Young blackbird (Turdus merula) on the last day of May
I have had a chance to notice more garden birds than usual in recent weeks and it has been a good year for certain baby birds. I have seen very young nuthatches for the first time – two of them – although the parents have disappeared at the moment.
One young nuthatch (Sitta europaea)…
…and the other one…
…I love the soft feathers
Young robin (Erithacus rubecula) in early June
There have been plenty of great tit (Parus major) babies this year, although I haven’t made the effort to get a particularly good picture
We have not seen quite as many young starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) as previously and anyway I don’t think I will ever take a picture as good as this one…
Young starling, May 2012 – click on the picture to see the post
Adult starling on the last day of May this year
For the record, I have also seen young blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great spotted woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major).
There have been adult blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) of both sexes, heard warbling every day if not always seen, a jay (Garrulus glandarius) and more goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis) than usual. In fact we are woken every morning by a goldfinch serenading from an old TV aerial on a neighbour’s roof. It’s a great way to start the day. And I WILL eventually capture a better picture…
Goldfinch yesterday morning – just before it flew away
Almost forgot to mention – there was also a beautiful sparrowhawk in the garden on May 23 and it stayed for a few minutes – but of course I had no camera to hand, as usual.
The Squirrelbasket 
I see what you mean about the feathers.
The Sparrowhawk . . . how much is it a danger to these young birds? And do you know how easily could it manoeuvre if it decided to swoop down into a garden to catch something?
Um, yes.
But in the past I have always just let nature take its course.
Fortunately for the small birds the sparrowhawk is not here that often – and it has to live as well, after all…
I find our neighbours’ cats are usually more of a danger.
🙂
How lucky … especially with the baby nuthatches
They are growing so quickly now, and taking on their adult pinky colour…
Baby nuthatches are very nice to see! Are you sure that’s a juvenile robin? The ones I see are speckly on the chest until their adult red feathers start to show through.
Yes, reasonably sure. We have had several at various stages of growth. Some speckled, some starting to go red, and this one.
If not a robin – although it had the robin’s aggressive manner and facial features – what else would you suggest?
All the best 🙂