The rain started just after eleven last night and there was enough of it to refill the bird baths. This was the cue for the arrival of a dozen large gulls, mostly lesser black-backs, on the school playing field this morning. More herring gulls drifted in over lunchtime and when it started raining again for ten minutes later in the afternoon there were a couple of dozen of them dancing for worms, much to the consternation of the grazing woodpigeons.
Although it was a very grey day it was mild and looked okay for a walk. I decided against it, I'm in one of those moods where I'd turn a pleasant walk into a quest to beat arbitrary targets for this, that and the other and that would take the joy out of it. It's unlikely I won't add the remaining fifteen species to the year list to get to two hundred, I've seen a hundred and twelve species this month, targets sorted, calm down lad it's supposed to be fun.
So I had a quiet day and did next week's big shop a couple of days early. The blackbirds and the robin and the wren sang. The spadgers ransacked the bird feeders. And the great tits brought two youngsters in, showed them where the sunflower feeders were and let them get on with it. The spadgers, robins, starlings and woodpigeons all have youngsters in tow; the young jackdaws will be turning out any day now, it's been a productive few weeks.
I've not knowingly seen any young magpies but I've half an idea they left the nest about the same time as the big gang of teenage magpies were last strutting their stuff on the field a couple of weeks back. The gang looked even bigger than usual — thirty-odd birds — and may have been supplemented by new youngsters. The gang's gone walkabout along the Mersey to join the flocks of magpies, rooks and jackdaws in the fields and the Bradley Road roost for the Summer.
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