General Chat

Talking of woodpeckers, heres a little tip for you. If you are walking in the woods at about this time of year, pick up a stone and tap it on the trunk of a tree, to make a sound like a woodpecker pecking. You will soon see one taking a look to investigate. It works.

Hi Harry, just seen my first bat flying around. Anyone else seen them?. Hilary (France).

Three more excellent contributions. Not seen a bat in a long while, but I,m sure someone else has...... Happy days

saw 3 female pheasants on sons lawn today.

Saw our first swallow today doing a reccie. Their nests are still here waiting for them so hopefully in the next few days the rest will arrive and bring summer with them!! We have quite a few pied wagtails and grey wagtails this year as well. Whenever I'm in the garden I do have a Mr Robin who watches what I am doing, and I always speak to him. Jxx

Thanks to you all for your lovely replies. Sure I enjoy reading them as much as you do in posting them. Sometimes feel as though I am there. Best wishes Happy days

I have been watching the jays in the wood behind my flat. They have a nest in the ivy on one of the trees. Yesterday the magpie raided their nest, and appears to have taken the one day old chicks. Now the jays have gone quiet. :-(

ok for a city garden we are really lucky! we have blackbirds, a robin, blue tits, wood pigeons, collared doves, at least one jay (beautiful), starlings, sparrows, crows a few ordinary pigeons, geese flying overhead to/from the park, magpies - I love watching the birds :-)) Maz. XX ps - I once asked the pet stall man down the market 'have you got fat balls please??' !!!! roflmao - you can imagine his answer !!!

Nice to see this one resurrected. Seems like a candle in a dark room. My birds are strangely inactive. Not eating the fat-balls at present - obviously there is a more varied diet elsewhere. thanks for your interest. XXX norah, re below. thanks. If you want sparrows I,ve got more than my share. XXX Happy days

Can't believe it answered this thread a couple of weeks ago stating we had very few birds then yesterday sitting in a bush having a great feed were two blue tits and on the grass something like a sparrow with a greeny/yellow breast can't think what they are and guess what a sparrow flying around sparrows here seem to be very scarce, at last the birds seem to be finding our part of the wood Norah

We had swallows over the Easter weekend - they disappeared but some are back today! Robin's nesting in a pile of leylandii clippings - luckily my OH saw them before he took them down to the green-recycling thing at the dump! Seems to be alot of bird activity now - perhaps they were all waiting for the better weather.... Allie x

When I was in the north west of Spain last week, we were surrounded by lovely swallows. Also saw hawks and buzzards....wonderful...I am still trying to lure the birds to my little patio:( BC

Update on the Jays. I have been watching their nest site and no sign of either of them. Seems the magpie won and they have abandoned their nest :-(

I have just come back from Malta where we awoken every morning by farmers shooting wild birds. It is supposed to be illegal now but they still do it brenda

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

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

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

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

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

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