Where have all our garden birds gone?

[tigerburnie]

Not birds, but Bats, we have Pipistrelles flying around, just been listening to them with my detector.

[boxbrownie]

12 hours ago, tigerburnie said:

Not birds, but Bats, we have Pipistrelles flying around, just been listening to them with my detector.

We watch those whipping around the single road lamp in the lane catching the moths/insects hanging around the light.

 

In our last house we had them across the road in an old tin church steeple, in the Summer if we left the cover off the pool they would fly low and skim the water for a drink, amazing little creatures, unfortunately one morning I found one who had obviously misread the surface and plopped in and drown, I made sure I covered the pool every night after that.

[Mallard60022]

13 hours ago, APOLLO said:

 

Not at all - just a bird disliker at the moment. I wish they would all F(ly) Off !!!!!!!!

 

 

Brit15

Well, instead of being a FB stooge on here why not just not bother posting? Your comments are really rather crass. Initially I thought it was a joke, but sadly it was not.

 

[APOLLO]

Oh Dear, I seem to have set the cat amongst the pigeons !!!!

 

Brit15

[The Lurker]

Swifts spotted for the first time this year flying high. As always seems to be the case, an odd number.

 

meanwhile a robin is singing away.

 

and I have a glass of wine!

[Tim Dubya]

 

Where Has My Garden Gone?

 

Starting to see Red Kites on a regular basis over my gaff in Radstock, when it's windy they fly low, just above lampost height, but I watched another high up on a thermal, possibly caused by traffic build up in the centre of Radders?.  Not having a garden anymore, I catch what I can on my way to and from places, last week a young heron and a dipper in the stream.

There's also a massive Jackdaw population here, which I didn't see in Bath.

 

Edited May 15, 2022 by Tim Dubya

[monkeysarefun]

This magpie is a regular visitor now and always comes running to me if it's foraging around the  yard and I call to him.

I've been teaching him to say "more" as I feed him, he's now got the idea to make a noise which is starting to  sound like it between treats so he's getting there.

They have a very elaborate caroling call and there are videos on YouTube of Aussie magpies mimicking birds such as kookaburras and also horses neighing  etc so simple words aren't beyond them.

Once he's got "more" mastered it's on to "never more!"  in order to freak out any locals of a literary bent that he visits.

Edited May 15, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[jbqfc]

i have been invaded by starling fledglings today far to many to count but at least 15 

 

John 

[hmrspaul]

4 hours ago, jbqfc said:

i have been invaded by starling fledglings today far to many to count but at least 15 

 

John 

Well just seen 6 starlings, which may not seem much but we had some years when they were totally absent. 

 

Anyway, the Goldfinch is the bird I think of as resurrected. I never saw them as a youngster and we lived in a suburb backing onto fields. This photo of an hour or so ago reminds me of the first time I saw a pair sitting on a similar wire from our lounge window - probably 20 years or so ago now. They built up good numbers here (close enough to York station to hear every class 68 movement!), suffered badly those couple of hard winters a few years ago and are now around but not so common. 

 

[Brighty1674]

Made my day……just seen two fledgling blackbirds being fed by mum and dad…..we have had them nesting in the garden for the past two years,about three or four days ago we had those dam magpies turn up and cause mayhem, hell of a load of noise and dearly beloved and myself thought they would predate the blackbirds, but it looks like at least two have survived…….we have been putting pear leftovers out each morning at breakfast and the male blackbird is there straightaway for his breakfast too, a lovely sight…….

[Flying Pig]

I found a wheatear today, at a site not far from home where they are regular on migration.  Sadly it was a bird with an injured wing, which rather took the shine off things.

[BR traction instructor]

Stretching the garden aspect a little this afternoon, I completed a 40 mileish circuit from Silloth to Anthorn/Bowness on Solway (largely along NCN route 72) amongst a wide array of wild birds…there was even a cuckoo calling at Caldurnock.

 

BeRTIe

[Mallard60022]

Finally, one House Martin has arrived here. Just under 4 weeks later than usual for this area. 

One Goldfinch fledgling spotted this morning. AAS someone else has said, very much a 'recovery species'. Sadly taken over from Finches around here.

Yesterday I had the misfortune to spot a Herring Gull just outside my front patch swallowing what looked like a fledgling Blackbird. Fledgling was still alive and was gown in two gulps. Made me heave it was so revolting. I know they do that but up close it was yuch. They destroy so many eggs and fledgling Waders up at Idle Valley it is really sad. Hundreds of the things and they eat each others eggs as well if they get the chance.

Need a Brandy to settle my stomach now!

P

[Hroth]

I'm not having much luck with garden birds.

 

I put up a feeding station when I moved house several months ago, and nothing came to visit.  In this past week, I've been hit by a gang of sparrows using the seed feeder*, stocked with generic birdseed, but peanuts and fatballs haven't had a taker.  I'm going to put up another seed feeder with sunflower hearts to spread the load a bit.  The only other birds are bl@@dy wood pigeons, who hang about pecking at the seeds the sparrows drop.

 

I'm just hoping that the sparrows will pass the word about that there's food!

