Hobbies and Crafts

I think we have to ignore it Maryanna. Yesterday the GR clock was in a time zone of its own and it was a while before it was corrected. When they finally managed to correct it the sequence of posting went haywire. It should work out ok soon Lol!!

Are the birds usinf your new feeders? They usually take a while to get used to them.

Easrly on we had two long tailed tits on the fat feeder (this is a sort of pillar of fat in the fat ball feeder with a couple of fat balls as well. We also had the male black cap. Right now we have the female black cap, one starling just eating some fat I put on the bird table, a couple of male blackbirds squabbling on the bottom fence, one goldfinch on the tree at the bottom of the garden and a dove on the fence. Next door seem to have the rest of the starlings!!

Time seems to be back to normal !!! Whatever it is there never seems to be enough of it !

The Sparrows have now been on all the feeders, although there was one little chap who gave up as he couldn't work out that he needed to stand by the hole to get the seeds out. He was really going at the plastic casing and couldn't understand why he couldn't get at the seeds.

The Robin and Wren have just been hoovering up underneath and the Pigeons made short work of some bread I put out.

Other than that it has just been the usuals with the Magpies trying to cart off huge bits of next door's Blackthorn, that is going to make a very uncomfortable nest and seems a bit early.

The Thrush has been about and Mr and Mrs Blackbird and the extra Mr. One of them Is Pipping away as I write.

Having looked out, I can see a male sparrow. Still trying to get the seeds but a female has flown straight onto the perch and is feeding no problem, will be interesting to see if he copies her.

M.

Finally I have managed to get a pic of the 4 Moorhens together :-D.I sprinkled a little bird seed along the bottom of the Yew Hedge this morning and that must have done the trick.I hope they won't be expecting that every day though as I don't want to attract any more unwelcome attention from the Ra**.
When I get around to it Ann I will send you the pic.Maybe later today.
I have 3 Robins all wanting to feed on the window feeder at the moment .One was on it and the other 2 were having a little bit of a fracas on the branches while waiting their turn :-D
Looking at the sky now and it looks like there might be a bit more snow on the way.

Glad you had a good time away Jane, it's been very cold here but although we woke up to a dusting of snow it has pretty much gone now and all we have had is a bit of drizzle.

Just after my last post several Blue Tits arrived and had a go at the peanuts.

Would love to see your Moorhens Jane.

My sister is coming next weekend, will let you know how she is.

M.

Sorry Jane I missed you back there. Pleased that you had a good break, even if cold. It is very cold here today again although no snow.

Maryanna that is good that they have found the new feeders.

I forgot to say that this morning we had a little field mouse foraging around behind the pots on the patio. Don't mind as long as it stays out there.

Jane ok will look out for your photo. :-)

Jane's moorhens on the photo blog

Thanks Ann
I actually saw a very odd thing today with the Moorhens.Normally they potter around on their great big feet.But late this afternoon I saw 2 of them actually lying down on the lawn pecking food out of the grass.I have not seen them do this before.It looked very strange.Maybe it was getting near their bedtime and they were tired LOL

I also saw something very odd yesterday.
Two seagulls stamping rapidly on grass - then pausing, turning their heads sideways to watch for the worms coming up.

Very successful they were too. It was comical watching their little legs going up and down like pistons :-D

Tec :-)

Sometimes these birds are more clever than we think. Maybe the moorhens were doing something similar to tec's seagulls Jane. I have never seen seagulls do that though Tec, fascinating.

The birds are looking a bit hungry this morning. We have had a sprinkling (and I mean a sprinkling, hardly any) of snow which looks as though it has frozen. We get very little snow in this area so our birds are spoilt. It is melting so they will have to wait to get at the seeds. :-)

More snow overnight here in Yorkshire and it's mega cold outside again today.
It has brightened up a little this afternoon and I hope it won't freeze over now.

I have de-iced both bird baths and filled up the seed feeder and fat balls in back garden tree and put seed and suet pellets in window feeder along with stale bread on ground feeder for our feathered friends. The bread was soon gone with usual Starlings and a couple of fat pigeons. The little Robin has been a couple of times to the window feeder and the greedy Starlings have nearly had it off the window with their aggressive ways!

Hello Tecwyn, that sounds interesting, all birds are very clever in their own way.

Our 4 Moorhens have climbed up through the big Yew Hedge and have been walking along the top of it today !!!.They looked so funny.Shame I didn't have the camera to hand. :-S.The hedge is about 12ft + high !!!!.I actually saw one jump up on to the side of the hedge and then disappear inside ,then show up on top lol

I think your moorhens are playing games :-) Must be fascinating to watch. I have some mallard ducks which come to the pond of water in the field after heavy rainfall.
They were there before Xmas then disappeared when the water froze, they were back last week but gone again now the water is frozen again. I have also seen a heron this weekend.

The birds have been very quiet today, one thing I have seen is the robin trying to feed off the feeder, not seen that before.

If I don't post very often it is because I have various health issues, the one bothering me at the moment is my eyes, they become very sore and am also waiting for a cataract op (8mth waiting list).

Joan

Jane your moorhens are very adventurous :-D

Joan I am sorry about your eyes, it is so painful when they are sore. Can anything be done to sooth them? Eyes are so important to us aren't they and I am not sure we don't strain them being on our pcs for a long time. I am due a check up, a year ago the optician said I had very early stage cataract.

Just spotted the blackbird eating the fat balls and fat 'pillar' It looks like a last year's blackbird, not very big but very black. Te robin and an older blackbird were also round the morning and yesterday the robin and a wren.

