At the start of the month we received a call from a new supporter in Oldham; offering a large quantity of bird seed.

I was humbled and very appreciative to find a huge amount which we carefully stowed in the boot of the car - and it has VERY much been appreciated by ALL the birds on the Home Reserve. We have a couple of weeks' of food to go before we need to purchase afresh again, but of the vast species we have seen tucking in, I can record the following have been noted;

Blackbird, Robin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Nuthatch, Wren, Starling, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Jay, Jackdaw, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Raven, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove.

My thanks to the Merlin Bird ID phone app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; which I have used extensively this past year to help identify birds elsewhere on the reserve which I could hear but not see to identify - it's well worth a download to see what's flying/hopping around your own garden!

Nigel