Where have all our garden birds gone?

[brian daniels]

Managed to get a couple of chaffinches today and a close up of the number on the racing pigeon that's still here.

[Mallard60022]

Have you tried getting the Racing Pig to come to you for seed. I have seen owners calling their birds in as they perch near the Loft on return from racing. They need them down to clock them or something like that.

The one I had in the garden came very close to me so I could read its identity ring but it avoided the box I was going to drop over it.

It would be great if you can find the owner.

Lovely pics of the Chaffs; the second one looks a bit sleepy! 

Phil

Edited March 15, 2016 by Mallard60022

[PhilJ W]

Pity I didn't have my phone handy but this lunchtime when I looked out of an upstairs window I saw what I believe to be three juvenile rooks in my front garden. They were pecking at the edge of an old carpet that I had laid down as a weed suppressant, removing tufts of carpet as they did so.

[brian daniels]

Had an interesting reply from the Racing Pigeon lot.

 

Thank you for the photographs.

 

The letters SZ would suggest that the pigeon may have originated from Africa (Swaziland). It is quite common for pigeon fanciers in the United Kingdom to purchase pigeons from abroad, however the countries pigeons are usually purchased from are France, Holland and Belgium on the whole. It is very unlikely that the pigeon has flown from Africa, but has been purchased and not registered in the United Kingdom. Sadly we don’t hold the records for pigeons from other countries unless the pigeons have been registered with us and currently we don’t appear to have any registrations of rings from Swaziland.

 

It would be best in this situation to try and encourage the pigeon to fly away as much as possible and to try and shoo the pigeon away when it tries to eat any food left by other birds as it is likely that the pigeon is quite comfortable in the area at the moment and it will likely need quite a lot of encouragement to move on again.

 

If you are interested in trying to trace an owner for the pigeon then our best suggestion would be to contact the South African Pigeon Racing Organisation by email at jp.pigeons@gmail.com

 

Regards,
The RPRA Strays Team.

 

Anyway I managed a couple of nice pics today in a better light at last. I caught the Goldfinch dropping a bit for the pigeons etc to hoover up later.

Edited March 17, 2016 by brian daniels

[Tim Dubya]

Those are absolutely stunning pictures - thank you!

[Mallard60022]

Today the very reclusive Wrenn that 'lives' near us was having a good old forage around our beds and bushes. Probably won't see it again for weeks.

Phil

 

Edit for idiot spilling

Edited March 17, 2016 by Mallard60022

[dhjgreen]

Today the very reclusive Wrenn that 'lives' near us was having a good old forage around our beds and bushes. Probably won't see it again for weeks.

Phil

Modelling and birds mixed up, very clever.

[Tim Dubya]

Today the very reclusive Wrenn that 'lives' near us was having a good old forage around our beds and bushes. Probably won't see it again for weeks.

Phil

 

 

We've had visits from a Wren twice this week too (they took over the tit box and raised a clutch last year - which we didn't know about until we checked the boxes in the autumn and found a dessicated chick in there).  It's been particularly interested in Mrs Dubya's workshop at the end of the garden and has been checking out the eves, perching on the hanging basket brackets and the door handle - just to wind us up knowing that we'll never get to the camera in time...

[teaky]

Brand new niger feeder arrived today.  Not had one before.  We'll see what our feathered friends make of it.

[Tim Dubya]

Brand new niger feeder arrived today.  Not had one before.  We'll see what our feathered friends make of it.

 

The Goldfinches will love it, no doubt.

 

Top stuff!

[dhjgreen]

The Goldfinches will love it, no doubt.

 

Top stuff!

Also greenfinches and siskins, though getting a bit late for siskins this year.

[Tim Dubya]

Also greenfinches and siskins, though getting a bit late for siskins this year.

 

We still have lots of Siskins around this year,  we usually only see them for a week or two but these have been around for about a month.

[Mallard60022]

We do have some Greenfinches around the area this year. This morning, not in the garden but nearby, I heard one then saw it and I think there may have been a Siskin in the same area as well? However I'm not certain as Siskin are not 'common' around 36E. Ten or so years ago there were loads of Greenfinch in this area but the Virus has almost wiped them out sadly.

What some heritage model railway stock was doing in my garden this morning I really do not know.....doh!

Phil 

[teaky]

The Goldfinches will love it, no doubt.

 

Top stuff!

Pair of goldfinches stuffing their faces earlier.

