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Post by davidwilson on Jan 31, 2021 21:07:13 GMT
Got twelve species in the hour before dusk today, two of which, namely Fieldfare and Great spotted woodpecker, are not being counted apparently. Goldfinches ruled the roost with 14 counted at one time in the appointed hour though there were 20+ when we were eating lunch earlier. Was also surprised to see both a Little egret and a Cormorant fly over.....until I popped out and realised that the Thames hereabouts has well and truly overtopped its banks and flooded the water meadows and flood plain for quite some distance. I am surprised they are not counting all birds. The Fieldfare is one of the birds I have not seen unfortunately, I am trying to entice one with apples on the lawn but so far without success. |
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Post by davrav on Jan 31, 2021 21:17:21 GMT
Fieldfares do love apples but they usually stay at the furthest most areas of the garden from the house when I see them. Have you got plenty of bushes and trees around your lawn David?
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Post by davidwilson on Feb 1, 2021 7:18:10 GMT
Fieldfares do love apples but they usually stay at the furthest most areas of the garden from the house when I see them. Have you got plenty of bushes and trees around your lawn David? Thanks, I will reposition the apples! The garden needs work but I am not dedicated! It isn't that big and now has few trees and bushes. My neighbour's garden was completely overgrown and was great for the birds but it has now been cleared. I did have two large sycamores and two elms but they had to be felled for safety - unfortunately they were adjacent to a lane at the bottom of the garden and they would probably have fallen that way. However my other neighbour has lots of trees and bushes. Both neighbours have two massive sweet chestnut trees and I still have one elm. |
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Post by clarki on Feb 9, 2021 9:52:21 GMT
So, on the back of this thread I left some bread out for my Robin mate this morning. Camera set up with motion sensor on, so be interesting to see what/if any pics we get.  am I really now birdwatching, must be getting old  |
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Post by Mb2t on Feb 9, 2021 11:51:40 GMT
So, on the back of this thread I left some bread out for my Robin mate this morning. Camera set up with motion sensor on, so be interesting to see what/if any pics we get. am I really now birdwatching, must be getting old Buy birds seeds, bread is not good for them (they are not used to processed food). You are getting old, every day, every minute... nevertheless, birdwatching is very intetesting. |
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Post by shcm on Feb 9, 2021 12:54:13 GMT
Not sure how the "old" bit ties in with birdwatching.  To get to some of the places to see rarities, you have to be pretty nimble of your feet and prepared to walk. The bread debate rages on. I've heard both it's OK and not too. (and then there's the "angel wing" claim in waterfowl). I think everybody agrees bread's not got great energy content. At this time of year, birds need lots of energy to shiver their way through day and night. Lots of fats or high energy food. Seeds high in oil content, fat balls etc.......unless you're feeding something like a goshawk of course. |
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Post by Mb2t on Feb 12, 2021 11:57:27 GMT
The things the camera catches: Warning: there is animal death in the video: It happened yesterday, all ended up in less than a minute, wife saw the neighbour's cat going over the fence (he usually does that, it is his daily route), but something was a bit odd, when we looked, there were feathers in the garden... it was caught on camera. You have been warned! {Cat} |
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Post by davrav on Feb 12, 2021 12:07:59 GMT
They are little bu99ers for that.
Mind, if you have seen a sparrow hawk take a pigeon, that is impressive. They are like guided missiles.
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Post by shcm on Feb 12, 2021 13:09:53 GMT
Well at least it looked like it was trying to take it home to show the neighbours.
Sparrow-hawk will often just take the head and leave a good deal of the rest for you to clean up. Definitely impressive though, as is the way all the other birds, apart from the victim, scatter just as the missile comes in. I appreciate the narrow-escapes too. Sparrow-hawk can sit there for a few minutes after the "failure", looking sheepish.
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Post by Mb2t on Feb 12, 2021 14:44:19 GMT
Well at least it looked like it was trying to take it home to show the neighbours. Sparrow-hawk will often just take the head and leave a good deal of the rest for you to clean up. Definitely impressive though, as is the way all the other birds, apart from the victim, scatter just as the missile comes in. I appreciate the narrow-escapes too. Sparrow-hawk can sit there for a few minutes after the "failure", looking sheepish. Yes, he does bring them back to the neighbor, he eats the head and leave the rest. He brought before lots of pigeons, squirrels and rats. This is the first time it is on camera. He is a killing machine. |
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Post by clarki on Feb 13, 2021 11:14:03 GMT
Bread all gone. Frikkin seagulls loved it. Mr Robin came back later, gave him a special bit  |
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Post by Mb2t on Feb 14, 2021 23:08:09 GMT
A new visitor in the garden.
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Post by davidwilson on Feb 15, 2021 7:06:41 GMT
A new visitor in the garden. I haven't seen one yet where I live in Worcestershire but although they look an attractive bird I fear they will drive a lot of other birds away like the squirrel situation. I hadn't appreciated how much bigger than tits and finches they are. So good to see one but I hope it isn't the start of many! |
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Post by widge on Feb 15, 2021 8:22:02 GMT
A new visitor in the garden. I haven't seen one yet where I live in Worcestershire but although they look an attractive bird I fear they will drive a lot of other birds away like the squirrel situation. I hadn't appreciated how much bigger than tits and finches they are. So good to see one but I hope it isn't the start of many! If it becomes a problem you can get a larger cage to put around the outside so only the smaller birds can get to the food, usualy used to stop pigions |
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Post by shcm on Feb 15, 2021 8:37:15 GMT
They are very attractive and of course many people feed them in London's parks, where they are very tame. I wouldn't encourage them too much. They can be destructive and are not unknown to peck their way through eaves (soffits etc).
There's a picture of 2 of them on this month's page of the CountryFile calendar. They are peering out from what looks like a hole in a tree but our first thought was, is it somebody's roof???!
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am I really now birdwatching, must be getting old 
