the autumn-gorgeous garden

“They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you."

Philip Larkin

These islands are home to a race of the white wagtail, a lovely black and white bird called the pied wagtail. Monochrome and small, it is commonly seen around buildings, feeding on invertebrates, flicking its tail and alerting us to its' presence with a simple, two note call. Here's what passes for a birdwatchers' joke: the pied wagtail is sometimes known as the Chiswick Flyover because it says 'Chiswick' as it flies over.

So, we're driving along the snaking Chiswick flyover during London's rush hour and our daughter points out that there are no pied wagtails in sight. I'd completely forgotten my own joke. She hadn't.
Sorry Sarah. Philip Larkin woz 'ere.

Juvenile male sparrowhawk

We were visiting Sarah's school and had parked in Kew beneath an ivy-clad tree, home to a roost of  ring-necked parakeets. Seeing foreign green parrots flying around London for the first time must have been wonderful and exotic. They are now a massive success story if the increasing population and range of an introduced and alien species can be seen as a success. They are the birds one sees and hears throughout the capital and they have arrived in Nottingham too, commonly seen in our Wollaton Park. My cousin sent a message saying they had six of the birds at their allotment this week. The BTO graph shows how their population has risen this year.

None yet seen here or regularly in Bestwood Country Park. They'll come.

When they do, they'll have to jostle. I was a little glum in my last post as the garden was so quiet. It is now as alive with birds as we can remember. Goldfinches, of course, are ubiquitous, gorging on the sunflower hearts - a kilogram is going into the 'Mother feeder' alone each day. Joining the goldfinches in discarding expensive seed onto the ground below are greenfinches and an occasional lesser redpoll. The redpoll has arrived earlier than in other years and we guess it is a bird we've caught here in previous years as it carries a little leg ring. Three tree sparrows joined the feasting tits at the drive feeders. They have the sparrow need of cover and nervously emerge from the close-cut privet hedge to take small seed.

The bird movement is mesmerising but probably serves a purpose. We regularly see kestrels and sparrowhawks - both hungry for small birds. The small birds demonstrate that it is hardest to hit a moving target. The sparrowhawk (photographed by Richard when we were netting at dusk on the farm last night) has the eyes of a killing machine. Seeing birds this close up is a rare privilege. The juvenile male sparrowhawk does not yet have the beauty it will achieve if it reaches adulthood.  Ringers look for diagnostic tiny beige-brown hearts on each of the young male birds' breast feathers. They are exquisite.

The garden is autumn-gorgeous just now. Many shades of yellow, through golds to amber and orange.

Time to harvest leaves! Leaves on the drive and Woodland Garden paths are raked across onto the beds. The worms will work without rest to pull them under ground and improve the soil structure. Leaves on the grass are being mown and stored to make leaf mould that will be ready to use in two years.

We are planning on bird ringing in the garden on Sunday, so I'm scattering seed along the places where the nets will be set. Perhaps the abundance of food explains the increased number of glossy black and querulous carrion crows we now have. They move through the pines, malevolent nazgull. Ten on the lawn on Monday.