EDIT : oh, and the big fat woodpigeons that waddle around as replacement ducks !
I heard they are self-isolating.
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Spent a few happy minutes watching a robin defend the food-supply in the middle section of wallâŚfrom a bluetit at one end of the wallâŚand a sparrow at the other⌠it was hilarious. 
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The cowslips are out too!
Iâve fed the birds all winter - theyâve eaten an enormous amount and the feeder has been thronged with them. Mainly tit-birds, which are insect eaters and I think the constant rain has kept the insects away. Days (rare) when it doesnât rain, they ignore the feeder as there are thousands of midges. I feed only fatballs and sunflower seeds as these are what they like best.
During this spring and summer, blue tits, great tits, robin, blackbirds, sparrows and collared doves have been feeding a plenty from my window cills, and theyâve brought this yearâs offspring to the window cills as well.
But during the last few weeks, no blue tits or great tits! My garden and the surroundings are quite a haven for them, so am wondering where they have gone.
They donât migrate to sunnier climes - any thoughts?
Iâm not sure what is going on with the birds but, like the canary in the mine, they are telling us something.
Changing weather patterns + loss of heath and wetlands + heatwaves = loss of migratory bird populations
Youâre right about the general decline in nature. Iâve seen some of it here where Iâve lived for the last 32 years. But a sudden disappearance of all blue tits and great tits from my garden is worrying.
Itâs been very wet here and maybe that has something to do with it, but Iâm thinking that a neighbour somewhere is offering a yummier mix of bird seed!
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Scary shades of Rachel Carsonâs Silent Spring. I think there are fewer insects around (although not flies)âŚ
I must admit to being slightly disappointed in some respects by our French bird life because I imagined that with so much woodland around us it would be quite rich and closer to what I experienced in S Africa where Iâd spot a couple of dozen different and often quite spectacular species while having lunch on the terrace.
Unfortunately here thereâs much less diversity, even though itâs great to see a wide range of raptors, the âin-betweenâ stuffâ and LBJs seem fairly sparse in our stretch of the Lot Valley. Nevertheless Iâm still slightly surprised to frequently see cormorants, which Iâd previously assumed were a seabird.
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The lack of seeing tits in the garden at this time of year 'couldâ be due to their dietary needs, they eat a lot of small spiders & other small insects, caterpillars, less so grains and fat balls.
Thanks, that makes some sense of it. The adults are no longer chasing around feeding their chicks on my window cills with the sunflower seeds & fat balls.
They have time on their hands now for something more nutritious, and available. Lots of ivy starting to bloom down my way at the moment, buzzing with insect life, and berries.
The seed mix and fat balls will be there in the coming colder weather. Iâm sure theyâll be back.
