THE BIRDS ARE STILL STAYING AWAY

The birds have started to come back into the garden in the last few days as winter starts to send early messages about the cold weather to come.

The great tits and blue tits have been fighting with the tree sparrows and house sparrows over the right to feed from the fat snack in the garden.

Occasionally a dunnock has appeared and nipped in to get any tasty parts of the fat snack that has flown off while the others have been squabbling.

Apart from the fleeting glimpse of a robin and the evening warning calls from the blackbirds, other birds have so far stayed away.

The jays that were seen frequently near the garden in September and part of October are now nowhere to be seen.

A large beech mast harvest might be the reason why the jays have not been sighted recently, which also makes me think that other natural food resources are in good supply.

One or two reports are suggesting that this winter could be particularly brutal for wildlife with predictions of severe snowfall and very cold temperatures blanketing the country.

If this materialises – and I’m quite sceptical – then people will need to watch out for all wildlife and help out where possible, including providing shelter through nestboxes, food with fat snacks, peanuts and seeds, while also remembering that clean, unfrozen water is essential for birds and other animals.