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Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden

300 replies

SheWhoDaresGins · 22/04/2016 09:43

Firstly Mr Pheasant came calling quite literally, so I threw some feed out on the grass for him then in the 30 minutes I was standing at the kitchen window watching him hoover it up I saw...

1 daddy black bird feeding his chick in our conifer trees. The mammy hasn't been seen for nearly a week now so has probably been nabbed by a cat or a sparrow hawk.

Chaffinches having a nosey, having a bit to eat then buggering off.

Every now and then a lesser redpoll turns up then disappears.

A black cap.

Sparrows that have taken up nesting in the swift box we have in the eves.

Several blue tits coming and going.

2 coal tits pulling the fibres off the underlay on top of the guinea pigs hutch. There are little bald patches emerging and now know the culprits.

There have been 6 or so Goldfinches on the sun flower hearts.

There are great tits fighting over the sunflower seeds.

The resident Robin is perched on the edge of the bucket waiting.

Nut hatches swooping in between the great tits and nabbing the seed of its choice and dropping the ones it doesn't want. I think there was a fledgeling on at one point because it didn't seem to know what to do at first but then awkwardly got the gist of it and left happy.

There's a pair of wood pigeons on the ground getting what ever is dropped.

Then there is a pair of Dunnocks scratting around in the grass and a little Wren shows it's face every now and then.

Then the Jack Daws casing the joint to figure out how to get at the seeds but they are too big to fit between the bars on the feeders.

Then to top it off and I love these a pair of long tail tits. Little fluff balls with tails.

I could stand here all day just watching them. Shame I have house work to do really.

Grin
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Mummylin · 28/04/2016 14:47

I'm wondering if the egg has been abandoned or she is just taking a break from caring for it.

Mummylin · 28/04/2016 14:47

Here

Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden
LilaTheTiger · 28/04/2016 14:56

I love this thread! I feel like I've found my people Grin

I'm mildly obsessed with my bird feeder. We have mixed seed, mealworm, peanuts, niger seed and fat balls.

We're very rural, and get tree sparrows, house sparrows, wrens, robins , blackbirds, blue tits, great tits, coal tits, occasionally all the long tailed tits, goldfinches and greenfinches, last week a corn bunting turned up which I was very excited about, and most days we get the woodpecker (pic from December), last year he brought his youngster and showed him how to eat all the nuts in the tube, was fabulous to watch.

We've also got all sorts of owls we hear and occasionally see, sometimes the barn Owl likes to fly along the lane in our headlights which is a treat, next door had an Eagle Owl in a barn!

We've got ravens nesting in our disused kitchen chimney.

DP isn't as obsessed fond of the birds as me, and refused to help me put a roadkill badger on the shed roof so I could get the red kites to come closer. Ooh, and a buzzard turned up last week. He's a beauty.

I wish I was good at photographs!

Last winter we had two baby hedgehogs overwintering in a spare broody coop, but didn't see any out this year. Was hoping the mild winter made it good for them.

Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden
LilaTheTiger · 28/04/2016 15:07

I've been watching the Bournemouth peregrines too. Don't think that egg is going to hatch now, do you?

Mummylin · 28/04/2016 15:10

I desperately want it to but I have my doubts now, but she has just tucked it under her again, what would they do with I wonder, eat it ? Maybe it might happen today. ( fingers crossed ) aren't they amazing birds, I am completely obsessed with them this week. They have nested there for a few years, but this is the first time there has been a camera in there. Our pigeon stock is going down !

LilaTheTiger · 28/04/2016 15:15

I've just sent it to DP who is a teacher, his class will love it!

I was wondering if she'd eat the egg. It will be very far behind the other chicks if it hatches now? And it was out for quite a while this morning.

Mummylin · 28/04/2016 15:17

I would love to have so many different varieties of birds, we occasionally get a Jay, have regular blue tits, sparrows, blackbirds, Collared doves, thrush occasionally , sometimes we have the heron come to visit, and also sometimes a sparrow hawk. We know when he has been because of all the feathers !! We always have foxes and a few years ago we had a hedgehog which eventually bought her babies out so we could see them. I took photos and sent them to the hedgehog society.
We also get the very large dragon flies as we don't live that far from a river, they have the most beautiful coloured wings.

