Hobbies and Crafts

Well I don't believe it!!!!
A pheasant has just landed on my studio (large shed) roof.
Ran to get camera but it moved along the fence into next door.
No idea where it has come from.
Take care
Von

Thanks for putting them on Jude.

Yehh, we had a woodpecker on the fence, for a few minutes anyways....Madoc put a stop to that visit, hope he comes back. It was the black/white/red one:o)

More photo's on my blog....from AnnGloucs

jude :o)

Interesting note about the woodpeckers Simon. They were going at it hammer and tongs round here yesterday, I could hear them pretty constantly all day, and it got flippin' cold again last night. This morning we have a heavy frost and it's misty (you can actually see the droplets hanging in the air through the windows) though the sun is trying to come through. Oh, and about the siskins and the Garden Birdwatch timing too.

Von, I think you're right about the green woodie. We tend to get one coming after OH has mowed, we have an occasional ant problem in the lawn and I'm pretty sure it helps to keep that to manageable proportions. Since woodie visits for the grubs it makes us fairly loath to eradicate the ants completely.

l don't think mine were siskins or greenfinches:o((
Weare hearing more bird song, but ones l don't recognise.
3 buzzards flew over yesterday, calling and swooping, l watched them for ages:o)
ll have put a photo on blog of the goosanders, can't really see in the photos if they have a hooked beak though.

Simon....how cute is that dunnock:o) could you take a photo, l'll send the blog thingie if you want


jude

I notice the Birdsong early in the morning too now Linda.I love lying in bed listening to them all.
I can't believe how fast the food is going.I put a new suet cake in the flat cage thing yesterday and it has virtually gone now !!Why have they started to feed like mad now?
I don't know what a Goosander is so will have to look it up.

Waking to birdsong in the mornings now. Love this time of the year.
We also have siskins here in Berkshire.
Today have seen Tits various, finches too, Magpies, Wood pigeons and a Jay. Rather wet so seeing these from my seat in the lounge or at the table when I had dinner, before hubby went to work.
Promise of a nicer day tomorrowif frosty to start.

Linda :o) XxX

Green woodpecker visited today.
It was a nice distraction in an otherwise very miserable day weatherwise.
OH commented that if we had a perfect lawn it probably wouldn't visit!!!
Take care
Von

I had a couple of siskins on my peanuts yesterday here in NorthHampshire. Normally they appear during the week just after the RSPB Birdwatch at the end of February but this year they seem to have come later.

The tits, nuthatches and woodpeckers have all been busy today - normally a foreboding of cold weather on its way. Perhaps they were peeking through the curtains last night while I was watching the weather forecast on the telly?

I've also got a dunnock that has fallen in love with my car! It spends all day admiring itself in the door mirrors. I tried putting carrier bags over them but then it just stood on the windscreen wipers and pecked at the windscreen. Poor misguided thing.

Sounds like a goosander jude. Did it have a long(ish) red hooked bill?

Jude, Mrs Siskin looks quite like a Mrs Chaffinch - the markings are quite similar in the more subdued colours of the females. But it was when I saw the male siskin that I knew we had another variety to tick orff. Their colours are really bright. His green is bright limey/yellowy and he has a black cap. I had to look it up in the birdy booook to be sure, but I had seen a picture of a lot of them on someone else's bird table on another website (a gardening one) so now you two are also thinking you've seen them too perhaps their population is on an upturn for some reason.

I read about the red feeder thing in a Chris Packham book encouraging back garden nature preserves.

I wonder if your duck will turn out to be goosander Jude.

Very interested to read DizzieLizzie's post as I have just been watching what I thought might be a greenfinch but which I now believe might be a siskin. Although fleetingly visiting the seed feeder it was much more interested in the red peanut feeder. I have three peanut feeders and this is the first time I have seen any bird feeding from this red one. We do not have an Alder tree but there are two nearby in neighbours gardens.

I will make sure I have my camera or phone with me next time I go out so that I might get a photo should this bird visit again (though I think there might have been two) .

Kathleen F

Hello DizzieLizzie.....its funny you should be telling us this, we often get a bird rather like the female chaffinch, but l've often thought it a greenfinch, still not sure though. Siskins are rarer though!
This morning Vic walked the dog as usual along the banks of the Wye and spotted 4 ducks with dark brown heads, l tink they are Goosanders but not sure. Have sent a report to the SEWBReC for recording:o) Hopefully get a reply tomorrow.
Exciting is'nt it:o))
jude

A week or so ago I glimpsed what I at first thought was another greenfinch at the feeders and then noticed it had different markings. It took me a bit to identify it because as soon as it saw me take a second look it disappeared and I couldn't remember the markings accurately. I reckoned it might be a siskin and I was right as we are now getting more of them and more regularly now. Shame they weren't here at Garden Birdwatch time. From my book it says they are usually a winter visitor in Feb and March, so as soon as we've noticed them it seems they may go again. It also specifically mentions alder cones as one of their likes. Since we have an alder tree maybe we'll see them again in future years. It also says they like to go for peanuts in red coloured feeders but we don't have any that colour and we see them on the seed feeder rather than the peanuts.

Hello Von

Sorry l forgot to look at the photo's. l have now and they are on the bird blog:o)
l can see what you mean, it was a carpet of snowdrops:o)

Thank you

jude

Thanks Von....just going to look:o)

Nothing much happening here, although l do hear a bird singing, but don't know what it is!!

jude

Ps...thanks Linda that would be great:o) x

Jude
I've sent you a couple of photos for the blog.
They are of our trip to Welford Park to see the snowdrops.
Von

Hi Jude
I only just caught a pelican on the edge of one photo but I will try to crop it and send it to you for the blog
Might be later this week when I download them and OH is at work in the evenings.

Linda :o) XxX

What a lovely day here too,almost clear blue sky and washing on the line:o)

Jane...we love their call too, would love to see a Red Kite to, from here that is, seen hundreds at Gigrins Farm:o)

Linda....did you take any photo's?? you lucky lady, bet that was a well deserved rest and how exciting:o)

jude

Morning all
Just back from ten days away in Antigua
What different birds they have out there
The breakfast table was fun. They fly in and out to get crumbs and especially water or juice, like nectar to them I guess.

We saw Yellow finches, doves, pelicans, petrels(need to check these out) and frigate birds, oh and a type of sea eagle, we think.

The pelicans were in our cove and fished all day, really lovely to see.

Need to check our own birds out now we are back and see who hung around whilst we weren't feeding daily

Linda :o) XxX

Morning everyone .What a lovely day even if it is still a little fresh.I was just hanging out the washing when I heard the cry of a Buzzard.I looked up and there were 3 just above the garden.It is normally the Kites so it made a nice change to see the Buzzards.I love the sound of their call.