Hobbies and Crafts

What, inside the baffle? I would complain to the makers then because it doesn't work!!!

Jane, we had a great holiday, we were at Burton Bradstock, we walked from there to West Bay (3 miles each way) partly along the cliff, partly on the beach. The weather was great, the beach was packed the first weekend and the shop almost ran out of ice cream. went to Abbotsbury gardens, Broadwinsor craft centre, Lyme Regis, Bridport as well, really enjoyed it all and a lovely apartment right on the cliff top.

I agree with you Ann - I like the squirrels too but they just go through the bird food so fast and there's plenty other in the garden for them. However, having added the squirrel baffle to the pole I opened the curtains this morning to see a squirrel in the same place as ever - nabbing all the bird food. So that was a waste of time and money! Flip...

Ann I don't remember if I asked if you enjoyed your holiday in Dorset?
Was it West Bay you said ? We didn't go there but I thought Dorset was lovely.

I think if I had a regular squirrel visitor I would put a guard on the feeders but I would also invest in a squirrel feeder as I find them fscinating to watch.

We have a lot of sparrows back, and the bluetits were very active in the garden this morning. we don't get the goldfinches as much now since our neighbours put up goldfinch feeders. No doubt they will return in the winter.

I often can see a squirrel from my bed in the morning .He sits on top of a tree stump which is about 30ft high lol.I can watch it scurry up the side and perch on the top of it.
I had a lovely wren sat on my kitchen window sill earlier.I really must keep my camera to hand.

Now we have a little tune playing when the birds are at the seeds as the dropped ones hit the baffle.

Lizzie ,the squirrels are busy digging holes in the lawn to bury their conkers or what ever it is.Probably all our hazelnuts.We have never yet had one for ourselves!!!

That's it. We've finally succumbed to putting a squirrel baffle on the feeder. We managed to tolerate them for a year as we don't really mind them and where we are there's plenty of space for everything. But within half an hour of re stocking the seed feeder a couple of them had emptied it. We were lucky we got one half price and even then we thought it was expensive. The birds will still spill some so they'll still get their fair share.

As the weather forecast said it's another lovely day (but the garden got some rain yesterday at last - can't believe after this summer I'd be saying that!) so we're off out for a walk and pick some more sloes. I should really wait for a frost but it seems it may be later coming this year and I don't want to lose out. And I'm impatient!

Lots of sparrows eating the suet, plus the usual starlings. Great tits and blue tits eating the seeds, blackbirds enjoying a bath in the water feature, certainly more activity now.

Ann
Glos

Having moved her just about a year ago it seems like now is the time to see the deer on the farmland the other side of the river as I've seen them most mornings this week when I've opened the curtains. I suppose once the houses this side of the river have all woken up there's too much human activity for them to be evident later in the day.

The birds are going through the food we put out much quicker again now, so I need to make another fat ball already. We had some kind of wagtail at the bottom of the garden this morning - we haven't noticed them before in the garden though we've seen them around when we've been out for walks.

It seems a good harvest for fruits and berries this year so I wonder if that's a clue that it's going to be another hard winter?

I heard the woodpecker having another go at the fence panel yesterday. I can't believe how bold it is as I was able to put my finger on our side of the fence like my son did the other day. But I'm not tall enough to lean over and see it. I think I'd make too much of a disturbance if I tried and I wouldn't have a hope. Son is 6'4" - he has at least 6" over me and he was able to lean his head very carefully and quietly into next door's bushes.

It was our first misty morning today but it's burnt off now to another gorgeous day. This morning when I got up I saw a deer in the farmers field over the back. I haven't seen any for months so that was a treat.

I saw a couple of robins having a bust up over territory in the wild area on the other side of the river a couple of days ago. And the ducks that come for feeding are 2 ducks and 6 drakes and one or two of the drakes are a bit aggressive with each other.

We are getting more birds again now, the sparrows are back and we have two or three male blackbirds in the garden at once, the goldfinches are around plus blue tits, Great tit, robin Dunnock and starlings, and, of course the doves. OH thought he saw a black cap yesterday as well on the feeder.

Poor Ianto, must be frustrating for him not being able to do what he used to do.

