Bird Haven

It’s a grey and wet Saturday morning and I have just sat down at my desk. Outside my study window there is a mature rowan tree with developing berries.

A movement in the tree caught my eye and I stopped to look. Once I concentrated I could make out many birds moving around in the canopy of leaves.

The first to offer itself for identification was Blue Tit, busily picking at something on the twigs. A Great Tit was doing much the same kind of thing only a few twigs to the right. A few moments later I spotted a Coal Tit not far away, also feeding.

Nothing rare or exotic but all only a few feet from where I was sitting in a comfortable chair, warm and dry. Suddenly its not quite so grey this morning.

Grey Wagtails

The last few weeks have provided plenty of opportunities for watching a pair of Grey Wagtails at fairly close quarters.

Together with a team of volunteers I have been involved with the restoration of an old watermill at Shelsley Walsh for the last year or so. We have had to suspend work on the waterwheel itself when we realised that the wagtail pair had built a nest in a corner of the opening that carries the main waterwheel shaft.

They must have sat tight on the nest while we worked around them because it was the feeding behaviour of the pair that alerted us to the nest. One or other of the pair would perch near the waterwheel with a beak full of insects making alarm calls. Once we got the message we left them alone. We could see chicks in the nest but were reluctant to get close enough to count how many there were.

We only work on the mill on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They were still feeding on the 7th June but the following Tuesday the nest was empty except for a single cold egg. We quite miss being scolded by these charming little birds.