Early December Update

It seems to be a relatively quiet time in the natural world. The weather is unseasonably mild and there are berries on the trees, so garden birds are relatively few and far between as they continue to hang on in the wider countryside, not yet needing our supplementary feed.

But on a positive note, I was delighted to welcome back to my garden last weekend, two Marsh Tits, a relative of the blue tit, but a grey bird with a distinctive black head. Marsh tits have fed in the garden for years, but disappeared in the winter of 2008-9 completely and couldn't be found in the breeding season in Royce Wood either. So it is good to have them back, let's hope last year's disappearance was due to the poor breeding season in 2008, not part of a wider decline. Its close relative the Willow Tit (only recognised as a separate species, they are so alike) has suffered a catastrophic decline and is now locally extinct in Cambridgeshire.

Another returning bird is the goosander. There were seven of this large, impressive duck at Maxey Pits on 6 December, five of them the striking males. There was also a green sandpiper flying over the Maxey Cut.