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Lifers in the garden! (1 Viewer)

david2004

david2004

Well-known member
Must be the snow that's brought them in!

On Wednesday I was watching the lovely flock of Chaffinches that have taken up residence, when I saw a different bird amongst them. On closer inspection it turned out to be.. a REED BUNTING! I was shocked and so happy! Wonderful little bird - in my garden!

If that wasn't good enough, yesterday I saw another great bird! I was watching a bird perching on a branch that looked like a Collared Dove with odd plumage (from behind - it was very far away!) It was a FIELDFARE!

Great to see two birds I'd only ever seen once before, and lifers for me!
 
Nice one David - I've heard of people having garden Reed Buntings, but never seen one myself...

I did had a new garden tick last week though .... House Sparrow....

Funny thing, you can go just a few hundred yards up the road and they're there in plenty, but never seen one in our garden in 18 years....
 
Nice one. With snow around, there's no telling what may turn up in your garden. I had a nice male reed bunting last year for a few days, a very welcome addition to the garden list.

cheers,
Andy
 
Curiously I had a garden tick this morning - you could have knocked me down with a feather. Two Dunnock. One chasing the other about. Not QUITE as good as a Reed Bunting ;)
 
Eek, I've just has a great spotted woodpecker on my peanut feeder for the first time!! Wow! I thought it was a bit big for a green finch! It had a red patch on the back of its head and under it's bottom (it was on the wrong side of the feeder)
ps I've been getting reed buntings since this time last year. (not that I'm boasting)!
 
@Ruby

Yes, there are two of pairs of house sparrows that nest a couple of houses along and it is highly unusual to see them in our garden, they seem to be ultra territorial. The other odd thing is that I remember when I was young house sparrows would descend on masse to eat bread put out on the lawn, and would also use the bird feeders. I'm not sure what these local sparrows eat but I have yet to observe them coming down for any bread, or to use the nut and fat ball feeders that I have put up. Strange,as they are easily visible from where they live.

Also had a dozen black headed gulls in the garden this morning, behaviour the same as usual, i.e. they will swoop down and pick up bread from the lawn but will never ever land. Maybe they ae just very nervous of surburban back gardens and possible dangers?

Yaffle
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. With the temperatures SOARING to 21 degrees since I saw the Reed Bunting and Fieldfare, I haven't seen them again!
 
I have had two lifers in the garden one was a Brambling 2 winters ago that just visited once and a Lesser Spotted Wood Pecker that used to come daily for a bath for about a week never seen one anywhere else
 
romancitizen said:
The first time I saw a Sparrowhawk, it was in our garden. Unfortunately it was in the process of consuming a Blue Tit.
Click to expand...

I saw my first Sparrowhawk in my garden too... it swooped down, plucked a hungry Starling off a peanut feeder and was gone again.
 
I had my first ever Sparrowhawk on Sunday. It swooped down, but failed to get anything. Everything had already disappeared - apart from three Pheasants!
 
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