Where have all our garden birds gone?

[melmerby]

Wood pigeons enjoying my wife's broccoli, out came the nets too.

Woodies are particularly voracious feeders.

It's a liltte wonder farmers don't like them with the amount of damage they do to young crops.

Here they are left to "mow" the lawn.

 

Keith

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Took a lovely walk in the woodland behind our garden at first light, to locate where the several very audible woodpeckers were drumming, and also where the 'crash' in the wee small hours had occurred. The latter was quite entertaining, nothng like in the direction the wife and I had suspected. When I finally got to it, Brian the woodwarden was already there sizing up the clear up job. Sadly the Rainbows' fairy glade is now garnished with a lot of tree.

[brian daniels]

We have had a flock of Goldfinches around here in Cowley, Oxford, all winter eating the sunflower hearts. Nothing else seems interested  in the other seeds we put out. But what is the speckled greenish bird? I think it's a young female Greenfinch. I keep looking in my books but am none the wiser. A pair of Colored Doves in love on the fence. I think the fourth one down is a Siskin? And a little Robin arrived to hoover up the scraps.

Edited March 12, 2016 by brian daniels

[Mallard60022]

Looks like a juvenile (male?) Greenfinch to me; saw one today but not in our garden!! Great pic of the C Doves and the other pics are smashing as well. Lucky you.

P

Edited March 12, 2016 by Mallard60022

[Tim Dubya]

But what is the speckled greenish bird? I think it's a young female Greenfinch. I keep looking in my books but am none the wiser. 

 

They are Siskins - the top two of your photos show females, whilst the male is shown in the photo next to the Goldfinch.

 

I have spent literally hours this week watching 'ours', see pics from earlier in the thread here.

 

RSPB  has the details here (click on the arrow to the right of the illustration to see the female)

 

YAY!

Edited March 12, 2016 by Tim Dubya

[nomisd]

Not the normal garden bird but I was in the garden when I saw it.  I was just outside having a crafty smoke when one of our local owls flew over, There are at least a couple of them round here as I have seen two of them flying in concert in the past.  A few weeks ago I watched one land on our chimney, sit there for about a minute and then fly off over the garden. The word awesome is a very overused one but seeing does always have me in awe - so big and yet so silent.

[brian daniels]

Thanks Tim Dubya I had not seen these in the garden before.

[teaky]

I've just noticed a robin disappearing behind a fern in a corner with fluffy nest lining materials and appearing again empty beaked.  Seems to be nesting.  Odd location to choose.  The fern will grow as the seasons progress but is currently only about 20cm high.  I wouldn't usually interfere but I feel compelled to see if I have anything in the garage to protect the spot - something that would allow a robin through but not a cat.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Robins are generally pretty high on the 'cunning' list. Where they disappear from view may be some distance from where the nest site is. It's female blackbirds who seem to have no sense at all, nesting in plain view with nothing to prevent cats, weasels and corvids breaking up the happy home. Which usually occurs about half an hour after a clutch of three or more eggs has been laid.

[teaky]

Robins are generally pretty high on the 'cunning' list. Where they disappear from view may be some distance from where the nest site is. It's female blackbirds who seem to have no sense at all, nesting in plain view with nothing to prevent cats, weasels and corvids breaking up the happy home. Which usually occurs about half an hour after a clutch of three or more eggs has been laid.

It is right in a corner where two screen panels meet and there is a gap between the fern and neighbouring plants, so on this occasion the only cunning plan could be a decoy nest or temporary storage of nest lining materials.  Unless it's the rare mining robin.

 

Previous years' robin nests have been much better hidden in dense ivy against a wall with, as you suggest, the entry point a short distance from the nest.

 

I haven't figured out where this year's blackbird nest is.  We've had one in a different location around the garden for the past several years.  It might be in the neighbouring garden.

 

The daftest recent nest building attempt was by a pair of collared doves who thought the bracket behind a neighbour's satelite dish was a good site even though it is open on both sides and from above.  The doves put up quite a scrap when the magpies arrived but inevitably were outgunned.

