Bird Feeder Frenzy

Another soggy day. I went into the kitchen at 4 o'clock intending to wash up but got distracte by a noise I didn't recognise from outside - a loud whistled argument, much louder and more musical than sparrows. It was nine starlings all competing for breadcrumbs at the same time! A couple of days ago I saw one juvenile, still with his soft brown coat on, but these were mostly older, immature but not babies. Anyway, they constituted a small flock, which was nice.

As I was watching them, they were joined by another flock, this time of mixed great tits, blue tits and chaffinches, who were based on the silver birches outside the fence but came swooping in mob handed for peanuts and seeds. At one time I counted three blue tits and two great tits all on the peanut feeder at the same time.

And it didn't stop there. Washing up forgotten, I watched in amazement as more and more birds came in. There were a few sparrows, of course, but for the first time they were outnumbered by other species. A collared dove, a couple of blackbirds, a jackdaw, two magpies... Nine different species in all, all in my tiny little garden at the same time. When I first put the feeders up, only a couple of months ago, I rarely saw any birds from the kitchen window. Today, in the rain, a good variety. Hopefully later in the year when there is less natural food I should see even more. It's quite exciting, if bad for the housework!