Many folk seem to have their pet loves and hates when it comes down to
birds. Some people I know disparage House Sparrows, calling them Spugs, many others loathe Wood Pigeons especially in farming areas and some dislike Starlings, despite them looking really beautiful close up. When Bill Oddy recently announced that House Martins are the 10th most disliked bird in the UK I was truly amazed. Ours returned on April 30th only for last year’s nest to come crashing to the ground. Undeterred they soon built another with the help of a third bird – possibly a trainee nest builder? Now we await the nestlings fledging as mid-July looms. All right, I don’t like the poo that covers the window cills and ground but we delight in their quiet ‘chuntering’ in the nest. It is all rather lovely.
As we slipped towards mid-July we had a real treat. After yet another day-long soaking the rain eased by early evening when a young Kestrel popped into view atop one of the bird feeders. We have occasionally seen them at Upton and once before over the garden but this time we were treated to a rather good view of this lovely bird.
We seem to have been plagued with Wood Pigeons this year and they are attempting to nest everywhere, and so earlier in the year it was pleasing to see a group of Stock Doves appear under the feeders hoovering up all the food dropped by the other birds. These are the 
first we have seen in the garden and so have been added to our garden list, which now stands at 68. This must surely be enough to qualify as a small nature reserve!
This has been a year of big birthdays in the family. You know those ones ending in an ‘0’. For some this meant a visit to the Yarak Bird of Prey Centre, just through the lanes at Langford and what a great day out it turned out to be – lots of lovely birds of prey and really tasty affordably priced food. We were blessed with sunshine, something that has been somewhat lacking in my opinion this year and, as ever, it is so good to get close up and personal with many amazing birds.
Paul 841696