 

I refilled it to the brim on Sunday, this morning its almost empty.  The greedy swine are going to look like flying footballs!

 

[Tim Dubya]

4 minutes ago, Hroth said:

I'm not having much luck with garden birds.

 

I put up a feeding station when I moved house several months ago, and nothing came to visit.  In this past week, I've been hit by a gang of sparrows using the seed feeder*, stocked with generic birdseed, but peanuts and fatballs haven't had a taker.  I'm going to put up another seed feeder with sunflower hearts to spread the load a bit.  The only other birds are bl@@dy wood pigeons, who hang about pecking at the seeds the sparrows drop.

 

Sunflower hearts have always been a winner, almost everything loves to munch them.  Any little critters on the ground get a good feeding too.  Win, Win!

 

[rodshaw]

Every time I put seeds out in the feeder, the starlings raid it and it's gone in a day or so. Fair enough for the starlings but the smaller birds hardly get a look in. At least they leave the other feeder with fat balls to the tits.

[Tim Dubya]

42 minutes ago, rodshaw said:

Every time I put seeds out in the feeder, the starlings raid it and it's gone in a day or so. Fair enough for the starlings but the smaller birds hardly get a look in. At least they leave the other feeder with fat balls to the tits.

 

I used to use Finch feeders, they have very small holes so nothing bigger than a Dunnock or Sparrow gets a look in. 

https://shopping.rspb.org.uk/bird-feeders-boxes-tables/bird-feeders/nyjer-seed-feeders/goldfinch-mini-nyjer-seed-feeder.html

 

Of course larger birds will need feeders with a bigger hole, so I guess it's about getting the balance right for which birds you want to feed.

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by Tim Dubya
feeder confusion

[jbqfc]

5 hours ago, rodshaw said:

Every time I put seeds out in the feeder, the starlings raid it and it's gone in a day or so. Fair enough for the starlings but the smaller birds hardly get a look in. At least they leave the other feeder with fat balls to the tits.

 

now for me it is the other way round the starlings leave the seeds but demolish the fat and suet balls 

 

John  

[BR traction instructor]

…try just sunflower hearts in the seed feeder…starlings seem to leave them alone here but lots of little birds eat them.

 

BeRTIe

Edited May 18, 2022 by BR traction instructor

[Mallard60022]

Positioning of feeders is also quite critical. Tits like close Cover as do most others. Height is important too.

The Perch style is also critical especially if Plastic, as that is smooth and slippery.

If you have Raptors nearby then cover (Hedges are very good), is essential especially for Ground Feeders.

Think about where a Sparrow Hawk will appear from and the line of flight to Strike. Try to place feeders  in a perceived line of attack as the Hawk wants to hit at speed.

You will never be 100% successful in prevention, but that in itself allows the possibility of seeing Nature as it is, or finding the bunch of Feathers on the ground some time afterwards.,

 

Food variety is something to be tested. However if you have a lot of Sparrows, which is good of course, they tend to be very bossy and as for the Sky Rats, they are just fat slobs that eat anything.

I find a NO Grow Mix is very generic and attracts loads. 

In dry weather the Bug eating Birds like Starlings and Robins (and Blackbirds) as well as the tits (Caterpillars on Trees/leaves), have tough times.. as the ground is hard and the caterpillars are fewer.  Blackbirds  will eat more seed, the Starlings go for the Balls and the TIts will take seeds, but that isn't any use to their Chicks and thus Tits are declining rapidly.

Phil

[Killybegs]

17 hours ago, BR traction instructor said:

…try just sunflower hearts in the seed feeder…starlings seem to leave them alone here but lots of little birds eat them.

 

BeRTIe

 

I find sunflower hearts go soggy when it's wet.

[BR traction instructor]

…ours go so quickly that they don’t get chance to go soggy…just put less in the feeder but more often.

 

BeRTIe

[Tim Dubya]

3 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

If you have Raptors nearby then cover (Hedges are very good), is essential especially for Ground Feeders.

Think about where a Sparrow Hawk will appear from and the line of flight to Strike. Try to place feeders  in a perceived line of attack as the Hawk wants to hit at speed.

 

 

Exactly the reason we got rid of the bird table.  It only happened once, but a Sparrow Hawk appeared one day and although I didn't see it catch anything, the garden remained silent and still for the rest of the day as it perched on top of the roof of the table.  I was surprised at how big they are up close, through the window.  It was one of those open mouth moments where one forgets to grab the camera for s photo!  Stunningly beautiful killing machines, talking of which, our Bath peregrine's have three little nutcases on the back boiler.

 

 

Bless.

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by Tim Dubya
brian freeze

[RedgateModels]

3 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

Tits are declining rapidly.

 

 

Not in our garden. George made a bird box this spring at school and there's occupants in already, despite the glitter he insisted on putting inside and out LOL

[BR traction instructor]

Wheatear, stonechat and skylark were the main accompaniment on our climb from Mungrisedale to Bannerdale crags (2240ft) today. View from nr the cairn looking NE towards the Eden valley…

 

BeRTIe

Edited May 23, 2022 by BR traction instructor