Mummylin · 28/04/2016 15:20

Did you watch the feeding about 20 mins ago ? That's when I took last screenshot

LilaTheTiger · 28/04/2016 15:24

Ooh, a Jay would be a treat :) I've had a nuthatch a couple of times too. Not recently.

Do you get kingfishers on the river? They are in my favourites.

I watched the feeding, did Shock when she swallowed that leg whole!

Mummylin · 28/04/2016 15:43

The river is about ten mins by car from me, that is where the herons come from. I have never seen a kingfisher.and I have only ever seen one owl and that was near our local airport. Yes the thought of eating warm fresh pigeon is a bit ugh for me ! One other thing I get in my garden are slow worms ! They scare me to death as they look like snakes ! I know they aren't but just looking like one is enough for me, my worst nightmare

GerundTheBehemoth · 28/04/2016 15:57

I'm guessing the dragonflies with coloured wings are banded demoiselles (they're actually very big damselflies) - do they look like this? The green one's a female, the blue one a male.

Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden
Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden
GerundTheBehemoth · 28/04/2016 15:59

OR... they could be beautiful demoiselles, a related species - a bit rarer and likes small fast stony rivers (banded likes bigger, slower ones with more vegetation). Here are pics of male and female beautiful demoiselles - they are my favourite insects - just stunning colours :)

Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden
Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden
GerundTheBehemoth · 28/04/2016 16:03

Your woodpecker on the feeder is a girl, Lila - no doubt her fella is around somewhere too. Brilliant to get a corn bunting in the garden! Would love to see a pic of your ravens if you have one.

LilaTheTiger · 28/04/2016 16:30

How can you tell she's a girl Gerund? I like to learn :)

I'll go and stake out the chimney for a bit!

GerundTheBehemoth · 28/04/2016 16:42

Male great spotted woodpeckers have a red patch on the backs of their heads, females don't Grin The fledglings have red crowns when they first leave the nest (which you probably saw last year), but they quickly develop adult-like head plumage.

Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden
Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden
Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden
LilaTheTiger · 28/04/2016 17:16

Thank you! I'll know what I'm looking at now and will be able to tell if there is one woodpecker or two at the nuts.

We don't have ravens in the chimney. We have jackdaws Grin. Bless DP and his "massive black ones". There are ravens about though.

Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden
GerundTheBehemoth · 28/04/2016 17:23

Ah! Jackdaws are just as lovely though. Thanks for the pic Grin

LilaTheTiger · 28/04/2016 17:27

Thank you! I'll know what I'm looking at now and will be able to tell if there is more than one woodpecker at the nuts!

We don't have ravens in the chimney, now I've looked, sorry for the false claim. We have jackdaws Grin Bless DP and his "massive black ones". There are ravens about though, so it could have been.

LilaTheTiger · 28/04/2016 17:29

Mr or Mrs Jackdaw.

Had a lovely 30 minutes watching the birds in the front garden
GerundTheBehemoth · 28/04/2016 18:19

I don't know how to tell them apart... but chances are it's Mr, as the female's probably busy sitting on eggs (she does all the incubation on her own).

Mummylin · 28/04/2016 19:00

I think your first set of pictures are probably what I see. I did used to have a pic on my profile but when we were hacked somehow I got deleted off mumsnet by mistake. They gave me back my name but of course my photos have now gone.
I like that little bird with the red on its head. Dh and I live watching all the animal programmes and the beautiful birds in other countries. They are so colourful.
No egg hatching here. They have just been fed again, that's four times today.

ExitPursuedByABear · 28/04/2016 23:05

Oh we moved. Good. Hate to lose these threads.

BastardDog found his first ducklings of the year this morning so that is us keeping away from water until October. Le sigh.

My owl returns every night, but there is a hailstorm and thunder tonight so he might stay home and keep dry.

Mummylin · 28/04/2016 23:16

I love owls. They had a bird of prey exhibition when we went to a chilli fair. The owl was stunning.

Mummylin · 28/04/2016 23:36

Big brother must be watching. I have now got an insurance company advertising insurance for birds of prey on my iPad !

ExitPursuedByABear · 28/04/2016 23:42

Spooky.