RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted May 27, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 27, 2019 Goldfinches would not have nested in that 'fish' I am fairly certain. They like to make ball shaped nests in thick bushes or rushes and similar around here. They don't like 'holes' in stuff!!!!! Phil 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jbqfc Posted May 27, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 27, 2019 our first goldfinch fledgling of the year today John 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CLARENCE Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 (edited) I'm sure that the birds I saw wriggling in and out of the "fish" were goldies, I had a good look whilst trying to take pictures! I'll try again for better pics, maybe without the dogs! I do agree that goldfinches are very unlikely to nest there. Edited May 28, 2019 by CLARENCE Bad grammar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted May 28, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 28, 2019 16 hours ago, jbqfc said: our first goldfinch fledgling of the year today John Same here; just the one so far. Multiple bloomin' Starlings though; noisy so#s! More House Sparrow fledges as well and possibly Dunnock, but they are quite shy I find, so not 100%certain. Locally we have an Owl Box (Idle Valley NR Centre) that has had resident Owls and successful broods for several years. This year however a Kestrel has moved in, the single owl that was there a couple of months back has gone and now the Kes has chicks. We have a camera in there and monitor in the Café, so that's how we know. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 On 24/05/2019 at 12:57, The Lurker said: ...This morning on the way to work I saw a crow attack a squirrel as it crossed the road, the squirrel only just avoiding being caught. I assume it got too near chicks/fledglings. Would the crow have killed and eaten it if it had caught it? I say crow. It could have been a rook. The corvids are far from being scavengers only. They will kill and eat anything they are strong enough to overcome. The local rooks are particularly effective on inexperienced juvenile bunnies that have wandered too far from the burrow in our area. Applies to other birds with the 'scavenger' tag. Shortly after Red Kites made their appearance I saw one take a squirrel from the ground and proceed to wound it until it bled to death, despite its initial protests. The upside is that over the half dozen or so years since this species was regularly present the squirrels are way fewer in number, and now very wary of coming down from the trees onto open ground. The end result in our garden is that the Nuttery 'squirrel proof' bird feeders no longer sustain the constant damage from squirrels that previously saw them reduced to scrap within about five years. 4 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 I am amazed at the sudden increase of Dunnocks, Blackbirds, juvenile Starlings and House Sparrows on our lawn over the last few weeks. This may be coincidence, but the woman next door has split up from her partner. The house is now for sale, and she left and seems to have taken her two cats with her. People do not realise just how much cats will affect gardens until they see the effects first hand. In the 1990s I used to get 20-30 Goldfinches in the garden at once, until the people behind me bought a couple of Siamese. My worry is that when next door is sold, the new neighbours will be more of the Instagram Generation who *have* to have multiple cats and dogs - simply to post photos of them online everyday and get thousands of 'likes'. Still, I will enjoy the relaxed birdlife while I have it. 3 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted May 28, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 28, 2019 You are probably right, Jonny. We have a great variety of birds here and none of the neighbours have a cat. Plenty of dogs but I don't think they bother the birds. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CLARENCE Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 (edited) Managed a couple more pics of the fish weathercock plus birds. This time I'm sure they're blue tits or maybe great tits! What do you think? Second was a screenshot from a video. I'm still convinced I saw gold finches earlier, maybe just perching. Edited May 28, 2019 by CLARENCE As usual, second thoughts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 That's definitely a blue tit, recognisable by the face. 1 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lurker Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 The bushes and trees in our garden and next doors were busy first thing with sparrows and great tits - I am fairly certain I saw a mother feed a fledgling on the fence, and also what looked like two goldfinches - only I couldn't see the flash of yellow on the wings. I see goldfinches quite regularly but these looked a little different; definite red on the crown, but without the yellow - or maybe I just missed it. They were moving about quickly from tree to tree, not long flights so I didn't get to see the fluttering flight. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted May 30, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 30, 2019 3 hours ago, The Lurker said: The bushes and trees in our garden and next doors were busy first thing with sparrows and great tits - I am fairly certain I saw a mother feed a fledgling on the fence, and also what looked like two goldfinches - only I couldn't see the flash of yellow on the wings. I see goldfinches quite regularly but these looked a little different; definite red on the crown, but without the yellow - or maybe I just missed it. They were moving about quickly from tree to tree, not long flights so I didn't get to see the fluttering flight. A linnet perhaps? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lurker Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 20 hours ago, PhilJ W said: A linnet perhaps? Don't think so, having checked images. have had one in the garden before but I suspect these were goldfinches where I just couldn't see the gold. I didn't notice any birds this morning - probably less washing up to see to! