Local patch

A young robin came into the garden for a lunchtime visit. Judging by the adroit way it tackled the fat on the giant pine cone it's been in before and I've missed it. There are a few more baby sparrows around, too, and it sounds like we'll be knee-deep in new starlings any day now.

Maple, Lostock Park

Had an afternoon stroll round the local patch, much relieved that here, at least, people are still behaving as if social distancing is a necessary evil. Birdwise it was mostly quiet, too, with most of the singing birds limiting themselves to a couple of bursts just to mark the territory in between being busy with other things. The whitethroats were in full song. There are four territories: one by the footpath to St Modwen Road, one centred around the big apple tree, one in the two bramble paces either side of the open space behind the copse, and one somewhere on St Modwen Road itself. No buzzard today but the female kestrel spent five minutes hovering over the far end of the ground before moving on towards the Trafford Centre.

This afternoon's tally:

• Blackbird 12, 5 singing 
• Blackcap 4 singing
• Blue Tit 3 
• Carrion Crow 2 
• Chaffinch 2, 1 singing 
• Chiffchaff 3, 2 singing
• Dunnock 3, 2 singing
• Feral Pigeon 21
• Goldfinch 9, 3 singing
• House Sparrow 11 
• Kestrel 1 
• Lesser Black-backed Gull 3 overhead
• Long-tailed Tit 2 
• Magpie 15 
• Robin 6, 4 singing
• Starling 3 
• Swift 3 
• Whitethroat 5, 4 singing
• Woodpigeon 6, 1 singing
• Wren 5 singing