Hobbies and Crafts

Its 23f outside now minus 4.7 blinky cold.
Did you see the Lidl leaflet today - they have some Robin and Bluetit nest boxes, l think for £4.99,l think they are due in next week but check with your own branch as they may vary!! l've thrown the leafletaway now but can find it if anyone wants the price checked! l might get some but we have'nt got many suitable places to put them.

Stephen - we've had a pheasant before aswell, green woodpecker and a wren which we seldom see cause they are so quick and shy. Also a sparrow hawk, he frightened the birds so much a collared dove flew into our window. He sat very still for a few minutes and thenflew off, either to make sure the hawk had gone or to pretend that was the reason when really he was embarrassed!! lol
At the bottom of our garden we have fur tree's about 80-100ft high in neighbours garden, then a road, then a river and fields the otherside so quite picturesque and perfect for birds:o))
Couple of years ago a swan landed in the road, it was summer and the road must have looked wet with that heat shimmer.Fortunately a driver stopped and put him in a garden that leads to the river, we can only assume he was ok! bless him!

Ann - Vic said he saw venus earlier,wellhe thought thats what it was...lol
jude :o)

Lorraine Lol at your name forgetting your brother but remembering the dog. we had a thread on here once about people who'd left babies outside shops. (In the days when prams were parked outside shops).

We had a pied wagtail feeding in the garden this afternoon, have seen them out in the cul de sac but never in the back garden before. He/she didn't seem fazed by all the starlings grubbing around either.

Starlings are strange, we have a large flock that visits and feeds together, then we have one lone starling that eats alone or with the blackbird, never with the other starlings (well I assume it is the same one). I wonder if he was hand reared or something and not accepted by the others in the flock.

hanks for info re the 'star', I saw on another thread it was probably venus.

ann
Glos

I have been feeding the birds for the last 6yrs since moving into this house it makes a nice change from old house where all we had was pidgeons.

Have noticed the same as most of you that they are emptying the feeders much quicker than usual have 3 feeders and a bird table and having to fill up every other day.

We have our resident robins and blue tits that nest in garden each year, we have a pond so we get a great variety including, wagtails, great tits, magpies (noisy sods) doves, wood pidgeons ( posher than town pidgeons) just before christmas we had a pheasant in the garden.

both our cats have bells on their collars which they hate and can't work out why they can't catch any birds, so to get me back they bring in frogs and mice, still alive that they then release in my kitchen!

We also have albino squirrels and a family of foxes at the bottom of the garden.

When we first moved in a kid across the road came over with a cardboard box with 6 little ducklings in they had been walking or waddling up the road towards my house apparently the mother had brought them up to my house regularly to swim in the pond when the house was vacant, i didn't know what to do with these poor things and the cats where licking their lips, phoned the RSPCA and they said just leave them in garden and let nature take it course, but i couldn't so took them round the corner where there is large pond and let them go they swam straight over to who i presume was their mother, well if it wasn't she now has an adopted family.

why she kept bringing them to my pond i don't know maybe she wanted some peace and quiet she had obviously gone back to the large pond and forgotten her kids.Bit like my Nan when she left my brother outside the co-op in his pram didn't realise till she got home , she remembered the dog though!!

This morning we had three goldfinches, a couple of long tailed tits and a pied wagtail as well as our everyday robin, blackbirds, greenfinches and ring necked doves.

A couple of days ago there were two robins feeding very close to each other and I thought that they only put up with other robins in the breeding season. Perhaps they are so cold and hungry that they've called a truce.

There was a very still and almost dead rat in the drive a couple of nights ago. Husband went out and dealt with it.

Sue
x

Thank you Stephen:-))

I would love to feed the local birds, but after seeing my cat take a bird off the pine tree, well he actually leapt at the branch and caught the bird in mid jump, I think I'd better give it a miss..

Hi All,
Just been reading this interesting thread. I to have a bird feeder which I keep topped up with wild bird seed, bought from hardware store & scraps/extra feed on the lawn. Used to have a peanut feeder as well. But the two local squirrels have vanalised that (2nd one).
Ann/Jude, I'm green with envy with the large variety of birds you have visiting you. Was half expecting a partridge in a pear tree at the end of your list Jude.
I get sparrows, a few blackbirds, 3 or 4 blue tits, couple of great tits, pair of collared doves, odd pidgeon & magpie visiting.
The thread has given me ideas to provide more variety, esp the fat balls.

