Seasonal Bird Watching - The Summertime

The height of summer is not the best time of year for bird watching, as it's just too hot and the birds seem to hide away. However, if you pick your times and places, with a bit of persistence your bird watching can be as fruitful as at other times of the year.

There are a number of reasons why birds seem to disappear in the summertime.

Firstly, they will have started breeding, which occupies quite a bit of their time and once done, they start to moult. With less strength in their feathers, they are inclinded to stay in their nests in order not to encounter predators.

Secondly, with the ripening of grain, berries and other fruits some birds, particularly thrushes and blackbirds, move territories to where the food is actually growing, rather than taking advantage of the nuts and bread that people put out in their gardens. People who live near farmland especially will notice a lack of birds because they have all taken to the fields to gorge on the newly ripened grain. Other garden birds, such as tits, will abandon their nests once their chicks have flown and will live much higher up in trees, not easily seen by the human eye.

Conversely, city dwellers will normally find that their local birds, the sparrows and pigeons, are even more in evidence because of the crumbs dropped by cake and sandwich eaters, now able to sit at pavement cafés and enjoy the sunshine.

As well as a lack of visibility, there is a lack of birdsong in summer. This is predominantly because birds sing in spring and early summer as part of the courtship ritual and also to protect their territory. When the chicks have flown the nest, such protection isn't really necessary, so hence the singing stops.

The summer bird watcher needn't despair, however, particularly if he knows his area and where the birds traditionally nest. If you aren't familiar with the nesting patterns of your local birds, you can easily locate nests by watching the birds as they fly home with grass, wool, twigs, etc. Indeed, you can leave suitable items in your garden especially for the birds to collect.

As well as the more illusive birds, there are still the swallows, house martins, robins and wrens who all seem to be quite happy nesting near human habitation but don't forget that some, such as the wren, actually nest on the ground or in very low bushes, so watch your feet around your herbacious borders as you may disturb a nesting bird.

Bird watching in the summertime may not be as productive as at other times of the year but early morning is still a good time, before it gets too hot and dusk as well when there are lots of insects about for the birds to feed on.