Where have all our garden birds gone?

[chris p bacon]

surplus pasty 

You'll have to excuse me but I've never seen such a thing.....well.....not in this house.

 

 

We've some activity in the garden on the feeders with lots of the smaller birds stuffing themselves. 

 

Went to Welney yesterday to see the Swans, an enjoyable day out. Also saw plenty of Duck (Mallard, Pochard), Widgeon  Snipe, Stonechat, Sparrowhawk and Barn Owl + other.

[Mallard60022]

Put surplus pasty out on the fence on Christmas day - the long tails were investigating it within 5 mins but not sure they were that impressed....

 

Phil

They would only be interested if it were a Dewdney's product. However, if you had had a D's pasty there wouldn't have been any surplus.

Phil (the other one).

Edited December 28, 2016 by Mallard60022

[steve1]

A wren had a lucky escape today. Olly (monochrome cat) came to back door with a bird as we were having breakfast. She dropped it and I picked it up realising it was a wren and, amazingly, it was still alive. Wondered what to do and, while I pondered, it shook itself and then flew away! 

 

Olly was baffled for a bit but soon forgot it.

 

steve

Edited December 28, 2016 by steve1

[lightengine]

My yucca has been almost completely denuded of its small white berries in just a few weeks.

[Phil Bullock]

They would only be interested if it were a Dewdney's product. However, if you had had a D's pasty there wouldn't have been any surplus.

Phil (the other one).

 

Ah sorry my spilling mistook ... meant to say pastry!

 

Regarding the surviving wren...I think the smaller they are the greater their chances of surviving moggie attacks. Our moggie once came in looking very smug with a tail protruding from mouth. Managed to pin him down and prise open mouth - at which point a long tailed tit fell out, shook himself off, did a lap of the kitchen and out through the back door...

 

Very lucky....

 

Phil

[hayfield]

Having moved into the house 8 months ago the range of birds visiting the garden has increased, though they do vary from time to time

 

Recently we have had long tailed tits, chaffinches and a thrush. Gold finches seem to have reduced in number and other species seem to come and go according to the weather

 

Next door has 3 cats which access her house via the fence on to the single story roof, so naturally the birds are quite timid and need an escape haven. We have an old large apple tree, which will be going this spring but next door (the same one with the cats) has some very large overgrown shrubs which the tits love. We will also be replacing the tree with some shrubs, which hopefully overtime will replace the apple tree ( we have already planted one plum and 2 apple trees in the front garden) with cover for the small birds and hopefully with a bit of home grown food.

 

The tree is going as we are having an extension built across the house, this will not only give us more room but much better viewing of all the garden, the trick will be a planting design to benefit both us and the wildlife. No chance of keeping cats at bay though as they come from both sides of the garden, may try and restrict their access a bit though

[DDolfelin]

A heron has seemingly adopted a position in the stream in our garden.

When not in flood it's only about six inches deep.

Not sure what it is finding to eat - we used to get trout babies but not seen recently.

Possibly frogs or baby rats.

There are other rodents in the banks - and slow worms so it's finding something.

American Crayfish have been seen downstream and it's welcome to those.

 

LTTs have done a fly through several times this week, plus the usual suspects.

GSW, Nuthatch, GT, BT, CT, Robins, Dunnocks, Chaffinch, Pied Wagtail, etc., etc.,.

[dhjgreen]

Having moved into the house 8 months ago the range of birds visiting the garden has increased, though they do vary from time to time

 

Recently we have had long tailed tits, chaffinches and a thrush. Gold finches seem to have reduced in number and other species seem to come and go according to the weather

 

Next door has 3 cats which access her house via the fence on to the single story roof, so naturally the birds are quite timid and need an escape haven. We have an old large apple tree, which will be going this spring but next door (the same one with the cats) has some very large overgrown shrubs which the tits love. We will also be replacing the tree with some shrubs, which hopefully overtime will replace the apple tree ( we have already planted one plum and 2 apple trees in the front garden) with cover for the small birds and hopefully with a bit of home grown food.

 

The tree is going as we are having an extension built across the house, this will not only give us more room but much better viewing of all the garden, the trick will be a planting design to benefit both us and the wildlife. No chance of keeping cats at bay though as they come from both sides of the garden, may try and restrict their access a bit though

Maybe consider a catwatch, see posts earlier. It pretty much solved our problem.

[hayfield]

Maybe consider a catwatch, see posts earlier. It pretty much solved our problem.

