Hobbies and Crafts

I tied some fat balls on the forsythia to keep them out of reach of the squirrels - it was amazing to see the queues of birds lining up along the branches awaiting their turn. As each bird flew off so another took it's place, at first it was mostly starlings and then a couple of robins and coal-tits. I'm not good at identifying some of the birds though.
I have recently finished putting together a bird feeder and nest boxes (to replace the makeshift feeders), would be wonderful if we get tenants for the nesting boxes the birds really seem to like the feeding trays so keeping my fingers crossed.
Oddly enough the baked potatoes I put out were ignored - perhaps they were not very tasty !!

Kathleen

We used to get quite a few bullfinches when we lived in Bedfordshire and we had a hawthorne bush in the garden. We do get long tailed tits but they were conspicuous by the absence on the weekend.

You all made me run for my book when you woundered about the bullfinches yes we have got quite a few here, and now we have got a few of the longtailed tits, garden is full of birds here today and its wt damp and foggy and now I wish it was spring time so that it would bet warmer.

Ann.....snap:o))

Most probably ;o) its always the same here aswell...thats partly why l wanted to do a count on another day.

jude:o)

Hiya

Was watching the starlings this morning greedily grabbing bread and chucking it everywhere, no wonder the dog makes a bee line for the ground below the bird table!!

3 male blackbirds were on lawn chasing one another, a few chaffinchs are about the 2 robins and a sparrow.
Quite damp and gloomy here.

jude:o)

what is very strange is that since I did the count at the weekend I have not seen the thrush again or the sparrow hawk and neither has another seagull landed on the bird table. were they all having a laugh!!!!

Hiya
Back this afternoon from weekend away:o)

l did'nt get my form done in the end, l realised the form l printed was for counting not posting, was going to add the list l did in the week and then thought l had time to do a proper one on Saturday am before we left, but we had a visitor at 9am till 10am and we wre supposed to leave at 10am.........l have no idea what birds were in garden in the end:o((

Hope to get back to normal in the morning, the birds were'nt fed all weekend:o((

Bell....20 bullfinches!!!! :o) l think we have had one pr here in 6yrs

Gaille....that poor little man!! lol

Stray....can't remember if there is another count or not...think not!!

jude :o)

but 20 bullfinches Bellaire, some years since I saw even one. well done!

Here a count of the birds I did today
Dunnocks = 4
Yellow Hammers = 8
Bullfinches = 20
Robins = 5
Sparrows = 15
Blue Tits = 3
Great tits = 1
Blackbirds = 4
Starlings = 8
Phesants = 5
Coal tits = 2
Not as many as some days

LOL Ann,

his mum and I ended up giggling about it, but the poor kid! Sheesh I really must have worried him cos Jill said it was the first thing he said as he walked in the door!

Gaille

Gaille. lol!!!!

ohhh my gosh I think I have just scarred my neighbours son for life!

He comes over sometimes to ask me to help with his homework - his dad works nights and mum admits herself some of his homework defeats her............

anyway he came over for some help, walked in and while we were talking he said "ymmm something smells nice" .................. hehe typical 9year old boy he thinks via his stomach, and he knows if I have been cooking he is welcome to some...........

lol next question was "what have you been cooking?" ............. ooops! I didnt think and asaid "Garden Bird cake" ............... he didnt say another word about it till we finished.............

5 minutes after he went home my phone rang and it was his mum......... "Ummm Gail, what have you been cooking? cos xxx thinks you have been cooking birds into a cake" .................. lol took me aminute to figure out what she meant - poor kid must have been traumatised!
hehe his mum has gone off to explain to him I havent been COOKING the garden birds, I was making a bird food cake for them!

lol must remember 9 yr old boys have very vivid imaginations!

Gaille

The strange thing is a month ago we had loads of sparrows and a few dunnocks, today 2 sparrows and not a single dunnock. sheer luck the Sparrow hawk, thrush, black cap and pied wagtail made an appearance at the right time. they are usually around most days though.

Hi All....I did my count on Sat afternoon. I'm sure they knew about it as a number of the regulars didn't turn up. My count is now where near Anns impressive total.

House Sparrow 7
Blackbird 3
Blue Tit 2
Dunnock 1
Robin 1
Wood Pidgeon 1
Collared Dove 1

Plus the pesky squirrel (who's always raiding the feeder) turned up at the last minute.

Steve.

Drat!

I have been upstairs sorting papers all weekend (lost the car reg forms and I need them asap lol) and I forgot all about the bird count!

LOL I know there were loads out there too cos I could hear rhem fighting over the food I put out!

Gaille

Well put bird food out this morning ready to count them and guess what not a single bird for 3/4 hour just could not believe my eye and as we had to go out after brekkie could not do the count might try and do it inthe morning.

stray likes ot catch thema nd bring them in to de feather "yuck

yeah kids will have fun too thanks for the idea xxx

It would be a good idea stray to teach them which birds were which. We used to get loads of birds when we had our cat. The bird table we had then had a smooth support so she couldn't climb up it, and she always wore a bell so the birds were warned. She did use to catch birds but only when they were down searching for insects in the summer.

Ann
Glos

sounds really gud but i never get many birds because of the cats
would be somthing to do with the kids up the park as they have lots of different birds coming and going do they only do it once a yr?

mind i cld print the sheets of and do it in the summer with the tiddlers

Stray, you download a chart off the web site so you mark down e.g. one sparrow if it lands. If subsequently 2 sparrows land you increase the total to 2 (i.e. you don't make the one plus the two = 3 because you have already seen one.)

Have you ever tried to count starlings when they are squabbling over scraps???

Ann
Glos