Wild Birds

[Robinia]

Do you get any rare visitors to your garden during the winter?

After several years of not seeing a single thrush (Derbyshire) & recently asking  about them on here we had one yesterday!! He sat & sang for 15 minutes in a tall tree - beautiful!!

[apricot2]

We have loads of thrushes and blackbirds but the starlings have disappeared completely and sparrows are now a rare sight.  We have 2 types of owls, an occasional woodpecker, fieldfares. wrens, pheasants, partridges, collared doves, finches and t*ts.  I live in rural Cumbria.

[Corkyb]

I get visiting Redwing and Fieldfairs, mainly on the berries, but they do take bread now and again. The Balckbirds have a feast too, but the rest of the year there are very few about because of the cats in the neighbourhood and the lack of trees. 

[Cetti]

He flew a long way noddy, because oddly enough I saw a Mistle Thrush yesterday as well - and he was singing his heart out.

 We were on our way to a RSPB reserve in Weymouth and thumbing through next years diary I found a bit where it said that on mild days in  winter Mistle Thrushes can be heard singing. Mind you it wasn't in our garden - does that count?

We have Redwings, Fieldfares and a few Golfinches, but the bird I would love to see most of all in the winter is the Waxwing, but in Dorset there's no chance.

 

[Robinia]

Apricot it's funny how some people say they have no sparrows but lots of thrushes - it's the opposite for me. We used to have an owl too but unfortunately lots of people cut their trees down nowadays & he's disappeared.

Corky I know what you mean about cats - I've had to make my bird table a maximum security unit to stop them jumping on it!

Cetti - glad you spotted my progress report & I hope you enjoyed the bird reserve!

[sddsddean]

We have loads of Starlings, Sparrows, Greenfinches, Blue and Great Tits, plus regular Robins, Chaffinches, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Collared Doves and a Wren. Sometimes see Goldfinch and Bullfinch. Normally get a flock of Fieldfares in the field behind us in Autumn, but haven't seen them this year. We put food out for the birds all year round now, attracting lots of the smaller birds. This in turn has attracted our latest 'acquisition'; a Sparrowhawk! She will come in about once a week and sit either on the pergola or birdtable for about 15 mins. We know when she's coming as there is a mass exodus by the other birds!!

[FP]

So pleased to hear about your thrush, Noddy.  We had a pair of ducks in the garden last night.  Couldn't see them, but could hear them at 2.00 in the morning quacking away!

[Robinia]

sdd, it's great to have so many wild birds - since extending the menu in my garden I get lots of lovely ones too.  Occasionally I get a really unusual (for this area) visitor.  A couple of years ago a new road was being built & I think it forced a lot of the birds into local gardens - I'm pretty sure we had reed buntings for a while, but I'm no expert! Have a hawk too who usually goes for the collared doves, probably because they're a bit dopey!

 

Fp - I would have gladly swapped your quacking ducks for the foul-mouthed rowing young couple that I could hear in the street at that very same time!!  (Glad the Boa's are still around!)

[Dom Tuk]

After reading these answers I am not off to buy a kg of lard and put it in the mixer with rice and lentils and large packet of oats. i then put them in a butter tub into which a hole has been made and a rope threaded through. I fill this tub with above mixture and hang it off a branch. I get about 50 birds on it everyday. the tits, starlings (greedy *******), sparrows and all types of finches have a great time. The robins, blackbirds, thrushes and other ground feeders eat off the ground all that the messy starlings have dropped. great fun.

[gypsy]

we have recently been visited by a sparrowhawk,,and allthough its handsome all our little birds made a hasty exit in fear of their lives i live on the edge of a city but have fields at the rear and i grow wild flowers and herbs to encourage birds and this sparrowhawk now keeps coming every day and he sits for hours just watching and waiting,,for lunch yuk..i have a large golden retriever and none of the birds are scared of him as he is silly,,he does chase the squirrells thats his main contribution,,i hope the sparrow hawk clears off soon as i love birds...and i bake bread and treats for them,,,gypsy

[Robinia]

Dom I used to think that wild birds were a great cheap entertainment but when I worked it out it actually costs more to feed them than my little dog.  Well worth it tho'!

Gypsy - you bake especially for the birds?!  Wow that's real dedication - hope they can still get off the ground after such a lovely feast!

 

By the way, has anybody seen my nut feeder?  That thieving little squirrel has taken it!!

[gypsy]

noddy... i also buy coconuts and make a feed up in them of fats and nuts and seed,,if the coconut breaks exactly in half its to heavy for the squirrells to pinch,,i put some hazelnuts out for the squirrels today and our dog fetched them back in and put them under the xmas tree,,,i am in the midlands on the edge of a city and yes my sparrowhawk arrived today as usual,,we normally have blackbirds and sparrows the robin has still been even though the big bird is hanging around,,he will clear off eventually i hope...i save all left over pastry scraps and bake them for the birds and any cake crumbs or even grated cheese goes out,,,gypsy

[Robinia]

Aaaahh bless your dog gypsy - so long as he doesn't bring the squirrel in too!! Great idea about the coconuts.  I've got some more birdy news!  The blackbird who had been coming to the windowsill for currants for 3 years disappeared about 3 months ago, & I thought he may have died - well today he came back, I'm so pleased!! 

[FP]

Was looking at the two swallows nests in our Front Porch today and wondering whether to leave them be so they are saved the task of rebuilding next year.  Wish they hadn't built one of them above the letter box though!  It's a nice deep enclosed porch with plenty of roosting spaces and although they make a dreadful mess I am happy to welcome my swallows every year.

[Robinia]

How fantastic to have swallows Fp - it's the best week of the year (1st in May, occasionally 2nd)  when the swallows, swifts & housemartins arrive because you know summer's coming, & it's also my birthday!

[FP]

Amazes me that they know their way from Africa to our house in Norfolk!  As you say, they usually arrive on bank holiday weekend and then spend a good few weeks circling around before nest building.  The babes roosted on a shelf that can be seen from my front door window.  One day I opened the front door and the four babies all flew in!  What fun we had rounding them all up.  Two days later they did it again!   If anyone knows whether they will use last year's nests please let me know.  If they prefer a 'new build' I will take the old nests down.

 

Our house martins never returned after we changed the windows - obviously didn't approve of double glazing!  I miss them!

[Robinia]

Migrating birds have always amazed me too!  I'm reasonably sure that they do use old nests - where's Cetti? She's got lots of books!

[Cetti]

Oh noddy, just returned to your post to see if anyone has garden rarities, and spotted a question from my 'Boa sisters'! Hope it's not too late.

Swallows generally do return to their old nests, but need to do repair jobs, so this will happen if there has been a rainy spell as wet mud is required for the 'cement'.

Sadly a lot of nests are blown down and destroyed during the winter due to heavy winds and rain, so if possible FP, leave them until the spring and then remove them if they are too badly damaged.

[Robinia]

Hi Cetti! Thanks for reply.(Just about to start a new bird thread).