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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Very busy at the bird feeder today! (5 Viewers)

Lunchtime is usually a quite time for birding from the window but having had two yearticks today already, I decided to have lunch watching out of the window. Just a few minutes after the Swift (no58 - see above) and probably my last dead cert for the garden yearlist, one of my probables flew over holding a mammal in it's talons - male Kestrel (no59). Despite the suitable habitat, I have only seen this species from the garden a handful of times, so you could say it's a garden mega!!! Literally as I was recovering from the shock of the Kestrel, my eyes were caught by a white bird flying along the valley. The bird was undoubtedly a small Egret (either Little or Cattle) but it flew out of site before I could confirm the ID. Egret Spp - no60!!! Whichever it was it was a garden tick!! Other highlights today included the pair of Red-legged Partridges, singles of Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Whitethroat.

Possibly one of the best days garden watching i've had!!!

CB
 
Well done with the ticks, CB.

Mrs BT left the nest for a while this morning and there's 8 eggs, we'd only seen 7 til now. My money is on Wednesday for the 1st chick.
 
What a relief to get some rain! I'm sure some of the young blackbirds in the garden have'nt tasted a worm yet! They've been brought up on suet pellets and soaked sultanas, so will have a really sweet tooth and turn their beaks up at worms!
 
Nice day CB.....

Not too bad here either...
2011 Garden Species No. 49
Swallow

also Sparrowhawk over with prey. 6 GBBG with juveniles... ok not strictly juveniles but youngsters anyway, First Juvenile Dunnock, and the 3 juvenile Robins doing nicely..... 2 more Swifts also
 
yet another juvenile:

let the commotion begin...............Juvenile Magpie already causing trouble with the starlings

**These juveniles are nearly 3 weeks earlier than last year**
 
Last edited:
Hello everyone, hope you all have been keeping well! :)

Great to hear of Juvs being spotted in peoples gardens. Its been very quiet here latly, mainly in the sunny weather.

Has it been particulary quiet for anyone else the last few weeks?
 
Has in my garden, the last 2 weeks especially. Goldinches are regular visitors, but everything else has gone really quiet.

Siskins have completely disappeared in the last 6 weeks, and even the blue tits are scarce.

Any ideas why ?
 
Same here. The only real interest is in the nest box. There's so much 'natural' food about that the birds don't need to come for the artificial stuff. Juvenilles really need invertebrates and not seed, so the parents will be scouring for hearty grub.

Things usual pick up for me around June time, when the young have left their nests and the parents show them where good year-round food sources are.
 
Reckon it's worth investing in mealworms Bongo, or would it need to be the live ones to make any difference at this time of year ?

Was also hoping there might be some fledglings around, but none so far.

Patience is the key I guess !
 
GlesgaBirds said:
Reckon it's worth investing in mealworms Bongo, or would it need to be the live ones to make any difference at this time of year ?

Was also hoping there might be some fledglings around, but none so far.

Patience is the key I guess !
Click to expand...

Glesga, Quite a few juveniles turned up for me today.... bear with it.
 
the sparrows are still here with the youngsters,

other than that the jackdaw/starling/feral pigeaon hoard keeps descending and eating us out of house and home.

on the year list front, i passed last years total today.

and on the spring front,

there is actually a speed of spring, it is 3 miles per hour so spring progresses from the south of england to the north of scotland at 3mph and takes about a month to do so.

each 1000 feet of elevation also delays the onset of spring by about a week.

i'm a mine of useful information that no one really wants to know me.
 
GlesgaBirds said:
Reckon it's worth investing in mealworms Bongo, or would it need to be the live ones to make any difference at this time of year ?

Was also hoping there might be some fledglings around, but none so far.

Patience is the key I guess !
Click to expand...

As others have said, its normally a quiet time of the year for the garden, but plenty of spring migrants elsewhere to go and have a gander at. RSPB Barons Haugh at Motherwell (nr Airbles train station, if that's any use) has had some good birds recently....Garganey, Wood Sandpiper, Black-Tailed Godwits.
 
Haven't been at Baron's Haugh in years !!

Last time I was there, Russell Nisbet was the warden, and Robert was always around with his 2 dogs.

More of a Lochwinnoch man nowadays :eek:p
 

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