flanerie.org

Recently I have developed the habit of feeding my garden birds on Sunday morning. This has been the case for around 8 weeks, and the birds have quickly recognised the pattern.

I guess it makes sense that birds would notice a simple seven day recurring event. They are well equipped for pattern recognition, such as seasons, other birds, and landscape. Homing pigeons are known to follow major roads, which is pretty nifty, especially when they don't need to stop at lights.

My regulars are wood pigeons, jackdaws, magpies, blackbirds, starlings, chaffinches, green finches, great tits, blue tits, a robin, a greater spotted woodpecker and a squirrel (which is an honorary bird). All of these only visit to feed, except for the wood pigeons who like to while away their time on the fence or in the tree, watching the little birds fly relays to the seed feeder. When they aren't liming they wander around the lawn looking for the squirrel's secret caches of food.

Last Sunday I rolled out of bed and looked out of the window, and the wildlife was waiting for me.

The squirrel was atop the bird table, just sitting. The squirrel never just sits. He is always busy, only ever stopping on his way somewhere else. Busy busy, things to do, place to go. As a human he would have two mobile phones and would suffer from road rage. But last Sunday he was just sitting and waiting for the Sunday buffet.

The robin was also there. Another of my guests that doesn't like to sleep on the job, but he was on the ground where the food wood be with a look of disbelief on his face.

Suitably shamed I got dressed and fed them - peanuts, sunflower seed, oats, sultanas, dried insects, fat cake (and negative karma to me for feeding them animal fat - I am still looking for a veggie equivalent,) and the feast commenced.

This weekend, it being Christmas, I decided to feed them a day early, and... nothing. The tiny birds were there doing their relay thing, but they always are. Otherwise no-one. I should have posted advance warning or something. Perhaps there is a Saturday buffet in one of the neighbours' gardens. Or they were last-minute Christmas shopping.

But next morning, Christmas Day, the whole gang were there, either eating, squabbling (there is some kind of blackbird turf-war unfolding in my garden this winter), or burying food in my lawn (the magpies do this as well as the squirrel.)

I watched them for ages - the perfect Christmas gift from them to me.