Hobbies and Crafts

Kandji, if you find out how to deter starlings would you please tell me. Between the starlings and the pigeons I don't know how much food the other birds are getting.

This morning there were two robins sitting on the fence together. I hope they are nesting in my neighbour's trees.

Jane your squirrel is on the photo blog. Another good photo.

Good Morning everyone

Blue sky, white fluffy clouds but another cold windy day. Good for drying the bedding and towels on the clothes line but not good for this cold old body...... my blood must be very thin because I feel really chilled.

Jane, you do like to surround yourself with furry creatures (uugghh!).
There are quite a few grey squirrels in our churchyard and when i go in there,
I duck down and hold my breath praying they don't jump down from the huge trees and land on me!! Perish the thought!
I sometimes clap my hands when I approach them and they just sit and stare as if wondering what on earth this silly woman is doing ha ha.

I am trying to deter the starlings from using the window feeder and have put just bread in it this morning, but scattered some chopped fruit and suet pellets into the shrubbery for Mr and Mrs Blackbird and the Thrush who are my "regular guests".

I had a very friendly little Robin that I called Buster.I used to put a few pellets on the windowsill by the back door and it would come straight down to eat them.If the back door was open and I had come in to get the rest of the pellets for the feeder he would hop in through the door and stand behind me lol.I had to stop feeding there though when we had the new windows put in.Now I have no idea which is Buster as there seem to be so many Robins.
About an hour ago I spotted the Squirrel running across the lawn.I was making a cup of tea in the kitchen.Then I walked into the lounge to put the cup on the coffee table and saw a flash of grey and a thump at the window.It was the Squirrel ,and it had jumped from one of the tree branches onto the feeder and then I think spotted me and got a fright as it just dropped off and then scurried away .I'm sitting here with my camera just in case it should come back again today. :-D

Hello everyone from a cold windy Yorkshire.

Nothing much of interest birdwise here. It's just mainly the starlings that use the feeder and make a mess. Mr and Mrs Blackbird and the thrush pop in and out of the front shrubbery and I give them treats and water, far away from the ground feeder which the starlings gobble up and fall out amongst themselves. We keep seeing the young blackbird sitting on our garden wall but he flies across the road and is obviously nesting in their very large golden conifer.

Your robin sounds interesting Vera. We used to have one which would come very near when gardening but he has been missing for months now..... perhaps he has flown into your garden.

That's not a garden Lesley, it's an estate :-D It must be a lot of work. We found half an acre hard enough. I decided we needed a smaller garden and now I'm moaning because I haven't got enough space. Never satisfied are we?

Not much happening bird wise. I seem to be keeping all the local pigeons and starlings fed but not much else. Haven't seen the goldfinches for a while. And we haven't seen much of the bluetits either. Having said that, the robin is becoming quite tame. Yesterday he flew in as I was filling the feeders and I thought he was going to land on my hand (which I wouldn't have liked). Instead he landed on the edge of one of the open feeders only a few inches from me and was picking at the food as I was putting it in the feeder.

Jane We love being away but it is always good to come home. But, yes, I miss lazing around in the sun and just wandering down by the sea, stopping as and when for coffee or wine.

Lesley now that is a BIG garden lol I think ours is big enough at about 200ft long.Next door is over an acre but they do nothing with it :-S.Such a shame as it used to be lovely when our last neighbour lived there.There is a small 'lake' which is overgrown and clogged now.I never could understand why these people bought the place if the y have no interest.
Just had a look at the Blog pics.I don't think that is a Rat in Judes pic the face somehow doesn't look long enough to me.But not sure lol.

If the weather is still dry tomorrow I need to get some weeding done on the gravel in the front garden.I am chief weeder :-S.I'm not trusted to do much else !.

Ann more great pictures on your blog :-)

Jude are you sure that is a mouse it looks very much like a young rat to me...what does Vic think?

