General Chat

We have been having many feathered friends visiting our feeding station over the last couple of weeks too. Sunflower seeds are a big favourite !!! Have to refill every couple of days.

Today I put out a crust for the robin,blackbirds and wood pigeons. But they were all beaten by a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker = the black and white one with red flashes. He grabbed a beak full and ran up the nearest tree !!!! What a sight.

Enjoy your gardens everyone, they really can be full of life on these cold miserable days.

Linda :o)

THF, I thought that magpies were still classed as pests? Over here they are still not viewed with pleasure. Lovely colours though.
Last winter a large hawk flew past me and landed on the fence between my meighbour's garden & mine.It sat there, not a bit scared of me. Beautiful sight. A couple of years before, a sparrowhawk chased a small bluetit accross my garden. Luckilly I was bending down just then, otherwise it would have flown into me.The blue tit escaped, and the poor sparrowhawk didn't have a meal!
I always throw bits of fat from bacon on the shed roof.Lots of large rooks and carrion crows come to feed on it.They are sometimes so big, I thought they were ravens. years ago, you never saw simple sparrows around where we live,In the last 7-8 years the numbers have grown.Such cute little balls of fluff!

We also have quite a few blue tits, not sure how many as they come and go quickly, a couple of great Tits, a robin. goldfinches, a wren, greenfinches, a chaffinch (why only one I don't know), as well as the usual blackbirds, sparrows, doves, wood pigeons and starlings. Magpies are around but tend not to come into the garden which is a bit too enclosed for them. We also get Jackdaws and crows on the bird table if there is bread out.

Ann
glos

Now that the leaves have fallen from the Rowan tree I have been spotting quite a few birds on the new fat ball holder.

A robin , a wren , a great tit and a few blue tits over the past few days.

Amanda

Ann, have never seem more than 3 magpies together.Another interesting snippet.
My kat Lapje killed a fully-grown magpie when she was a kitten.UGH.

I actually like magpies, they are so decadent, but was pleased that I stopped that blackbird being killed.Have never seen a magpie attack a bird of prey though.Thank you for telling about them reducing the blackbird population THF.Very interesting!

Eileen, yes the same birds.
This is the first time we have seen a group of them, apparently they are gregarious birds. OH saw one a couple of days ago, must have been sent to suss out the food situation.

ann
Glos

Ann, I was disturbed by a 'cry for help', in the back garden.Opened a window and clapped my hands loudly, to scare a magpie away from a blackbird, which was being attacked. There used to be a lot of those long tailed tits in the holly bush (more like a tree now) in the front garden. Are we talking about the same birds? I.E, the sort of beige/white birds with dark stripes, and long tails? If so, have not seen many last winter.

I like it when we get them too. They always seem to come in a friendly gang and they don't squabble like greenfinches.

Sue

in the garden at lunch time we had a flock of 6 or 7 long tailed tits on the black sunflower seeds. wow! They were lovely to watch darting here and there.

Ann
Glos