 

What colourful birds they are.

[MikeHemmings]

A wren in the garden this morning haven't seen one for years.

 

Mike

[Downendian]

Just arrived home to find this large fellow clearing up the mess the Nuthatches made.

A large colony of Greenfinches around as well, breeding plumage beginning to intensify.

 

Neil

Edited March 21, 2016 by Downendian

[melmerby]

A wren in the garden this morning haven't seen one for years.

 

Mike

We get them regularly.

 

They are always fairly low down, picking over the leaf litter under shrubs or flitting around in the lower branches of the hedging.

I have never seen them on the feeders, although everything else has had a try!

 

Keith

[melmerby]

Brand new niger feeder arrived today.  Not had one before.  We'll see what our feathered friends make of it.

The Goldfinches might take a time to get used to it.

It was about 6 months before they started using it regularly, although we had seen some around in the garden before we had it.

Now, although we don't always see them, the seed diminishes at a regular rate.

 

Keith

[Budgie]

Wrens in my garden have built their nests under my garden layout.

[PhilJ W]

This was posted on the ER's thread, I'm sure the OP will not object to it being posted here

Exciting happenings at chez BoD this afternoon.  Those of a squeamish disposition and lovers of small birds may want to look the other way.

 

I was up in the loft pottering when Mrs BoD came running to the bottom of the stairs in a state of semi panic, yelling "There's something eating something in the yard"  What on earth has she been on I wondered, as you do. She was insistent that I came quickly to see. We live in a terraced house with a fairly small yard so I didn't really have a clue what to expect.  I certainly wasn't expecting to see a bird of prey feasting on the one of the local pigeons.  It was in no particular hurry so I managed to grab my camera.  The pictures were not that good as they were taken through a window but the bird was only a few feet away.

 

Certainly not what you would expect in your small back yard.

 

killer.jpg

 

 

It's taking some clearing up too, feathers all over the place.

 

Any idea what it is?  My best guess is a Sparrow Hawk

[teaky]

The Goldfinches might take a time to get used to it.

It was about 6 months before they started using it regularly, although we had seen some around in the garden before we had it.

Now, although we don't always see them, the seed diminishes at a regular rate.

 

Keith

Yeah, I was expecting a delay which is why I was pleasantly surprised when a pair of goldfinches appeared on it the day after I hung it up.  They have been back a few times since.  Never seem to stay very long, just a few minutes at a time.  I have added a cage since, so they'll have to get used to that too now, but it is just a smaller version of the one I've had for years around the mixed seed feeder and none of the finches or other small birds seem to be put off by that.

 

Although we get the occasional squirrel, the cages are mainly to keep woodpigeons off.  They figured out how to perch with one wing almost clasping the feeder and then vacuumed the seed up.  Although the niger feeder has smaller holes I already had the cage so I thought I'd use it.

[Tim Dubya]

I think it may be a Buzzard chomping on that pigeon in BoD's post...

 

not too sure but the square tail might be the give away?

Edited March 21, 2016 by Tim Dubya

[Tim Hall]

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.

P3142502.JPG

P3142501.JPG

P3142500.JPG

Dunnock. 100% Garden warbers are incredibly plain, dull featureless creatures, that skulk in woodlands/ brambles.

[teaky]

I think it may be a Buzzard chomping on that pigeon in BoD's post...

 

not too sure but the square tail might be the give away?

I'd go with buzzard too.  Not the biggest buzzard I've seen but the head plumage and lack of bright yellow around the beak suggests a youngster so that might explain it.  Pity we can't see its front.

 

Melmerby (I think) has sparrowhawks that take woodpigeons but the ones we get in the garden aren't much bigger than woodpigeons and I've not seen them hunt anything bigger than feral pigeons.  The bird in that picture looks substantially larger than its prey.

Edited March 21, 2016 by teaky

[jonny777]

As well as various containers full of water, I have an old metal tea tray which I thought might be handy for smaller birds to drink from.

 

I painted the tray with a liberal coating of grey metal primer in order to stop the rust, and placed it on a flat surface off the ground near the feeders. It needs topping up every day in hot summer weather because of evaporation and the deepest water only being half an inch.

 

Juvenile starlings love it in early summer, after a fortnight of dehydrating in a hot nest; but otherwise I have only seen sparrows and blackbirds making use of it. Imagine my delight this morning to see one of the semi-resident (not found where they might be thinking of nesting yet) coal tits having a bath in it.