Much Entertainment

Sitting up on Their bedroom windowsill yesterday provided Much Entertainment: First a baby robin arrived to perch on the weeping laburnum where He had hung a fat ball. But it didn't land - Kept popping straight up in the air again and again like a fluffy jack-in-the-box. After a minute or 2 it flew away. Same thing happened with a great tit.

A little while later 4 of the family of 5 newly-fledged starlings (still murky brown and nothing like as gleaming as the parents) lined up on the back of a chair next to the laburnum. Occasionally squabbled and swapped places but none would venture onto the tree.

5 minutes later they were still there but one was hungrier than the rest and plucked up the courage to land by the fat ball. The tree immediately erupted into frenzied activity as the 5th baby starling hurled itself, screaming abuse, up through the leaves and thumped its brother extremely hard from underneath. And then dropped back inside. Happened more than times than Myself could count before the 4 gave up and went elsewhere for breakfast.

The new pump continues to leak gently. Water level in the pond is dropping which makes it difficult to have a drink safely. (Is also making the path very wet.) Hope They notice soon and do something or Myself will have to find an alternative drinking hole.