Garden birds - I think I'm becoming a twitcher

[Megatron]

Obsessed with the things. Since lockdown and the lovely weather I've replaced all the scabby old bird feeders and table, got a new bird box etc and because I've been spending more time in the garden I've noticed their habits more.

Nothing too exciting visits I suppose, we have starling, sparrows, dunnocks, blue/great/coal tits, a robin that seems to come every day and blackbird family living in the ivy. But oh how glorious these little birds are. We have a giant crow and a bloody massive wood pigeon who knocks one of the feeders out of the tree every single day with it's massive feet but I love watching them. Sitting in a chair in the shade watching these little creatures has honestly kept me going the last few weeks, however ridiculous that sounds. Such a lovely pasttime.

If you're lucky enough to have a garden, what birds do you get visiting?

Not a big fan of birds - but we have a balcony and get robins, magpies and even has a bluetit visit. And bloody squirrels! We sometimes get ducks sitting on the house opposite.

Birds are great! We have been putting industrial quantities of food and water out for a few years now but this year a family of bluetits has adopted the bird box (finally). We also have some blackbirds and sparrows nesting, starlings, goldfinches, wood pigeons, collared doves, a few pied wagtails and very occasionally a sparrowhawk (sadly never good news for the smaller birds). We have a birdbath too and some high value food on a table by the dining room doors so that we can see them eating and bathing.

I'm obsessed too. I bought one of those feeders that go on your window, I put black sunflower seeds in there and a pair of lively blue tits are on and off it for hours a day.

I cuddle up on the sofa and watch them, it wonderful. Also had robins, blackbirds, dunnocks and great gits. Oh and long tailed tits!
Saw a barn owl on our evening walk a week ago, it was so exciting to me

We don't get any squirrels, I think probably because of the dog! We get loads of bats at dusk though I love watching them too. 😊

I don't encourage birds into my garden as I have cats, my previous cats didn't give a stuff and I'd have birds hopping about all over the place, my favourite then was the goldfinch fledglings I used to get. I am lucky enough to live within walking distance of a reserve and i absolutely love swifts, proper acrobats.

We do have lots of red kite round here nowadays, I often see them circling when out with the dog but they've only really appeared over the last 8 or 9 years. They are beautiful to see. Would love to see an owl in the wild.

We downloaded apps to identify birdsong.
Seem OK, they haven't suggested anything we haven't actually seen in the garden and it's interesting to match the singing to the birdies.

I spoke while mine was 'listening'
It thinks I'm a herring gull - obvs I'm loud and I squawk

Same here. I'm rubbish at identifying birds but we get wood pigeons, sparrows, blue tits and magpies and I've even spotted the odd robin on occasion.

We have a birdbox nestled amongst some wisteria on one of our outer walls directly outside DD's bedroom window. I recently discovered that one of her favourite pastimes is sitting in bed, listening to music on her phone and watching the birds flit in and out.

Yes same here! We have goldfinches which is as exciting as it gets. We have leatherjackets in our lawn so we're inundated with starlings and a blackbird that visits several times a day. We used to see a robin last year but it seems to have disappeared this year. I've see the occasional great fit but we don't seem to get blue tits (new build housing estate). My friend lives in a more rural area and spends a fortune on bird feed as her feed station gets demolished! I stuck out fat balls and peanuts but they never get eaten so made the mistake of putting mealworms out and that's costing me a fortune!

Check out these webcams in bird boxes for a birdie fix 😊 www.birdfood.co.uk/webcams

I recently discovered that one of her pastimes is sitting in bed, listening to music on her phone and watching the birds flit in and out.

That sounds so lovely.

We live quite rurally too so I'm ever hopeful of something very exciting appearing. There was a sparrowhawk eating a pigeon in our front garden a few weeks ago, that wasn't quite so enjoyable!

Living on the edge of a wood, we have lots. We feed them sunflower seeds and they eat their weight x10 at a minimum .

Of more 'interesting' ones we have woodpeckers, nut hatches, long-tailed tits (adorable), nightingales and last but certainly not least a tawny owl (she is a pain in the butt as all the other birds, especially blackbirds are afraid of her, so you won't believe the noise when she pops up late afternoon looking out of her nesting box all cross eyed ).

