What's flying near you?

Hornet resting on a wheelie bin near greenhouse.

         

My cock pheasant is back, every morning he can be found under the Apple tree eating the seeds and nuts that fall from the wild bird feeders. Even the cats sit watching him in fascination. He has beautiful colours in his feathers and his red eye plume is superb.

Plenty of bird activity all round the garden today: 7 blackbirds and a mistle thrush eating windfall apples and chasing each other, small birds, sparrows, robins, blue and great tits, chaffinch toing and frowing from the bird table with a dunnock and wren hopping round underneath. A woodpecker shouting at me to fill up the peanut feeder.

The bullfinches are back, looking for buds on the apple trees. There's the usual procession of birds to the feeders - various tits though the long tailed tits haven't shown up yet. The robin has a new trick this year, sitting on top of a suet log and pecking down wards, instead of from the side and bottom.

I’ve had the weirdest morning. I’ve rescued a wren from the wood burner (must of fallen down the chimney).
Just been in the utility to put the washer on. Could hear water splashing in the adjoining toilet. Found 2 more wrens doing backstroke in the loo. They hadn’t been in there long as they both escaped into the rest of the house when I tried to dry them a little before putting them back into the freezer cold with wet feathers. They had dried off quite well by time I’d pointed them in the direction of open doors & windows. Just sat down to tell you all about it and could hear someone walking around in the kitchen. Yes another wren! So opened the back door and off he when.
It’s all quiet at the moment I don’t think there’s any more in here.

Fascinating! Wonder where they're living? Any sign of a nest or a hole in the fascia? The wrens used to move into our shed in winter through a gap at the top of the end wall. Never actually saw them inside, just heard them and saw them looking out and flying away.

I wonder what the collective noun is for wrens. Whatever it is, you've got one.

I wonder what the collective noun is for wrens. Whatever it is, you've got one.

A Chime, Herd or Flock of Wrens.

During the cold spell there have been well over 100 fieldfare round out apple trees with lots of windfalls under and also a buzzard.

The Twitchers have descended on a nearby park to see Waxwings and there are Egrets in the woods/stream across the road. Neither of them have visited my garden though!