I have been pleasantly surprised at the number of birds that frequent my small town garden. Sparrows, Starlings, Chaffinches, Tits, Robins, Hawfinches and, most of all, Blackbirds. One of the first things I did was to install a birdbath that many of them make frequent use of but was nervous of putting out food for fear the numerous pigeon population would cause problems. This winter however I decided to give it a try and, so far, the pigeons have kept away and I have been rewarded with even more activity. The Blackbirds are the most appreciative and this spring it has been interesting to observe their behaviour. Two males decided to stake a claim as ruler of the territory. For several days recently I saw them acting very strangely, chasing each other from one end of the garden to the other over long periods. Research on the Internet brought me to the conclusion that they were each trying to establish " feeding rights" before having young to feed. Now, the "winner" is about all the time and has become very tame, appearing from nowhere the minute I open the back door to go into the garden and following my gardening activities closely. Yesterday I was preparing pots for seeds and he came within a foot or so, anxious to see if I was getting something for him no doubt.
An added pleasure to the many other joys of gardening.