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My Back Garden (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter ChrisKten
- Start date
ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
The female Goldcrest is still hanging around. I see her everyday now. She's now eating bread from the scraps feeder, as well catching the crumbs from the messy Starlings.
I've also seen her at the fat feeder, and on the ground. She really is quite bold, as there's quite a commotion from the Starlings, Sparrows, and Collard Doves feeding in the tree. I thought it would scare her off, but she seems to have gotten used to it.
I thought I'd try to get her on video without just focusing on one spot and waiting. That was a bad idea. From 30m minutes of footage I got just one capture that is in focus, though only just in focus.
If you want a method of driving yourself insane, try following a Goldcrest with a video camera.
Anyway, here's the capture, I'll have to get video the sensible way next time.
I've also seen her at the fat feeder, and on the ground. She really is quite bold, as there's quite a commotion from the Starlings, Sparrows, and Collard Doves feeding in the tree. I thought it would scare her off, but she seems to have gotten used to it.
I thought I'd try to get her on video without just focusing on one spot and waiting. That was a bad idea. From 30m minutes of footage I got just one capture that is in focus, though only just in focus.
If you want a method of driving yourself insane, try following a Goldcrest with a video camera.
Anyway, here's the capture, I'll have to get video the sensible way next time.
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Jonathan Hare
Well-known member
ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
That's interesting, of all the kills I've witnessed in my garden, I don't remember seeing any in the rain.
Jonathan Hare
Well-known member
Birding5000
Well-known member
Busy morning here:
Black Capped Chickadees
Tufted Titmice
White Breasted Nuthatches
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
American Crows
American Goldfinches
Blue Jays
and a Pileated Woodpecker sighting :t:
Black Capped Chickadees
Tufted Titmice
White Breasted Nuthatches
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
American Crows
American Goldfinches
Blue Jays
and a Pileated Woodpecker sighting :t:
Sy V
Well-known member
I must say this Nyger does exactly what it says on the packet doesn't it!
Bought one of the Aldi feed stations last weekend and then went out and specifically bought a Nyger feeder and seed. I must admit that when I saw the tiny holes for feeding through I was pretty sceptical.
Feeder went up on Tuesday. This morning at first light there was something on the far side of the feeder tube but it was to silhouetted to ID. Just got back from the Wyre Forest and bingo! Goldfinch on the Nyger, and I have never seen a Goldfinch in this house's garden for all the time I've lived here - 28 years.
ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
Well done, that's a pretty fast reaction to the seed.
I've only ever seen one Goldfinch in my garden (a few weeks ago). I could only get a blurry picture of it, so I posted in the ID section of the forum to make sure.
It never came back.
ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
I know that I've posted video captures I've taken in my garden of Sparrowhawks before, but this time it's from my neighbour's garden.
She took the Starling from off the top of my fence and down into next door's garden. I videoed her from my bedroom window, so quality isn't good; also these are captures from the video and not pictures. BTW, the kill was quite fast for a change, so at least the Starling wasn't eaten alive. Unfortunately a quick kill of prey of Starling size and above is quite rare in my garden.
I actually have quite a lot of video of feeding Sparrowhawks, I guess this is pretty good for a suburban garden in London.
She took the Starling from off the top of my fence and down into next door's garden. I videoed her from my bedroom window, so quality isn't good; also these are captures from the video and not pictures. BTW, the kill was quite fast for a change, so at least the Starling wasn't eaten alive. Unfortunately a quick kill of prey of Starling size and above is quite rare in my garden.
I actually have quite a lot of video of feeding Sparrowhawks, I guess this is pretty good for a suburban garden in London.
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ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
Some info that might interest some of you:
The Sparrowhawk was plucking and eating for 45 minutes.
When she finished eating she stood over the carcass for 36 minutes with a full crop, then she flew off.
Below is a couple of captures of her with a full crop; she actually resembles a Pigeon in shape.
The Sparrowhawk was plucking and eating for 45 minutes.
When she finished eating she stood over the carcass for 36 minutes with a full crop, then she flew off.
