Local Wildlife

[TheMedz]

RSPB Garden Birdwatch this weekend.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/?gclid=CN727uvF8q0CFSgntAodNEkUuA

[Hugo]

Thanks very much for posting the info regarding the birdwatch.  I did mine in the back garden and seem to have more varieties of birds early on when they are feeding.
I was on the West Shore earlier today and it's lovely to see the Pied Wagtails by the pond. They are usually there everytime I go past but strangely enough I didn't see any today although there were 18 Swans there and dozens of various gulls

[Hugo]

I can understand your affection for the Collared Doves ME as we have a pair that come to our garden every day and it's lovely to see them. They are always close to each other and we look out for them when we're in the back garden.
The other day though I was in the kitchen and there was a Collared Dove by itself feeding on the lawn and the other Dove was nowhere to be seen so for a very short time I feered the worst.   When his mate finally landed by his side I was quite relieved as I knew that they were both ok.
We also have Wood Pigeons coming to the garden every day but they come in 3's and judging by the antics they get up to it seems a bit kinky to me.

[Jack]

It must be cold, this little nuthatch has come down from the woods and was on our feeders this afternoon.

[Blodyn]

How nice to see the nuthatch on your bird feeder, Jack.

I've only recently started feeding birds, as my cats are showing neither interest in, nor aptitude for, hunting (one of my previous cats was a VERY enthusiastic hunter).  Do any of you have any tips for feeding birds? 

I have hanging feeders for fat balls, nuts and seeds and I also put out seeds and fruit on the ground and there's water available.  I discovered that the hanging feeders need to be jackdaw proof, so I've sorted that out.  Apart from the jackdaws and magpies, my bird population seem to consist of: one female blackbird, one sparrow and one wren!  Is there anything else I should be doing? 

[Jack]

How nice to see the nuthatch on your bird feeder, Jack.

I've only recently started feeding birds, as my cats are showing neither interest in, nor aptitude for, hunting (one of my previous cats was a VERY enthusiastic hunter).  Do any of you have any tips for feeding birds? 

I have hanging feeders for fat balls, nuts and seeds and I also put out seeds and fruit on the ground and there's water available.  I discovered that the hanging feeders need to be jackdaw proof, so I've sorted that out.  Apart from the jackdaws and magpies, my bird population seem to consist of: one female blackbird, one sparrow and one wren!  Is there anything else I should be doing?

We've been feeding them for the last couple of years.  During last years very cold spell in December my youngest persuaded us to buy a feeder and some peanuts.  That cheap feeder didn't last long with the squirrels and jackdaws but in the short time it was up we had feeding blue tits, great tits and long tailed tits.  So I went out and bought 4 of these all singing/dancing squirrel/jackdaw proof feeders.  Two are filled with peanuts and two with sunflower hearts (rather than wild bird seed which seems to make a horrendous mess of the garden as all sort of strange things grow!!).  Now we get greenfinch, chaffinch, great spotted woodpecker, robin, dunnock, sparrows, starlings etc as well as blue, great, long tailed and coal tits. 
I guess as we are close to woodland it helps and as we have a dog, cats are less of a problem as they won't come in the garden. 
Don't forget they need water too especially when other sources have frozen.

[Blodyn]

Thanks, Jack, I'll go out and check the water as it's been cold overnight.  What a wonderful collection of birds you have visiting.  There's not much in the way of woodland near me but I'll keep my eyes open and see if any of my three birds manages to find a friend!

[Nemesis]

I'll send you a few of my jackdaws Blodyn. They are at their most amusing when the pear tree in the churchyard has gone overripe and they are positively drunk ! They lurch around and cannot co-ordinate their legs!

[Blodyn]

Thanks for the offer, Nemesis, but I do have quite a few passing jackdaws - though mine are very sober ones!  Do yours manage to fly "under the influence"?

[Merddin Emrys]

An update on Fluff our collared dove, we've had him (or her) for a month now, he's doing very well and mostly lives on top of the canary's cage, still very very tame!




Where's he gone?

[martin]

Sweet!  I like the one where he/she has alighted onto a slightly hairy football.

[Merddin Emrys]

Sweet!  I like the one where he/she has alighted onto a slightly hairy football.

 L0L I've just grown too tall for my hair! 

[Blodyn]

Nice to see Fluff's progress.  He / she does look sweet.

There's good news on my bird feeding efforts.  My sparrow population has just doubled - my sparrow's found a friend!  I also spotted a blue tit yesterday - that's five birds now! 

[Nemesis]

Ohh great, more bird life-- glad to hear it !
The Jackdaws have to take off carefully after their boozy session !

[Hugo]

We had a male Great Spotted Woodpecker feeding on the peanuts yesterday. He was there for about10 minutes and it's his first visit here for months. Hope that he brings Mrs Woody with him next time.