Birds

I’ve never taken much notice of our feathered friends apart from the odd budgie we’ve owned. As for birds of the wild, I’ve never shown much interest in them, until now. Growing up in the city, most birds seemed to be colourless. Crows, Sparrows, Blackbirds, Starlings etc, all seem to be a shade somewhere between black and browny-grey.

Beautiful Colours

Since moving to Wales, it’s as if someone has painted the birds! In our back garden, which is more of a yard, we see all sorts of birds. There’s still the Sparrows and the single Robin, but, Blue Tits, Nuthatch, Great Tits, Thrush and Chaffinch and many more have all visited. Now, I have no idea which is which bird, it’s only because the wife is up to the mark on these things and she can tell me. All I know is it’s such a nice experience seeing them enjoying the food we leave out for them.

Nature & Humanity

Even the Pigeons out here look clean and well-fed, although that’s probably because they’re Wood Pigeons. The ones we use to see in the city were filthy, often had only one leg and were suffering malnutrition. One of our neighbours here are a couple of bird experts and very, very nice to boot. If they can’t answer a question about birdlife, then you may as well give up. They have a large garden and at the last count had 76 bird boxes situated around the place. It really is a wonderful atmosphere to find yourself in, nature and humanity working together.

Our Own Birdbox

They offered to make us a bird box and not only that but to come and attach it to the wall of our house! How nice is that? So this morning I set up the ladder and as per the photograph above, the box was fitted. We have a window in our front door, so we can watch and enjoy whatever birds take up residence in there. I did think about fitting a wireless camera inside the box, but I checked it out and the price was a little too expensive.

House-Martins

All in all, it’s been a wonderful weekend. Not only for us but for the birdlife too. I’m learning too and looking forward to May when the House-Martins start arriving from Africa. Their nest is still in place underneath the eaves and locals tell us that they like to use the same nest year after year. How do they find it? Quite amazing. I’m off to watch what happens with our new bird box. I’ll keep you posted.

The RSPB Website