Slowly, they return!

I am used to people recounting news of a lack of birds in late summer gardens, it goes with the job!  This phenomenon came much closer to home, an October scenario with us, for the first time. 

Great Tit samples the Peanut Picnic (c.OOS)

So distracted by the lack of birds in the garden I decided to freshen up the peanut feeder with a new stock of nuts (the existing residue had solidified and was disposed of) and filled up the Nyjer feeder, though only a couple of Chaffinches showed any interest. The cherry on this bird feast was a sample pot of Peanut Butter Picnic for birds, from a new supplier in Wicklow: hand made with best tallow, peanut flour, nuts and meal worms added in this treat.. surely a quickfire response was guaranteed?

Patience being a rare enough commodity around these parts, I decided to walk the dog around a decent 10 acre stubble that adjoins the garden: Right now the hedgerows are punctuated with blood and bright red berries, hawthorn and holly in profusion and also with the rich, dark black sloes of Blackthorn.

Greenfinches sample some weed seeds (c. OOS)

I was quickly reassured to meet with some nice flocks of what we reasonably expect to meet with in the garden: House Sparrows sat up high in the hedgerow, 10 or more, a great horde of Greenfinches barrelled over, I estimated about 30 birds.  Goldfinches chimed and Redpolls buzzed over.. all is well then in the countryside.  The Thrushes seem to be arriving too, Redwings numbered about 5 or 6, their thin calls always a wake up for me at first light.  Mistle Thrushes continue to patrol the fields in loose flocks, 12 to 20 birds being the norm at the moment.  

Goldfinch (c.OOS)

Much closer to the patio door and even more satisfying was the scene on the morning of 3rd November: 0 degrees at first light, bright and sunny for 3 or 4 hours, perfect conditions for a rush into the garden: sure enough, I wasn't disappointed: my first Coal Tit for a number of weeks, Great and Blue Tits in numbers and a Robin was attracted to that Peanut butter treat: (must be the meal worms).  The Greenfinch horde that was observed over the fields descended on the peanut feeder and then patronised the gravel and perennial border: never a shortage of seeds there, the total number of birds was 26, the 'flyovers' watched in the fields some days ago, surely.  

A Treecreeper was heard in the trees, a Jay flew over, light and airy and then that raucous scream as it landed up the garden in its favourite hedgerow oak tree.. A Kite patrolled the garden and moved out over the broader landscape where it jolted upwards at the sound of a volley of shots aimed lower: the Pheasant shooters, no doubt welcoming the hunting season ahead.

Its all in the stubble (c.OOS)