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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mouldy" data-source="post: 1785143" data-attributes="member: 25743">An interesting morning began with at least a dozen magpies chasing through the conifers, two edgy birds kept squaring up to each other as the others egged them on, didn’t see if a fight actually broke out or if it was just bravado but it went on for quite sometime.The early morning sunshine brought a couple of buzzards out then two house martins spent some time in the vicinity, not sure if they were the first of our residents coming back or just feeding up as they passed through, but seemed to spend most of the day in the area.A swallow drifted over too.Clouds came over so I did some mounting (oo-er) in the greenhouse when I noticed a scuffle between two LBJ’s, zapping through a couple of shrubs then going at it hammer and tongs on the area covered in bark chippings at the side of the greenhouse. They were rolling around the ground, locked together but I couldn’t make out what they were through the blinds so had a peep around the door, and was amazed to find it was a couple of wrens in some sort of violent dispute (probably over which one of them could get on my garden list first, yes April 7th and my first wrens of the year) anyway I decided I would tick the one lying on its back, wings outstretched in very submissive posture as the victor towered (if a wren can do that) over it, beak open wide and looking well angry, as I felt a bit sorry for it. They chased off over next door and the victor sang for most of the day from various posts around the immediate neighbourhood. Next bout of sunshine and the local three buzzards (some sort of complicated love triangle I think ’cos they nearly always appear together and display to each other), entered into some gorgeous display behaviour, talon grappling, twisting and turning at close quarters and pulling out of short stoops, great to watch and right overhead. Once again the clouds came and spoiled everything, but late morning the sun put it’s hat on again and the local raptors must be gagging to get soaring on some serious thermals as no sooner had the blue skies appeared then out they came, this time five buzzards (the previous three joined by a pair which sped in from the east), and three red kites all up there at the same time.  I took advantage of the sunshine to scan the river valley and it didn’t take long to spy a small group of foraging sandmartins, feeding higher as the air warmed up so coming to a good viewing level without me having to get the ladders out to see over next doors hedge.A good morning then, a couple of scuffles, a bit of courting, and three new garden ticks for yours truly, luvvly jubbly.Garden update : OMAHD 67 Mouldy 59cheers</blockquote>

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