Early winter garden birds
2nd December 2008, TuesdayThe birds in our Northiam garden have changed significantly over the past few weeks as we approach winter. Whilst goldfinch are regular at the nyger feeders numbers have dropped from 27 birds eight weeks ago to only 2-3 birds in recent weeks, and coal tits, an ever present for much of the autumn have started to visit more sporadically in the past week or two.
The most interesting observations have been of fruit eaters with at least two blackcap in the garden over the past three weeks, enraging our resident robin which puts a lot of effort into driving them away. They are feeding on wind-fall apples and the fruits of Himalayan honeysuckle Leycesteria formosa. I did not plant this shrub, it spread from our neighbours gardens and looks likely to be one of those species that are robust enough to invite themselves. This is a troublesome invasive species in New Zealand. They are though popular with the birds and have supplied berries for 2-3 months now. This morning we even had a bullfinch on one, although starling and blackbird seem to be most partial to them.
The apple windfalls have proved very attractive to blackbird, with the highest count this year in our garden this week. They too are exhibiting a lot of aggression, most notably to song thrush a species that has been very sparse in our garden all year but there seems to have been a sudden influx with an exceptional four birds in the garden together at lunchtime.
Woodpigeon have been few and far between this autumn, presumeably as there has been plenty of food in the fields, but they are back in abundance with 6 birds feeding on our drive this morning - a new garden record.
With all these changes it is pleasing to note that numbers of house sparrow have remained high all year. They have changed their behaviour though. Whereas they were common in the back garden all summer, where they nested, they have largely abandoned this, feeding mainly in the front, where they are closer to a patch of dense hazel and privet, from which they form noisy choruses in late afternoon.