November. Dull, dull and dull is how I can describe November this year. Just like November should be. Dark, mild and very wet. And what about the birds? Well more redwings and fieldfares have filtered in locally, siskins are showing in good numbers, whooper swans occasionally lumber across the sky, a spectacular peregrine winged low over the garden on the 23rd and a crossbill flew over the house on the 30th. Most of the time nothing too exciting to write home about.
So what do I really want to see in my garden this winter?
A bird very high on my garden wish list is the brambling, my favourite winter visitor. I've had a couple of fleeting glimpses of these charismatic finches on my local patch, but I really want one in my garden and I am getting ever more impatient. I saw one at work earlier in the month and that got the juices flowing, well for a little while. A birding friend locally nearly always has one or two on his feeders each year. I get jealous.
There are several large beech trees on my patch and I have one on the edge of my garden. Just the thing for bramblings, but they are never there or at least they aren't when I am about.
So many chaffinches visit my feeders each winter. Their numbers are steadily increasing as the winter weeks progress. I take careful note of each bird in the hope that one might be the more showy cousin of theirs, a brambling. I hallucinate sometimes trying to convince myself there is one among the chaffinch parties, but it's useless they are never there. But one day I know one or more will come. I just wish that day would hurry along!
So what do I really want to see in my garden this winter?
A bird very high on my garden wish list is the brambling, my favourite winter visitor. I've had a couple of fleeting glimpses of these charismatic finches on my local patch, but I really want one in my garden and I am getting ever more impatient. I saw one at work earlier in the month and that got the juices flowing, well for a little while. A birding friend locally nearly always has one or two on his feeders each year. I get jealous.
There are several large beech trees on my patch and I have one on the edge of my garden. Just the thing for bramblings, but they are never there or at least they aren't when I am about.
So many chaffinches visit my feeders each winter. Their numbers are steadily increasing as the winter weeks progress. I take careful note of each bird in the hope that one might be the more showy cousin of theirs, a brambling. I hallucinate sometimes trying to convince myself there is one among the chaffinch parties, but it's useless they are never there. But one day I know one or more will come. I just wish that day would hurry along!