[brian daniels]

We have had this grey and white pigeon around for about 3 weeks now which I guess is a racing pigeon as it's got a collor on it's leg. A few more pictures of the Siskins. Also a Great Tit and a very fury looking bird! Anyone got a shotgun? By the way all these pictures are taken through the kitchens double glazing and then cropped into on Photoshop.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

You don't need a shotgun. Tesco's cheapest washing up liquid does them in. I know this because one got itself stuck in a caged 'squirrel proof' peanut feeder. I happened to be doing a little washing up and thought the soapy water will help it slither out, so I put some in the plant mister used on the indoor orchids; and sprayed it on, and it worked. Out it slithered, fell on the ground, walked about ten yards toward the woods and kicked the bucket. (Probably a good job I use rubber gloves when doing the odd manual washing up job doncha think?) Red kite disposals inc. did the clear up within half an hour which quite impressed me.

[Tim Dubya]

Woodies are garden birds too, no need to murder them, just 'cos they use your feeders!

[dhjgreen]

Woodies are birds too, no need to murder them, just 'cos they use your feeders!

He was referring to the tree rat

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

The woodies get dealt with by the peregrines and other raptors (cleared up a wing and foot from Mrs Tenderharty's garden this very morning) but it was the grey-tree-rat-with-good-PR that got the washing up liquid mediated death. (It was well below zero, and I suspect hypothermia once it lost the insulation of its fur coat; they are really very small indeed underneath all that fuzz.)

[Tim Dubya]

He was referring to the tree rat

 

Oh I see, apologies - no need to murder tree rats either, really!

Edited March 14, 2016 by Tim Dubya

[Tim Dubya]

The woodies get dealt with by the peregrines and other raptors

 

That's fair game!

[Budgie]

Oh I see, apologies - no need to murder tree rats either, really!

Actually, if you catch grey squirrels in a trap, it is illegal to let them go.

[jonny777]

I have never heard of washing up liquid as a deterrent, but diluted reggae-reggae sauce brushed around the areas they use to run or jump to the feeders will do the trick (in fact anything with a very strong smell will do the trick, but some smells are more acceptable to the family and neighbours than others).

[Mallard60022]

I have never heard of washing up liquid as a deterrent, but diluted reggae-reggae sauce brushed around the areas they use to run or jump to the feeders will do the trick (in fact anything with a very strong smell will do the trick, but some smells are more acceptable to the family and neighbours than others).

Please don't use things like this even if they are garden rats. If they rub stuff like that in their eyes it causes a lot of suffering. Sorry to be an ar$e but that's fact.

There are other things you can get that are not harmful but they hate the smell so I'm told. On line will give you the info. I don't have any suggestions......sorry.

That racing pigeon ..... can you read the leg band number as you can find out the identity of the bird through the Racing Pigs Associations. I've done that once before and the bird was actually worth a considerable sum and did return 'home' within a few days of me contacting the owner. That one above has been around for quite a while seemingly. Good looking bird.

Phil

[brian daniels]

I managed to get this enlargement. I did have a better one but I can't find it at the moment.

[lightengine]

Can anyone tell me what this bird is please?  Someone suggested a dunnock but to me it's more likely a garden warbler.  It has a beautiful song.

[Tim Dubya]

Have you tried RSPB:

 

https://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/g/gardenwarbler

 

You can hear audio of the song to compare.

Edited March 14, 2016 by Tim Dubya

[Flying Pig]

Can anyone tell me what this bird is please?  Someone suggested a dunnock but to me it's more likely a garden warbler.  It has a beautiful song.

 

Singing from the top of a post in March? It's a dunnock. Garden warblers won't be back for another month, tend to sing from deep cover and despite the name they aren't common in gardens. Dunnocks are unobtrusive most of the time, but obvious and confiding when singing and they do have a sweet song.

[MikeHemmings]

Hundreds of trees have been cut down over the last few weeks near wear I live,and l noticed today they are still cutting down trees, I wonder were the birds are going to build there nest over the next few weeks.

 

Mike