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodshaw Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Last autumn we moved from York to the outskirts of Northampton to a house which is bordered by a small wooded area and over the autumn and winter we had robins, house sparrows, starlings, blackbirds, dunnocks and blue tits galore in our garden. Not to mention collared doves and woodpigeons. We also had flocks of goldfinches swooping around low and feeding off something or other on our lavender. One day I counted a group of 18 of them. I daresay the bird feeder and bird bath are helping. We've also had the odd great tit, song thrush and wren, and I've seen pied wagtails on the nearby footpaths. Never saw such a variety of birds in or near our garden in York, though I'm sure most of them will have been around. But the odd thing is that over the spring, maybe because of nesting, many of them have disappeared and we don't get nearly as many visitors apart from the most common ones. Hopefully they will reappear when the next generation has fledged. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodshaw Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Caught this song thrush on my garden fence today between a baby and adult starling. 9 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodshaw Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Thinking about having a nice dip... 7 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 I made a nice pedestal bird bath a couple of years back, I've never even once seen any of the ungrateful little b*ggers use it.... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 Try different locations. Small birds are naturally wary, and if the location presents a hazard, they will stay away. Having it near fairly dense cover is a good move, a safe zone if a sparrowhawk approaches. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 Take your point on location, ...tho this is in middle of the front garden so birds have good all round view, which I thought they'd prefer so as to see predators, and there's no good ambush places in striking distance, there's also no real 'bird eating birds' round here ! Our moggys can't get round the front either... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted June 1, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 1, 2019 9 minutes ago, Porkscratching said: Take your point on location, ...tho this is in middle of the front garden so birds have good all round view, which I thought they'd prefer so as to see predators, and there's no good ambush places in striking distance, there's also no real 'bird eating birds' round here ! Our moggys can't get round the front either... Nearer bushes and or a tree so that a preadator would not be tempted tp zoom in due to obstruction and/or the bird can zip into the bush r tree if feeling threatened. Feeders are also better near cover so that they (especially Tits) can zip out and back to cover in a flash. I also have two 'baths'/drinking trays (actually plant pot base dishes), on the ground near bushes and expected cats to lurk, but I have a bird scarer noise thingy and that has kept them at bay!!!! Only activity around here at the moment is, at last, more Martins and just a few Swift. Hight up today as it is hot and sultry. P 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 81C Posted June 1, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 1, 2019 SWMBO has been feeding a family of Robins for sometime I went to the garage earlier and there were 4 of them on the trellis waiting for their cheese. 5 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted June 1, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 1, 2019 6 hours ago, Porkscratching said: no real 'bird eating birds' round here ! Our moggys can't get round the front either... What about Magpies & other Corvids? They take small birds, It's not just Sparrowhawks etc. Plenty of neighbourhood moggies in the street? My feeders/water are all close to a thick hedge (Hawthorn) and the tits/dunnocks/robins dive in and out of the hedge. The coal tits & nuthatches will arrive flying close to the hedge and depart likewise enabling quick entry to cover if threatened. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Kingzance Posted June 2, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 2, 2019 I sense that the growth of the corvid population is hindering the survival of smaller creatures that are their prey. Of course nature usually is better at managing species survival than we humans but results from the ongoing RSPB surveys of garden birds are disturbing. I see many more empty eggshells scattered well away from nests than I did a generation or two ago and the larger species, such as wood pigeon, are thriving because they are no longer part of the diet of hunting or scavenging birds, or humans for that matter! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sncf231e Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 Birds reacting on the steam locomotive in my garden: Regards Fred 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkscratching Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 2 hours ago, Kingzance said: I sense that the growth of the corvid population is hindering the survival of smaller creatures that are their prey. Of course nature usually is better at managing species survival than we humans but results from the ongoing RSPB surveys of garden birds are disturbing. I see many more empty eggshells scattered well away from nests than I did a generation or two ago and the larger species, such as wood pigeon, are thriving because they are no longer part of the diet of hunting or scavenging birds, or humans for that matter! As mentioned, nature tends to adjust predator / prey ratios fairly effectively I'd think, no ones going extinct here, so best we don't stick our 'beaks' in too far perhaps ! 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodshaw Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 I heard a commotion in the garden a few days ago and a woodpigeon was fighting a blackbird on the lawn. I don't know who was attacking who but the woodpigeon was getting the better of it. It flew off when I went out and the backbird was disoriented, flying into the house wall and the fence, until it finally got away through a gap in the fence. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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