Where have all our garden birds gone?

[jonny777]

Strangely, we had a pair of Collared Doves nesting in the yew tree about 20 feet from our house. They brought in twigs and a few feathers, then for a while one bird spent most of its time on the fence by the tree, and flying up to fens off the occasional magpie and jackdaw which came to the feeders. 

 

I assumed the female was on the nest laying eggs. All was good for a week or so, and then a wood pigeon appeared.

 

The woodie kept flying into the tree and I assumed it was an idle and was about to take over the nest. 

 

However, the Collared Doves vanished due to constant disturbance, and the Wood Pigeons have not been seen since. 

[Downendian]

Latest fishing ornithology tale. I really need to take binoculars next time.

A pied flycatcher chasing a large moth seen yesterday, spitfire-me109 style. Lovely, the moth got away, I've never seen a pied flycatcher before.

I've seen lots of wildlife whilst fishing, yesterday included a grass snake, a small deer rustling in the woods behind me a few feet away, and a drone hornet regularly visiting my swim. This has to be one of the most frightening British insects, it was 2-3'inches long.

Neil

[Mallard60022]

Latest fishing ornithology tale. I really need to take binoculars next time.

A pied flycatcher chasing a large moth seen yesterday, spitfire-me109 style. Lovely, the moth got away, I've never seen a pied flycatcher before.

I've seen lots of wildlife whilst fishing, yesterday included a grass snake, a small deer rustling in the woods behind me a few feet away, and a drone hornet regularly visiting my swim. This has to be one of the most frightening British insects, it was 2-3'inches long.

Neil

Ah, that Hornet might be a nasty foreign one as there some reported this summer. However I'm probably wrong.

P

[Guest CLARENCE]

I'd like to know where all this year's swallows have got to! I've seen two (yes, just 2) this summer, in our village. We live near Berwick-upon-Tweed, just in England by a hundred metres or so. Several flights of swifts screaming around the pub, but that's all this year; any suggestions/ideas/reasons?

[Tim Dubya]

Quaker Parrot... TBF he is in my garden

[88D]

Peregrine on the moors above our house to day. Saw a cuckoo the other week. They had gone missing for about 5 years, but have been around the last two years. Have seen 50 species in our garden over a period of 25 years, but never a sparrow or starling!

[melmerby]

The birds in our garden have grown ears and lost their wings:

 

 

Don't know whether that is the culprit but I topped up the peanuts yesterday!

 

Keith

Edited June 28, 2018 by melmerby

[Mallard60022]

I'd like to know where all this year's swallows have got to! I've seen two (yes, just 2) this summer, in our village. We live near Berwick-upon-Tweed, just in England by a hundred metres or so. Several flights of swifts screaming around the pub, but that's all this year; any suggestions/ideas/reasons?

Real drop in Swallow numbers this year I believe; quite sad.

P

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

All garden birds in hiding and saying nowt because there's a male Merlin on the pergola. Wonder where he came from?

[coachmann]

Seagulls can tell the time!  For the past week or so a big beggar has dropped on the lawn while I was on the patio eating me butties.  I was running late laying track today, but at 12.55, I heard it drop on the shed roof and start patting its feet!  Then it dropped onto the grass and made funny noises to catch my attention.  Brainy chappies them gulls. He seems to be top dog around here and is keeping the other gulls out.

[hayfield]

I have been working in the garden for over a month building a new patio, I am nearing the finish and am digging footings for the rear retaining wall (after digging out a foot depth of soil) which is next to the bird feeder. Sparrows seem to accept me as they now feed as I am digging next to the feeder, Tits and Goldfinches wait till I move away. Also have a couple of grey squirrels again are getting used to me in the garden, did see one go off with a ripe strawberry !! 

[coachmann]

Must be dinnertime......One of the offspring has landed....

 

[dhjgreen]

Gull's night out

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44736447

[PhilJ W]

Gull's night out

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44736447

The Romford Brewery used to be adjacent to the station the arches of which was used as a roost for pidgeons. The pidgeons used to feed on the used brewing grains and were often seen staggering around drunk. For some it was not so good as the feral cats also living in the arches found a drunken pidgeon an easy catch.

[caradoc]

The Romford Brewery used to be adjacent to the station the arches of which was used as a roost for pidgeons. The pidgeons used to feed on the used brewing grains and were often seen staggering around drunk. For some it was not so good as the feral cats also living in the arches found a drunken pidgeon an easy catch.

 

Evolution in action; The pigeons that can't hold their drink don't survive to pass on their genes !

[mezzoman253]

The Romford Brewery used to be adjacent to the station the arches of which was used as a roost for pidgeons. The pidgeons used to feed on the used brewing grains and were often seen staggering around drunk. For some it was not so good as the feral cats also living in the arches found a drunken pidgeon an easy catch.