Below is a couple of captures of her with a full crop; she actually resembles a Pigeon in shape.
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ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
Well the Magpies are still nest building; it's actually quite hectic lately. Judging by their behaviour, it's the same 2 that are digging up the mud. They are even ignoring the nuts in shells that are nearby.
I started counting the number of visits yesterday; I lost count at around 40 mud collections. It must be an enormous nest they are building.
I started counting the number of visits yesterday; I lost count at around 40 mud collections. It must be an enormous nest they are building.
ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
Seeing as I just bought a new camera, I thought I'd post a few pics I've taken over the last few days. They are all taken through double glazed windows, so are not too clear.
I did a stupid thing and tried to upload them without resizing. My old camera only had 1mp CCD so file size was small, smallest I tried to upload was almost 5mb, so I had to scale the images down.
Yes, I'll know next time.
I did a stupid thing and tried to upload them without resizing. My old camera only had 1mp CCD so file size was small, smallest I tried to upload was almost 5mb, so I had to scale the images down.
Yes, I'll know next time.
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ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
A few more pics, I'm still getting to know the camera, so bear with me. All pics taken through double glazing as usual.
The first picture is of one of the youngest Pigeons I've seen; I think it left the nest a bit early. I've included a Squirrel pic, I know most here hate Squirrels, but I find them very entertaining.
The first picture is of one of the youngest Pigeons I've seen; I think it left the nest a bit early. I've included a Squirrel pic, I know most here hate Squirrels, but I find them very entertaining.
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ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
I decided to reduce the amount of food I give to the Pigeons, just for week or so to disperse some of the youngsters (8 new ones in about as many days). The first picture I've attached is an example of how the Pigeons responded. It seems like I'll have to come up with a new plan.
The second picture is an example of what happens when people throw out full slices of crusty bread for the birds. It's a good example of why I always break bread into pieces.
The second picture is an example of what happens when people throw out full slices of crusty bread for the birds. It's a good example of why I always break bread into pieces.
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ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
I saw something just now that I've not seen before. One of the regular Magpies landed on the fence, looked in the next garden, flew into the garden, then back onto the fence. Nothing unusual about that, except it had a mouse in it's beak when it flew back onto the fence. It was holding the mouse by the scruff of the neck; I think (hope) the mouse was dead.
I didn't get a picture as by the time I realised it was a mouse the Magpie had flown off.
This will sound silly, but I actually felt sad for the mouse; I'm not even sure if it was a Field Mouse. I've seen the Crows and Magpies try to get mice, but this is the first time I've seen one succeed.
It's only this year that I've realised just how opportunistic Magpies are. I've seen them getting mud for the nest and apparently ignoring the young Pigeon nearby, then suddenly, without warning, the young Pigeon is attacked. Up until now the Pigeons have just lost a few feathers. However juvenile Starlings have not been as lucky, I buried a few half eaten juveniles last year.
I didn't get a picture as by the time I realised it was a mouse the Magpie had flown off.
This will sound silly, but I actually felt sad for the mouse; I'm not even sure if it was a Field Mouse. I've seen the Crows and Magpies try to get mice, but this is the first time I've seen one succeed.
It's only this year that I've realised just how opportunistic Magpies are. I've seen them getting mud for the nest and apparently ignoring the young Pigeon nearby, then suddenly, without warning, the young Pigeon is attacked. Up until now the Pigeons have just lost a few feathers. However juvenile Starlings have not been as lucky, I buried a few half eaten juveniles last year.
ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
A bit of advice for anyone with a mouse problem, don't get a cat get a Magpie.
Yesterday was the first time I saw a Magpie with a mouse in it's mouth; today I actually saw it catch one. I knew that there might be at least one mouse left as I saw a baby mouse a few days ago. So I'm watching this young mouse scurry back and forth getting pieces of nut left behind by squirrels; then the Magpie comes down for a drink from the bird baths. The mouse vanished just before the Magpie landed, so I figured it was safe.
