General Chat

I saw a Red-tailed Kite catch his breakfast this morning. Thanks for the web link Mea. I didn't realise that I was so close to you, living as I do about 40 miles east of Seattle.

Wood pidgeons annoy me. They drink from the birdbath then immediately turn round and crap in it. I'm always having to clean it out. len

Last year a cat got one of my blackbirds but I managed to retrieve it. It had been scalped and was badly shocked. I thought that I would give it some brandy so poured a half a teaspoonful down its throat - and it went out like a light - drunken stupor. I realised later that what I had given it was the equivalent of half a bottle to a human, weight for weight. Anyway, it probably saved it from going into secondary shock which would have killed it. Cat-mauled birds rarely recover. Whilst it was out, I treated the wound and covered it with an anti-bacterial cream. The bird slept it off and woke up after a couple of hours and flew off. It was thriving several days later as I could recognise it by the white dob of ointment on it's head. Len

Hi We have a blackbird which comes to visit my grandaughters rabbit!I see it most days in the pen with the rabbit and quite often it ends up sat in the hutch sharing food from the rabbits bowl. We also have a pair of doves which are drinking from my water feature most days. Happy days. Don (South Yorkshire)

A few years ago a cat came into my garden and killed two adult robins that had a nest in my garage. There were four chicks in it they were quite big so i managed to look after them for two weeks until they were ready to come out of the nest. I was like a mad woman throwing then gently into the air to teach them to fly. I was so proud when they got the hang of it but also sad that they were no longer relying on me. The past two years i have had robins nesting in my garden and they come to my hand to take food, I like to think that they are my baby robins coming to show me that they remember me. I have lots of birds coming to feed in my garden but the robins will always be my favourites.

Hi Harry When do blue tit's nest? Last Year we had them nesting in our box,seen them around but not nesting in box.

Green woodpeckers feeding on front lawn this week and spotted woodpecker on the back (in 27 years they have kept to this routine - well their descendents anyway), visited by a heron last week - husband took net off and did not replace it - one large koi gone - he visited next morning at 6.10 a.m. and landed on fence - but the net was on and yes we have a plastic heron by pond. Doves building nest in our almond tree again, watched the other week a wood pigeon doing a courtship dance - never seen that before - robins, wrens, blackbirds, song thrush, sparrow, wren, nuthatch, blue tits, great tits, long tailed tits, tree creepers and many more visit the garden - costs a fortune as squirrels visit too! We are lucky there is a wood directly behind us.

Good stuff. Keep the stories coming. Mea, Various different birds to watch on your site. I,m a bit of a sucker for robin and black-bird tales, as they are pretty much all I have apart from sparrows. Thanks for your interest happy days

Now that the weather is warmer and I spend more time in the garden, the blackbirds are getting used to me again and gather round to see what tit-bits I will uncover for them. They know where I nest and sometimes peer in the kitchen window from the top of a nearby shrub. len

Hi Harry, My mum has a resident Robin...he has been around for a couple of years. As soon as my mother appears at the back door the Robin appears....he follows her all around the garden chirping away and my mum answering back....waiting for his crushed digestive biscuits and crumbled cheese!! He almosts eats from her hand. It's amazing to watch!! Linda

Thank you girls. Two lovely stories. Mea - that is one good bird site. Happy days

Hi Harry I've got a new addition to my garden this week - a song thrush :-) I think she must have a nest nearby and she keeps appearing from under my llandii bushes with loads of twigs in her mouth :-) I also have loads of blackbirds, starlings, sparrows, blue tits, collared doves and robins visit my garden :-) Karen

Hello all, I sat watching the cormorant catching his breakfast this morning and wondered if he was ever going to surface. He did, and took his small catch onto the bank which is unusual as he usually gobbles it up while still on the water. Next thing was the Kingfisher who had been sat on my washing line flew down and nicked his little eel thing. Felt sorry for one and glad for the other. Denise.

Mea, Harry Fancy a Bald Eagle - green with envy - makes my little gold crest dull reading in comparison - Mea you are very lucky - keep the commentry going. Dorothy

Mea, Have replied to you privately. didn,t then realise you had posted on here. Well done. Best wishes Happy days

Good for you girls. sounds splendid. Repeat something I have said before - always nice to know where someone is posting from. Happy days

Hi Harry, We have some seeds and stuff out for the birds in our garden. We have Green fiches, Chaffinches, collared doves, sparrows. Starlings, Thrushes, larks, and a pigeon with a hole in its chest. When it eats some seeds, they fall thorough the hole. Really weird it is. The collared doves just moon and luvvy all over one another. Blue Tits, coal tits and come June we will have a couple of Gold Finches. Beautiful. By the way Harry I'm in Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. Anne

Harry We live near a river and have had ducks and a heron visit us. Regular garden visitors are blackbirds {mr & Mrs} and a robin and nesting, though I haven't found the nest, are a couple of wrens. Haven't seen any starlings or sparrows, which used to be the birds in the garden when I was a little girl. Now my mother is plagued by magpies. nell

Thanks for the latest replies. Seems we win some and lose some. My garden is very quiet at the moment. The blackbirds are the active ones and I must say I like their mixture of friendliness and shyness. (close, but not that close). Been in the garden for most of the day - no sign of my robins - most unusual, Happy days

No doubt that won't be helped by the bird flu scares. It'll just give them another excuse to carry on shooting.