The good news is that I have seen a little more of Tane. He comes in and feeds close to my feet, using me as a shield from Chestnut. I have heard them having singing competitions and Chestnut is getting better at it! I've also seen them face off, a few feet apart and chests puffed out. The territorial disputes don't seem to escalate to anything worse, thank goodness.
That's Tane, and this is Chestnut.
I'm feeling very fond of the dunnocks.
The complication relates to predation. Now, a few months ago I found an eviscerated starling under the back lilac. It looked like a hawk had filled the bird, and I saw something fly off as I walked up the path to first see the corpse. But that was the only evidence and so I forgot about it.
Today, I was standing under the back lilac and felt wings against my head. Something large landed on the bough in front of my face - less than two feet away. I registered that it was the size of a pigeon with a grey-brown back and a fanned tail for balance. Then it turned its head - hawk! No mistaking that sharp beak or the yellow eye! In an instant, the bird had gone.
It had landed above the green box on which that dunnock is standing in the left-hand photo above. Sometimes the food bowl there has been driven off the box and I thought it was squirrels, pigeons or starlings - now I wonder if a diving hawk caused panic!
The dunnocks always walk forwards very cautiously, but they seem to spend more time looking for threats on the ground beside/below the box - cat-like threats. I hope they learn to look out for the raptor!
Good to hear about Tane & Chestnut :-)