So the Magpie looks around, has a drink, looks around some more, then jumps down near the fence and plucks a mouse from just beneath. It looked like it shook the mouse to death, which I guess is preferable to being eaten alive.
I'm pretty sure the Magpies have chicks, as they were nest building weeks ago. It looks like the chicks will be well fed.
BTW, has anyone else seen this behaviour from Magpies? They really do seem quite good at catching mice.
Yesterday was the first time I saw a Magpie with a mouse in it's mouth; today I actually saw it catch one. I knew that there might be at least one mouse left as I saw a baby mouse a few days ago. So I'm watching this young mouse scurry back and forth getting pieces of nut left behind by squirrels; then the Magpie comes down for a drink from the bird baths. The mouse vanished just before the Magpie landed, so I figured it was safe.
So the Magpie looks around, has a drink, looks around some more, then jumps down near the fence and plucks a mouse from just beneath. It looked like it shook the mouse to death, which I guess is preferable to being eaten alive.
I'm pretty sure the Magpies have chicks, as they were nest building weeks ago. It looks like the chicks will be well fed.
BTW, has anyone else seen this behaviour from Magpies? They really do seem quite good at catching mice.
ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
Here's something interesting (well I think it's interesting):
The Crows that visit my garden mostly come for the nuts in shells, but they take the odd scrap of bread occasionally. Their behaviour is fairly predictable. Some pick out 2 or 3 nuts in shells that fit nicely in their beaks, others break the shells and take the nuts (thus getting more nuts per visit). All of them fly onto the fence to check the nuts are secure in their beak, then they fly off.
For the last week a couple of Crows have favoured bread, in fact they've taken every available piece. I've taken the time to break the bread into small pieces, only for the Crows to collect it all together in a big lump and wedge it in their beaks and fly off with it. I assume that the bread (which is wholemeal) is for their chicks; I'm pretty sure they are feeding young.
The really interesting behaviour was this morning:
One of the Crows broke open a few nuts in shells, took the whole nuts out, broke some into small pieces, and flew onto the fence ready to fly off with the nuts in it's crop/beak. At that moment I threw bread out. The Crow (which is used to me, so didn't fly off) spat out all of the nuts, flew down and collected all the bread I just threw out, and flew off with it stuffed in it's beak. So the Crow could have flown off with, or eaten, the nuts, but instead wasted them in favour of the bread. I assume that the bread was preferred because of the bulk, and a thick slice of bread will keep a chick happier for longer than a couple of nuts. Whatever the reason, I think this is a good example of how intelligent Corvids are. I would imagine quite a lot of thought must have gone into the simple act of spitting out a few nuts and taking the bread instead.
The Crows that visit my garden mostly come for the nuts in shells, but they take the odd scrap of bread occasionally. Their behaviour is fairly predictable. Some pick out 2 or 3 nuts in shells that fit nicely in their beaks, others break the shells and take the nuts (thus getting more nuts per visit). All of them fly onto the fence to check the nuts are secure in their beak, then they fly off.
For the last week a couple of Crows have favoured bread, in fact they've taken every available piece. I've taken the time to break the bread into small pieces, only for the Crows to collect it all together in a big lump and wedge it in their beaks and fly off with it. I assume that the bread (which is wholemeal) is for their chicks; I'm pretty sure they are feeding young.
The really interesting behaviour was this morning:
One of the Crows broke open a few nuts in shells, took the whole nuts out, broke some into small pieces, and flew onto the fence ready to fly off with the nuts in it's crop/beak. At that moment I threw bread out. The Crow (which is used to me, so didn't fly off) spat out all of the nuts, flew down and collected all the bread I just threw out, and flew off with it stuffed in it's beak. So the Crow could have flown off with, or eaten, the nuts, but instead wasted them in favour of the bread. I assume that the bread was preferred because of the bulk, and a thick slice of bread will keep a chick happier for longer than a couple of nuts. Whatever the reason, I think this is a good example of how intelligent Corvids are. I would imagine quite a lot of thought must have gone into the simple act of spitting out a few nuts and taking the bread instead.
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