Jane we have just under a 2 acre garden and as much as I love gardening it's getting to be VERY hard work for me :-(

Lesley x

LOL Kandj ,you should see the mess on our paving stones all around the feeder .It is splattered with little white splodges :-S :-S
I am keeping my fingers crossed now as there hasn't been a sign of any grey furry creatures for a good few days now.A friend of mine now has one and it is after the Fat Balls she has for her birds.

Lesley do you have a big garden ? There is so much needing doing at the moment ,clearing out ,preparing lawns and putting in plants.My OH has been so busy in ours these last few days.Putting new plants and veg in and sorting the lawn with the Moss Killer stuff.Hopefully he will be able to do the first cut soon.The Mower is back from having its yearly service now.
We have been out most of the day today so I haven't seen what bird activity has been happening.The window feeder still looks like it has food in.I did see the Kites again this morning before we went out.

Is it good to be home again Ann? Or are you missing the lovely sunshine and relaxed Holiday atmosphere?

Hello everyone not much happening here bird wise:-( probably because I've been working in the garden from dawn to dusk :-0 I'm trying to make the most of the good weather.

Good to see you back Ann I hope you enjoyed your holiday.

Lesley x

photo of Jane's woodpecker is now on the photo blog

Ahh Jane, isn't nature wonderful sometimes, but not all of the time. How is your little furry creature....?? dead and gone?? or still running around your garden with babies??

It's a dry day here in Yorkshire but the wind is COLD. The starlings have completely taken over the window feeder and that's all we ever see now so just not happy about that.
They eat enormous amounts and battle with one another to get onto the gripper bar. They drop bird cake onto the floor and make a mess with their little "messages"....... I'm not a happy bunny this afternoon and need to go and sweep the dropped food up (not wanting mice, thank you very much) and I also need to get soapy disinfectant water to scrub the block paving. It looks a real mess.....grrrhhh....... rant over now lol.

I just had a look on Youtube and yes my Red Kites were Courting <3.The one in the tree has just flown off with the one that had been flying around it.I have been watching a love story today :-D :-D

That very kind of you Kandj,but I think I will decline that offer lol

Today we have had lots of activity from the Red Kites.The displays and noise has been incredible.They are still at it now.There is one sitting in the tree in my neighbours garden 2 doors down and two others dive bombing each other.I think it must be courting time.The one in the tree seems to be doing most of the calling.I think it might be the female and she is being a hussy lol.The photos I took were rubbish but I have got the sound of the cries on my phone(plus the traffic noise from the A14 :-S :-S)It is so annoying.

Drew the blinds this morning and the window feeder is completely empty!! I am blaming the greedy starlings. Have filled it with suet pellets so somebody is going to have a feast today. Shaun's seed cake recipe has been a success and it's cheaper than shop bought fat balls, so I need to make some more, (again).

It began bright and sunny earlier but just as the washer cycle was ending the rain began (ggrrrr) It is still raining and the wind is chilly..... hope Ann is kind enough to bring a little sunshine back with her today.

Lucky you with the long tail tits Jane....... swop you one tit for ten starlings? ha ha.

Kandj I am the opposite to you as I rarely feel cold.I'm the one that goes around opening the windows and OH follows behind shutting them lol
The Long Tailed Tits are feeding at the moment :-D

I hope Ann has a safe journey home today :-D

Filled up the window feeder this morning and seems to be hardly touched today and not many birds in the garden either. It is lovely to see the butterflies fluttering around in the garden. We have a couple of dwarf budlea bushes but my next door neighbour has the huge variety and lots of varieties come when it is full bloom.

I hope your have a good journey back home safely tomorrow Ann and will bring some sunshine back with you. It has been quite bright today but no sun and still have the chilly cool winds so still wearing my wool cardi's..... I am a cold body usually anyway.

Ann I have seen 2 Goldfinch here today :-D.I had to look up in my book just to make sure it was .They weren't on the feeder but in the guttering on the roof !!!

On our walk about today we saw goldfinches, blackbirds and what looked like a bird from the Jay family but not so blue, plus the sea birds of course.