OMG my garden's full of birds!

[JellySlice]

It's raining, but the garden is full of birdsong!

There is a blackbird pair foraging under the trampoline, a grumpy robin in a shrub on one side keeps dive-bombing out then fleeing back, some other birds that I can't identify in another shrub on the other side, starlings grazing across the lawn, and, most exciting of all, three coal tits in a little potted olive tree right by the window! They keep flying out and perching on the brickwork where I can see them.

AIBU to be totally, bonkersly, besotted?

I am worried about our chaffinch. We used to have a pair turning up every now and then, but recently it's only ever the female. I think her cock may have fallen off his perch.

we've have been treated to a lovely pair of Bramblings over the last week or so. That's a first we think for here.

Unfortunately theres also a large female Sparrowhawk taking a significant interest in the bird tables. We've not witnessed her catch anything yet but shes definitely on the hunt.

This morning's visit

I love watching the birds too - robins, sparrows, Willy wagtails, blue tits, thrushes. We have a forest opposite, behind a big field and it is always filled with crows. I am probably in a minority but I just love crows!!

@AmethystRaven I wonder if we’re in the same Midlands town. I had a similar experience of a little egret flying over my car (was also thrilled!) there are a pair of them living on the brook and they were here last winter too.

Not exactly my garden, nor the songbirds we love, but I watched a pair of magpies making their nest yesterday. I was looking out of a friend's bedroom window, and the magpies were high, high up, near the top of a huge tree. Absolutely fascinating.

I had a snipe in my garden once. Very exciting but no idea why - not really a wading kinda place

@Didiusfalco could be! Begins with H and always has roadworks

I love watching the birds too...I bought some feeders from wilko and their suet logs.

We seem to have only small birds..they're very pretty. Think they might be coaltits, and some little ones that look like blue tits.

There are a pair of really aggressive robins who will fight anyone who sits on 'their' tree.

Blackbird peck around the ground, and a few crows come daily. A pair of pigeons come every morning.

I've looked at the bird identifier on the rspb website. Need to have the right page up when the birds are there to compare!

@AmethystRaven in that case there are two Midlands towns with brooks and egrets - how lovely.

I’m wondering now where the previous poster lives whose bird feeder is being dominated by a red squirrel and a woodpecker? I think I would be beside myself with excitement if that happened in my garden

Lovely thread!

I'm quite jealous of the variety!

I have 20-30 house sparrows and starlings visit in the spring. A jackdaw and a Raven. A lot of seagulls and pigeons who steal from the top basket on the feeder pole. A robin and a pair of blackbirds as my regulars.

I had a couple of visits from a greenfinch and also a yellow wagtail last year but that's as exotic as my suburban garden gets.

I've just had my first ever fieldfare in my suburban SE garden. Such a beautiful bird

Took me by surprise as it was eating berries from the pyracantha outside the kitchen window. All fluffed up like an owl!

We occasionally see fieldfares as well Ginger but the really unusual one this week for us was a Mistle Thrush which are very similar. I initially mistook it for a fieldfare only to be swiftly corrected by DP.

Our kitchen table overlooks the bird tables we don't just sit around looking at birds all day

Didius I managed to get a picture of one of the squirrels yesterday, it was digging around in the snow picking up pieces of nuts that had been dropped by the birds.

I live on a farm which is also on top of an un-gamekeepered fell so we have a ridiculous amount of wildlife passing through our garden.

How did I not know about this thread! How fabulous, I love wildlife.

DH and I have seen our first fieldfares today! We had to use the RSPB identifier (which is ace) to check what they were. I am thrilled to have seen a new bird! The harsh weather drives them into gardens apparently. They are red status so quite rare. We have put apples, suet, sultanas and a few crumbled digestives out and have been inundated with blackbirds, magpies, jays and crows all trying to find food, poor things.

Our garden is usually mobbed by huge flocks of house sparrows that love sunflower seeds and fat balls, and we are sometimes visited by a lovely green woodpecker. I have a feeder right outside the living room window that is frequented by gorgeous goldfinches and greenfinches. Again, fat balls and sunflower seeds very popular with them. I make sure I put food on the table too for birds that can't hang on feeders. I've been trying to keep the bird bath liquid but it freezes as soon as I turn my back.

I saw another new bird at my local park the other week- a mistle thrush. Again, red status so not many of them about. I only noticed it because of the football rattle type noise it was making! The RSPB identifier came in useful for that one too.

Scrowy may I ask where you live? It is an ambition of mine to see a red squirrel, they're such enchanting creatures. You're very lucky to have them in your garden

we don't just sit around looking at birds all day

You say that like it would be a bad thing.

Also, squeeee!

This handsome devil was hunting under the feeders yesterday

We heard our first curlew of spring this week we will be inundated in a few weeks.

I am very jealous of you Scrowy, having a red squirrel!

Reds are really very common around here and not unusual at all, but we have seen a lot more of them this year than usual, not sure if that's because there are more of them or because they have become tamer due to a local red squirrel group setting up lots of feeding points.

There were a few feral cats around as well who were preying on them but they were ... dispatched... over summer.

Red squirrels aren't necessarily always a good thing though they do eat little birds eggs and chicks, I think they are worse than greys for it.

Lemonade I'm in the very North of the North of England, it's practically Scotland but if you are ever up this way give me a shout and I will point you in the direction of some of the little blighters.

Thank you Scrowy! We are actually planning a road trip to Scotland via Carlisle hopefully this year!

If you are in the South East the British Wildlife centre near East Grinstead has a fantastic lot. Great day out.

Another bird enthusiast here. I was never interested until we moved a couple of months ago. Now our regulars are the usual tits and sparrows, three fighting robins, three chaffinches, flock of long tailed tits, two great spotted woodpeckers that seem to always be hanging of the nut feeder, dunnock, blackbirds, two jays that only come when kids are not at home, a wren, two nuthatches and a herron that visits our pond.

Yesterday like others have mentioned too we had a rare visit from fieldfares and a massive flock of starlings land on the feeders. Normally they just delight us with their murmurations on the field but this time they paid us a visit and totally overcrowded the feeders. We also have sparrowhawk and two buzzards but they don't come in the garden.

I don't actually mind our lonely squirrel. I leave him alone when he comes on the feeders. When he gets a bit greedy and overstays his welcome I tap on the windows and he hops across the paddock and climbs into his nest that's on top of a massive, old tree. I even get excited about the squirrel and his nest never mind the deer that sometimes pass the paddock.

But definitely could have never thought how excited I could get about the birds. Can't wait to see if we get any swift's/swallows.

4 way finch action! Greenfinch, bullfinch and goldfinch on the feeders simultaneously with Mrs Chaffinch pecking up the scraps.

Bloody kids had my phone for the Anki so I missed getting the pic.