I’m sure that many of you took part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch for 2016 held at the end of January. Sadly the weather didn’t play its part so numbers of species seen, seem to be down from information I’ve been sent. The star bird in our area seems to have been a redpoll(s), which were seen in several areas of the village. Long tailed tits were really numerous during the last week in January with parties of up to fifty birds flying around. Both blue and great tits are easily recognisable to most people, but the smaller coal tit with its black cap and white stripe over its head is occasionally confused with the male black cap. Male & female black caps were recorded, and I had several reports of goldcrests, a tiny bird even smaller than a wren being seen. We have three active robins who seem quite at home with each other in our garden and good numbers of both house sparrows and dunnock.

Flocks of starlings seemed to be relatively scarce this year, although several individuals appear daily to feed on our variety of fatball /fat feeders. Magpies and moorhens also find the same fat feeders to their taste. The moorhens have even developed a strategy of pivoting on one leg and stretching high with their beak to reach the food.

Goldfinches can be seen and heard in great parties, babbling their calls from the treetops or hedgerows, often competing for a place on the bird table with great & blue tits. I suspect that there are fewer wrens around this year, except at Hockenhull where they are plentiful.

Blackbirds and song thrushes are already staking their territorial claims by singing from 5.00am, as are robins who are quite happy to sing near sodium street lights at any hour.

The main cause for concern for many of us, are the increasing numbers of sparrowhawks being reported seen in local gardens. Their increased appearance must be having a knock on effect on the numbers of the small bird population we see, although I suspect it’s the warmer wetter weather that is keeping the birds feeding much longer in the fields and hedgerows. Redwing and fieldfare have just not appeared in huge numbers this year, although there area small parties about. Owls have been heard and seen recently which is much earlier than we might expect, but the seasons do seem to be changing, and during a recent long journey I saw four young fox cubs, two baby badgers and a pole cat, all lying dead at the side of the road. With spring flowers out in December and early January, and even roses in flower odd things seem to be happening to our seasons.