Clearly my optimism last month that spring might be just around the corner was misplaced. Instead we have suffered more than our fair share of cold nights, many of them icy. This has not had as much impact on the frogs mating as I would have thought, with the first spawn appearing on February 19th, only five days later than last year. On the other hand, and far more worrying, we have only had two frogs in our pond. In previous years there have normally been around twenty. A disease causing mass deaths has arrived in this country and so it is to be hoped that this is not the cause.
Cold it might have been, but this brings many more visitors to our bird feeders and it has been really interesting to watch the different behaviours. In the past we have occasionally seen bramblings and
serins when the weather turns really cold, but this year they have been absent. Rulers of the feeders are the numerous goldfinches – considering their small size they are really quite feisty. They will tolerate greenfinches, which after all are a lot larger and to a certain degree siskins but will quickly see off any chaffinches and tits. These birds are left lingering in the background until the goldfinches eventually decide that they have had their fill and move on to the next location. In the meantime, all the tits have learnt to only go the feeders when nothing else is there. Our long-tailed tits appear to be nest building and they have developed a taste for peanuts, which most other birds now shun, preferring the higher energy 
sunflower seeds.
For us though, the real stars this winter have been a pair of bullfinches. We have seen bullfinches most years but only ever very fleetingly about once or twice and not that close to the house. This year has been different and we have watched how their approach to the feeders has changed over the last month. Initially they were very
nervous of all the other birds and kept their distance. They did not even take any food at all from the feeders for the first couple of weeks after they first appeared on the scene. Slowly they have gained their nerve and whilst still not that happy about close contact with other birds they have developed a liking for sunflower hearts appearing at random intervals throughout the day. We can now almost set our watch for their first appearance at breakfast time.
On the other hand, the pecking order means nothing at all when our resident male sparrowhawk appears on the scene….
Paul 841696
