They were waiting for me

[Gingernaut]

I've taken to feeding the birds.

I do have a feeder, but am aware that some birds are 'hop around headbutting the pavement' ground feeders, not 'dangle acrobatically in an entertaining way' feeders.

My back yard is gravel and rocks.

So, after noticing an increase in sparrows and wagtails after Eastern European neighbours started chewing sunflower seeds whilst having a chat and a smoke on their doorsteps, I bought some seed and have taken to scattering it up the pavement, in the early morning, as I go to work.

Today, as I left the house, there was a small gathering of collared doves, sparrows and wagtails, sitting on the pavement.

As I passed, scattering a tiny Tupperware box of sunflower seeds, the birds flew up, over my head and then landed on the pavement behind me.

I'm going to try and see if they're there tomorrow.

I've become quite obsessed with the birds since lockdown.

We have sparrows that go about in a gang. The wood pigeons are long term residents having nested in next door's tree for the past few years. They've learned to get along with the sparrows and they all share the seed tray quite amicably.

It's only in the last week or so I've realised that goldfinches have such a loud and beautiful song after seeing one singing in the hedge.

At the back we have swifts and are lucky enough to have them nesting in our eaves.

I feed the birds by scattering the food on top of my garage roof as I have cats I feel its safer up there for them and now they only have to see me appear at the kitchen window in the morning and they start lining up in the tree at the back I get the starling squad first then the crows and the cocky magpie come down, then the wood pigeons, then when all the big bits are gone the blackbird mr and mrs and the sparrows get the small seeds, I saw a squirrel up ther very early the other morning the cat srae not impressed that I keep them in after their breakfast to give the birds a chance to eat their breakfast I love watching them land and take off

Yes, we have snail-bashing blackbirds and thrushes. We also have badgers who come to eat our slugs - they are very welcome to them! We used to have hedgehogs too, but they have sadly disappeared in recent years. We are thinking about rehoming rescue hedgehogs, because we do miss them. Looking forward to all the day trippers going home - National Park - because all we can hear is the roar of traffic from morning till evening, not the birds and lambs - and the air, so fresh recently, is thick with pollution again.