garden birds

 My house is surrounded by fields and we are situated near some countryside. Fortunately this makes it a good place to see the 'usual' garden birds, as well as some good treats!

We have had over 40 species in the garden, with 15 other species close around the area or flying over. I hope the list will increase during 2015, hopefully with Redpoll and Brambling.

The best birds which have visited the garden are; Fieldfare, Redwing, Tawny Owl, Bullfinch, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest and Harris' Hawk (however it was an escape, but still a good sight). I managed to find one of its tail feathers, which took quite a while to identify.

The best species found in the area are Tree Sparrow, Kingfisher, Common Tern and my favourite which I found myself in the field behind my house is Woodcock. I flushed it when I was birding and it zigzagged away.

 
We also have Pipestrelle Bats which fly around at dusk. I bought a camera trap two years ago and have managed to get pictures of the Fox at night. In the garden we have grey squirrels, hedgehogs, house mice, wood mice, brown rats and bank voles on a daily basis.





Back in April 2013, a Sparrowhawk had got hold of a young Collared Dove and then flew away leaving it. I looked after 'Dipsy' for a few weeks. He stayed in my treehouse until his wound had healed and then when I thought he was tough enough to fly, I let him go.
 He stayed around for a while, however because he grew his collar i cannot tell him and the others apart any more. Although there have been two collared doves visiting are garden for some time now and have nested a few times both successfully and unsuccessfully. But it is a reassuring thought that Dipsy is one of the pair.