Home thoughts

Blue tit

The spadgers in the back garden have come out of hiding. There wasn't a lot of point in it anymore given the noise of the youngsters coming in to the feeders. They're well past the begging for food stage (all that was done undercover this year, possibly because there's a record number of magpies about) but still recognisable by their waxy yellow gapes. They seemed to be being supervised by old silver cheeks and a couple of hen sparrows, one of which is at least two years old as I recognise her by the white feather in her tail. A bit later on in the morning a couple of the other males brought half a dozen youngsters in to feed on the fat balls by the washhouse. A couple of these were a week or two younger and still doing wing fluttering begging displays despite being more than capable of diving in and helping themselves.

Some of the kids, cock sparrow top left

Spadgers

The spadgers were latecomers. Four young blue tits have been picking spiders off the living room window frame since half six, accompanied by one of the great tits. The collared dove and the woodpigeons are still singing but the blackbird and the wren have gone quiet even though the blackbird looks to have completed his moult and very sleek he looks too.

Great tit

There were half a dozen young birds amongst the fifty-odd woodpigeons on the school playing field this morning. The rooks brought in a couple of youngsters, too, and spent a while chastising them for being uppity. The carrion crows don't go in for that sort of thing, there's a sense of "That's my boy!" when their youngsters get bumptious.