Apart from your turkey and goose of course .,.
Watching the different birds in your garden and learning a little about them can bring enormous pleasure and interest, and if you once get hooked there can be no end to this hobby, Walks along the river or through the local woodlands assume a dimension beyond mere exercise, and the thrill of seeing your first kingfisher flash close across the water will not be quickly forgotten.
Most of us in this area are fortunate to have gardens and open space around and the easiest way to begin looking at birds is to bring them to you, In the winter, particularly, birds will appreciate kitchen scraps such as pieces of cheese, fat, apples and dried fruit. These can be placed on the ground, in an open space so birds can spot the hunting moggie from next door, or on a plain bird table with drainage holes at the corner, Simple steps like this will encourage robins, starlings, blackbirds, chaffinches and sparrows, As your fascination grows you might add a wire mesh hanger of peanuts, which will bring in the agile little blue-tits and their larger cousins, the great tits, with their black heads and tummy stripe. A word of warning here from the RSPB, who say birds' feet can become entangled in the nylon bags that some nuts are sold in.
Further species will be lured into your garden by offering a plastic tube feeder filled with a special seed mix, and very soon you will be visited by greenfinches, and perhaps a greater-spotted woodpecker, or a nuthatch, or even goldfinches and maybe siskins, seeking the warmer climes of the south. Your most exotic visitor, in this area, will probably be one, or several, of the noisy, bright green, rosy-necked parakeets, which have so successfully colonised this area. If all this sounds expensive, seed feeders can be made from inverted plastic drinks bottles. Finally do not forget the water. A shallow container with a rim where the birds can perch will suffice, but please keep it ice free if we get the promised hard winter.
These are some of the more common birds that are found in our gardens, but let's assume you go for a walk along the river to work off some of that turkey and Christmas pudding. Without any effort you should spot elegant mute swans and the now familiar Canada geese. Also easy to see are coot with a white shield on the forehead and mallard ducks. The males will have regained their iridescent green heads after moulting at the end of the summer. They will be accompanied by their females clad in plain brown - a handy disguise when sitting on a nest of eggs. Another common waterside bird, easy to see, is the heron, which stands patiently peering into the water waiting for a passing fish or unwary frog. Keep an eye out for the elegant great-crested grebe, now fairly common on the Thames, but once threatened with extinction because its dense fur like feathers were used to line ladies' muffs. Also on the water you should see the little black tufted ducks, with their white flanks, bright yellow eyes and a tuft on the male's head.
If you are tempted to explore the many birds of Thames Ditton a pocket size hand book of the Birds of Great Britain will be of great assistance and help lead you ever deeper into this absorbing hobby.
Helen Hughes