Add your "Odds & Sods" here thread ... 2020

Thanks everyone,   even with busy House Sparrows raising their broods they don't seem to be bothering the Martins apart from the first pics I got when two male Sparrows went for a bit of a nosey round the nesting site.    From what I witness all seem to be doing their own thing and Martins, especially what I imagine is the male is zipping back and forth at intermissions to bring food to the female who is still incubating the eggs.    We have two pairs in nests next to one another;    pity a couple of other nests were damaged although we do appear to have a healthy number of martin in the general area as I see them over the fields.     So far I've only seen the one pair of Swallows whereas last year we had at least 3 pairs near the courtyard.    No doubt they are using nearby outbuildings for their nests but I see them perched up on the wires each day.   

@ Tony, I hope you get the martins back next year, fingers crossed. 

@ Nige,  what a thrill to have such an encounter with Swifts - the only similar thing I had was when a Sparrowhawk which must have had something in it's eyeline and without any fear headed less than a metre over our heads as we were sitting on the patio at the other garden,  all I remember is us both instinctively ducking as those huge orange/yellow eyes came on full throttle towards us and just thankful we were not on the daily specials menu  LOL

@ Ann,   I do hope you get to see local martins again,  they do have a funny chirruping;ratchety sound as they come flying in and I noticed they continue their bonding just being contentedly next to one another  - awww  !     I agree that so many birds don't make it here due to human intervention/trapping and I fear that may have increased during the pandemic when more illegal activity can go on with less scrutiny.     I read recently via BBC  that the raptor persecution has, unsurprisingly,  increased during lockdown;   it is still so sad that a human can harm birds/nature in such a way …. even for lucrative business purposes;   at Easter a Red Kite for instance was found with a dozen shotgun pellets inside it's body.     These people have no conscience;  how would they feel if someone did the same to their faithful "illegally working" dog.      

@ Gaynor, keep up those zoom meetings with uke  !   must be fun to get together.