With a femoral hernia problem seemingly on the mend, I managed a short, local birding trip today, albeit, in the car. I headed for Biddestone and then onto Ford, West Yatton and back to Biddestone. I spotted 1 Kestrel and 5 Buzzard along the way, however, the highlight was spotting a flock of Yellowhammer feeding in a freshly ploughed field, just outside Biddestone.
The Yellowhammer is a declining species in Britain, with populations more than halving in the past years due to loss of habitat and changes in farming practices. So, it was fantastic to see a flock of around 20 birds, slowly moving towards my car as they fed on remnants of seed from last year's cereal crop. I managed to take a few average photographs.
Returning home, I notice some promising nesting activity in the garden. A Robin has decided to rear a family in some honeysuckle just outside the backdoor. This has been attempted numerous times during the past 10 years, only for the exquisitely crafted nest to be abandoned for a more private location. We’ll do all we can to make this a successful year, starting by encouraging the family to use an alternative route to the garden for the next few weeks.
In addition to the Robin, we also have two pairs of Blue Tit occupying nesting boxes this year.
Could be a bumper year for fledglings!