I worked in the telephone exchange next door and we had a kestrel nesting on a brick window ledge for years. Probably said pigeons were the staple diet.

 

Rob

[jetmorgan]

Finally spotted the Red Kite again and it got near enough to get some pictures. Looks like it has been in the wars though with some of the wing tip feathers missing

[dhjgreen]

Finally spotted the Red Kite again and it got near enough to get some pictures. Looks like it has been in the wars though with some of the wing tip feathers missing

That's at least 2 of us not watching footie?

[Liam]

That's at least 2 of us not watching footie?

Three, currently on my way home from the Eurotunnel after a few days in the Alps.

[hayfield]

Help please feeding sparrows, no matter what mixed wild bird seed I use the sparrows seem to scatter it everywhere, I bought some expensive no-mess feed, still no change the sparrows scatter it everywhere

 

Any thoughts please

[jetmorgan]

Help please feeding sparrows, no matter what mixed wild bird seed I use the sparrows seem to scatter it everywhere, I bought some expensive no-mess feed, still no change the sparrows scatter it everywhere

 

Any thoughts please

I get the same....no matter how I put the bird seed out, in feeders or just poured onto the bird table the Sparrows come along and chuck out what they don't want. I think that is just Sparrows for you and there isn't much you can do about it. I do find that I do get more of the ground feeding birds though, clearing up a lot of the mess. Any seeds that germinate I just scrape out of the ground now and again. 

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

We had a year of a very fussy Nuthatch, would sit on the seed feeder and fling away a half dozen or more sunflower seeds before finding the choice item. That encouraged the fluffy and flying tree rats, so I hung a large plastic bucket underneath the feeder to catch the discards for reuse. The fluffy tree rats regularly visited the bucket so then I installed a grid from a  discarded cake cooling stand halfway down the bucket to bar them from access. There were further developments but eventually the fussy nuthatch ceased from its misdemeanours, and no such trouble since; although this year's male greater spotted woodpecker has now somewhat deranged the very old peanut feeder, as it had two fledglings to feed and was clearly under pressure. (Unusual that, all previous years one fledgling per adult, both the adult male and female seen, but no Mrs GS Woodpecker this year.)

[jonny777]

Help please feeding sparrows, no matter what mixed wild bird seed I use the sparrows seem to scatter it everywhere, I bought some expensive no-mess feed, still no change the sparrows scatter it everywhere

 

Any thoughts please

 

 

 

Try not to buy wild bird seed, just mix your own. It is not that difficult, and some of your money stays with you rather than going into the cheap bird mix companies' profits. 

 

If the sparrows are chucking certain food around, it means they are not eating it; and are trying to find better things underneath. This happens also with starlings and wood pigeons. 

 

Monitor what is eaten, and what is not; then don't buy what is not. 

 

Try a home made mix of porridge oats, sultanas, dried mealworms and suet pellets.  If they don't eat that, then tell them to b*gger off to someone else's garden. 

 

I don't feed most birds at this time of year because my buddleias are flowering and want to see a few butterflies. If I encourage house sparrows now, I find they sit in the buddleias until one flies to the food - then they all fly to the food; then one finds the food pretty boring so it files to the buddleia - then they all fly to the buddleia.... and repeat all day long.

 

The only effect of that nonsense is to disturb the butterflies once every 2 minutes. 

[caradoc]

I use a mix of seed and broken-up suet balls, and the sparrows seem to quite like it; On some occasions there have been around 15 of them, on the feeder or in the nearby bush.

[hayfield]

Try not to buy wild bird seed, just mix your own. It is not that difficult, and some of your money stays with you rather than going into the cheap bird mix companies' profits. 

 

If the sparrows are chucking certain food around, it means they are not eating it; and are trying to find better things underneath. This happens also with starlings and wood pigeons. 

 

Monitor what is eaten, and what is not; then don't buy what is not. 

 

Try a home made mix of porridge oats, sultanas, dried mealworms and suet pellets.  If they don't eat that, then tell them to b*gger off to someone else's garden. 

 

I don't feed most birds at this time of year because my buddleias are flowering and want to see a few butterflies. If I encourage house sparrows now, I find they sit in the buddleias until one flies to the food - then they all fly to the food; then one finds the food pretty boring so it files to the buddleia - then they all fly to the buddleia.... and repeat all day long.

 

The only effect of that nonsense is to disturb the butterflies once every 2 minutes. 

 

 

Thanks for the idea, firstly at the moment the seed falls on the ground which is grass (soon to be a boarded area which will be cleanable) secondly I would have no idea what each type of  seed is. As it happens the seed on the ground encourages ground feeders and squirrels, both of which we enjoy seeing