 

 

David

 

The cats are well fed so whilst like the option I guess of a chase normally are just not up to it and tend not to linger in our garden anyway

[Mallard60022]

David

 

The cats are well fed so whilst like the option I guess of a chase normally are just not up to it and tend not to linger in our garden anyway

If the cats use anywhere in your garden as a toilet then use the pepper method mentioned earlier; works quite well except after heavy rain or a lot of snow. Not a lot of cost either.

Supersoakers are good if kept loaded I am told. However I tend not to be up and about at 02.30 or similar and that is when one of our local crapper cats likes to come and dump (but not since the catwatch was installed.)

[AndyID]

Some people are using a Slinky to deter squirrels at their bird feeders. Several examples on YouTube.

[geoffers]

There seems to be a dearth of bird visitors to the garden this year compared to last. Have counted 3 blue tits max at any one time whereas last year we were getting at least double that. Likewise long-tails are scarcer as well and so are greenfinches, goldfinches, dunnocks,. A couple of robins and blackbirds still but even collared doves and wood pigeons are reluctant to show up. Will do the RSPB Birdwatch later in January to compare with last year and it will be interesting to see the national results. Locally we had a cold and wet spring which I suspected impacted on breeding this year. Fewer butterflies, bees and wasps as well. Perhaps the world is ending........

[dhjgreen]

No shortage of birds here, just check my posts over the last couple of weeks. Where abouts are you?

[hayfield]

House sparrows back with a vengeance, gone through a medium size feeder of mixed seeds in a day, the pigeons being the main beneficiaries, could have been worse and gone on the sunflower seeds but the goldfinches took up residence     

[geoffers]

".....No shortage of birds here, just check my posts over the last couple of weeks. Where abouts are you?...."  A village just to the north of Norwich. We have a big ring road being built about 3/4 mile to the north and new housing is already filling the gap between us and this new road. The disruption may be a possible cause as well.

[dhjgreen]

Certainly birds do not seem to like change. Where you are should be good normally?

Edited December 30, 2016 by dhjgreen

[jamie92208]

We seem to have plenty of garden birds here in the Charente Maritime.   When we were here in July we watched a pair of robins raise a nest of chicks in a bush 6' from our front door.  This month we've been very pleased to see that at least one of them is still around.  It has kept us company over the past three weeks as we've worked in the garden sorting logs out.  It watched us burn a load of brash and this afternoon I saw it having a batch in an upturned lid with some rainwater in it.  I was too slow with my camera but did capture this shot whilst sitting at the back of the house listening to a woodpecker further up the garden.

 

We also gets Hoopiers and watch buzzards and hen harriers, known here as white kites, in the fields alongside, as well as having at least one owl resident in the barn.

 

Jamie

Edited December 30, 2016 by jamie92208

[dhjgreen]

Is that the French spelling of hoopoe, chell specker, or another bird completely?

 

That reminded me to turn off predictive text on this new tablet device (even if it is bird).

Edited December 30, 2016 by dhjgreen

[jetmorgan]

The birds have started to make a reappearance now the weather has turned cold. Bluetits, Long tailed tits & Robins among others

[Downendian]

A goldcrest flitting around in South Devon this afternoon, chasing insects on the spruce no more than ten feet from the kitchen window. The iPad was unable to capture anything that does the beauty of these little birds justice though. Often heard, seldom seen.

Neil

[jamie92208]

Is that the French spelling of hoopoe, chell specker, or another bird completely?

 

That reminded me to turn off predictive text on this new tablet device (even if it is bird).

 

No it's my illiterate spelling.  However we get them quite regularly in the garden in the summer.

 

Jamie

[melmerby]

The Long Tailed Tits have re-appeared after some weeks absence but are now feeding on mealworms rather than fat balls as before.

I wonder why the change?

Haven't seen a Dunnock for ages!

 

Re: Hoopoes

At one time they were rare 'accidental' visitor to the UK.

Now, because of warmer weather small numbers regular appear in the south.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/h/hoopoe/

 

Keith

Edited December 31, 2016 by melmerby

[dhjgreen]

A goldcrest flitting around in South Devon this afternoon, chasing insects on the spruce no more than ten feet from the kitchen window. The iPad was unable to capture anything that does the beauty of these little birds justice though. Often heard, seldom seen.

Neil

Like this

Edited December 31, 2016 by dhjgreen

[47137]

The birds have started to make a reappearance now the weather has turned cold. Bluetits, Long tailed tits & Robins among others

I had a pair of robins sitting on the fence earlier this week - one each side of my seed feeder - but no chance of getting pictures as fabulous as these. Absolutely brilliant, thank you for posting them here.

 

- Richard.

[Tim Dubya]

Pair of Siskins on the feeders this morning - first sighting of the year for us, oh and Mr Blackcap too, (haven't seen his 'bird' this year yet though).