Bullfinches have always been one of my favourite birds but a species that over the decades was elusive to put it mildly. They are quite shy and timid creatures and are prone to be pushed away from bird feeders by even smaller birds. All this changed when we moved to Devon since when we have regularly seen them in early springtime. Then this winter everything changed yet again as up to three birds have been around almost every day. I think that the reason for this may be because we planted out teasels last year and bullfinches simply love feeding on the seed-heads.
Our birdsong project moves on apace. I was given the latest Raspberry Pi computer for Christmas and a new mic has an even greater range. I can also now listen to what is going on at the bottom of our garden in real time. The project has been turning up some interesting results: a stunning hawfinch put in an appearance and hung around for 12 days allowing me just one fleeting glimpse as it saw me and flew into deep cover. They are such secretive birds and although they do breed in Haldon Forest they are rarely seen. A Peregrine falcon conducted a fly pass just before Christmas and then unbelievably a Black-crowned Night Heron turned up for a couple of days. Whilst these are rare and irregular visitors to Devon there are two captive breeding programmes in place in Devon and I do wonder if this bird was an escapee. They are notoriously hard to see, their preference being to lurk close to water in dense foliage.
I am amazed at how many birds there are around at this time of the year, having regularly recorded between 20 and 30 species a day, but this pales into insignificance compared to Jan over at Riverwood Farm Glamping near Escot who records half as many again. Recently I walked the 3 mile Higher Cheriton loop and heard hardly any birdsong. We are so lucky to live in our Payhembury oasis.
