Dear Readers, the garden has been visited regularly by house sparrows this winter – this morning I counted a flock of twelve. I couldn’t be happier! I’m not sure where they’re roosting (certainly not in my sparrow nest box, which I suspect is too low and too close to the house) but I’m always happy to see them wherever they turn up. And this week, Facebook reminded me that I’d actually had an article about sparrows in The Londonist  back in 2014, and if you’re inclined, you can  have a read here (titled ‘Where have London’s Sparrows Gone?)

This also reminds me that in February 2024 I’ll have been writing this blog for ten whole years! Surely that calls for some kind of celebration. I shall have to have a think, but do comment if you have any suggestions. I’m also 64 this year, so I’m expecting quite a lot of renditions of That Beatles Song….And because I love you all, here’s a version subtitled in Spanish. You’re welcome.

It’s not just sparrows in the garden, though: there is a very athletic little black and white cat, who is trying to catch either a squirrel or a pigeon but hasn’t cottoned on to the fact that you have to hide first, so everyone is on to her long before she makes her pounce. Let’s hope she doesn’t get wiser quickly.

The collared doves are chasing one another around a bit, almost as if it was spring. I saw a feral pigeon trotting up East Finchley High Road with a twig in its mouth earlier this week – pigeons and doves can breed all year round if there’s food about, which there certainly is. I was accosted on the doorstep by a fox this week too – it had clearly been planning to limbo dance under the door to my side return, where there’s quite a gap, but decided to wait until I’d gone. I love the way that they just sit there patiently, or melt into the undergrowth.

In spite of all your advice (thank you!) I haven’t quite gotten around to getting a squirrel-proof feeder yet, so the little devils are still eating me out of house and home. Maybe after Christmas I’ll get my act together.

And all the usual suspects are popping in – the goldfinches, the starlings, a pair of jackdaws (who have mastered the suet feeder), some occasional chaffinches, a dunnock, a wren, a robin who appears from nowhere when the mealworms come out. All in all it’s a busy time for the birds, and lack of leaves means that I can see them. It’s all about the dreaming and planning now, and the waiting for the bulbs to come up (though my husband did intercept a squirrel either digging something up or planting something in one of the pots in the front garden this morning). The world is turning, slowly but surely.