Damp Birds

The recent series of damp days, continuing today, have been cheerless times for the small birds which visit our garden, even though we've continued to feed them....

....at winter levels to help keep their energy up.  It's a particularly unfortunate time for them, as many are busy trying to keep their nestlings both warm and fed.

Many of the young, like this great tit, are already away from the nest and fending for themselves. He seems to be surviving better than some adults.

Some birds seem to do better in this weather than others, and this includes the yellowhammer males, who always seem to be well-turned out, however heavy the rain.

After being an almost hourly visitor every day for over a year, often standing by the front door and bullying us for a few grains, we haven't seen our semi-tame robin for several days and fear he's been a victim either of the cold and wet or of a neighbour's cat.  We know that, in his last days, he was busy feeding young, so we can only hope that his mate has managed to complete their upbringing.