Where have all our garden birds gone?

[Barry Ten]

Green woodpecker back again - must be something to do with Fridays.

 

[monkeysarefun]

There's been one King parrot turning up each day for a cashew for a while, today there were three. I'm not sure how they pass on the information about where and when the food will be.

 

If you make no sudden moves and hold a nut out in plain sight, they'll let you get within a couple of feet.

 

That is until my inside parrot watching through the window lets out an angry  screech because it is his nut supply I'm giving away.

 

Edited September 29, 2020 by monkeysarefun

[Reorte]

Where have they gone? In to my house in one case. I don't know how it got there (the cat might've brought it in and then it got away, but she doesn't usually go for birds). It took some persuading to go out too, kept perching on the window but not going out, but I suppose they don't normally fly in the dark which might've been putting it off.

 

 

[tigerburnie]

I think I know where some of ours might have gone.........................

 

[88D]

On 24/10/2020 at 14:40, Reorte said:

Where have they gone? In to my house in one case. I don't know how it got there (the cat might've brought it in and then it got away, but she doesn't usually go for birds). It took some persuading to go out too, kept perching on the window but not going out, but I suppose they don't normally fly in the dark which might've been putting it off.

 

 

Obviously likes a good read. Lovely bird: there were only two in our valley about 30 years ago, now I see them everyday in the garden.

[88D]

Have spotted my first Grey Wagtail in the garden. Other notable occurrences: 5 Goldfinches  on seed heads, Red Kite above, Peregrine being mobbed by crow, Treecreeper. Plus loads of others.

[jbqfc]

22 hours ago, 88D said:

Have spotted my first Grey Wagtail in the garden. Other notable occurrences: 5 Goldfinches  on seed heads, Red Kite above, Peregrine being mobbed by crow, Treecreeper. Plus loads of others.

 

we get a grey wagtail i the garden at this time every year stays for a few weeks then go's 

we have been invaded by goldfinches so many it is hard to count but around 30 had to put out extra feeders to stop them fighting 

 

John 

[88D]

23 hours ago, jbqfc said:

 

we get a grey wagtail i the garden at this time every year stays for a few weeks then go's 

we have been invaded by goldfinches so many it is hard to count but around 30 had to put out extra feeders to stop them fighting 

 

John 

Just above where I live is a tree in the chapel grounds. At one time of year for about three days, this tree is occupied nightly to the gunnels by goldfinches, who then distribute themselves over the moors for winter. Amazing sight and sound. Although they have been feeding on the seed heads in the garden, they haven’t touched the Niger seed I’ve put for them. These goldfinches don’t know what’s good for them!

[jonny777]

The goldfinches around here prefer sunflower hearts to niger seed. I understand they are not supposed to, but they seem independent minded. 

 

Maybe you could try the hearts? 

[rodshaw]

Ditto with us - in fact no birds that visit our garden seem to like niger seeds. They are always left at the bottom of the feeder.

[88D]

11 hours ago, jonny777 said:

The goldfinches around here prefer sunflower hearts to niger seed. I understand they are not supposed to, but they seem independent minded. 

 

Maybe you could try the hearts? 

I wonder if Niger seed could be used as some sort of ballast on the layout: I have plenty!

[jbqfc]

12 hours ago, jonny777 said:

The goldfinches around here prefer sunflower hearts to niger seed. I understand they are not supposed to, but they seem independent minded. 

 

Maybe you could try the hearts? 

 

Our goldfinches seem to been about 75% for sunflowers seed but i have to buy good niger seed to get them to eat it as the cheap ones seem to have lots filler mostly brassicas going buy what's growing under the feeders 

 

John 

[PhilJ W]

48 minutes ago, jbqfc said:

 

Our goldfinches seem to been about 75% for sunflowers seed but i have to buy good niger seed to get them to eat it as the cheap ones seem to have lots filler mostly brassicas going buy what's growing under the feeders 

 

John 

Hopefully they no longer put wacky baccy seed in the mix.

[melmerby]

Unusual visitor today (Little Egret?), no water around here.

Hung around in the tree for a while before flying off

 

I only noticed it was standing on the thin branch after loading the picture!

 

[J. S. Bach]

Not really a "garden bird" (well, maybe in south Florida ), but it kind of goes along with the one above. Anyway, I caught this guy at a park in Lake Worth, FL a few years ago:

Edited November 20, 2020 by J. S. Bach
To change the photo to a better one.

[boxbrownie]

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Hopefully they no longer put wacky baccy seed in the mix.

Back in the 70’s at Art College out the back of the studio area there were several window boxes with handfuls of bird seed thrown in......just in case 

[melmerby]

35 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

Not really a "garden bird" (well, maybe in south Florida ), but it kind of goes along with the one above. Anyway, I caught this guy at a park in Lake Worth, FL a few years ago:

My grey and damp Worcestershire sky can't compete with a blue, sunny Florida sky.

[JST]

Lots of birds about here in sunny rural SW France with woodpeckers, robins etc. but oddly we have yet to see the cranes fly south for the winter. Maybe this is another sign of the warm weather in Europe and hence the lack of birds feeding in UK gardens.

[eastglosmog]

As we seem to be going exotic, here are some garden bird from Ghana (seen at the Esthers Hotel, Accra):

 

[J. S. Bach]

Some familiar plants in those photos, I had the dark pink Bougainvillea and the red-orange tree in my yard when I lived in south Florida:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 21, 2020 by J. S. Bach

[boxbrownie]

We have a few living in the garden, some get very cheeky asking for food!

[boxbrownie]

His mate has joined him now.....

[jbqfc]

some goldfinch action on our feeders this morning 

 

Edited November 21, 2020 by jbqfc
to add link

[Anthony]

We have been short of small birds for the last few weeks here in South West London, which seems in inverse proportion to the scores and scores (many a murder?) of crows that seem to have started to prefer our gardens to the common but 100 yards away.  The crows are beginning to become areal and unattractive menace, but there doesn't seem to much we can do about it.  Mind you, our occasionally visiting Sparrowhawk this morning did scatter those Goldfinches around pretty rapidly!

 

Anthony

[88D]

On 21/11/2020 at 12:48, eastglosmog said:

As we seem to be going exotic, here are some garden bird from Ghana (seen at the Esthers Hotel, Accra):

 

Peacock is the most exotic bird I’ve seen in my garden in Yorkshire, escaped from another garden lower down the hill.