A little bit of Cheese.........................

There has been a bit of discussion going on, on the KOS forum, about the decline in numbers of Yellowhammers over the years.

It is certainly true that their population has massively declined over the years. This is often related to the huge reduction in hedgerows and the lack of suitable feeding areas. In and around St Margaret's we do have a lot of suitable habitat, largely due to the fact that it is a very horsey area, with lots of paddocks and lots of Straw and horse manure from mucking out. The large manure mound is quite a magnet for Yellowhammers, (as I've noted before) and at the moment around thirty can be seem in the area. I suspect that overall there may be even more as they are in fairly mobile groups.

Of course these conditions are good for all sorts of birds and just as in the garden Blackbirds are extremely numerous at the moment. The male above seems to have been painting the ceiling white, at least that's how it got me when I used to do such a thing as decorating.

All around the gentle "tuck tuck" of Blackbirds can be heard. I did notice a rapid exit to the bushes and hedges in my garden today when a Sparrowhawk zoomed through a lightening speed.

I may be wrong, but I think that Collared Dove have made a recovery in numbers. Around here the did seem to have declined a bit, but once again they seem to be on the increase.