V wet couple of days [and more to come!], means that Cosmeston away from the paths is very muddy and slippery at the moment. The recent two Ring-necked Ducks have migrated to Cardiff Bay and there’s only about 15 Tufties present on E lake at the moment, with up to 3 Pochard. Didn’t notice the Goldeneye this morning. The Herring Gull was having a good old shout yesterday and this morning I managed a couple of nice shots of the pair oof Stonechat that have been around, although they are big crops from the originals. There were also a couple of very vocal Bullfinches near the far entrance to Cogan Wood and a Few Redwing in the snipe paddock.
With the exception of the Herring Gull, memories of all the species you mention are beginning to feel as distant as the last time I saw wild Zebra or Penguins.
I used to like Bullfinches!
I did think of many strategic issues when I bought this house 25 years ago, like height above sea level and the nearby river Ely, transport links, fields nearby, and so on. I didn’t consider the current situation!
Luckily, Janet’s garden in Creigiau gets a range of common woodland and garden birds. I got quite excited at a wren showing well when I was there yesterday! Thank goodness for the single adult household exemption.
I haven’t seen a Blackbird in or near my garden for many months, not since the nesting and moulting season finished. This is most unusual. I hope it’s just a local issue, perhaps a new cat in the neighbourhood, and not the first signs of a general decline.