Where have all our garden birds gone?

[petethemole]

They're a colour variety of feral pigeon/rock dove. They are not uncommon in urban areas.

 

Pete

[melmerby]

They're a colour variety of feral pigeon/rock dove. They are not uncommon in urban areas.

 

Pete

They are in pretty good condition.

To me a feral pigeon typically has club feet and/or other deformaties due to inbreeding, these are more rural so I suppose there's some variety in mates to be had.

I wonder why no grey ones though?

 

Keith

 

If anybody's curious the cages are to keep out Crows, Rooks, Magpies, Jays, Jackdaws, Wood Pigeons and Great Grey Tree Rats (Squirrels) else the smaller birds get no lunch!+

Unfortunately it also keeps away the Blackbirds and Woodpeckers!

Edited June 22, 2015 by melmerby

[teaky]

Lesser spotted woodpecker dining on the peanut feeder just now.

 

Incidentally Keith, we have one of those cages on the right protecting our seed feeder too.  I put it there to keep off the wood pigeons who would empty the feeder rapidly whilst preventing access for anything smaller.  Peanuts are in a stainless steel mesh feeder which, although accessible by squirrels, seems to be too tough for them to bite through so they just nibble what they can whilst hanging upside down.

Edited June 23, 2015 by teaky

[melmerby]

Lesser spotted woodpecker dining on the peanut feeder just now.

 

Incidentally Keith, we have one of those cages on the right protecting our seed feeder too.  I put it there to keep off the wood pigeons who would empty the feeder rapidly whilst preventing access for anything smaller.  Peanuts are in a stainless steel mesh feeder which, although accessible by squirrels, seems to be too tough for them to bite through so they just nibble what they can whilst hanging upside down.

Like this varmint which spent about 10 minutes trying to bite through the steel wire in several places.

 

It gave up and eventually managed to squeeze through one of the smaller openings and got inside but got into a panic when I went and stood right next to the cage and it couldn't immediately find it's way out.

Proves the "squirrel proof" cages aren't!

 

Keith

[PhilJ W]

Like this varmint which spent about 10 minutes trying to bite through the steel wire in several places.

squirrel 1.jpg

 

It gave up and eventually managed to squeeze through one of the smaller openings and got inside but got into a panic when I went and stood right next to the cage and it couldn't immediately find it's way out.

Proves the "squirrel proof" cages aren't!

 

Keith

At least he wont be back anytime soon.

[chris p bacon]

Ok so slightly off topic from "Birds" but a few weeks ago I posted some pics of the Great Tits that fledged and then unceromoniously dropped 5 feet beyond ground level and ended up in the pool we are building.

Well the pool blockwork is finished and other things are being done in readiness for the brickwork to go up on the workshop, so today I step outside and just walking past the pool notice some movement,

I look in and now we have a four legged visitor.

So I climbed down the ladder and tried to catch him/her, ended up cornering him/her and popping into a bucket.

Looking at the sand screed they did a fair few laps trying to figure out how they ended up in the Sahara.

 

Popped into a full shrub bed with lots of cover.

 

I reckon I'm going to have to fence this at this rate!

 

[teaky]

Ok so slightly off topic from "Birds" but a few weeks ago I posted some pics of the Great Tits that fledged and then unceromoniously dropped 5 feet beyond ground level and ended up in the pool we are building.

Well the pool blockwork is finished and other things are being done in readiness for the brickwork to go up on the workshop, so today I step outside and just walking past the pool notice some movement,

Pool visitor 1.JPG

I look in and now we have a four legged visitor.

Pool visitor 2.JPG

So I climbed down the ladder and tried to catch him/her, ended up cornering him/her and popping into a bucket.

Pool visitor 3.JPG

Looking at the sand screed they did a fair few laps trying to figure out how they ended up in the Sahara.

 

Popped into a full shrub bed with lots of cover.

 

I reckon I'm going to have to fence this at this rate!

Hedgehogs and most other animals can swim Dave, so perhaps you won't need to fence a full pool as long as there's something wildlife can cling onto and haul itself out with.  Would a log be feasible?

[chris p bacon]

Hedgehogs and most other animals can swim Dave, so perhaps you won't need to fence a full pool as long as there's something wildlife can cling onto and haul itself out with.  Would a log be feasible?

Not sure I'd want to find a "log" floating in a pool..  ..........actually it's going to be an indoor one, but there are a few more days of odds n sods before I start putting the timber frame up.

 

Lady CPB asked if it showed any signs of injury, I said only if it's speed had been reduced to 50mph as that's how fast I seemed to be chasing it at!

 

We are quite lucky that our garden is a 1/4 acre in the middle of town but thats no where near big enough for a hedgehog, so I've cut holes in the bottom of the fence at front and back and they use us as a through route.

[teaky]

Hooray, swallows!  Summer's here!

[Mallard60022]

Hooray, swallows!  Summer's here!

Blimey, that's really late. Perhaps it is too hot in France/Spain/Portugal?

P

Edited June 30, 2015 by Mallard60022

[teaky]

Blimey, that's really late. Perhaps it is too hot in France/Spain/Portugal?

P

It certainly is.  Housemartins have been around for a while now but not swallows.  Although, as mentioned a few days ago, there were dozens in Northumberland.  Perhaps there is something unusual going on with wind directions and temperatures?

[shortliner]

So - at 1710 today we have just had the first Robin in the garden here, North of Inverness, for ages - with a very bright orangey-red tummy - and not just back but swinging on the nuts like the greenfinches, the tits and the sparrows.

We still have last winter's snow on the Ben Wyvis behind Dingwall - normally gone by late May, early June - and the seaweed fiddlers are forecasting SNOW on the Tops of the Grampians this week! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-33428510              It is called Global Warming!