B.C your right it is Venus. Don't recall seeing it that bright before!! Maybe due to being such a clear night.

Steve

It could be Venus, Ann. BC XX

BC, yes if they don't get fed they find somewhere else. Can't see the moon at the moment, can see an extremely bright 'star', which may be a bit more than a star. Anything else visible does anyone know?

Ann
Glos

There is the most beautiful moon with a dramatic ring around it, peeping in my kitchen window, Ann!

I think my little robin was fed up because I wasnt here for a few weeks, havent seen him for ages. But the pigeons still lurk....arghhh

Fat balls now in so we will see if it makes a difference.

Beautiful sunset here, very clear sky and bright stars out already, going to be another frosty one tonight, glad I don't have to go out!

Ann
glos

Good idea about the fat balls, will do that. aah both our neighbour and ourselves have niger seeds out. thanks for that.

Ann xx

My sister feeds the Goldcrest niger seeds, the tiny thistle seeds, they love em:o) the only thing is alot of it goes onto the ground so her hubby is going to put something on the end of feeder to catch seed!!

bring the fatballs in for the night:o))

jude :o) x

Well our neighbours say they saw a goldcrest in their garden which then flew into ours but we haven't seen it so don't know if they are right..

Ours were not so keen on the jacket potatoes but ate them when everything else had gone. still not eating the fat balls though which is strange as usually they are the first to go. I had better check and see if they are frozen or something.


Ann
Glos

Had to join in with this thread:o)

l put 2 jacket spuds out this morning, its all went in a few hrs, l think a squirrell might have helped though. Between me and OH they have been fed 4 times today, twice yesterday.
We usually have 4 6 prs of blackbirds, 4 - 5 starlings, 1 -2 dunnock, 2 robins, have had 4 -5 prs chaffinch, but only 2 prs at moment. Sparrow,blue tits, great tits,coal tits, 1 nuthatch, a number crows, jackdaws and a couple of magpies.4 - 8 Woodpigeons and 4 - 8 collared doves and occassionally a woodpecker the lesser spotted one. Also have 2 squirrels at the moment,
Hubby has a telescope thingy which is usually fixed on the nuts :o))

jude :o) xx

Well something has been to the bird table as there is some food knocked to the floor but I have just put out a moistened crust of oat bread on to the ground in case the blackbirds come along and want something a little fresher than the stuff that has been there for a day!

I have never seen a sparrow hawk round here and there is a field at the end of the garden with loads of trees across the other side of it - gulls circling the field constantly and feeding there so not sure what it happening unless as you say, another person has a better table lol

They are welcome back when they deign to grace us with their presence, would love to see our blue tit family that were raised her last summer, I think it was 5 or 6 babies that flew the nest box and we have them on film.

Lizxx

Thank you Glenys, my birds will be very grateful. I had one little robin who would wait patiently outside my kitchen window until I took him some food, he would tap on the window if the bird bath was empty. He would walk beside me as I hung out my washing or went to the bin - haven't seen him lately and I fear the arrival of 4 new cats to the neighbourhood may be responsible.
We have been putting most left-overs out for the birds but I was worried about certain things being unsuitable. The list will go on the front of the fridge and will be most helpful.
Thank you also for the fat ball recipe - the birds love those.

Kathleen

any chance that you have had a visit from a sparrowhawk Liz? That usually frightens them off for a while. Or maybe a neighbour is putting out a lot of food. We had it once for 2 months and it was very eerie without any birds.

Ann
Glos

Well, o.h. said last night he hadn't seen any birds during the previous day and the food is still all on the bird table except that in the feeders and a little on the floor.
Will put out some fresh stuff in the morning as a lot of it there will be frozen now.
Don't know where the birds are gone, it is really strange.

Lizx

I have a Robin who can cling on to peanut feeder just as the Blue-tits do, but two other robins who only feed from bird table or the 'crumbs' on the ground. J*