Country diary: the gatherings at the bird feeder are anything but random

Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: Hierarchies, dependence and relationships determine the birds' comings and goings

The bird feeder hangs from a branch a few metres from the hide. It has been placed there and filled with seed by the National Trust in woodland next to an old quarry above the road along Wenlock Edge. There's a path from the car park that passes the hide and it's a favourite place for children and families out for a walk. Many of those who visit it may not be familiar with the woodland birds that feed here and rarely get the opportunity to get so close to them.

Sitting quietly in a shed open to the woods, looking at the feeder and the birds coming and going, seemingly oblivious to being watched as they flit and thrum about their daily lives, is like entering another world through a screen. But what do birds get out of it? The bird feeder is a metre-long Perspex tube filled with a variety of seeds. It has entry holes with little plastic perches so that several individuals can pick seeds from the feeder at any one time. Together, nuthatch, chaffinch, blue tit, great tit, coal tit, are bright, colourful birds that look so neat and healthy, even after their battering from storms. Each bird takes a turn, doesn't stay long and returns regularly; there are few skirmishes and this seems the result of a carefully constructed code of behaviour.