Today, just as I was about to tuck into my breakfast a bird in my garden caught my eye.  It was a 'Great Spotted Woodpecker' I haven't seen one in my garden for a very long time!!    I even managed to get a few photos, which I have added to this blog.

This year the birds are nesting in the garden again.  In the nest box there are Great Tits, at the top of one of the hawthorn trees is a pair of Wood Pigeons, I suspect that Dunnocks have a nest in the Ivy, but why oh why!! do the Blackbirds nest in the Ivy just a few inches from where they nested last year when the Magpie ate their eggs and young!  Once again the rotten Magpie has had em again!!!  They appear to have now abandoned that nest.  I used to think garden birdwatching was relaxing and pleasant!!!! 

On Sunday I decided to take part in the 'Big Garden Birdwatch' I sat by the window for an hour and made a note of what I saw, well I didn't see much! 1 Blackbird, 2 Bluetits,  2 Dunnocks, 1 Great Tit, 8 House Sparrows, 1 Robin.  I think the birds know that I want to count them and stay away, as I normally have over 20 House Sparrows in the garden and 4 or 5 Blackbirds as well as quite a few Dunnocks and Magpies.  And Guess what the next day all the Sparrows as well as the others I mentioned were back on the feeders!!!! 

I do hope I am able to go out and do some proper birding again soon!! 

Yesterday morning 3 Goldfinches were in my garden which is unusual as I have tried to entice them in for years with two Niger seed feeders with very little success!!  Hopefully they will now become regular visitors!!!

The Wrens fledged last week and I was lucky enough to be there to see at least two leave the nest, but I could still hear more young in the nest.  They have now all fledged.

The Great Tits have left the nest box unfortunatly I missed the event, but I have seen two young in the garden being fed by an adult.  The Wren is still busy flying to and from the nest feeding the young it can't be long before they too fly the nest. 

For the first time I have or rather had! Three species of birds nesting in my garden,  A Wren nesting in the ivy covered large tree stump, Great Tit in the nest box (which they usually do), and a pair Blackbirds in one of the the ivy covered  hawthorn trees, or at least they were until the Magpies continually attacked the nest I found the nest abandoned with one dead chick inside yesterday.  Oh well two out of three aint bad!!!