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Post by cowslip on Feb 2, 2012 22:40:15 GMT
Saw a most unusual sight today, at least for me it was as I have never ever seen this before. A robin was feeding on the ground while a bluetit was busy above its head on the farball feeder. The tit flew off and the robin which had been watching it flew up and clung to the fatball feeder and had some of the fatball. It then flitted round to the peanut feeder about 18" away and had a go at that. Now this may well be quite common but I have never seen it before today which was bitter cold. Recently I have noticed that 1 of the robins in our garden has learned to get onto the feeder which contains niger seed. I have never seen this before. I have 1 robin who comes to the bird table every morning when I go out and waits until I put out the suet pellets and then eats a good few of them while I stand there. It knows that the other birds stay away while I am there so it can get a good supply. I have also noticed that the blackbirds have learned to cling onto the feeders that contain sunflower hearts. |
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Post by merlin on Feb 3, 2012 6:35:21 GMT
How did the talk at the WI go Cherry?
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Post by Cherry on Feb 3, 2012 10:06:13 GMT
Thanks for asking Merlin. It was very interesting. Lakenheath is only 12 miles from here, and we are close to Welney wetlands. There is another area being prepared next to us here at Southery too. The talk did not mention garden birds, but concentrated on cranes, bitterns and the rare golden orioles. Three cranes flew over Southery yesterday travelling from Lakenheath to Welney, but I missed them.
The RSPB was started as a protest against Victorian ladies wearing the grebe crested feathers on their hats.
I have pics in a leaflet showing the flowers in the wetlands, and some of them are ones which I have in my dykes, so I am pleased about that. The purple loosestrife is the prettiest.
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Post by Cherry on Feb 5, 2012 16:17:25 GMT
Now that the ground is covered completely with heavy snow, the birds have gone mad around the feeders and the robins were actually coming to the house to find me. They had to find my husband instead as my back is a little bit on the 'iffy' side. He had to clear a path and somewhere for the ground feeders to feed. He gave them a bowl from the house for water as he could not find their big water bowl under the snow. He cut up the apples and the blackbirds were actually flying away carrying 1/4 of an apple in their beaks. They did not want to share it. They get oats and currants also, so they must have water.
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Post by esther on Feb 5, 2012 16:31:04 GMT
The Heron has been sitting on the roof of the house at the bottom of the garden again and we had a flock of Long - Tailed and Blue Tits in the garden this morning ;D
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Post by wildlifefriendly on Feb 5, 2012 17:09:26 GMT
That sounds like an interesting talk Cherry. How amazing that the RSPB we know today started how it did. Esther, does the Heron try to get your fish? I know you have the pond covered but they are tenacious birds, a net never stopped the herons around here.  Friday we had eight robins around the feeders, they are very territorial so some of them must have traveled a distance. |
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Post by merlin on Feb 5, 2012 20:10:30 GMT
Heron's are pretty smart, they a salmon fish farm covered their pools with netting so the Herons grouped together to weigh down the net.
Cherry a few weeks back I listened to a prog about a Emma Taylor wildlife photographer in fen Country very interesting indeed.
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Post by merlin on Feb 5, 2012 20:14:35 GMT
Thanks for asking Merlin. It was very interesting. Lakenheath is only 12 miles from here, and we are close to Welney wetlands. There is another area being prepared next to us here at Southery too. The talk did not mention garden birds, but concentrated on cranes, bitterns and the rare golden orioles. Three cranes flew over Southery yesterday travelling from Lakenheath to Welney, but I missed them. The RSPB was started as a protest against Victorian ladies wearing the grebe crested feathers on their hats. I have pics in a leaflet showing the flowers in the wetlands, and some of them are ones which I have in my dykes, so I am pleased about that. The purple loosestrife is the prettiest. I have lots of P Loosestrife cos it's beautiful. |
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Post by esther on Feb 6, 2012 15:01:36 GMT
That sounds like an interesting talk Cherry. How amazing that the RSPB we know today started how it did. Esther, does the Heron try to get your fish? I know you have the pond covered but they are tenacious birds, a net never stopped the herons around here. Friday we had eight robins around the feeders, they are very territorial so some of them must have traveled a distance. WLF - the Heron seems to like looking at the huge swimming pool in the garden of the house it likes sitting on ! ;D He has been on our extension roof a couple of times  |
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Post by SueA on Feb 7, 2012 10:52:23 GMT
We had 2 tiny goldcrests in the garden yesterday flitting about, couldn't get a photo though. They're all appearing now it's colder again & the RSPB birdwatch is over! ;D
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Post by Louise on Feb 7, 2012 14:07:38 GMT
I saw 1 here last winter, never before and not since |
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Post by wildlifefriendly on Feb 7, 2012 19:31:58 GMT
We had 2 tiny goldcrests in the garden yesterday flitting about, couldn't get a photo though. They're all appearing now it's colder again & the RSPB birdwatch is over! ;D Lucky you, do you have fir trees close by?. I've only ever seen one in the garden and then only briefly, a few years ago a young one got stuck in the greenhouse, I let it go and never saw it again.  |
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Post by SueA on Feb 8, 2012 10:48:47 GMT
Aww, that does look quite a young one W.F. We have a few different conifers in the garden & they like investigating them popping in & out of the branches. I don't see them often usually just a few times each winter & rarely at other times of the year.
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Post by Louise on Feb 12, 2012 8:53:55 GMT
 I've made 2 discoveries in the past week or so ....... 1) the bird tearing the leaves on my evergreen lonicera (front garden, on obelisk) is a blackcap  2) the bird that has a song/call that sounds just like a squeaky gate/sign/whatever is a dunnock !!!!! It's taken a few years but now i know who's doing what  Actually, there's a 3rd ;D Bluetits are nesting in the teeny-tiniest gap under a tile on my neighbours roof Shhhhh  ;D
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Post by peony on Feb 12, 2012 10:29:55 GMT
I've made 2 discoveries in the past week or so ....... 1) the bird tearing the leaves on my evergreen lonicera (front garden, on obelisk) is a blackcap 2) the bird that has a song/call that sounds just like a squeaky gate/sign/whatever is a dunnock !!!!! It's taken a few years but now i know who's doing what Actually, there's a 3rd ;D Bluetits are nesting in the teeny-tiniest gap under a tile on my neighbours roof Shhhhh ;D You've taught me something this morning Louise, I wondered which bird was making that sound too ;D I like Dunnocks, they take the place of sparrows around here, busy little brown birds  |
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I've made 2 discoveries in the past week or so .......
