What's been in your garden today? (1 Viewer)

[lvn600]

Cardinals, goldfinches,house finches, red-winged blackbirds, grackles, mockingbird, songsparrow, downy wp, red-bellied wp, Northern flicker(ys), blue jay, mourning dove, pigeons, starlings and Robins. Boy are those Robins bath hogs or what? One bath isn't good enough -they take two in a row and for a long time!

 

[Euan Buchan]

This morning before I let to College I saw 2 Wood Pigeons on the wall & Great Tit having a bath

 

[edrick owl]

OK, a couple of days late I know, but I cannot lie.

Sunday I was absolutely amazed to see on our newish Black Sunflower feeder (about 3 weeks old) a Goldfinch!!!

Settle down, I appreciate that it's probably a common garden bird tick for a lot of you, but for us, well, it's only the third one we have had in the garden in just over 4 years. Last time was 2 years ago when we very briefly had a pair stop over in one of the trees for a rest, before swooping down on to one of the low seeding bushes (sorry, I'm no gardener) for a quick feed.

It actually stayed on the feeder for a good 15 minutes, enough time for me to show my wife, and for her to look again as she got ready to go out, and report in her amazement that it was "still on the feeder!!!"

Ah well, back to reality. Excitement over.

Regards,

 

[Richard W]

got very excited this morning when there appeared to be a very small duck in with the Mallards that wasn't a Teal, but it was just a small female Mallard :C

still waiting for 100th work tick.

GS Woodpecker & usual mix of Tits & finch's on feeders, several singing Blackcaps, pair of Bullfinch.

 

[helenol]

Had a couple of GS Woodpecker females on the feeders yesterday. One chasing the other away.

 

[helenol]

Just found a female pheasant lying very quietly in a dark corner...oh dear! I suspect she's sitting on eggs.

 

[helenol]

Yep, she's sitting on eggs alright, just seen at least 8 of them. Two males appeared, "found" her corner, and she flew off.

I can't see the eggs surviving very long, with the amount of squirrels etc I have around here.

To go away from the thread for a moment, how high are the chances of pheasant chicks surviving? I can't see it being very high, given where they nest!

 

[david2004]

Thanks for the comment about the Y.hammer. He was back again today! The day before yesterday he almost fell victim to a neighbourhood cat, but luckily escaped! Hope he stays around!

Sorry I can't answer your Pheasant question Helen. I hope everything goes well with the clutch. My resident Pheasants may be nesting in the copse, have heard them discreetly wandering around so who knows.

 

[Richard W]

nice 20 mins or so this morning while I was topping up the feeders.

heard the first Turtle Dove purring nearby, did make a brief apparance in the top of a large Ash tree. At least 3 Blackcaps and a possible Garden Warbler, Pair of Bullfinch and female GS Woodpecker.

best bit was seeing 3 recently fledged Song Thrush by an Ivy covered wall, seem to be doing well here, am sure they've increased in last 10 yrs.

 

[tom mckinney]

For ages I've been hearing a Tawny Owl squealing away and once saw it late at night sat on a neighbour's chimney pot. Finally found it roosting at the back of our garden. The Magpies and Jays were going absolutely mental.

 

[edrick owl]

Helen

I too have a resident Pheasant. We live on the very outskirts of our village, back garden south facing on to open gently rollling fields. Last year we had the traditional white neck-ringed male Pheasant, tame anough to enter our garden for the ground food, and tame enough to take food thrown to him by my neighbours; But this year he seems to have gone - perhaps a victim of this last shooting season, or a road casualty. Who knows?

However, we now have a new male - no neck ring, who seems a regular visitor, if not quite as tame as the previous. Up to now I have not seen a female, but harking back to last year, my neighbours on the other side had a pair nest at the base of a run of conifers in their back garden. I think they ran to 13 eggs, very unlucky as they were taken apparently by a rat, according to the neighbours.

If this can be of any encouragement, we had at the time a resident squirrel, who went no where near the eggs, and the sitting hen took on all-comers to defend her clutch, including Magpies, Rooks and a dog!!! So there is always hope, especially if the hen is as determined as this one was.

Hope this give you a bit of heart.

Regards,

 

[Gwynn]

It has been a normal busy day around the feeders with about 30 Goldfinches and about the same number of Greenfinches a few House and Tree Sparrows and a Hawfinch with a few Serins feeding on the ground under the feeders.

Gwynn

 

[Euan Buchan]

I have just seen a Woodpigeon & Great Tit on the feeder have to fill it up later

 

[helenol]

HI Edrick, thanks for that story. Well, as there have been up to 41 pheasants in the garden (down to around 20 or so now), I suspect at least one chick may survive from all that lot!

I have already found a couple of eggs on the drive, one intact, one broken.

I'll keep an eye on her, but realistically speaking, there are so many of the pheasants around in the garden, I couldn't possibly look out for each and every one of them. Besides, I live smack bang in the woods, so who knows what creatures are out there of a night time!

Regards

 

[helenol]

Had two tawny owls in the garden last night, one if front, other in the back, plus heard another two in the woods across the way.

 

[edrick owl]

Hi Helen

We have Tawny's across the back, in some trees (I presume) in another garden, maybe 100 yds or so away. There is an old cemetary almost across the road from us, but I have only heard the Tawny's from their once in almost 4 years!

We have a large, well established willow tree in the front of our garden. Do you think it's worth making and installing a nest box for them?

By the way, judging by the number of Pheasants about, you did not mention you live on a game farm!!!

Regards,

 

[helenol]

Hi Helen
By the way, judging by the number of Pheasants about, you did not mention you live on a game farm!!!

Regards,

LOL!! I don't! (Also have muntjac deer too in the garden).

I also have a nest box up for the owls, but not sure they've used it yet. I am lucky to have seen the owls a couple of times, once flying at eyelevel straight past the bedroom window!

Went out the other morning, and I suspect it was the owls calling card he'd left, a very large "whitewashed" splat just under the tree in the garden where I've seen him perching before.

 

[Richard W]

forgot to mention the Swan fly over, unusual sighting for here, only once has one landed on the ponds, that's probably only the 3rd or 4th I've seen.

 

[Tim42]

I saw a Blue Grosbeak and it's mate today. I was totally beside myself! The male was on my tube feeder and stayed for a few seconds after I walked up to my window and scared him off, darn it! The female was on my other feeder, so beautiful they are! Just wanted to share. Happy birding!

 

[lvn600]

It was very windy over here today and I was quite surprised as a Great Blue Heron flew just over my house and sat on my neighbor's chimney. We live in a residential neighborhood with no ponds so it was quite a shock for us. Even my wife was impressed.