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Where have all our garden birds gone?


DDolfelin

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Bath day today in Bath with 6 Sparrows in the (funnily enough) birdbath and a Robin at the bottom of the garden in our homemade mini table (a metal tray stuck on top of the old sundial). 

Reminds me, it's the first weekend of the month, so must be time for mine too ;)

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Seed feeder filled for the second time around 9.30am. 3/4 empty by 4pm...

 

You've got squirrels too then!

 I have a foot high 'Nuttery' supposedly squirrel-proof* seed feeder which is cleared daily, unless a sparrowhawk terrorises all the small birds into staying in cover for hours on end.

 

* small squirrels have twice got inside the protective cage with a lot of effort, but then struggle to get out.

Greenfinch.....the fat barsteward of the Finch family (well, maybe the Bullfinch is a contender?)

 The hierarchy among our garden birds appears to be a crowd of 'we all happily jog along together' in accessing the seeds and nuts, and in some cases the invertebrate life found with (Tits coal/blue/great/longtail, Finches chaf/green/gold/bull/siskin, Robin, Dunnock, Treecreeper) but we are all rather wary of Mr and Mrs Nutjobhatch and the lesser spotted woodfupeckers, and watch from a distance when they are in attendance. As for the greater spotted woodfupeckers - which often come for the peanuts in summer when feeding fledgelings -  they inspire the same respect as the Krays. We wouldn't think of intruding on your manor, sir, in fact we aren't here at all, not singing either...

Edited by 34theletterbetweenB&D
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That's quite a list, you don't have a house at Minsmere do you?

 Not a bit of it. Central Herts, Welwyn Garden City. However, the garden boundary is woodland with SSSI status, for a mixture of long established sessile oaks and hornbeams. The wife and I were quite stunned when we moved here by the diverse bird population which quickly made itself apparent. With no effort beyond looking out of windows and sitting in the garden, we are now up to 54 'definites' seen here; and we know we are short several warblers (neither of us good at LBJ's) nor have we yet seen a live redwing here, but we have had three dead in the garden during wintertime... If I was to count the feral parakeets it would be 55.

 

Most pleasing: Firecrest (finally got the binos on one not in cover to positively differentiate it from the Goldcrest this February last) Golden Oriole, Hoopoe and Black Redstart.

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Hawfinch

Not generally a garden bird though......just watch for some lucky blighter

OK, you can stop now, firecrest mmmmm.

Just one thing though, you haven't seen a hawfinch from your garden have you? Edited by dhjgreen
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They are beautiful and highly intelligent birds, I know people give them a bad press but it's their human traits that interest me.

Jackdaws ain't too shabby either ;)

.

Edited by Tim Dubya
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Absolutely, we rarely see them anymore, in fact I can only recall seeing one this year. All birds are welcome in our garden, even the Wood Pigeons, who keep me on my toes as they always figure out a way to get to the sunflower heart feeders!

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