Garden observations

At the time of writing the garden is full of hungry youngsters, Blackbirds are raising their second brood, the young birds chirping away to be fed.  House Sparrows are also busy feeding young ones, whose pale gape flanges instantly give their age away.

Female Blackbird feeding a youngster in my garden 9th May

And of  course there are the Starlings whose young never cease to amaze me.  Although initially dependant upon their parents upon fledging, they are clearly very quick learners, they follow their parents closely and learn from them, and within very short periods of time they are probing lawns for Leatherjackets.  Young Starlings have also learnt how to react when a threat appears, for example they fly up with their parents and closely shadow a Sparrowhawk as it passes by.

A lovely looking juvenile Starling 9th June

Red Kite and Buzzard at height 9th June

Also noted today from the garden was a female Sparrowhawk, 4 Buzzards, a Red Kite, a pair of Stock Doves passing high NNE, and 2 single Cormorants moving through.
The Red Kite and Buzzard were seen at height from the garden, and despite the distance, the pictures allows you to see the obvious differences between the two species.
In the garden a Collared Dove continues to sit tightly on the nest in my hedge, and Goldfinches were coming and going all day.  Two Siskins were frequently seen, I have seen four together recently indicating local breeding.  And finally, a male Greenfinch was singing and occasionally performed his very welcome song-flight.