Now the breeding season is all but over, small, sociable birds club together to roam around in a flock. Long-tailed tits, blue tits and great tits are some of the more common flock-formers.
These flocks serve to provide safety in numbers, of course, but they can also mean that food sources can be found more quickly - word spreads fast!
Lurking in the flock could be a treecreeper, nuthatch, marsh tit, great spotted woodpecker (or if you're VERY lucky, a lesser spotted woodpecker) or a revolving cast of other hangers-on.
Those 'other birds' can be the most interesting ones. We're in the midst of autumn migration which can bring birds to places they wouldn't normally go.
That's why you could see a whitethroat, blackcap or even a reed warbler in your garden this weekend! These small birds will soon be heading south to Africa for winter, undertaking amazing journeys across seas, mountains and deserts, in some cases. And they might also pass through a few gardens, where there can be plenty of insects and fruit to eat.
On a slightly larger scale, you can follow the exploits of two young ospreys from Loch Garten, while our friends at the British Trust for Ornithology are tracking five cuckoos, with fascinating results so far.
As it happens, it's the Birdfair at Rutland Water this weekend, and the theme is migration and the challenges that birds face (if you're going, come and say hello to friendly staff and volunteers at the RSPB stand in Marquee 4).
So this weekend, watch out for some of those migratory hangers-on and let us know what you've seen!