Dear Readers, the jackdaws have definitely arrived this year – looking back through the blog, I see that I first noticed one in the garden in 2017, 7 years after we arrived in East Finchley. Since then, an occasional bird has dropped in, but this year a whole family has turned up, and my pal Leo in Barnwood has had jackdaws in the community orchard for the first time, eating the cherries.

These are watchful, intelligent birds, and are often chased off by the much larger and more belligerent magpies, who also have babies. As do the parakeets, who are also visiting in groups of four.

There are still lots of fledgling starlings about, though they have mostly left their parents and travel in noisy juvenile groups, much like post-exam youngsters that I often see around East Finchley, full of youthful exuberance and high spirits.

And the great tits have definitely started a second brood – they have been in and out of the nest box all day. I missed the fledging last time, and am likely to be away for the next one too, but I’m so happy that they feel safe enough to nest so close to the house. They are moving from one nest box to another along the ‘sparrow terrace’ that the sparrows have ignored – there’s one more to go, so let’s see if they try to make it three broods. I’ll keep you posted!