There seemed to be a lot of birds in the garden earlier today but when I checked they were nearly all starlings. I have seen a bluetit a couple of times today and the robin on the hanging seed feeder.

Last winter the robin would only use the ground feeder. I don't know if it is the same one or a different one but this year's robin is completely ignoring the ground feeder and will only use the hanging feeder. Contrary things aren't they?

I'm sorry you are having problems with your eyes Joan. Sore eyes can be so uncomfortable. I had my annual check up last week and was told that the cataract they found a couple of years ago is still a baby and has hardly grown at all.

Are you over your cough yet Ann? The cold that I had a month ago seems to have left me with a persistent cough so I've sent OH to sleep in a spare room. I am getting a bit fed up with it though.

Still, in this litany of medical woes I'm feeling cock-a-hoop about one thing. I had to have two growths removed from my colon and have just heard that they were non-cancerous so that is a big weight of my mind. The consultant has put me on a surveillance programme and will check me again in 5 years! I hope I can still manage to clamber on to the examination table by then :-D

A friend has just told me that her Gran used to say that Valentines Day is when the birds " go to church to get married ". No wonder there is so much activity in the garden, they are all preparing for a busy weekend next week !!!

The Magpies have built an enormous nest in a Blackthorn at the back of us in the field. It seems to be mainly constructed from twigs off the Blackthorn in the Thugs' garden next door.

They pull big twigs off then fly with them onto our lawn and then take them onto the shed and from there up into their tree.

Shame they can't use a chainsaw and take some bigger bits of it off. When the chap took the Apple tree down last week he lopped off a couple of overhanging branches but we can't do anything about the height as the tallest bit is in his garden.

The feeders are almost empty, when I went to work they were over half full, I wonder if we might get some more snow later. They won't touch the feeders hanging on the bird table though now that I have put the hanging ones in the bushes.

M.

Vera well done, that was good news for you.

Yes our coughs and colds finally left us. I seemed to finally get rid of mine when I literally plastered my throat and chest with good oldfashioned vick for three nights running. It just suddenly stopped after I slept solidly those three nights.

Maryanna. If that is true re valentines I have a wkrry about my blackbirds. 3 males, not a female in sight :-D

Oh Joan 8 months is a long time to wait for you.I do hope that your eyes don't remain sore.I have a very irritating watery eye(Dry Eye) and have been told i too have a very early start of a Cataract in my other :-|.I couldn't understand why it was still a bit fuzzy after getting new specs ,and this is the reason.

Brilliant news Vera about your growths in the colon.What a relief :-D.I had my first Bowel Cancer test kit last year.I think it is so good that we are given the chance to have all these free tests and scans on the NHS..

Yes these Moorhen are quite amusing.One of them took a running jump halfway up the outside of the Yew Hedge and then continued to climb up to the top lol.Those great big feet can just hang on to anything :-D

We watched a R** today (don't read Kandj :-D).It came across the front of the house and around the side to the box.It went in and then came out backwards with a cube of bait in it's mouth and carried it off back around the front of the house and through the gap in the hedge to next door.So we are guessing that is where the nest must be.
Now we have put another Rat Box filled with 'goodies ' there.hopefully that might stop them coming any further into ours.

Thanks all for the concern with my eyes. The soreness is due to a sensitivity to bright light, sunlight in particular. There is not a lot they can do, apart from saline drops and the wearing of dark glasses even indoors. They are supposed to be doing eyelid lifts in the hope it will help. Could be next month who knows. Sorry Jane you also have a cataract, hopefully it won't grow quickly.

Vera I am glad your results came back clear. Those procedures are not pleasant. I have had many. I have had Crohns for many years, under control at the moment. The ops I have had have left me a legacy of disturbed sleep which doesn't help with the sore eyes :-(

Lovely sunshine here today but very cold. I don't think the birds like the cold they don't come to feed until its warmed up. Plenty of them today, the usual plus a couple of extra blackbirds.

Joan

Glad that the good old fashioned Vick has worked for you Ann. Hope your daughter is coping as best as she can and how is little Luke..... a cheeky chappy with huge grin. He is sure to brighten up her day, and keep everyone well amused, bless him.

Not reading about your r*t Jane.... thanks for the warning, just keep it away from here! Ann you also can keep your mouse on your patio because I am doing my best to keep a rodent free garage/home and am using everything I can see is recommended to keep the rodents well away from me.

A huge relief with your colon growths tests, good to have some great news like that Maryanna no wonder you were so happy and excited to have a good report.

I'm another cataract candidate Joan, have them in both eyes, but recent eye test says they are same size as last year. I also get the watery-eyes like Jane but not the soreness that you have Joan. It sounds really uncomfortable. but I hope it will ease a little soon I'm sure that it can make you feel pretty miserable at times too. That is a real shame and I hope things will improve for you soon.

Our snow has all gone but more is forecast soon. I am making sure that the back garden seedfeeders are filled and the bird baths are de-iced and clean. I am still putting a dish of milk for whichever neighbourhood cat cares to come and keep guard near the side garage door and scare any mice away. I have moved the dish further away from the tree as some poor bird (a dove I think) was obviously jumped upon and attacked by one of the cats.

I haven't seen many birds at the window feeder today but I have seen a bigger robin peaking out of the border shrubbery and so I have set up little feast of seeds/mealworms and fresh water to tempt the robin from his 5* accommodation lol.

That was funny to read about the Valentine Day for birds.... never heard that before