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

[Cheshire Birder]

2 Collared Doves, Grey Heron and several Bullfinches this morning.

CB

 

[Geoff Pain]

Quick raid by a party pof Long-tailed Tits this afternoon.

 

[warren30]

Cheers eb
Well done with the party of Bullfinch, it certainly made the second visit more than worthwhile

warren do you have sunflower seed feeders? Should be a magnet for your local Greenfinch :t:

hi bananafishbones no I haven't a sunflower seed feeders,I have put some on the tray feeder,I've got fat ball hanger Niger seed hanger and wild bird food In a hanger.have now got 3 goldfinches feeding on niger seed,started feeding yesterday I'm happy.will have to get a bigger bird hanger for all the different feeders,may stick one on my Xmas list

 

[warren30]

on the feeders this morning
2 pied wagtails (tray feeder)
6starlings
3 goldfinches (Niger feeder) first visit yesterday
1 blue tit
2 great tit
3 blackbirds
goldfinches on feeders most of morning happy they are feeding now hopefully few more species soon

 

[roger1234]

4 blackbirds and a mistle thrush the first since January highlights so far this morning

 

[bongofury]

you really mean you want another pic of the turtle dove don't you bongo,ok i take the hint here we go

:-O

4 LTTs this afternoon and the first sighting of a Treecreeper from the house for a long time.

 

[Cheshire Birder]

Aldi have reduced the prices of the feeders that were on sale a few weeks back (if they have any left). Picked up a mealworm feeder for £3.99 instead of £6.99.

CB

 

[Zukn]

The usual lot for me this week, green,gold and chaf finches, blue,coal and great tits, house sparrows, robins, and jackdaws,starlings,flyover by crows, wood pigeon, collared dove and gulls. Can't complain about the numbers plenty of all of the above. I wandered about 2 mins from my home and had to take a picture of the starlings iin the tree, they were so loud I could hear them from such a distance, anyhoo very small tree and I counted 75 starlings in the photo. There were other groups not far distant, I count myself lucky the most who've landed on my feeding area at 1 time is 14. I can't imagine the price for feeding them all.
Last week had some Bullfinches 2 females one day and a male another, they didn't visit the feeders but ate honeysuckle berries in the hedge next to the feeders, and a GSW and LTT on the peanuts and suet, they haven't come back while I've been watching and no sign of the Siskins or Bramblings I had last year though as the weather is milder they're probably still out wild foraging.No sign of any wrens or thrushes yet either.

 

[earleybird]

Yesterday was a black Sunday for us and we are now faced with a real mystery .
Two finches found dead, together on the path beside the feeders under the trees.

At first I suspected one of our cats but close inspection revealed no blood or wounds antwhere on either bird? besides neither of our cats have caught a bird for many months . There are no obvious signs of illness or growths or other damage although one bird appeared to have a broken neck?


There are no windows nearby that they could have flown into ? its a real mystery!

Co incidentally I spied one of our cats (Boo) watching something intently on the decking just outside the catflap on Saturday. I rushed out and picked up a young greenfinch who seemed a little stunned. I rested him in a dark box for an hour then released him . He flew off . minus a few tiny breast feathers. ?

It certainly wasn't caught by Boo as she weighs as much as a small dog and could't catch a cold!:-O

Is it possible that it is this avian virus that is attacking finches ? should I have reported it to the RSPB and sent the birds for a PM ?

 

[bongofury]

Sorry to read about your Chaffinches EB. I really am no expert at all, but apart from the ruffled feathers on the male, they appear to look healthy to me. Could a neighbour's cat get into your garden?

 

[JeffMoh]

We're now getting half-a-dozen or more House Sparrows every day. When not feeding, they hide in our honeysuckle vines. I hope they don't take over the yard - even though they are fellow-immigrants from the UK!
Jeff
www.jeffincypress.blogspot.com

 

[earleybird]

yes there are several cats in the neighbourhood but I don't think it is a cat attack. it would be amazing to catch and kill two birds at once and leave them together within a few inches of each other.

Mrs P found them lying next to each other facing the same direction. Both the birds had folded wings one lying on its back one on its front.

We have been talking about this tonight and it occurred to me that the property next door has a tiny window immediately above . They rarely open the window as it is a 500 year old leaded chapel window and not very strong. All the small tits and finches scream round the corner of this building as they fly to our feeding station and perhaps they hit the window on the one day per year that it is opened ! ?:-C

 

[bongofury]

perhaps they hit the window on the one day per year that it is opened ! ?:-C

Sounds feasible. If there was an unexpected obstacle that has never been there before, I think you have found the cause.

 

[Cheshire Birder]

yes there are several cats in the neighbourhood but I don't think it is a cat attack. it would be amazing to catch and kill two birds at once and leave them together within a few inches of each other.

Mrs P found them lying next to each other facing the same direction. Both the birds had folded wings one lying on its back one on its front.

We have been talking about this tonight and it occurred to me that the property next door has a tiny window immediately above . They rarely open the window as it is a 500 year old leaded chapel window and not very strong. All the small tits and finches scream round the corner of this building as they fly to our feeding station and perhaps they hit the window on the one day per year that it is opened ! ?:-C

From what you have said I would agree with Bongo and say the could have flown into a window

CB

 

[earleybird]

From what you have said I would agree with Bongo and say the could have flown into a window

CB

its a bit like a case for Sherlock Holmes :-O My dear Watson ...when you have eliminated the the impossible ....

shouldn't laugh really as its rather tragic to lose two beautiful birds like that after spending several years and a small fortune caring for them.:-C

 

[roger1234]

GSW visited this morning along with 6 blue tits 13 collared doves and 5 chaffinches.

 

[birdleg]

Great excitement ... can't believe I just saw 9 Long-Tailed Tits in the garden...first for the garden too! :t:

 

[birding maniac]

Snow started falling this morning and this pushed a few species in. Had about 10 chaffinch, 10 goldfinch, 5 greenfinch, 2 blue tits, 2 great tits, a coal tit, 5 blackbirds, 2 woodpigeons and a magpie. It's almost double what what we've been getting recently, although the nuthatch and woodpeckers seem to have disappeared.

 

[Bananafishbones]

Hi again folks..... now back on line again

110 Pink feet a fewdays ago and the Lesser Redpolls have sneaked upto a dozen or so.


Will catch up on the last weeks posts later on
Dave

 

[Andy Hurley]

I haven't posted here for a while, my little 2 floor balcony is busier than ever. Blue Tits Great Tits and House Sparrows are always there in countless numbers. I've also had visits from Greenfinch and Dunnock fairly regularly and the occasional Wood Pigeon. A pair of Collared Doves have taken up residence in the area and have worked out that if they stand on the roof of the bird house, they can reach the sunflower seed feeder. I was wondering why I was going through so much feed. Yesterday I saw the first Robin at the feeders and this morning we were visited by a Sparrowhawk, all the small birds vanished as it landed on the bird house. My wife grabbed the camera but to no avail. Fortunately there are no bushes growing at that height so it won't have a good ambush position. Still it was a balcony first for me. Oh yes, food. I have a sunflower seed feeder on a pole, a few mixed seed in a bowl in the bird house, a peanut feeder and a coconut full of goodies both hanging down from the roof and a bunch of millet hanging from thr bird house. So far this autumn I've gone through 10 kg of peanuts and sunflower seeds, 4 bunches of millet, but still on the first coconut. We have had some stormy weather, for us anyway, not like up in Scotland, and its brouht rain and sleet, but no snow yet. I'm looking forward to that as it will hopefully bring back the Blackbirds and Linnets.

till next time

Andy