It's nesting time. You friendly local blue tit needs you!

[ChardonnaysPetDragon]

Please top up your feeders and brush your dogs so they have energy to build the nests and something soft to feather them.

I had a great time watching them pick up the dog fur I'd left out for them.

Goldfinches came to feed on the cherry blossom as well, and the blackbirds are nesting too.

Mr and Mrs Blackbird (they may not be married and just cohabiting) have been very busy picking out the moss in our grass. It's fascinating watching them at work.

Blackbirds are not the tidiest nest builders.

Oooo lovely! I had blue tits in my nest box last year, I emptied it last month. There were blue tits hanging around but nobody in it. When will they start? Is it from now?

They have been very active here. I know they are nesting because I can see them wrestling with the dog fur I’d left out for them.

I've just this moment mentioned to IH I could here the birds in the roof starting to nest

I have a little flock of blue tits decimating the cherry blossom, and that's fine! They are welcome to it!

Ooooh i love my birds, don't have a dog but do have synthetic down jacket that's given up the ghost could i put some of the filling out for them or would that not be safe

I wouldn't use synthetic stuffing, some other small animal can try and eat it.

There is plenty pf nest building material out there, don't worry about it.

Blue tits (and maybe other bird species, I don't know) also need calcium to help them create their eggs, I put out finely crushed egg shell and snail shells for them.

What a lovely thread.
Sadly very few garden birds round here due to the number of cats.

Some spot on flea and tick prevention treatments can be toxic to birds, please check if you're leaving dog fur for next builders.

Where do you put it, TheNoodles with the food or separately?

Just like hens needs some eggshell with their food, I suppose?

Good point! Mine haven't been done for a bit, so they might to be safe.

But definitely worth checking.

I've a bird box but no birds have ever nested in it. Is there a way to attract them?!

Is that why they are digging moss out of my lawn today?

Sorry, I don’t know about the bird box, but birds can be fussy little bastards. The RSPB site have advice on that, maybe move it somewhere.

The moss digging is for the best building, I think.

I’m not an expert on births, I must say, I just love watching them and if I can make their lives a bit better, then that’s what I’m trying.

I have hens, at this time of year me garden gets full of sparrows and blue tits collecting up all the feathers from the lawn. A few brave ones even go in the coop to get some from there!

I love this time of year for the birds, my nesting box with camera is all set up, my daughters and I loved watching bluetits hatching in it last year. Just today I saw the pied wagtail that nests in our roof to. So many different birds in my garden atm.

I would love to this but the feline member of my household would also love this so I best avoid it.

I threw a handful of mixed feed on my patio this morning and no birds came near whereas normally the whole lot disappears and they are back waiting for seconds. I was puzzled until i looked along the patio and there was a big pile of light coloured feathers so something had obviously been killed but no sign of the body. I'm guessing it was a collared dove.

I hope the remaining birds aren't traumatised

I once watched the jay steal a fledgling. I'm still traumatised and hate jays with a passion. They always get shooed from the feeder.

We had a pair of long-tailed tits trying to get in the kitchen window today. Tap tap tapping on the glass with their beaks. I don’t know what that was about.

Birds are fab
We have a large feeder with seed trays for the bigger birds and fat ball hangers for the smaller ones.

We back onto trees and a field and are very lucky to get such a variety.

Wood pigeons (they rule the roost), magpies, collared doves, blackbirds, a regular robin, a large gang of sparrows, blue tits, great tits - which utilised my bird box as a lookout, and the occasional tawny owl

Absolutely love watching them all! Unfortunately so do my cats - but they aren't very good hunters by a long stretch.

I have a pair of crows who come to tap on my window asking for food (and no request goes unanswered). My hairdresser came a couple of weeks ago and put the cuttings on the lawn. 'My' crows swiftly flew off with them bit by bit. Gonna be a snazzy red addition to their nest, bet all their mates will want some. Have I really got to become a skinhead just to stop their squabbling?

I have two little nuthatch that come and sit upside down on my bird feeder.
They cheer me up every time I see them