Oh, same here, apart from I live in Asia and don't have a garden. My daily trips to the park have kept me going and I had to buy a book so I could identify the birds. Different types of sunbird ( like a hummingbird), a particularly friendly kingfisher, a Brahmin kite and lots of different waders are my favourites. I just love the birds.

Today I saw a funny thing. I was running along the path and a little bird, I think some kind of stilt, came running out of the bushes for an arduous poo, then ran back into the hedge. It made me laugh, thinking how humans might do the opposite!

Same here! I love watching them. We tend to get sparrows, robins, blue tits, coal tits, dunnocks, blackbirds, thrush, starlings, wood pigeons and crows. We had bullfinches the other day and a couple of goldfinches appeared on Wed night to peck at the cornflower!

Our regulars are sparrows, great tits, blackbirds and Woodpigeons. Betty woodpigeon has been busy building a nest in our tree after the old one there got destroyed. Regular Robins - had a baby one, last year. Occasional wren. Had a massive coal tit family, last year - a pretty adorable rabble! An outcast jackdaw sometimes visits. We don't get the whole family since installing squirrel proof feeders. A pair of collared doves sometimes visit. One of them spectacularly saw off the local - -pariahs-- magpies, a few weeks ago.

This past week or so, we've had a pair of goldfinches visit our birdbath and a woodpecker has made a few visits.

We do get regular squirrels as well as field mice, bank voles, a weasel and the occasional hedgehog. A rabbit from the nearby woods came in and ate all my parsley, once!

I get woodpigeon, sparrows, starlings, blue tits, jackdaws, buzzards, barn owls, tawny owls, blackbirds, robins, wrens, the odd chaffinch and, rather randomly, a feral peacock!

We've had a sparrowhawk visit, a few times, too. Probably for the same reason as the weasel!

Probably not as many as if we didn't have cats (although the cats hardly ever catch birds - they mostly go for mice). We get blackbirds hopping around on the lawn, and the occasional robin and blue tit. We also get magpies and we have a pair of resident collared doves that love eating my vegetables, one of which pooed on my head yesterday just as I was putting the washing out.

We were sitting outside last night and I noticed tiny little birds, fluttering away like humming birds on our pine tree- we downloaded the birdsong identifier and worked out that they are goldcrests.

It’s been a wonderful side effect of lockdown.
Everything gets fed in our garden, pigeons, squirrels and all, I don’t care how ugly or unwanted by others

Those bird identification apps are addictive - I often get moaned at for holding up everyone on a walk while I bag a new one! My teenagers call it Pokoman Go for boomers...gotta catch 'em all!

I wish we had a feral peacock!

We get loads of birds. We have a robin family and blackbird family at the minute, and blue tits in our nest box. We also get goldfinches, chaffinches, bullfinches, great spotted woodpeckers, great tits and long tailed tits. And a wren! Plus starlings, wood pigeons, jackdaws and the occasional sparrowhawk. So beautiful to watch!

We have downloaded BirdNet so we can learn their songs.

Ooh, thanks for the bird net heads up.

One bird we often hear in the woods is a chiffchaff, but I've yet to hear one at home. They must be a lot more wary than other birds.

Here he is!

It is Pokemon for boomers

Sparrows - nesting in my thatch!
Blackbirds
Blue tits
Great tits
Song thrushes
Robins a plenty - whole brood of fledglings about at the minute.
Chaffinches
Bullfinches
Several pairs of goldfinches - devouring the nyjer seed at a rate of knots.
A pair of great spotted woodpeckers - they have been coming for ages, but brought their fledglings with them today!
A pair of yellowhammers.
Sparrowhaws are regular passers through - creating carnage as they go, but amazing to watch them zip through the trees and shrubs without coming to grief!
My chickens are spending hours under the bird feeders, scavenging for 'spillage', along with a gorgeous cock pheasant, who has decided to join them!
Have heard a grasshopper warbler, for the last few evenings, in the hedge across the lane.
Owls at night, hooting away for all they are worth.
Have heard a nightjar recently too.
And, this morning, very early, saw not one, but two, cuckoos sitting on the post and rail fence at one end of the garden.