Small Bird News

This post isn't 'news' at all but a small 'thank you' to the small birds who have been our constant companions through the years we've lived on Ardnamurchan. They're not much different from small birds elsewhere which we've encouraged with ridiculous amounts of food but....

....we've never ceased to be amazed at how this lot manage to survive in a fairly harsh environment. Some do more than 'survive': the chaffinches and house sparrows have thrived to the point that we've almost become sick of them. Almost.

So, a special 'thank you' to the small birds like the dunnocks who don't make a nuisance of themselves, and....

....thank you to those, like the yellowhammers, who are here in surprising numbers when they really should be away in the flat wheatfields of places like East Anglia.

Thank you to the very small birds like the siskins, the wrens, the blue and great and coal tits, and to the several species of warblers which have thrilled us with their return each early summer.

Some small birds which may be common elsewhere have paid us occasional visits, bringing a little excitement to our lives, like the bullfinches, the blackcaps, the reed buntings, the redpolls and....

....the linnets.

Finally, thank you to the generations of friendly robins who have felt enough confidence in us to approach closer than any other birds - when the temptation is there.