Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there save those that sang best
Henry Van Dyke
From the window where I sit and look out from my wheelchair for a lot of the day where Covid and cold weather have forced me to be, I can count myself lucky that I still have a constant stream of life to draw my attention and thoughts, if only for a few brief moments, away from a book or the computer screen. During these long winter months plant and insect life quietly disappears waiting to spring into life when the days grow longer with more light and warmth from the sun to bring forth new growth.
It is through this part of the year when the leaves of the trees have all disappeared that birds become intent on survival before getting ready for the business of singing, displaying, building nests, keeping eggs safe and warm and then hopefully feeding a bunch of hungry mouths, that they become easier and more accessible for our eyes to see, with no bright colourful flowers and other life to distract from themselves.
The birdlife that the garden and the feeders have gradually attracted over time means that there is very rarely a moment during the daylight hours when there is nothing to watch. Just a couple of metres in front of my eyes in suspended feeders I have sunflower hearts, suet balls and peanuts with scattered mixed seed in a bird bath when the weather is dry.
The finches are the most commonly seen with charms of Goldfinches 40 or 50 strong squabbling for space on the sunflower hearts before dropping to the ground to feed off the spillage. When somebody passes by they fly up en masse into the nearby Whitebeam to sit and wait like vultures ready to pounce when the path is clear.
Chaffinches feed under the Whitebeam in smaller numbers and venture onto the ground underneath the feeders to compete with the Goldfinch for the spillage. Siskins intermingle with the Goldfinch on the sunflower but don’t seem so happy to take to the ground, whilst a few larger Greenfinches stop by through the day. Last year a pair of Bullfinch were regulars but so far they have only shown up briefly twice; at least they are still around. So far no Bramblings nor Redpoll have turned up to feed but with a cold easterly wind forecast for the week ahead they may appear.
Blue tits, Great and Coal tits seem to like getting in a hearty breakfast before going further afield. Out on the open grass rugby pitch Jackdaws gather in numbers joined by Carrion crows and less often Rooks, to quarter the ground in search of their meal. The odd Jackdaw drops onto a feeder but they seem to manage just fine unless the ground freezes hard.
The male Blackbirds are starting to shape up to each other ready to attract a partner and seem to lose any fear of my presence when I move in my chair. Song thrush are less common but always a welcome site searching for worms. At least one pair of Robins dart in and out of view, while the tiny but fearless wren darts around in the honeysuckle in search of live food. A male Blackcap popped briefly in at the beginning of winter and a single pied wagtail bobs around the old tree stump a few days a week.
A pair of wood pigeons flop like cleaners to clear up what the smaller birds have not got around to, whilst a single magpie patrols on the ground most mornings. The odd nuthatch likes to appear when things are not so busy and a treecreeper bobs around the trunks of the diseased ash trees and wild cherry searching in the bark and moss for a morsel. Two Greater-spotted woodpeckers put in an appearance together around Christmas searching on tree branches and trunks.
Quite a few greedy starlings come in to disrupt the other birds, to messily ransack the feeders throwing food all over the show and crapping profusely. Gannets have a reputation of being messy, but it is a good job starlings are a lot smaller because it might be a tough call for the messiest bird of them all. Ounce for ounce the starling might just squeak it I reckon. Strange how they are both noisy, highly sociable, messy and don’t bother wasting time building a fancy nest. It’s only when you look at closely at the plumage of a starling you realise how spectacular they are.
A Sparrowhawk patrols once in while, a Buzzard in the sky is much less common which may well be due to the increasing numbers of the more agile opportunistic Red Kite. Canada geese pass in V formation honking as they go either to or from the nearby lake; its a busier flightpath than the local Llandegly Airport!
The birds are free from any worries about restricted freedom of movement, the need to stay socially distant, and the wait to be vaccinated. They have their own lives to be lived and watching them do it distracts from the concerns and worries of our own. As Bob Dylan says, ‘ No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.‘ I won’t argue with that Bob, cos my arse is stuck in my chair but thanks for the reminder. Time to watch the birds. They are accessible to nearly all of us wherever we are.