After a few years absence in the skies around my place, I was glad to observe a few swallows darting about looking for breakfast this morning. It has been a matter of magpies, gulls, crows. starlings, pidgeons and the odd sparrow and robins for a long time. But this morning on opening the living room curtains, I was happily surprised by 2 swallows swooping and darting gathering small insects. I was pleased to see a return and hope that at least a couple of them will take possession of the nest under my eaves that has been unused for a few years.
We are in a new build estate. The land was formerly farmland and it was rich in bird life so much so that the roads are all named after birds. Despite the building activity there seems to be plenty of birds around still and it’s been a bit of a first for me, living in the countryside, to have bird feeders in the garden. It has taken 2 or 3 months but finally we get plenty of birds feeding at the bird feeders. To be honest I don’t recognise many of them but it’s great to see them. We do however have blackbirds that insist on digging holes in the garden and churning up soil onto the path. I couldn’t work it out till I caught one in the act one day. The holes can be as large as a fist.
Fox everywhere,saw three in the street last week,quite a few red kite around,buzzards in number,muntjac deer have now spread to the area,saw a small flock of parakeets earlier.
Where I live, there were loads of wagtails and bluetits at one time, wild rabbits all over the place, but since they started releasing huge quantities of red kites and the odd peregrine, things have come to stand still. Even kestrels, at one time kings of the road verges, are on a downturn, cannot see many of those around anymore. pity.
