LBJ

Dunnock

The dunnock's name is 15th century in origin, and literally means small brown bird. These unassuming little birds with their attractive, streaky plumage are always present in our garden: ground feeders that hop about under the roses and shrubs, finding insects and seeds. The males are already singing, two months ahead of the breeding season, a thin warbly song delivered from songposts in trees and bushes.

The dunnock has a complex love life. The females are often polyandrous, with two males in her territory, mating with her and helping to raise her chicks. Her original mate is the alpha male, the dominant of the two; the beta male infiltrates his way into their lives and is tolerated by the alpha. His reward for helping with raising the chicks is that she lets him mate too, and the brood may be fathered by both males. This goes on in your gardens - even in New Zealand where they are well established from 19th century introductions.

I'm a little concerned for our breeding dunnocks. A couple of months ago we took out the Leyland cypress hedge, where one female has nested every year. The hedge had no other merit, and had to go to allow plants of more interest to be grown. Where will the dunnocks nest now? In the ivy, we hope. This grows in great abandon on our stone walls, and at least one dunnock nested in it last year.

Today was a day of unrelenting rain, it just kept coming, and the light was never more than gloomy. The picture was taken Robbie-style, hanging out of the kitchen window, with an impossibly high ISO. So that explains the graininess.

I finally went for walk over the Knott in the rain at 3 pm. I left the Nikon behind, it doesn't mix with water. I'm still looking for my first sparrowhawk of the year, but they remain elusive, anything but predictable in where to find them. The year list therefore remains on 78.

LBJ = Little brown job, birders' terminology for inconspicuous little brown birds.

Breaking news: Brokenbanjo is getting wed to Gemma. What's more the knot is being tied on Mull in June - Ahh, Eagles.