The cat watcher

I attempted the garden birdwatch again. There was a lot of activity despite the pouring rain. At one point seven sparrows, two blackbirds, a robin and a blue tit were feasting merrily, then they all disappeared. This female blackbird hopped into the plum tree, close enough for me to get a decent enough blip. She's watching the cause of the mass exodus - two of my neighbour's cats poised on the compost heap. They're brothers and love venturing into the garden (and into the flat). They didn't stay long this time, probably because they spotted me and knew there would be no access to the food. Shortly afterwards, eight (eight!) starlings descended into the one food tray. What flapping and squawking! I tried to capture it, but all I have are blurry wing motions and the odd yellow lines of angry, open beaks. On the RSPB website, it says that starlings are one of the most endangered garden birds. I'm lucky to have such noisy regular visitors. I normally spot only one or two, though, and hear the rest calling out.

In total, today's birdwatch yielded:
1 robin
7 sparrows
2 blackbirds
2 blue tits
1 feral pigeon
3 woodpigeons
8 starlings

Later, I spied two magpies and four carrion crows. They were shouting at a wily black cat that had climbed to the top of the lofty pear tree. I could hardly watch as the crows dived closer and the cat scrambled her way down to safety. She was perfectly fine. Phew.