I’m constantly making a tit of myself. Whether it is face planting on stage, which I did a couple of weeks ago, or walking out of the toilet with my skirt tucked into my knickers, self-humiliation just seems to come as second nature to me.
In response, I have learned to laugh at myself over the years as, after the immediate blushes, there is no point in getting in a tizzy over an embarrassment, I’m just too busy with managing all the other day-to-day challenges.
Life and death
Anyway, I have sad news! A couple of months ago we lost our darling cat, Tikka. It’s taken me a while to come to terms with our loss. She was elderly and according to our vet her kidneys were failing so we made that incredibly difficult decision and held her gently as she was put to sleep.
Even just writing about it is bringing a tear to my eye once again as the love for a loyal and playful pet can be unconditional. That said, I won’t miss the dead carcasses Tikka left around the house (specifically under our bed) and the rodent or lagomorph (mammals including hares and rabbits) fleas that were brought in as unwitting passengers. She was almost always a mouser, ratter or bunnier rather than a birder but the explosion of birdlife on the smallholding since she’s gone is quite staggering.
Outside cats
About 70% of cat owners in the UK let their cats roam freely outside. Access to the great outdoors is considered good for cats’ wellbeing, according to Cats Protection and Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, and there are few predators to worry about even on our smallholding. Unfortunately, cats are prolific hunters, and it is estimated that they kill around 60 million song birds each year (based on each of the 12 million cats catching 5 birds each on average).
Without our own feline fury hiding out in the garden I’ve started filling the bird feeders obsessively. During the spring and summer months, birds require high-protein foods, especially while they’re moulting. We use mixed seed for wild birds and some peanuts which are in rigid mesh feeders that don’t allow sizeable pieces to be removed as these can be a choking hazard to chicks. Later in the autumn we will start making our own fat balls using suet, left over brown breadcrumbs, sunflower seeds, and kibbled peanuts to help provide sustenance through the cold weather.
Feathered friends
Following Tikka’s departure, we initially started seeing more tits. A lot more tits; great tits, blue tits, long-tailed tits, coal tits and willow tits. Anyone still bemoaning the loss of Page 3 models in the tacky tabloids should just hang up a bird feeder and they’ll get more than an eyeful of tits, although, to be fair, they might be glorious to look at, but they are generally on the small side.
Finches
We have finches including green, gold, bull, and chaffinches each with their own beautiful colours, stout beaks, and big personalities. The russet-breasted chaffinches are some of my favourites as they sit right in the food bowl on the bird feeding table looking like they are birds in paradise.
Other birds
We have well-fed wood pigeons, noisy jackdaws, elegant, collared doves, and several pairs of inquisitive blackbirds (including one male with leucism we inevitably call Luke), alongside occasional wrens, song thrush, nuthatches, and black caps. Sometimes you might not see a particular species, but we can use the wondrous Merlin bird app to identify the songs of birds that might be hiding in the hedges or trees, so we know we also have chiff-chaffs, willow warblers and mistle thrush.
I love our family of shy, ground dwelling little dunnocks that have set up a home under the sedum and even the house sparrows and tree sparrows that sit atop our fences with the robins. Spotting the greater spotted woodpeckers is akin to watching cartoon characters swoop in to join the avian flurry of fun. Meanwhile above our heads the swallows soar before they depart on their long-distance flight back to southern Africa in late September. Animal migration is embedded throughout evolution. Maybe I’m naive but I’ve never understood the difference between immigrants and expats – they are all just folk moving around the earth as global citizens but according to some, one is fine and the other is not. Weird.
Birdwatching
After an 11-year-old child struggled to name more than one wild bird (he got ‘pigeons’) I became seriously concerned by the inability of young people to identify native species so last year in school I ran a project to promote an understanding and appreciation of UK birdlife. Pupils signed up to take part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch and, if they did not have one already, they received a bird feeder and seeds (it was going to be peanuts, but the office administrator reminded me of the number of students with nut allergies – disaster averted).
The young ornithologists observed the birds for one hour in their own gardens at home and in the school wildlife garden. They produced reports and posters to display their results. Citizen science projects like this can really help collect useful data.
Big Garden Birdwatch 2024
Nationally 9.7 million birds were counted during Big Garden Birdwatch 2024 with 1,442,300 house sparrows making them the most numerous. This might sound great but unfortunately their breeding numbers have drastically declined since records began over the last 50 years. In 2002, house sparrows were added to the UK Red List of birds of high conservation concern, and they have remained on the list ever since.
Hubster and I took part in the birdwatch too and all was going well during my hour-long stint at the kitchen window until a crotchety looking sparrowhawk landed on the garden fence. Following this, no other birds were observed during the session which severely limited our results. In the months since the sparrowhawk has not made another appearance in the back garden… I really think he timed it to perfection on purpose, but it still gives this old Bird a story to tell. We have other raptors including buzzards and our beloved Barny the barn owl; they are mesmerising, magnificent and magical.
Empty nest
Our own offspring have migrated back home for at least some of the summer. We were just getting used to the empty nest and quite enjoyed the peace and quiet but it’s always lovely to have our little fledglings back to roost. As expected, they have continued to eat us out of house and home. This morning I was up at 7am and had the last of the delicious cinnamon rolls my daughter had made. When she finally strolled into the kitchen after 10 and complained that the rolls were gone, I gently reminded her that the early Bird catches the worm. She didn’t think it was funny.
Nature
Encouraging children to love nature should always start at home. It seems that the most exposure some kids get to wildlife is through books or a TV programme rather than outdoors. We are all dependent on healthy ecosystems, so I have ensured that my own chicks appreciate the natural world and understand that we are responsible for nurturing the space in which we reside. However, having seen some options of student accommodation recently there is some microbial wildlife out there that we might not wish to promote. Be warned, biohazards, especially in rented accommodation fridges, are real and potentially very dangerous.
Note to self: Remember to clean out the birdbath. Some pesky feathered soul literally uses it as a toilet rather than a washing facility. Haven’t caught him (or her) in the act yet but setting up the wildlife camera might be an idea just so I can identify the culprit. I generally remember to clean the bird feeders regularly – I might be a right tit but I’m just a little lovebird too when it comes to looking after our avifauna.
