Home thoughts

I looked at the weather forecast first thing, looked out of the window and thought to myself that I really should get out on a walk because I need the exercise. And then I told myself not to be so bloody silly. I was still havering about it while I was making my breakfast when the weather decided it for me. I should have known: I only ever have breakfast when I'm not going out.

The birds have been giving the feeders a hammering despite, or perhaps because of, the heavy rain. The spadgers were in in force, retreating into the cover of next door's ivy when the rain got too heavy or either the starlings or squirrels were getting too boisterous. The male with the golden-brown neck and cheeks was in again, he's not so conspicuous in the company of the males with the usual dirty lead grey colouring. One of the first-Winter males is starting to show his father's silvery-white colouring and another seems to be getting darker each time I see him with the slate grey of his cheeks pretty much blending into his bib. A couple of the young hens which usually accompany the dark cock have the creamy brown of their undersides fade into a dull lemon yellow on your under tail coverts which is quite eye-catching when they're hanging off the suet feeders.

I'm not convinced the female coal tit is the same one that was coming in last year. She doesn't have the strong peach flush to the underparts of the male but there aren't the straw yellow tones of last year. This sets me wondering whether diet's a factor here, it could be the same bird but she got more caterpillars in her diet before her last moult, or something similar.

There are four blackbirds visiting the garden on a regular basis. The female just goes about her business, occasionally getting chased round the block by one of the males. One of the adult males has laid claim to a fat block I've hung in the dog rose and defends his claim as vigorously as he would a rowan tree full of berries. The other adult male seems to spent most of his time escorting a first-Winter male out of the blackcurrant bushes, which turns out to be the cat's favourite spectator sport: she'll sit on the back of the sofa for hours watching them at it.

• Blackbird 4
• Blue Tit 4
• Coal Tit 2
• Collared Dove 2
• Dunnock 1
• Goldfinch 4
• Great Tit 1
• House Sparrow 27
• Long-tailed Tit 2
• Magpie 1
• Robin 2
• Starling 9
• Woodpigeon 1

Wind and rain usually brings a pile of gulls to the school playing field. Today it's been the quietest for a while. The common gulls and lesser black-backs that have been fixtures all week haven't been in today.