Our Garden Birds

[grindle]

I love these birds, they are very shy, one usually appears in the winter here

[SueA]

I didn't see the little thrush yesterday so I'm hoping it's just moved on & not been caught by one of the local cats!

[Andrew]

I have a blackbird who comes and sits on the fence or shed when I'm in the garden, and sings to me until I open the shed and put some mealworms on the ground for her. She's down on the ground before I put the container back in the shed and lock the door!

[Eli]

There have been lots of Red Kites and Buzzards around lately, and you can hear them whistling. I often see them but recently there seem to be more of them, and more often too. 

[seaburn]

I have a female blackbird with a distorted wing, we affectionately call Mrs D. She fledged 5 years ago so she is doing really well. She will tap on the kitchen window if we don't go and put suet out for her. for the last 3 years she has reared 2 broods each year.

[Cherry]

The birds near me are interesting in many ways, if you like crows. They are building nests high in the very tall oak trees in the oak wood at the back of my house. They are picking fresh twigs from the trees and taking them to build untidy fresh nests, or revamp old ones. This happened all at once, so I expect the eggs will be laid all at the same time too. They never come to ground level and always stay high, but are rarely still, always flying short distances around the trees. Does anyone know about crows and their migration habits?

[SueA]

I don't really know much about crows Cherry but we do have a few around here, there are about 3 who hang around in the oak tree behind our garden & in the field at the back but we've only ever had the odd one fly down into the garden. They do chase off the buzzards who fly over as well & I did see one chase off a sparrowhawk from our garden last year but I haven't noticed them nesting nearby, so many of the large trees have been chopped down by neighbours though that there are not many suitable sites.

[Cherry]

The crows own the trees. Some pigeons are using the lower branches near my fence and small birds are now feeding in gardens. Not mine yet, as the garden is not ready. I have got to like the crows which are traditionally unloved.

[SueA]

A greenfinch has started visiting the sunflower feeder over the last couple of days, we very rarely see those here. They have become quite scarce in recent years due to disease but are apparently slowly picking up in number again now. Took a few photos of it through the patio window.

There was a mystery as well when I found a little clump of feathers in the top of a lavatera bush, couldn't decide what they were off & eventually I posted them on a wildlife trust page & someone I.D.d them for me as female mallard breast feathers - probably lost as a result of being pestered by a male which sounds very feasible as we have ducks flying over & sometimes on the back field.

[Cherry]

A small tit like bird with a chestnut breast hits my kitchen window and tries to climb up. It is quite upsetting and I have tried moving a plant to the shelf there to give a more solid background to the clear glass. I don’t know what else I should do.

[Cherry]

I have just looked it up and it is a great tit. Very pretty.

[grindle]

lovely to see a greenfinch SueA I used to have a lot in my last garden, but like you haven't seen one for years

it's so difficult with windows and birds Cherry especially when the young ones have fledged they don't seem to see the danger so easily, that's the only thing you can do really just try and disguise the space

[SueA]

We usually have young collared doves, starlings & woodpigeons flying into the windows with a thump when they're young but they all seem to be fine & fly off, it's horrible when it happens though. If the little bird keeps fluttering at the window Cherry it could be actually trying to pick insects or spiders webs off the glass & frame. We get longtail tits, sparrows, robins etc. who fly at the window & pick things off them, some of them use spiders webs to help build their nests. The sparrows & longtail tits were all flitting around on the patio yesterday looking for bugs on the clematis & wisteria.
This is a very out of focus photo I snatched when a longtail tit was picking cobwebs/bugs off the patio door glass in 2019


& this is one yesterday on the wisteria outside the patio doors.

[SueA]

We have a proud sparrow mum in the garden now with 2 little fledglings who are keeping her busy feeding them.

[grindle]

Lovely photos SueA I never have my camera at the ready I've noticed quite a few fledglings around the garden this year