Nuthatch
(picture courtesy of Royal Society for the Protection of Birds)
It is
over twenty years since I saw a Nuthatch in my garden, and that was in the
other house. Because the pigeons made such a mess on the patio we moved the bird
feeders further down the garden but located where we could still see the birds coming
to feed. Occasionally we see a rare bird but that doesn’t happen often.
Recently
I saw a bird tucked right inside the caged feeder but couldn’t identify it. I
saw the breast colour once, which told me it was neither a chaffinch nor a
robin. I couldn’t make out the rest of the plumage because he kept his body
behind the feeder tube, but his shape was familiar and the name ‘Nuthatch’ kept
springing to mind.
After a
few days the bird got braver and showed himself in full. It was indeed a Nuthatch and I almost screamed
with delight. I do hope he sticks around.
Obviously
the wild patch is coming into its own. Since the area was left to ‘go wild’ we
have seen an increase in the variety of birds but not enough. Having the
feeders down there, one of them almost hidden by branches of the apple tree,
seems to be an added attraction. It’s costing us a bit more in birdseed but
what the heck ... with the rapid decline in birdlife they need all the help
they can get.
I don’t
expect to see the Treecreeper but one never knows!
and finally
The lovely Jay has cottoned on to the squirrel's hoarding pattern. Whenever shelled peanuts are put out (for the birds) the squirrel buries a lot of them in the lawn. I guess he saves them for those days when I don't include peanuts in the daily diet. The other day I watched the Jay hunting round the lawn to find the peanuts ... and succeeding. I have to smile at our wildlife inhabitants.