Hello Everyone,
As the days get shorter, the birds seem to get hungrier, although there are still plenty of bugs about. Many of the regular birds are waiting for me to replenish the feeders in the mornings.
A squirrel visits most days, his acrobatics are most amusing, also a cute little field mouse has taken to mopping up spilt seed beneath the feeders.
The starlings that nested in the eaves are back roosting up there at night, I don't know if they are the parents, or the new brood, even all of them.

The resident flock of hooligan jackdaws continue to infuriate me, but the magpies seem to have disappeared. There are now three buzzards regularly overhead, they seem to come down off the mountain around midday, maybe a breeding pair with this years baby. I thought the red kites were back, but haven't seen one in over a week.
I heard three owls this evening, just after dusk, two were tawny owls, the other may have been a little owl, going by the call.

Haven't seen the swallows in over a week, maybe they have gone?

Yanto continues to get more geriatric, poor old chap. He is having increasing difficulty jumping into the back of the car. He no longer lifts his back legs high enough. I will try making a ramp for him to walk up, but I'm sure he won't use it - he is very suspicious of anything new.

I hope everyone is well. I read all your posts with great interest.

Regards to all,
Tec.

There seems to be more birds at the feeder lately so the food's going quicker. I made a fat ball in a coconut shell only the other day and I already need to make another one. We had a lamb roast in our garden recently for a big celebration and I now have a huge tub of fat that ran off it in the shed that the man was going to get rid of.

I saw your picture of the starlings on the blog Von. That really took me back a few years. I think the Canada geese must have started their long journey as I haven't seen or heard them fly over the past few days.

I started a new job on Tuesday for 2 and a half days a week which I'm enjoying but yesterday morning as I was going round shutting windows and locking up I saw the swans go by on the river from my bedroom window and I just didn't have time to go out and say hello. They still have 6 cygnets - nearly as big as their parents now but still evenly grey. Soon they'll start to look scruffy as their feathers change. We haven't seen this family as regularly as last year's family but they are kind enough to pop by when we have guests - must put in a booking for tomorrow. I wonder if the kids will be ASBOs like last year's lot, they were so greedy when we were feeding them. While we shared out food they'd peck the toes of your shoes on the bankside if they thought they'd missed out.

And we haven't seen the coots and moorhens much since they had their chicks in early summer, although I saw one on its own this morning but it was being hooshed away by some ducks.

It's been gorgeous weather to spend time outside the past week so, hope it holds for my friends visiting tomorrow for their first time here.

I don't know what going on here this morning!! All the birds are going a bit crazy.My roof was covered in starlings and they have flicked lots of bits of moss down on the drive and patio.Now there seem to be a few wagtails up there doing the same thing,and finches are flying around like they have the wind up their tails lol
Also lots of purple bird poo lol

I am surprised the woodpecker didn't scarper,they are easily scared off.I still haven't managed to get a decent photo of our one.It just needs to spot a slight movement and it is gone.
Our one was hopping around merrily on the lawn yesterday for a while.It does make me smile as I think it is quite comical.

It's quite a sight to see the Heron flying in isn't it DizzieLizzie, although we always saw it in daylight when it visited our pond.
I realised they were not Goldcrests when I read Anns post again and added an edit on.
Last few weeks we have the Rooks back, they make a racket twice a day both going and coming home. We used to hear them on their way home at other house, now they must live close to us as they fly round for quite a long time before all going off together for the night.

Caz

When I woke at 6 this morning I decided to look out of the window as it was not fully light. The other day when I woke then I could still hear owls calling so I thought maybe I'd be lucky to see one. I wasn't but the heron flew across all the neighbouring gardens looking for his breakfast stop. That was quite a sight in the half light.

Also yesterday my son and I could hear a knocking on wood half way down the garden. We went to investigate and it was coming from one remaining fence panel between us and a neighbour. Over the years trees and hedge have grown up so the fence became redundant and not replaced as it gave up. Son was tall enough to lean right over and look. Somehow he didn't disturb a little lesser spotted woodpecker having a go at the fence for some reason - perhaps he was practising. He could even put his finger on our side of the fence in the corresponding place and feel the knocking on the other side. Little thing must have been concentrating so hard it didn't fly away even though we were both so close.

I am pretty certain they were not goldcrests Caz. Can't find them in the bird books either but I think that is because they were juvenile 'something's' one of the warblers we think maybe! Pity we couldn't get photos