The Lincolnshire Bird Club

I wholeheartedly agree.

A week back I was clearing some of the plum sapplings outside my home/office window to improve the view when I came across, face-to-face, a motionless female Blackie sitting on her nest - needless to say I immediately backed off (with a smile) and gave up on the sappling clearance.

The past few days a male Blackie has been up the trees screaching his alarm call on an almost hourly basis and driving me to distraction - several occasions I went outside expecting to find a prowling cat but nothing. Yesterday I startled a Sparrowhawk from the nearby hedgerow which then calmed the Blackie down - Today, twice, the Blackie called out his alarm just moments before I caught the sight of the Sparrowhawk exiting the plums with a young bird firmly in it's grasp. Although the Blackbird nest appears well hidden from the ground I fear the sappling clearance must have exposed the Blackie's nest to eyes from above and the young are now being picked off one by one - I feel really guilty at my mindless act, should have left the clearance till the Winter, another harsh lesson learned.

This morning had three juv Goldfinch on nyger feeder.

Juv Mallards returned today. Now shedding their brown and yellow down. All five of them are female! I've now named them The Waltons (after the sextuplets)!

This afternoon had four juv Great Tit with two adults, the latter feeding on both the peanut and sunflower feeders.

Also a single juv Blue Tit. And two juv Goldfinch with six adults on the nyger feeder.

August 9th

While getting breakfast ready noticed the following on the grass:

Blackbird - 4 juvs
Dunnock - 2 adult + 2 juvs
Robin - 1 juv

plus the neighbourhood moggie stalking them. After I knocked on the window a few times it finally took it's hook.

Waltons in the garden again this afternoon!

juv Song Thrush this afternoon alongside a juv Blackie, a juv Robin having a dispute with an adult Dunnock was funny.

Juv. Green Woodpecker on lawn yesterday.

Spotted Flycatchers nested with us again, 4 young.

Nuthatches nested, young feed at our feed station daily now.

Swallows have 2nd clutch of 4 at the moment.

Five juv Blackies
Five juv Goldfinch
One juv Robin.

1 Juv Dunnock
3 Juv Goldfinches
2 Juv Greenfinches
1 Juv Robin
Waltons visiting again, and looking nearly identical to their mother!

The Swallows are at it again, a second brood is keeping the adults busy hoovering up insects over the lawns!

Juv Goldfinch now well used to getting seed etc from the feeder! Young Starlings are now moulting into adult plumage. It seems the belly feathers are the first to change, spreading to the flanks. One of them looks like a masked gunman in a balaclava, as it's holding on to the brown head feathers, while all the rest of it is in adult plumage!

A single juv Blackbird this afternoon plus three juv Goldfinch.

Juvenile Collared dove on the lawn....