several small whites enjoying the sunshine.
August 13: Stock dove on the lawn first thing in the morning and then in the evening. Juvenile goldfinch and female chaffinch on the sunflower hearts feeder, juvenile great tits and blue tits. Juvenile wood pigeon on the lawn.
August 14: Female sparrowhawk flashed through the garden. Lots of juvenile blue tits and great tits in the garden, single juvenile greenfinch. Common buzzard in flight over our home. With the patio door open due to the warm weather, listening to muntjacs calling, from the living room in the day. Goldfinch, female chaffinch and female house sparrow in the garden. Stock dove on the lawn, joined by a second single bird.
August 15: Numerous juvenile blue tits and great tits continue to visit the feeding station. Juvenile magpie in the garden. Juvenile goldfinch on the feeding station. Female chaffinch and stock dove on the lawn. Female house sparrow on the seed feeder. Lots of small whites in the garden.
August 16: Flock of c.6 goldfinches (adults and juveniles) in the garden and on the feeding station. Greenfinch and female chaffinch on the feeding station. Numerous blue tits and great tits visiting the feeding station throughout the day. Stock dove on the lawn.
August 17: Female house sparrow on seed feeder. Juvenile magpie in the garden. Greenfinch and juvenile goldfinch on sunflower hearts feeder. Stock dove on the lawn.
August 18: Tawny owls calling at 4.30 a.m. from woodland. Juvenile and adult goldfinches (at least five), female chaffinch and greenfinch on the sunflower hearts feeder.
August 19: Adult and juvenile greenfinch and female chaffinch on the sunflower hearts feeder. Juvenile blue tits and great tits continue to visit in numbers. Stock dove on the lawn.
August 20: Juvenile and adult goldfinch, female chaffinch and adult and juvenile greenfinches on sunflower hearts feeder. Numerous juvenile blue tits and great tits in numbers. Four magpies in the garden. Juvenile dunnocks on the patio and in the garden. First butterfly in a few days, a small white in the front garden. Male blackbird in the garden. Stock dove on the lawn.
August 21: Male blackbird beneath the feeding station, good to see the return of the species continuing. Female chaffinch, juvenile goldfinch, juvenile chaffinches and juvenile greenfinch on the feeding station. Stock dove in the garden, very dark plumage and a new visitor, standard plumage bird later. Five magpies in the garden. Female southern hawker and small white.
August 22: Male blackbird and four magpies below the feeding station. Greenfinch and goldfinches on the sunflower hearts feeder. Female house sparrow on the seed feeder. Small whites in the garden. Dragonfly seen from the living room, species not identified.
August 23: Dark plumage stock dove on the lawn again, standard plumage later. Female house sparrow on the seed feeder. Female chaffinches, goldfinches on the sunflower hearts feeder. Calling ravens – a single bird heading east and three west – passed overhead at the same time. First house martins of the year c.12 birds in migration flight, seen from the garden.
August 24: Dark plumage stock dove on the lawn. Later seen in the garden not looking good but it flew away when approached so hopefully will be fine. It returned late evening, still wobbly, but feeding, before it went to roost. Greenfinch on the sunflower hearts feeder. Several small whites in the garden.
August 25: Juvenile greenfinch on the sunflower hearts feeder. Still lots of juvenile blue tits and great tits visiting the feeding station. The dark plumage stock dove was feeding late afternoon, still looking ill but still going. Several small whites.
August 26: Two juvenile greenfinches together on the sunflower hearts feeder. Adult and juvenile wood pigeon visited the garden together.
August 27: Eight magpies in the garden, around the feeding station. They rattle the seed feeder then eat beneath it. As always, lots of chaffinch visits throughout the day, most at one time were 2 males and 1 female. Goldfinch and greenfinch on the sunflower hearts feeder. Male blackbird in the garden. The dark plumage stock dove (assuming it’s the same bird) is back and looks healthy again.
August 28: Juvenile blue tits, great tits, goldfinch and greenfinches on the feeding station. Coal tit on the sunflower hearts feeder, first one seen in a while. Male blackbird on the lawn. Stock dove (dark plumage) beneath the feeding station.
August 29: Juvenile blue tits, great tits, greenfinches. Male blackbird a regular visitor. Dark plumage stock dove again looking healthy.
August 30: Juvenile blue tits, great tits, greenfinches and goldfinches on the feeding station. Adult greenfinches and goldfinches.
August 31: Juvenile blue tits, great tits, goldfinches and greenfinches. Adult chaffinches (male and females), goldfinches, greenfinches.
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