Avian Oddnesses.

The birds in my garden have been behaving very strangely today. There have been many more of them than usual and they’ve been feeding much more voraciously than they have of late. That’s understandable because it’s turned wet and quite a lot colder here, but other activity has been harder to understand.

Why, for example, have I seen many pairs of them chasing each other around as they do in the early part of the breeding season? Why have several birds of two different species been taking a keen interest in the Blue Tit nesting box? October is the month when I usually clear it out because they won’t be needing it again until the following April. This suggests that there is to be a sudden epidemic of avian breeding just as autumn is making its presence felt in earnest, and although it isn’t unusual for the odd pair to do that, the sheer number of them is puzzling.

Oddest of all, however, was seeing several birds hovering in front of my office window and the adjoining wall, apparently taking a great interest in something. What?

I’ve come to suspect that birds, and other wild creatures, know things we don’t, and that has me wondering whether today’s odd behaviour should be a matter of concern or optimism.