[DanielCoffey]

These two are clearly incorrectly dressed for the weather...

[greenjay]

heard the cuckoo for the first time this year.

[Goosegirl]

Heard chiff-chaffs, skylarks and a buzzard then saw several swallows flying around.

[mrs bouquet]

Just seen a largish bird on garden gate and few feet away. I thought it was a wood pigeon, but queried my thought and got the bins out.  Studied my bird books and I think it was a Sparrowhawk.  ( The other  choice could be a juvenile cuckoo, but the head and eye wasn't right)  Very beautiful.  then it flew away in the direction of were the sparrows are nesting in the eaves.    I wonder …….     Mrs Bouquet

[8doubles]

Just seen a largish bird on garden gate and few feet away. I thought it was a wood pigeon, but queried my thought and got the bins out.  Studied my bird books and I think it was a Sparrowhawk.  ( The other  choice could be a juvenile cuckoo, but the head and eye wasn't right)  Very beautiful.  then it flew away in the direction of were the sparrows are nesting in the eaves.    I wonder …….     Mrs Bouquet

The beak should be a dead give away for ID, straight for Cuckoo or Pigeon and hooked for a Spar .

[mrs bouquet]

Thanks for that info, it was definitely a Sparrowhawk   Mrs Bouquet

[8doubles]

Lots of Red Kites around yesterday, usually all Buzzards in this area .
I suspect their normal hunting grounds are underwater

[DanielCoffey]

Well you could knock me down with a feather... I have just seen the first House Martin and it was in South Ayrshire too! That is really, really early for them!

[greenjay]

first ones back as Tuesday just gone here

[greenjay]

other half heard the cuckoo for the first time.
I can see it was the 22nd last year so nearly a week earlier

[dugless]

I had my birdbath at the top of the garden it was hardly used, moved it down near the house used a lot???
Starling invasion on the lawn this morning. We did not have many birds when we first moved here 4 years ago but after regular putting seed and wireworms out we now have quite a few, a garden is nothing without birds

[Yorkie]

Was looking out of the front window this morning, when I saw what I think was a sparrow flying straight at it, followed closely by a sizeable member of the crow family.  I think the sparrow's wings may just have touched the window as it did a 90 degree turn; the crow's wings certainly thumped the window as it turned.

I didn't see whether the crow did catch the sparrow - there would only have been a few inches between them - but it didn't half shake me up for a short while 

I could hear the sparrow family all twittering away in anxiety in the holly bush at the front of the garden.

[robinahood]

Since lockdown I have had much more time to be at the plot, as other half is furloughed and I am working from home. It has never looked so good! We have our own hedged plot and never get near anyone else. It has been lovely just to watch the birds doing their thing. A couple of weeks ago I made a very makeshift pond, just 3 polystyrene boxes sat together. So many birds use it to drink from and bathe in, I love watching bunches of house sparrows there. The sound of them takes me back to days at home when they used to nest in a big clematis we had. Their numbers seem to be going up again around here, so I will let them nibble my beetroot seedlings, or some of them!

[dugless]

From having very little birds here when we came we now have several types these last two weeks a flock of Starlings has raided the lawn several times a day. When the birdbath we have was at the bottom of the garden the birds hardly used it I moved it to a flower border near the house they not only drink from it but bathe while we watch from the kitchen window about 3 Mts away.

[mrs bouquet]

my neighbour has a bird feeder and it is interesting to watch how different birds use it.    The rooks keep on bashing one of the tubes until the seeding fall into the little collecting area.    The starling mummy brings her baby who sits on the top of the tube and she takes out the seeds and feeds it.   Must find out which sort of feed is in that one.     Mrs Bouquet