Michael Viney responds to queries and observations on nature.
We have had occasional thrushes nesting in our garden, but this stopped about two years ago. Last year we found 14 thrushes, mostly adult, feeding on our lawn - though we have no idea what they were eating.T hey stayed for about 10 and then flew away. Why did they come, and how can we attract them to come and nest.
Mavis Arnold, Glenageary, Co Dublin.
An area of gardens would have only one pair of thrushes per acre, and they nest in dense trees or bushes. Your garden could be bordering on several thrush territories, and you had the local population having a takeaway of worms, beetles or larvae from your lawn. Thrushes don't normally flock except when there is a ready source of food.