Very busy at the bird feeder today! (1 Viewer)

[bongofury]

Good pics everyone...love the Buzzard and Water Rail shots. Potteric Carr is somewhere that has always sounded worth a trip to me. Maybe one day.

I was at Barons Haugh (Motherwell) this morning. Highlights were 2 Jays flyover, lots of Long Tailed Tits (sorry Shirley), a family of 7 Whooper Swans and Redwings everywhere I looked.

 

[Bananafishbones]

Nice pic of the Buzzard Andrew, great to have one low enough to get a good image.

an increase in the record garden count now, 6 Coal Tits here this afternoon, hammering the sunflower seed, another visit from the Wren and both Nuthatchs busy as well.

Feral pigeons mating on the neighbours roof

 

[Cheshire Birder]

First signs of winter today - Fieldfare and 6 Redwings feeding in the hedge next to my garden also seen today 2 Buzzards, male Bullfinch, female Sparrowhawk flew thru' and 4 Long-tailed Tits on the feeders!!

CB

 

[captaincarot]

Good pics everyone...love the Buzzard and Water Rail shots. Potteric Carr is somewhere that has always sounded worth a trip to me. Maybe one day.

I was at Barons Haugh (Motherwell) this morning. Highlights were 2 Jays flyover, lots of Long Tailed Tits (sorry Shirley), a family of 7 Whooper Swans and Redwings everywhere I looked.

i have a cunning plan

what you do is you book a travelodge room a month in advance for £19 per night for a couple of nights, then say to the mrs right i'm taking you to meadowhall to do the christmas shopping on that day,
drive down and stay in your room the night before take her to meadowhall, drop her off to shop and offski to potteric for the day jobs a good un

 

[Cheshire Birder]

i have a cunning plan

what you do is you book a travelodge room a month in advance for £19 per night for a couple of nights, then say to the mrs right i'm taking you to meadowhall to do the christmas shopping on that day,
drive down and stay in your room the night before take her to meadowhall, drop her off to shop and offski to potteric for the day jobs a good un

I stayed in a Park Inn hotel which is right next to the reserve. I think there's three Travelodges in Doncaster. Don't goto the one on the A1 next to the Little Chef.

CB

 

[bongofury]

i have a cunning plan

what you do is you book a travelodge room a month in advance for £19 per night for a couple of nights, then say to the mrs right i'm taking you to meadowhall to do the christmas shopping on that day,
drive down and stay in your room the night before take her to meadowhall, drop her off to shop and offski to potteric for the day jobs a good un

Hahaha! Don't tempt me

A Goldcrest just made a rare appearance in the bush at the back of the garden.

 

[Bananafishbones]

A Goldcrest just made a rare appearance in the bush at the back of the garden.

Brilliant

 

[SPINNEYGAL]

Everybody getting some brilliant birds visiting. Thanks to CaptainCarot I have finally managed to get up to Leighton Moss and got pics of a Single Bearded Tit (male) but it was worth the trek just for that and then 3 Snipes appeared and got pics of those as well. But no Goldcrest sighting.

We get a lot of Goldfinch at home is it likely we may get a Goldcrest there or is that just the lucky few?

 

[captaincarot]

Everybody getting some brilliant birds visiting. Thanks to CaptainCarot I have finally managed to get up to Leighton Moss and got pics of a Single Bearded Tit (male) but it was worth the trek just for that and then 3 Snipes appeared and got pics of those as well. But no Goldcrest sighting.

We get a lot of Goldfinch at home is it likely we may get a Goldcrest there or is that just the lucky few?

can i accuse you of being a lucky sod it took us 7 visits before we saw one beardy.

gold crests and gold finches don't go around together best places to find goldcrests are pine foressts with coal tit flocks.

if for example you went over the snake pass, then stopped next to the ladybower pub and had a mooch round the small wood on the opposite side of the road you might find your self surrounded by quite large flocks of them

 

[SPINNEYGAL]

Cc, This Was My 3rd Try, 2nd At Leighton Moss. Booked On A Special Bearded Tit Walk At Blacktoft Sands Last July And They Were There But So Far Away I Honestly Could Not Make Them Out Even Using Someone Else's Powerful Scope. When I Saw You Had Got Them On The Grit Tray I Thought I Would Push My Husband To Go Up And Try And We Were Lucky.

