Today there were about 30 choughs on my hill, exploring through the leaf litter. There seem to be 2 groups of about 15 individuals each, sometimes they come together. I wonder if they are unrelated groups or a large group which has split into 2.I don't think its a seasonal thing, there are always lots of choughs about here.
Choughs are fascinating! We had one as a pet when I was young. It used to interact with the wild troupes. They would sit up in the trees and converse. The wild birds would fly up behind us and 'bonk' us in the head with their fleshy breasts if we took too long to put the food out! When they're angry/threatened they fluff out their wings and puff out their red eyeballs! In the end, they decided that our pet Chough was unacceptable, and killed him in mid-air! My mother was devastated.