Edited July 8, 2015 by shortliner

[DDolfelin]

Lesser Redpoll in the garden today.

Unusual for us.

 

Also rescued a stunned chaffinch (not the first) which had flown into a shut window.

Not sure there is much to be done about this.

[Mallard60022]

Lesser Redpoll in the garden today.

Unusual for us.

 

Also rescued a stunned chaffinch (not the first) which had flown into a shut window.

Not sure there is much to be done about this.

I know it might spoil yer windowview but you could hang something inside them (well the ones where strikes occur). I've use fishing line a something that moves about a bit (e.g. origami shape thingy done by SWMBO)

Phil 

Edited July 13, 2015 by Mallard60022

[runs as required]

Catch up time on birds:

1

Two weeks in Malta in flat overlooking Grand Harbour.  SWMBO made friends with a classic 'cheepy chappie' house sparrow and his missus who come chirruping and demanding all day breakfast on the balcony from first light (around 06.00H) to dusk (20.00H).  Grew increasingly brave till hopping around inside the flat under the breakfast table willing us to drop crumbs.

2

Back home above the Tyne Valley trying to cut swathes thru elephant grass on my ancient ride-on in very humid early evening weather.

I keep getting startled by looking down upon swifts flashing past at high speed about a foot above the ground. Presumably they are catching flies - but in very constricted spaces at the bottom of the garden between fruit trees.

These are apparently birds who do not touch the ground at all for about 2 years until they have chicks to raise.

 

Wish I had that endurance and those reflexes!

 

dhig

[runs as required]

Also rescued a stunned chaffinch (not the first) which had flown into a shut window.

Not sure there is much to be done about this.

Another suggestion:

Have you ever seen what the FS do in Italy on the approaches to Roma Termini and Firenze Centrale?

There are long glass panelled screens either side of the tracks - presumably there to reduce noise to adjacent flats from passing trains.

They must be prone to bird strikes because each glass panel has a silhouette of a bird as an applied  transfer (until others overlay them with additional graffiti!).

dh

[jbqfc]

yesterday i spotted a Red kite from our back garden the first time i have seen on in Sussex

[DDolfelin]

Thanks for the bird strike suggestions.

Unfortunately the windows are to let light in and for looking through.

In any case I'd have to run it past the authority.

In this case SWMBO.

 

The latest casualty - fortunately recovered and gone.

 

[PhilJ W]

Lesser Redpoll in the garden today.

Unusual for us.

 

Also rescued a stunned chaffinch (not the first) which had flown into a shut window.

Not sure there is much to be done about this.

Would a picture or model of a predator such as a sparrow hawk placed near or behind the window help?

Edited July 14, 2015 by PhilJ W

[DDolfelin]

Yes it would - in one window.

We have 18 windows at the rear.

It would look like I was signalling the fleet.

[Mallard60022]

Yesterday, mostly over our garden, there were well over 300 BH Gulls chasing flies. I didn't look up for long.........................................

It was quite a sight and they gradually moved east, presumably moving with the free feast.

Phil

[runs as required]

Dilema:

SWMBO breakfasting draws attention to small grey squirrel on the lawn being attacked by 4 magpies.

S is leaping about; it chases at one magpie that waits till the last moment before flying out of reach, meanwhile the other 3 Ms have a go at mobbing the the S from behind - so S turns and targets another and the whole repeats.

 

We watched about 4 cycles of this until next door's dog arrived, magpies retreated up onto a high wall and screeched, S made itself scarce in holly shrubbery.

 

So

Should we have intervened...

...and if so, on which side?

 

I asked fellow bellringers tonight and they all sided with the Magpies - even though two were Sunderland supporters.

 

dhig

[runs as required]

Would a picture or model of a predator such as a sparrow hawk placed near or behind the window help?

After reading the posts about this and intervening myself, I found a lot on the web about this. Here is a fairly representative Polish study

 

Adam ZBYRYT et al University of Białystok 2012

It has been estimated that each year 10-40 thousand birds die due to collisions with wind turbines, however in the case of striking transparent architectural objects, those [worldwide] numbers could be in the billions (Klem 2009)

In this study, the main factor that affected the number of bird collisions was the transparency of noise barriers which reflected trees and shrubs, the so-called mirror effect

The use of bird silhouettes appeared to be ineffective, ....

even using the silhouettes of birds of prey with a view to protecting birds from the collisions with reflective plate glass in building construction is ineffective (Trybus 2003)

 

so bird silhouettes - even birds of prey - have little effect. It seems shadows of tree branches  breaking up the mirror effect provide the best warnings.

 

dhig

[Budgie]

So

Should we have intervened...

...and if so, on which side?

There are two answers to this:

• No. Let nature (red in tooth and claw) take its course.
• Yes, on the side of the magpies. Grey squirrels are an introduced species, and you are allowed to kill them humanely. Note that if you capture one, you are not allowed to release it back into the wild.

[Mallard60022]

Yesterday, mostly over our garden, there were well over 300 BH Gulls chasing flies. I didn't look up for long.........................................

It was quite a sight and they gradually moved east, presumably moving with the free feast.

Phil

P.S. I should have pointed out that the flies had not originated in our garden............................

I had also forgotten that a few weeks back I saw 'our' Rooks flying lesson session just down the road from us. Every year our Rookery in trees near the River idle and just outside our garden, holds flying/soaring lessons for the juvenile birds. It is just wonderful to watch and seemingly only happens for a few days and is communal in that almost the whole colony takes part.

It is often the 'everyday' birds that give me the most pleasure in watching their behaviour.

Fledgling Goldfinch actually in the garden yesterday afternoon.

Phil 

Edited July 16, 2015 by Mallard60022