I Will See If I Can Push For The Snake In A Couple Of Weeks.

Thanks

 

[Goyter]

Everybody getting some brilliant birds visiting. Thanks to CaptainCarot I have finally managed to get up to Leighton Moss and got pics of a Single Bearded Tit (male) but it was worth the trek just for that and then 3 Snipes appeared and got pics of those as well. But no Goldcrest sighting.

We get a lot of Goldfinch at home is it likely we may get a Goldcrest there or is that just the lucky few?

Spinneygal I get Goldcrests regularly and Im not far from you. I think the key is having some conifers in the garden. If you have would think youve got a good chance

 

[SPINNEYGAL]

Thanks Goyter

We Do Have A Few Conifers But Mainly Further Down The Garden Where I Can't See From The House. We Don't Get In That End Of The Garden Much After Mid - Late Autumn Too Wet Underfoot. But It Might Be Worth Sitting And Watchin On A Fine Day.

 

[captaincarot]

only ever been to blacktoft once saw 6 beardies there, the wood i mentioned we went early this year while the snw was on the ground and saw about a 100 bird mixed flock of goldcrest and coal tits, at one point i crouched down against a tree trunk and they were all round me about 10 feet away, the closest one was sat on a twig sticking out of the trunk about 2 feet above my head

 

[SPINNEYGAL]

only ever been to blacktoft once saw 6 beardies there, the wood i mentioned we went early this year while the snw was on the ground and saw about a 100 bird mixed flock of goldcrest and coal tits, at one point i crouched down against a tree trunk and they were all round me about 10 feet away, the closest one was sat on a twig sticking out of the trunk about 2 feet above my head

THAT MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE AN EXPERIENCE. THANKS FOR THE ADVICE ABOUT THE WOOD UP THE SNAKE.

 

[Azzy]

Been having some nice activity here lately. This morning I was watching a new holland honeyeater bathe, a female house sparrow came up to join him but it chased her away. He dived in the bath again and flew into the tree to shake off, so the house sparrow flew up to the bath again and the NHH flew down to chase her off again, this was repeated several times before the house sparrow just gave up and flew off

Have been seeing a lot of the mistletoebirds lately, which is nice, they've been in and out of the garden, I think there's 3, maybe 4 that hang around. The musk lorikeets, red wattlebirds, rainbow lorikeets and a few others have been in and out of the lemon scented gum. I have a picture or two of the musks, but haven't really sorted through them yet.

 

[Bananafishbones]

a heavy downour has just brought in a male Greater Spotted Woodpecker :t:, the first sighting since June.

I have updated my blog with a trip report and images from Saturday morning

 

[Shirley Roulston]

I hope you had some feed waiting for him, I'm sure he'll be back.

 

[Bananafishbones]

A garden lifer and Species No 48 for 2010:
Mute Swan (2) flying over heading south :t: no camera to hand so dived to get it and then focused on neighbours roof then lost them... drat, less haste more speed needed next time

 

[bongofury]

A garden lifer and Species No 48 for 2010:
Mute Swan (2) flying over heading south :t:

Dave's flyovers doing the business again |=)|Well done.

4 Long-tailed tits this afternoon - first of the winter - surveying 2 new Cotoneasters I planted this afternoon. I also picked up a stone bird bath for £35 - bargain. Normally see them for around double that price, so was well pleased. Although I do keep thinking the squirrel in the middle is real - I'm sure I'll get used to it, if not, I'll ditch it.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j265/stevecball/IMG_3776.jpg

 

[theconstantwalker]

My garden is now dark in the morning and dark when i get home...so weekends only for me. Lots of Pheasants on the way to work though with unfortunatley plenty of road kill. A bonus of this slaughter though was seeing a Buzzard land on the roadside about 50 yards ahead of me (driving about 30mph) then taking off as i slowed and flying next to me for 30 yards or so before veering off to the right. If the window had have been open i could have stroked it. |:d|