Saturday 16th December 2017
An Arrival of Tree Sparrows
Absolutely amazed to see at least 19 Tree Sparrows on the feeders today. Up till now we've had between 1 and 6. I spent most of the day just watching them through the conservatory window, though when I did venture outside there seemed to be more in the hedgerows. Whether they have come from locally or from across the sea is a matter for speculation.
Unfortunately there was a rat under the feeders too - this is always a danger of feeding the birds. I shall be placing a couple of bait boxes in the area. They should keep the birds safe and I am hoping to move away from poison bait. There is a powerful trap hidden inside the boxes.
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| The compelling view from the conservatory window |
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| Tree Sparrows mixing it with House Sparrows |
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| The feeding station |
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| Tree Sparrows feeding on the ground. But how many can you see? |
Sunday 17th December 2017
A Sharp Frost
A very sharp frost. We are in a spell of colder weather which is most welcome.
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| Shetland sheep are tough cookies |
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| One of the new ponds looking very wintery |
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| I love how the copper beech hedge retains its leaves through the winter |
The Tree Sparrows were still on the feeders today, though numbers seem to have dropped a little.
In the back field, swan numbers were up from 26 to 39. They are mostly Mute Swans but recently there have been three Whoopers mixed in with them too. On closer inspection today there were five Whoopers, but more unusually the herd had been joined by three Bewick's Swans.
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| The swan herd in the fields at the back of the smallholding |
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