The juvenile robins are starting to appear in the garden again. After two months out of the nest the young birds start to grow some reddish feathers on their light spotted brown coat and can look rather scruffy. During the next few weeks the red patch will gradually extend to complete the sleek adult appearance. Both male and female are similar in appearance. They now start to assert their territory and will be heard singing loudly throughout the autumn and winter.
The pheasant chicks are now as big as their mother and the one male pheasant is now showing a few red feathers in his plumage. Last Saturday they were boldly sitting on the wooden fence in front of the cottage. The osprey and most of the swallows are now on their long journey back to Africa with their young.
We have not seen many red squirrels lately as they are having their second litter. If there is a good food source they will have two litters a year, one in April and another in August. The success of the breeding season depends on the seed crop of the trees where they live [acorns,hazel nuts,pine cones]as well as people like us putting out a never ending supply of free peanuts. While we were up at the cottage on Saturday I saw a mother squirrel run across the driveway carrying a baby in her mouth, similar to a cat carrying her kittens. We are looking forward to seeing the youngsters in the next few weeks chasing each other round the trees trunks, exploring the garden and clinging to the peanut feeders.
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