"Sacha" wrote after...
"Bob wrote:
"Martin" wrote after...

snip
The starlings have been having a feeding frenzy on all the berries
that were on the trees. All gone now.

Funny, but here we have both commented on the disappearance of our small
birds recently. Usually when I fill the bird feeder it's empty within a
couple of days, it's been untouched for weeks now and there are no small
birds flying about in the trees either, just silence where there was
constant birdcalls. Our local Robin and Wren have gone as have our
Coal/Blue/Great/Long Tailed Tits, no sign of the Green/Goldfinches, even
the
Blackbirds aren't around, weird silence.

Did notice a tree a couple of miles away yesterday at midday full of
Starlings, unusual.

Bob, we found that happened here about a month ago because there were two
cats prowling around. One was even sitting outside the window of my
step-son's cottage one vile night at about 3am. We discourage cats here
but
even he said it must have been a very hard-hearted owner that would shut a
cat outside on such a night.
I think the dogs have seen to it that the cats know they're unwelcome but
of
course, if the dogs are snug in their baskets beside the AGA at 3 or 4am,
they can't do much to scare off the cats who are hanging around when dawn
breaks....
--
Don't think that is the problem, no different cats than normal around here
and as the weather is getting worse they are out less and less anyway.
Nothing else seems to have changed except the lack of small birds in all the
gardens around here. The crows and magpies are still around but on thinking
about it even the pigeons seem rare lately.
Perhaps a Hawk has taken up residence locally?
--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London