Hobbies and Crafts

Free CD in Sunday Telegraph today of Birdsong. Lovely to listen to.

Elisabeth xx

Thanks Elisabeth:o))

Jane....the Blackcap is abit like a sparrow with a very black cap and slightly longer beak. No blue or yellow on him, the female has a brown cap.
Look at the link below:o)

http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=blackcap&rlz=1I7SKPT_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=VHFFTeX6LMGA5AamyOiUCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=5&ved=0CFMQsAQwBA&biw=1345&bih=583

Thanks Von will do. Yeh l suppose they would be noisy, l used to look after peoples birds and all the parrots were noisy:o((

Off to try and finish hoovering. l've found a number of ladybirds, one still alive. some have the normal amount of spots another has a more orangie colour with lots of spots, just going to look them up!!

jude

It seems mine do winter in houses!!

jude

I often find Ladybirds on my bedroom window.How on earth do they get in ??.Sometimes the odd butterfly too.Windows haven't been open for ages because of the cold.It is a mystery lol

Jude you know the birds are supposed to actually be landed in your garden not flying over don't you?

Jane the female black cap can look almost grey white and her cap is a reddy brown, nothing like a coal tit really. If you look on the RSPB site they have a picture of a coal tit.

Dohh of course l knows...they all land either on ground, feeders, little wall, big flower pots etc and everynow and then they all fly around sometimes telling another off.....but l definately had 8 in the garden at same time:o))

Jane...it is a mystery. l've just hoovered 3 dead ones and a fly. l have noticed in the past some under the window frame when l open it, as if hibernating there.
Not found any owl pellets lately:o((

jude

My list included a wren, a grey wagtail and two pied wagtails, a blackcap and a coaltit,, plus other more normal ones.

We did ours between 3.30 and 4.30 yesterday as we'd had a busy weekend. Just about got home in time to do it before dark. I didn't mind squeezing it in as this is usually a busy time for the feeders as the birds all seem to rush around getting their tea before bedtime. I did have lots of varieties but only saw a couple of each. Usually when the long-tailed tits arrive there are at least half a dozen of them at a time, but I had clattering neighbour with dog syndrome too. There are disadvantages to a lovely sunny day, it brings people out to get some jobs done. I also had a patch of time when nothing was around because of a buzzard that parked itself on the top of one of our apple trees for thankfully only a few moments then flew off over the farmland. We did have a full showing of the water birds though, the daily mallards and moorhens, also the occasional family of swans with confused Auntie Goose still with them and even the heron stopped on the bank for a mo to see if it was worth trying for a fishy. He's suddenly become a frequent sight this last week or so. I didn't see any coal-tits, greenfinches, goldfinches, thrushes or the great spotted woodpecker though who are otherwise pretty regular visitors. You win some, you lose some.

Sounds as if you had a good lot Dizzy and Jean you had a good variety. Actually I don't think it matters if you only have one or two because they need to know what isn't around as much as what is.

Yes it's about assessing the state of the current populations really, but it is nice to get a better look at what does appear in your garden for an hour. Would you Adam'n'Eve it though - yesterday just as the light was going around 4.30 - 5pm I went to close the lounge curtains and there was a pair of egret standing in the river at the bottom of the garden. Such a treat. Since we've been here we've seen them for a few days about this time of year. Why couldn't they have arrived a day earlier? My little Jenny Wren made a brief appearance yesterday too, but had been hiding at my birdwatch time. Never mind.

Yesterday we had a flock of twenty sparrows sitting on the fence between the houses, why could they not have been there on Saturday!

Just to let you all know that l have put DIZZI'S painting on the blog.
They are brilliant, very talanted lady:o)

jude :o)

As I said on another thread. I think the word goes out amongst our feathered friend just before the birdwatch. "Hey guys, it is birdwatch weekend, spread yourselves around, make them work for it!"

Hi all
Well I heard the dawn chorus this morning which is unusual for me. Not an early bird!! Excuse the pun!
Reason I was up so early was to have a look at Saturn. It was brilliant to see the ringsand the moons as well. OH has a new telescope and we've been waiting for a clear sky.
Have just been watching next doors cat trying to stalk a wood pidgeon. Luckily it didn't succeed and gave up and walked away. Pidgeon eventually flew off.
Take care
Von

Oh dear seems like I've killed the thread. I do hope not.
There hasn't been much activity in the garden for the last couple of days only the wood pidgeons and jackdaws.
I think the little birds are lying low for fear of been blown away, it is so windy.
Take care
Von

No activity in the garden = no activity on here Von. Poor birds they don't like the wind.

Filled all the feedrs this morning and the water bath etc
Heard what sounded like starlings but the only birds in the garden were green finches? Also had the wood pigeons and blackbirds. Like others not many around

Linda :o) XxX

It has been far too windy for the little birds to hang on to the feeders lol.They probably feel a bit seasick lol.I have only seen a few brave ones today.Hopefully it will calm down soon.They will all be hanging on to their nests and perches for grim death.

Having said that I hadn't seen many birds the parakeets visited this afternoon. 15 of them!!!
Not quite a colony as that apparently contains 50 birds.
As it was milder today a lot more daffodils opened and my crocuses have come out so that lifted the spirits.
Take care
Von

I hadn't seen a woodpecker for ages but started to hear some last week, then this morning a greater spotted was on the peanut feeder. Auntie goose has started to get a bit above her station. She kept nipping at mummy swan when we were feeding them yesterday during their visit. Also, the morning before I went to London in the week we had a heron on the garden "stalking" fish in the river but it missed and splashed into the water in a rather ungainly fashion in the end.