Goldcrest Escape

Every Autumn Britain is invaded by millions of Goldcrests from the forests of Scandinavia Some feed in our garden and have to run the gauntlet with our now resident juvenile male Sparrowhawk. He is a clever predator and now knows that after he flies through the garden any bang means a bird has hit our window and may lie stunned on the ground making easy pickings for him. This is what happened this week except that the Goldcrest involved made it to the hedge and escaped his clutches. While it recovered I was able to approach it and take some photos. See Gallery for Goldcrest and some other garden birds. Click here

So far this autumn I have only seen one Fieldfare locally – where are they? On the 24th at four in the morning a Tawny Owl was watched in our garden pine as it eyeballed the ground watching for mice that were feeding on what the birds had left behind during the day.