Watching birds (and other wildlife) in the garden

[FleetwoodRaincoat]

Not sure if this is the right place to post but I couldn't see a wildlife thread anywhere.

I've been really enjoying watching birds in our garden over the past year. I've put up several feeders, a bird box, built a little wildlife pond etc.

For the past few days I've been watching a pair of blue tits going in and out of the nest box. At the moment they seem to be going in then throwing stuff out, rather than building a nest.

Anyone else interested in what's going on in their garden?

Good morning. I love this thread and have been lurking since it started. I was just about to make my entrance with a dramatic first post question about the mystery of my missing bird feeder and whether it could have been nicked overnight by a Jackdaw or angry Pigeon. Was seconds away from hitting ‘post’ when informed that the bird feeder was in fact on the grass and had probably been blown off as it had just done the same again since being replaced.

So feeling slightly anti climatic now I’ve decided to post anyway

We have a gorgeous resident Robin who is my soul mate from a previous life fave and a variety of tits, some small as yet unconfirmed brown birds - possibly long tailed tits, some blackbirds, fat pigeons and beautiful starlings. Yesterday for the first time I saw a Jackdaw (my would be thief) who sat menacingly next to the bird feeder a few times.

It's become an obsession. We have regular pheasant, a pair of partridges who spend all day bumbling around a row of gardens, blue tits, great tits, long tailed tits, sparrows in the front garden, collared dives, woodpigeons and goldfinches regularly. We also get crows, magpies, starlings and one rook and one pied wagtail a couple of times a week. We've seen a Jay and a woodpecker once. One night I was outside the back door and a snowy owl flew past me.
Its like a soap opera out there.

Here is one of our Starlings. They nest in the neighbour’s fascia/guttering. I was not previously familiar with them and had no idea how beautiful their coats are - mixed metallics. This one regularly sits on the fence near my kitchen and sings his heart out. Very distracting when I’m trying not to burn dinner!

sproutfan your busy made me smile. Totally agree with Robin soulmate!

Does anyone know what's a reasonable refill time for a seed feeder?

We got one for sunflower hearts recently. It's got a weight limit on it so closes off for squirrels (who don't seem interested) and heavy birds (although the bastard parakeets seem to be not quite heavy enough). Mainly we get goldfinches, sparrows, tits and occasionally the odd robin. I refilled it at the weekend and it's almost empty today! Is that normal? Or is this evidence of an unintended visitor?

By contrast we have a fat ball feeder (in a cage so really only small birds can get in) which is very popular but I only need to refill the balls once a month max?

Post not busy!

I’d say that was fairly standard @Cavagirl they do get through the seed quickly, especially at the moment when there are babies to feed.

I work part time in the school kitchen and brought home the left over jacket potatoes yesterday- they are currently being devoured by a huge gang of starlings. They are much less wasteful than the kids at school!

I’ve managed to get the squirrel that visits us regularly to start taking nuts from my hand. She now stares at me through the patio doors so I’m not quite sure what I’ve started there.

@Cavagirl

sproutfan your busy made me smile. Totally agree with Robin soulmate!

Does anyone know what's a reasonable refill time for a seed feeder?

We got one for sunflower hearts recently. It's got a weight limit on it so closes off for squirrels (who don't seem interested) and heavy birds (although the bastard parakeets seem to be not quite heavy enough). Mainly we get goldfinches, sparrows, tits and occasionally the odd robin. I refilled it at the weekend and it's almost empty today! Is that normal? Or is this evidence of an unintended visitor?

By contrast we have a fat ball feeder (in a cage so really only small birds can get in) which is very popular but I only need to refill the balls once a month max?

That sounds reasonable for a feeder full of sunflower hearts. They're easier to eat than ones with husks, I suppose, and goldfinches and some of the tits will often arrive in large numbers.

Thanks errol and squiz! I guess we'll just have to stock up!
Sadly the tits no longer seem to be visiting the bird box think we'll give it a day or two to be sure then go and have a look at what's in there.
How are yours doing @Thirstquenching ?

cavagirl
Alot of noise and alot of in and out from the parents. Waiting till the end of the week to take another peek

Had a sneak peek and it seems one is dead

Lovely thread.

cavagirl We fill our seed-feeders at least twice a day! We're eaten out of house and home but we have a fair-size garden and tons of birds - bluetits, great tits, occasional visits from long-tailed tits, as well as a very hungry pair of nuthatches. They all go for black sunflower seeds, won't touch the sunflower hearts. We get nyjer seeds for the goldfinches but they're not averse to the sunflower seeds either.

We've got a nesting pair of robins who now come down and wait by the back door for me to throw suet pellets down for them. The male feeds the female; it's 'courtship feeding', which birds do when they're nesting and incubating eggs. Really fascinating to see.

The progress so far

I have been trying to get a video of the noise the baby birds are making but I swear they know when I'm lurking

Got a video but can't seem to upload it to here

Love this thread... thought I was becoming weird! But I love watching the birds

So we have a thrush that nests every year and shows her fat teen around to hunt for food and buggers off 😂 so They hang around fir a while and eat everything they can find.

This year there are robins nesting in the ivy... first there was a broken egg, she was flirting in and out feeding the crying chicks... then we found a dead one, then another, no there's only 1 chick left!

They've not been eaten or attacked... I think she's hoofed them out! Or have they just fallen out? I've no idea!

Oh I love this thread!
Still no action around our box so I'm pretty sure that's that sadly.
Anyone with boxes or nests if you want to do your bit for science you can record them with the British Ornithological Society who track data on nests each year www.bto.org/our-science/projects/nesting-neighbours

We had a Great tit with her babies on the feeder this morning.

I am proud to have finally got a little robin in the garden!!

One of my garden visitors.

So @Pilcrow would you say the soft underbelly of your nuthatch was the colour of cinnamon or chestnut?
We too are blessed with these beautiful birds, but if that is the only way to tell the difference, we are avoiding pronouns as our colour perception agreement is rubbish

Tricky one, @indignatio! I think I'd incline to cinnamon myself.....

@Pilcrow congratulations, you have a girl. Well according to my book from the 1970s which I have consulted endlessly over the last 14 months

Very interesting @indignatio, I'll definitely look more attentively to try and gauge the colour difference because we have a pair. But I don't think I've ever seen them close together, or even nearby on the same branch....the other day one was on the feeder and the other on top of the wall. If only they'd obligingly pose side by side!

I think there must be sparrow babies in the nest overlooking our front door, in next door's eaves because I can't go outside without being shouted at by the grownups. Noisy buggers!

Spotted an unusual ladybird while I was bringing in the washing, this evening. They tend to live near coniferous woodland and ours is all deciduous, so it must have been attracted to the neighbours' monkey puzzle trees.

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