🐦⬛Garden nature diary: The natural world on my doorstep
December 1: A wet and windy day but the birds were still active. Lots of chaffinches (males and females), goldfinches and greenfinches (most at one time: three) on the sunflower hearts feeders. Pair of stock doves on the lawn, with a single bird visiting at a separate time. Five house sparrows (males and females) on the seed feeder. Flock of wood pigeons (c.70) in flight over woodland. Coal tit on feeding station. Seen from our drive: Herring gulls (c.80) in soaring flight over the western slope, heading north. Little egret in low flight along Wordsworth and then turned towards centre valley woodland.
December 2: Herring gull in low flight over our home, heading up the western slope. At least eight house sparrows (male and female) visiting the seed feeder. As always, lots of chaffinches, goldfinches and greenfinches on the sunflower hearts feeders. Male sparrowhawk flashed through the garden.
December 3: At least six house sparrows on the seed feeder. They never bother with the sunflower hearts. Stock dove feeding below the station, spending some considerable time. Chaffinches and greenfinches on the sunflower hearts feeder.
December 4: Two little egrets in flight along the centre of the valley, heading north. Seen at dawn, from the living room. Most magpies in the garden at one time: three. Female house sparrow on the seed feeder.
December 5: Numerous chaffinches, goldfinches and greenfinches on the sunflower hearts feeder. Pair of stock doves feeding beneath the feeding station. Raven in flight heading north, seen from the living room.
December 6: Flock of c.70 wood pigeons over the woodland, seen from the living room. Two calling ravens in low flight, into woodland beyond Wordsworth and seen from the drive. Chaffinches, goldfinches and greenfinches on the sunflower hearts feeders.
December 7: Male blackbird in the garden. Pair of greenfinches on the sunflower hearts feeder.
December 8: Stock dove on the lawn. Chaffinches, goldfinches and greenfinches on the sunflower hearts feeders.
December 9: Storm Bram but the birds continued to visit the garden. Chaffinches, goldfinches and greenfinches were on the sunflower hearts feeders in numbers. Male blackbird on the lawn.
December 10: As always, lots of chaffinches, goldfinches and greenfinches visiting the feeding station, sometimes all three present at the same time.
December 11: The very last bird in the garden before was dark was a dunnock. This is usually the case with a bird or two on the ground beneath the feeding station.
December 12: Male sparrowhawk flashed through the garden, landing on the roof of the next bungalow down. After thirty seconds, it flew back across our garden, heading up the slope.
December 13: An hour birding, late evening, from the back of our home. Coal tits, blue tits, great tits, chaffinches and robin on the feeding station. Wood pigeons, magpie, dunnocks on the ground. Carrion crow, black-headed gull and herring gull all in flight. First fieldfare of the year, a flock of c.70 in flight across the valley. Three redwings in flight.
December 14: Stock dove on the lawn. Common buzzard calling in low soaring flight over our home. Robin singing well into dark, heard from the drive.
December 15: Stock dove and wood pigeon on the lawn, with the former pecking at the latter to keep it away from fallen seeds. I was watching a goldfinch that had landed on the feeding station, when a female sparrowhawk suddenly appeared and took the bird off to eat. The power of the collision caused one of the sunflower hearts feeders to fall to the ground.
December 16: Stock dove on the lawn. Herring gull perched on roof of a house the other side of our road, with a second bird in flight but not landing.
December 17: Sparrowhawk flashed through the garden, turned next door then flew away towards the lane. Coal tit on the feeding station. Chaffinches, goldfinches and greenfinches on the feeding station. Last bird, a very late dusk dunnock on the ground.
December 18: Six long-tailed tits on the fat ball feeder at lunchtime. Returned later (assuming the same flock, of course) c.8 birds. Stock dove on the lawn. Male sparrowhawk flashed through the garden, landed on the fence and then flew off again.
December 19: Sparrowhawk flew into the garden, turned at an empty feeding station, and flew away. Two jackdaws in low flight over the end of our garden.
December 20: Two ravens in very low flight seen from our drive, looking towards the green.
December 21: Chaffinches, goldfinches and greenfinches on the feeding station. I heard a raven calling from the garden. It wasn’t in flight but was perched somewhere towards the central woodland.
December 22: Sparrowhawk flashed through the garden but nothing on the feeding station, so it continued on its way. Ten wood pigeons in a neighbouring tree.
December 23: Long-tailed tits c.8 on the feeding station late afternoon. Stock dove on the lawn.
December 24: Chaffinches and greenfinches on the feeding station.
December 25: At least eight house sparrows on the seed feeder. It’s hard to get an exact figure, they don’t stay feeding for long.
December 26: Six house sparrows around the feeding station.
December 27: Muntjac calling from beyond Wordsworth on the western slope. Heard from the drive. House sparrows (seen four at one time) on the seed feeder.
December 28: Female blackbird on the patio. Two visits from long-tailed tits on the feeding station (c.8). House sparrows (c.6) on the feeding station.
December 29: Wren on the patio. House sparrows (c.8) visiting the seed feeder.
December 30: Male blackbird beneath the feeding station. Two robins in the garden at the same time. The usual squabble but not too bad. Coal tit visiting the feeding station. Flock of house sparrows (c.8) in the garden.
December 31: Male blackbird feeding beneath the station. Wren feeding on the patio. Last bird of the year, a woodcock in very late dusk flight. Flew from central valley woodland, over our bungalow and into woodland beyond the school.