With the chilly weather of late, the birds are our constant companions as we go about our gardening business. There are always one or two robins with a serious case of cupboard love about, keeping a sharp eye on what the spade turns up… We’re noticing increasing numbers of blackbirds ferreting around in the base of the ‘dead hedge’ we laid last winter, so I suppose they’re finding insects and earthworms in the leaf litter…. Two weeks ago I was delighted to see not one, but two song-thrushes amongst the bright gold of the fallen field maple leaves – we usually hear them in the summer months, but I have never actually seen one in the garden before, so I’m delighted! I’ll be letting those fallen leaves lie, to encourage the earthworms which are such a good source of food.
This summer we’ve had regular visits from both greater spotted and green woodpeckers, with their distinctive and different calls…. The chick, chick of the greater spotted, as opposed to the hysterical laughter of the green woodpecker. They enjoy the environment of the wet woodland beside the garden, but both are likely to be occasional visitors to suburban gardens.
This time of the year we start seeing fascinating newcomers around – we often have fieldfares overhead, those most-elegant members of the thrush family, who move south to our shores in search of food in the winter. We’re usually alerted to their presence by their slightly hoarse chack-chack-chack in the tops of the trees around us. Much smaller visitors to the treetops in the garden are flocks of siskins, with their endearingly nasal twittering as they forage for alder seeds amongst the high branches.
So, what avian friends do you see in your gardens? Why not let us know – it’s our Big Garden Birdwatch on 26 and 27 January, all you need to do is count the birds in your garden or a local park for one hour then tell us what you see. You can either download a form here: www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch or pick up a paper copy from your local RSPB reserve.