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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)

I thought I was going mad yesterday, but there's a tall stand of leylandii just across a patch of field from my house and I think I saw a heron land in it! Would a heron nest in leylandii? I watched for a couple of minutes and didn't see anything come out. There's a canal just a few hundred yards away so maybe it's not too mad an idea... but then again, don't herons nest together like rooks?

I spotted a greenfinch perched on top of the feeder this morning - first for many many years. I wonder if putting out one feeder with crushed peanuts has finally paid off!
 
Been a good weekend, pair of bullfinches appeared for the first time in a few weeks. Greenfinches becoming more and more regular, and a pair of long tailed tits at the feeders this morning.
 
jpscloud said:
Welcome home BFB, sounds like a wonderful trip! I still have house sparrows and goldfinches in residence, scoffing large amounts of sunflower hearts. Collared doves and woodpigeons are hoovering up the spillages and the dunnocks and blackbirds are usually around picking up sunflower hearts too. I don't see it often but a thrush does a wonderful serenade outside my bathroom window just as I'm getting up (shortly after 5am on weekdays)!
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sounds just like our situation at the moment. Its kinda like the calm before the storm.

Surprisingly enough athough we have lost most of our Chaffinches ,Great Tits,Blue Tits and all of our Siskins ,we are still getting several visits a day by (presumably the same ) GS Woodpecker and at least 3x Goldfinches.We have the ocassional Greenfinch and 2-3 Long tailed Tits daily also.

Fewer birds and less species but still plenty of photographic interest.

We also have a song Thrush who sings his heart out daily particularly at dusk. Hope we get at least some thrushes nesting this year as the building development next door uprooted all the trees and hedges for an acre or more. They also re-pointed all the stonework to the buildings and boundary walls so maybe 20+ House sparrow nests have gone also:-C
 
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2 Lesser Redpoll still hanging around *** update* 5 Lessers and the Mealy

Blue tits in one of the nest boxes and a Hedgehog in the hedgehog house

Still no spring migrants, abit early for the Swifts, maybe 2 weeks away
 
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Very cold spring here, still minus eight last night, snow still in patches. Marked upswing at the feeders though - all the residents, plus large numbers of returnees, including many incoming Great and Blue Tits to boost the birds that wintered, also a lot of Siskins, the first Chaffinches of the spring, etc, etc. Crested, Marsh, Willow, Blue and Great Tits all active at the feeders.

Cranes back on my land, a pair trumpeting this morning, plus geese overhead - 80 Bean Geese northbound today.
 
Mealy Redpoll back here now..... its certainly not the same bird, very light bird this one.... Arctic???

I will try to get a photo

Good to see its getting warmer Jos! Nice birds too mate
 
Bananafishbones said:
2 Lesser Redpoll still hanging around

Blue tits in one of the nest boxes and a Hedgehog in the hedgehog house

Still no spring migrants, abit early for the Swifts, maybe 2 weeks away
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Our swifts were much later on the farm last year . i have a diary date of House martins building their nests on another local farm 13th May last year so I am really looking forward to both those fantastic photo opportunities this year with better equipment and planning. :t:

oh nearly forgot .... have we seen your hedgehog box yet ? never thought about providing a hog-box before
 
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I bought some niger seed at the week end and put up a feeder this morning at 0700, it's now 11:15 and i have Siskins on it already Wow!! It's a first for me on site and to actually to get a good look at them, Whatever will be next......
 
I was watching 2 robins this morning and 1 kept going on the sunflower hearts, picking one out and taking it over to the other one which was waiting in the honeysuckle. The first one was actually feeding the 2nd. Is this usual?:-O

We have also had a pair of great tits that we haven't seen for a while.
 
Busybee said:
I was watching 2 robins this morning and 1 kept going on the sunflower hearts, picking one out and taking it over to the other one which was waiting in the honeysuckle. The first one was actually feeding the 2nd. Is this usual?:-O

We have also had a pair of great tits that we haven't seen for a while.
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ahhh thats nice . ;) I wonder if its part of their courtship ? Could you make out which was male and which female ?
 
Zebs said:
I bought some niger seed at the week end and put up a feeder this morning at 0700, it's now 11:15 and i have Siskins on it already Wow!! It's a first for me on site and to actually to get a good look at them, Whatever will be next......
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Get ready to fill it frequently !! Once the siskins decide they're hungry, everything disappears in double quick time 3:)
 
Busybee said:
I was watching 2 robins this morning and 1 kept going on the sunflower hearts, picking one out and taking it over to the other one which was waiting in the honeysuckle. The first one was actually feeding the 2nd. Is this usual?:-O.
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Hi, BusyBee.

Adult birds feed their young, of course, and adults bond with their partners by passing seeds to each other (and sometimes back again).

The photos show Cedar Waxwings passing food to each other.

Jeff
www.jeffincypress.blogspot.com
 

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Thanks for that, JeffMoh and the waxwings look lovely. That's exactly what the robins were doing. I couldn't tell which was which, Earleybird.
Yesterday's drama was a great tit and a blue tit locked in battle. I have seen many squabbles but this was a serious fight. I was really worried. They did fly off in the end. I seem to have lost my pied wagtail, eventually. I hope he has found a friend.;)
 
mainly a FINCH day today,plenty of them as well,gold,green,chaff,also plenty of blackbirds.pheasant made it's daily feed visit this afternoon.:t:
 
A little fun around the feeder today.

I saw two mourning doves in the rhododendron where the feeder is. Got a photo.

Later the cooper's hawk was in the rhododendron. I went for the camera and outside but spooked it before I could get a shot. It flew though the bush and out the other side.

Later there was a common grackle on the ground under the feeder. It flew away but I got of photo of it at the top of the ash tree in the front yard.
 

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bongofury said:
Lovely birds there, BFB. Good trip? Have you done a full report elsewhere?
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I have now started to update the trip report onto my blog.... day 1 nearly complete.

For those that havent perused my blog the link is at the bottom of my signature.
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. down here
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. Cheers Dave
 
Still got a couple of Brambling here.

No Spring migrants in the garden yet but Yellowhammers reached a high of 28 this evening. They have been increasing day by day for the last week.

Lots of Blue Tits inspecting the boxes I put up for the Tree Sparrows. No sign of the Sparrows being interested though. A Robin has built a nest in an old teapot I put in a hedge but so far nothing in any of the camera boxes. Still time though so I live in hope.

Lewis
 

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