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Very busy at the bird feeder today! (3 Viewers)

The30something said:
Despite nearly 3 days of lying snow my garden has been rather quiet!
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Same here but then that's quite usual! But I was hoping the cold would attract more onto my feeder and sure enough, the blackbird has dared to venture onto it, though she took some effort to actually land on the seed tray!

What has been interesting to watch is the intimidating behaviour of the crows with the magpies. The crows hang around the feeders nearly all day, waiting for a magpie to steal food then the classic chase-til-they-drop behaviour appears (kleptoparasitism I think). It makes the magpies so nervous, they get chased on the ground and in the air, can't win!
 
The30something said:
Despite nearly 3 days of lying snow my garden has been rather quiet! I had more birds visiting during the first half of January, when it was very mild/wet! Still this cold doesn't look like it is going anywhere too soon, could be an interesting garden watch on the 26th/27th!
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Spoke to soon (as per usual)! A garden first, male Reed Bunting just came into the garden!
 

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The30something said:
Spoke to soon (as per usual)! A garden first, male Reed Bunting just came into the garden!
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Good result! I watched one at a nature reserve last week but I've never seen one in my garden.

I did see my first winter Redwing this afternoon. I didn't see it on the bird table but I think it had just left and flown onto this bush nearby as I stepped outside:

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My dad text me today to say that there has been a bullfinch in our garden today, so gutted to be at work and to have missed it! Fed up of it being dark when I leave for work and dark again when I get home. The only chance to enjoy my garden birds is at weekends when typically its quiet!

Ps lovely pictures of redwings and reed buntings :)
 
^Also had a bullfinch visit the last few days, It will only stay at the back of the garden on the border though. Kind of annoying because its 100ft away and in some rough terrain. Hard to get a photo.

3 Days ago 4 Fieldfare turned up and have made the garden home, Eating up apples all day long... its amusing watching them chase of 6 or 7 blackbirds at a time only for the song thrush to come in and bully them all away. Never had the song thrush down as the big bad garden bird. :t:
 
just a few pics of the past week
 

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Hardly any snow in Essex. Just very harsh frosts...But the sparrows are going through the seed very fast..also all the other regulars around tho the starling's aren't eating any of the fat balls as there to hard.
 
A good 5cm or so covering here and I suspect the same is true for much of the NW. Brambling back again in but in typical fashion I've run out of Sunflower Hearts which is what everything clamours for although my ground food has got them in amongst other things so tried putting that in the feeders as a stop gap measure but they don't take to it the same.
 
Jaff said:
A good 5cm or so covering here and I suspect the same is true for much of the NW. Brambling back again in but in typical fashion I've run out of Sunflower Hearts which is what everything clamours for although my ground food has got them in amongst other things so tried putting that in the feeders as a stop gap measure but they don't take to it the same.
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I've had up to four Brambling on the feeders since the last week of November. Although there are sunflower hearts available they seem to prefer black sunflower seed and have spent a lot of time on the niger feeder with the golfinches. Can't explain it, but for some reason sunflower hearts are the least popular here and I've bought a large sack of the stuff.
 
Jabberwocky said:
I've had up to four Brambling on the feeders since the last week of November. Although there are sunflower hearts available they seem to prefer black sunflower seed and have spent a lot of time on the niger feeder with the golfinches. Can't explain it, but for some reason sunflower hearts are the least popular here and I've bought a large sack of the stuff.
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I have the same here in Cheshire, for some reason they do not like sunflower hearts. Just hope the suet pellets I have ordered go down better!..

Phil
 
No snow down here on the edge of Kent, but I had a couple of Pied Wagtail in the garden today - hardly rare I know but a first for the garden! I often see them picking up, well, goodness knows what they find to eat on the cold roads and pavements, but they survive somehow?
 
Hi

lots of snow here today! Spent a long time capturing video in the garden on my crappy old canon compact camera but it looks ok I suppose. Feel free to take a look but it is a bit long woops!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh_sCdP1Yu0

Lots of Redpolls in the garden and all the other usual suspects. Also female Siskins but no males for some reason. And a Brambling on Wednesday as well which I think was a female but not so sure with Bramblings as only saw one a couple weeks ago which did look different. Also on my video i think they are Redpolls but they seem to vary quite a bit from the usual Redpolls with red head, could this be anything else? (The paler looking bird that gets frightened off by the Robin about 2:18 and there is one towards the end as well)

Or are these female redpolls?

Thanks

Will
 
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I get mainly Greenfinches and Goldfinches here (no Redpolls) and they just decimate the sunflower hearts (no left over cases like using sunflower seeds). In fact they're so popular the GSW has got into the habit of hogging the seed feeder, preferring it over fat balls and peanuts although admittedly the peanuts we bought from Bamford's nr Leyland are not fit for purpose IMO (don't buy your peanuts from them!) but the other food we got from them is good quality. Have since bought some different ones but not put them out yet and i've chopped up whats left of the others and feed them to the birds that way.

Jabber feel free to send that bag to me if you like and they'll be put to good use. ;)
 
good stuff from everyone at the mo.... with Bramblings, Reed Bunts, Pied Wags.

Here its not that busy but Blackbirds on the apples, 11 individuals today, Greenfinch, Pied Wagtail and nothing unusual bird wise. Fox tracks in the snow leading to the peanuts I had put on the ground (which were soon snow covered) a load os scraping to get at the nuts then it looks like it has taken shelter under the trees and lay in the snow and hunkered down.
 

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