What's buzzing or flying near you 2024 ?

Hi I know I live in Wales but the first red kite I ever saw was travelling on the M4 towards Surrey .

but during the summer I had 1 single bird flying over my house and yesterday I had two floating around… I live in south Wales.. this is the only ones I have seen in this area and I have been here 15 years ..

Amazing looking birds

spruce

 

The Sparrowhawk was back again and took another Goldfinch, not surprising as there were around 50 again. Looked odd with the breeze lifting it's feathers and on one leg.

 

Blue jay enjoying the late autumn sun, beautiful, but loud and noisy.

 

Going out through the garden room to pick some kale for tonight heard the twittering. Looked up into the ash trees near our house and hundreds if not thousands of starlings in the trees. All facing the same way and all talking to each other....how was your journey, did you get enough to eat, have you met up with any family...???? They then came down into the field which has short grass and started pecking away but always alert and flying up and down. Then more of them came into the orchard.....dear birds we are so happy for you to eat the fallen apples but why do you insist on going into the trees and pecking at the apples that are still on the trees? Back to the ash trees and more chatter...then absolute silence for about a minute (did one of them give an alarm call?) then back to chattering and then WHOOSH all gone.
Back in 2010 we volunteered with RSPB staff for the winter starling murmurations. Hundreds of people coming each night full of chatter themselves but absolute silence when the first birds flew in. One lady had come with her family from the London area having been told that to understand behaviour (for her PhD) she should look at starlings and their behaviour when they come in their millions to roost. Incredible.