Tits, Peckers, etc.
Don't panic, we haven't been hacked! We are just having a short ornithological interlude.
We get a variety of Tits at the feeder, though my personal favoutite, the Long-Tailed Tits, have kept their distance so far, sticking to the trees around the gardens.
The Blue Tits have raised their first family, and came in mob-handed.
We also get Great Tits and Coal Tits as regular visitors. They are similar in size, but the Coal Tit is less colourful, with a less distinct black line down their chest.
There are Chaffinches about, and the Sparrow families are nesting in the barns and shrubs in the gardens, and many are nesting in the ivy in the big barn. Many young Sparrows have been seen out with their parents, demanding to be fed. Fortunate timing, as the builders have finally got round to working on the barn roof - at time of typing, the barn has an 'airy aspect'.
Swallows have been nesting in various locations around the gardens, including the Potting Shed, Storeroom and Main Barn. The first broods appear to have fledged, again just in time as they would have been scared out of the barn with the roofing work under way.
Most recent sighting is of a Great Spotted Woodpecker. I think this is a young bird as the red doesn't seem very distinct, yet the white is vibrant.
