|
babies abound2nd Jul 2018Babies abound
By late June it is normal to see family groups of birds in the bushes and trees nearby. This year, thankfully, there is no exception. At the time of writing there are juvenile song thrush, blackbird, chaffinch, great tit, blue tit, dunnock, wren and jackdaws all in the garden, and the carrion crows have already dispersed.
With such productivity, there is also a chance for a second brood. Collared dove are rebuilding, and blackcaps are reconfirming territory. The number of young also offers a nice opportunity for lunch. Yesterday there was a very new pile of black/ brown feathers on the lawn, and a gentle arcing drift of feathers down from a cedar branch as a sparrowhawk consumed a snack oblivious to the cacophony of scolding blackbirds a safe distance away.
That, and a peregrine, seem to find the supply of snacks irresistible. Soon the numbers of young will drop down: we are already seeing desiccated corpses of robins and wrens, and trim those best adapted for the remaining drought and the forthcoming winter. |
|
