Very busy at the bird feeder today! (56 Viewers)

[hollis_f]

Normally my Long-Tailed Tits disappear at this time of year, only to reappear in July with their cute little ones. However, I've still got one single LTT who visits the insect-flavoured suet pellets a few times a day before flying back to the dense hawthorn hegde at the back of the garden. I really hope they're breeding in there.

 

[grobble]

(I did get some better pictures, but they were in colour, and over the file size limit for uploads.

www,pictureresizer.com does a brilliant job but be careful to save the result to a different filename or it will overwrite the original.

 

[Socar MYLES]

Thanks, grobble! That's very useful.

I thought I had got rid of my gull problem, by hooding the feeder and hanging obstacles to prevent them from landing, but now that the gulls are nesting nearby, nothing is stopping them. First, they were sticking their faces right under the hood. Then, they broke the hood. And they're now landing on the next balcony over, and walking along the railing to reach my feeder. One has to admire their resourcefulness, I suppose. Fortunately, they're being somewhat controlled by aggressive house sparrows, which don't like to share.

Today, so far, I've had house sparrows, black-capped chickadees, crows, gulls, two northern flickers, and a goose. (The goose didn't eat from the feeder. It just took a nap in my planter.)

 

[bongofury]

The Goldcrests have gone AWOL, but 2 Redpolls, 6 Siskin and a pair of Bullfinches were today's highlights.

 

[Dan123]

Have had a bonus for us today with an appearence of a female GSW. I heard a familiar call from the tree outside my bedroom window, looked out, and there she was, exploring all the branches of the tree and she looked to be tapping each branch with her beak as she went along.

Got me binoculars out to see if it was male or female. She then began pruning herself for about 5 minutes, then she flew into the garden. I have peanuts out in a very visable place but she didnt seem interested in food, she was more interested in the trees in the garden, she was definertly looking for something, mayb a nesting place. She then flew off back to the main tree, then back to the woods.

Hope she will come back, its been about a year and a half since last time a GSW showed itself in the garden. We have woods to the back of us, so I know they are around and so are the Green Woodpeckers, I hear them often enough so lets hope she will remember us and come back when she is hungry.

Also today, 2 Jays flyover, Greenies, Goldies, Chaffies and the tits in good numbers. Dunnocks, Blackbirds and Pidgeons n Doves around too, good day!

 

[hollis_f]

I hear them often enough so lets hope she will remember us and come back when she is hungry.

Our GSWs (at least 2 female and one male) love the insect-flavoured suet grains. At least three visits a day.

 

[EK_Birds]

Finally got a new bird table today !!

Pre-built one in the Homebase sale, £16 :t: And at will definitwly last longer than the pice of sh!t I put together before 3

Also bought a ladybird peanut feeder, nyjer seed and some suet pellets. All out of sunflower hearts tho.

Usual suspects have been around, with a pair of great tits making frequent visits. Also been various species pulling the cat hair out of the bird feeder for nesting material, including jackdaws.

Also got some sad new to report, namely a starling dying in the garden :-C. It landed at the back of the garden and settled down. We went out to check on it, and it was happy to be petted.

Left it for a while to see if it was just resting, but it died shortly after.

Bit of blood round the nose and mouth area, not sure if it was glanced by a car or not. No visible wounds to indicate a cat or other predator either.

 

[Cheshire Birder]

Swallow added to the garden list today

CB

 

[andm]

various times of the day had greenfinch,bullfinch,chaffinch,goldfinch,robin, dunnock,blackbird, great tit, blue tit ,wood pigeon and briefly feeding in hawthorn a chiffchaff

 

[samoyed76]

Had two linnet's today, first time I've had them in the garden.

 

[Cheshire Birder]

Had two linnet's today, first time I've had them in the garden.

Congrats Samoyed B

CB

 

[Socar MYLES]

A juvenile house sparrow entered my bedroom, first thing this morning. I opened my eyes just as it flew in and landed on my elliptical machine. Time to close that window, I think! The adult birds mostly stay out, but the young ones get confused about the boundary between "indoors" and "outdoors." Fortunately, it went back out when its father started cheeping from the feeder.

(Bit of a rubbish picture, I'm afraid; there's always a horrible glare from behind, first thing in the morning, and I'm not about to use the flash on some poor bird just trying to get a snack)

 

[Bananafishbones]

Swallow added to the garden list today

CB

and mine too

 

[michael23]

Hi all, been a while since I popped in, been mega busy and time has ran away!

Not got round to doing a list for this year yet, main highlights have been goldcrest feeding on the fatballs, 3 pairs of Bullfinch visiting quite often. I also had a blackcap singing which is a first for this time of year, normally I have one at somepoint in winter months, so that was a nice surprise. Willow Warbler has made appearance as has chiffchaff. Swallows martins and swifts have been fairly numerous, but seem to have almost disappeared the last few days. This evening a Green Woodpecker flew through and a male sparrowhawk too, yesterday the male and female sparrowhawk were soaring right above my garden.

 

[samoyed76]

Congrats Samoyed B

CB

Thank you CB, yesterday included a blackcap.

They have apparently been pretty popular in my area in the last couple of weeks but they had been evading my eyes and garden until yesterday. ::t:

 

[ADRIANS PHOTOGRAPHY]

Just a little update the 2 Zebra finch are still dropping onto my feeders and seem to be coping well with freedom I would catch them but the one only has to see me make a move and flies to the roof the other doesn't seem to mind people around and it doesn't move off either

 

[Bananafishbones]

Just a little update the 2 Zebra finch are still dropping onto my feeders and seem to be coping well with freedom I would catch them but the one only has to see me make a move and flies to the roof the other doesn't seem to mind people around and it doesn't move off either

am glad they are enjoying your surroundings, far better off in your yard than behind bars..... :t:

Looks like they should be OK now and finding food sources.

 

[bongofury]

Male Blackcap continuing to come to sunflower hearts. A Dunnock regularly sits on the fence with a bill full of insects and then drops into the shrub behind the fence.

EDIT Just had a fleeting visit from a WillowChaff. I'm thinking more towards a Willow Warbler based on overall greener tones and strong supercilium but can't be sure enough without hearing it singing, which it decided against doing.

EDIT #2: Swallow over.

 

[EK_Birds]

New ladybird peanut feeder seems to be keeping the sparrows away from the seed feeder next to it.

Not sure of it's the size, design, colour or a combination of the three, but not had that feeder empty in two days !!

Usually lasts two hours :eek!:

And yet all the birds are happy to land on the ladybird itself, and the other seed feeder in the tree is devoured as normal. All very odd.

Bird wise, had a greenfinch for the first time ina while last night, think the return of nyjer seed has attracted it.

Also, bought a tub of fatballs from B&M in East Kilbride, they're slightly different than the ones I've had from there before. Smoother texture, and smell like a cross between digestive biscuits and peanut butter. The birds are absolutely destroying them !

 

[Bananafishbones]

bought a tub of fatballs from B&M in East Kilbride, they're slightly different than the ones I've had from there before. Smoother texture, and smell like a cross between digestive biscuits and peanut butter. The birds are absolutely destroying them !

Mmmm :eat: