Where have all our garden birds gone?

[Clive Mortimore]

Not in my back garden but taken this morning while walking my dogs.

Sitting by the nest.

In the nest.

 

Last year the kestrels nested in the same tree and had three chicks that fledged.

[Horsetan]

Apart from goldfinches and the woodpecker, I have spotted a new furry kind of "bird".

 

Maybe I should lace the suet and nuts with Red Bull_TM; that would give the greedy git some wings.

[chris p bacon]

Apart from goldfinches and the woodpecker, I have spotted a new furry kind of "bird".

 

Maybe I should lace the suet and nuts with Red Bull_TM; that would give the greedy git some wings.

 

Too scared to tackle him were you..........

 

Yes....best not go out there......................bigger boys.....bigger boys...

[Budgie]

Apart from goldfinches and the woodpecker, I have spotted a new furry kind of "bird".

 

Maybe I should lace the suet and nuts with Red Bull_TM; that would give the greedy git some wings.

 

You could try lacing them with chilli powder. Squirrels hate it, but the birds don't care.

[melmerby]

Apart from goldfinches and the woodpecker, I have spotted a new furry kind of "bird".

 

Maybe I should lace the suet and nuts with Red Bull_TM; that would give the greedy git some wings.

 

 

Today's Twitter feed had the furriest "flightless bird" I've yet seen.

 

Mission: Impossible!

Ah... the Great Grey Tree Rat in both varieties!

 

Keith

Edited May 1, 2013 by melmerby

[Mallard60022]

Swallows near Bevercotes Colliery site yesterday afternoon (well it was at Thymar Ice Cream Parlour actually and I was just testing some flavours - honestly).

P

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

...we occasionally get grey squirrels 'shinning' up the metal poles to our feeders...a little vaseline on the pole provides entertainment for a while and retains the bird food for its target audience. I can't bring myself to shoot them as one of our neighbours has done.

 

Dave      

Edited May 3, 2013 by Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71

[Rumblestripe]

Your "War" with the grey menace brought to mind my Dad's attempts to "dissuade" (permanently) the local squirrel population from pilfering his peanuts. He constructed an elaborate (and not a little dangerous) electric device, basically a plate that sat on the bird table with a split down the middle and 240V AC direct to the plate! For some reason (the kind of adaptability that has allowed them to thrive in this country) the little grey nut nickers would not venture onto the table when the device was powered up. So he used to sit beside the switch as and await the pesky yank rodents. He finally did "get" one but the full force of the national grid was only sufficient to make said rodent hop off the plate in pretty quick time. The device was then abandoned. Sciurus carolinensis 1 Home Sapiens 0

 

And on the subject of garden birdies, I managed to capture this rather lovely Greater Spotted Woodpecker on the feeder at work.

[Horsetan]

.... I can't bring myself to shoot them as one of our neighbours has done.

 

I can, but I'm a lousy shot.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

I can, but I'm a lousy shot.

 

....in that case let me know when you're getting the gun out and I'll stay out of the garden until you're done.

 

ATB

 

Dave

[DDolfelin]

Male Pied Flycatcher this morning.

Hop about too fast for me to get a pic.

Plenty of pics of where it was though.

[melmerby]

This is my solution for keeping the Corvids off the fat ball feeder.  It is two hemispherical metal hanging baskets, held together by two of the three clips from the wire hangers.  It hinges up to top-up the feeder.  Sorry about the 'messy' background to this photo, it hangs from one of our apple trees.  The white building behind is where my model railway lives!

 

P5056591.JPG

You went to a lot of trouble to make something you can buy ready made!

 

Gardman do one for £9.99 RRP

 

Keith

Edited May 5, 2013 by melmerby

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

....we're being eaten out of house and home by our feathered friends at the mo...niger seed feeder needs filling every other day, sunflower hearts every third day, crushed peanuts every day (grey squirrel seen munching these this morning). The blackbirds in the meantime throw the bark garden dressing across the paths on a daily basis whilst looking for invertebrates to eat.  

 

Dave

[chris p bacon]

First of the known losses in the garden.

One of the Robins had nested in some Ivy in our front garden about 5ft off the ground, returned home on Friday evening (midnight) to find another bl*&$y cat from next door had tipped the nest out and was eating the contents, didn't even move when the car pulled in. I got out and a large handfull of gravel gave it the idea I was not overly keen on it's company.

We think the adult/s got away as we now have the sound of at least one trying to pair up for another go.

 

Bl*&$y cats..............no collar/bell either.

[DDolfelin]

The Pied Flycatchers are nesting in the box outside of my Studio window.

Perky little things.

[Xerces Fobe2]

I counted 45 Red Kites circling near my house recently with similar numbers appearing every day. These lovely birds are becoming a pest as their breeding appears to be out of control and they no longer a rare sight in East Berkshire.

 

XF

[Bernard Lamb]

Yesterday was the first time a Red Kite was in the garden as opposed to being seen from the garden here in Hemel Hempstead.

Bernard

[chris p bacon]

I counted 45 Red Kites circling near my house recently with similar numbers appearing every day. These lovely birds are becoming a pest as their breeding appears to be out of control and they no longer a rare sight in East Berkshire.

 

XF

How are they a pest ?

 

They feed on roadkill, carrion and the detritus left by man, contrary to popular myth they do not try and snatch small dogs or children, they are barely able to lift off the ground with the weight of a small rodent. they are part of the food chain of nature, unfortunately in the past we interfered with that chain.............sorry we still do....

They have yet to recover to former numbers.

[DDolfelin]

They have a base diet of earthworms!

They are very useful birds.

Lovely to watch, too.

[Gruffalo]

I wonder why we feel the urge to control the numbers of various species of fauna when we clearly cannot control our own species growth and therefore take more from the planet than nature can replace?

[DDolfelin]

Thought provoking, Gruffers.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

.....the ecological pyramid will form if we don't interfere. Something (besides us) must have controlled raptor populations historically....are there any lessons to learn by looking at red kite populations in areas of the world where humans haven't altered their natural development?

 

Dave

Edited May 7, 2013 by Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

But back to the OP question: in my fruit cage would seem to be the answer. Since the nets went back on a fortnight past, I cannot recall a season when I have had to release so many birds. Blackbird, titmice various, dunnock, greenfinch, nuhatch, robin. (Clearly there are a couple of holes which I have still to find, already repaired several.) The Blackbirds are feeding young just five yards away, and it has got to the point that the male now knows to fly straight out of the access door I habitually open first, disregarding my nearby presence.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

....sticking with the OP. If I were a migratory bird with many places to choose from, then on an annual basis I would select the direction to fly in which maximised my opportunities to feed, breed and generally have a fruitful life. As a country we are in hot competition with many others for the attentions of these lovely creatures but based on the couple of hours which I've just spent relaxing at the bottom of the garden, watching all of the avain activity on offer (as well as what I saw on my cycle ride at 07.00 today)...I'm not too worried about our appeal....but then neither is there a place for complacency. 

 

Dave  

Edited May 7, 2013 by Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71

[Mallard60022]

I think we know one thing, man can be the most arrogant of animals and probably the most destructive.

However, back to birds; I am sorry to report that I believe that the large and local population of H Martins here (36E) have not appeared this year We have 5 or 6 locally to our house in west Retford, but we usually have well over 50. I suspect they are victims of  the horrible weather during migration. Sad.

P