Hobbies and Crafts

Strangely our birds seem to have all disappeared don’t know why, maybe it is because we were away for a week. We have seen the robin but not our blackbird

Vera ,when we lost our lovely old boy Chester(a dog) almost 4 years ago now ,we said we would not have another pet as OH had just retired and we thought 'FREEDOM' to just be able to go away when we fancied without having to worry about Kennels/Catteries. That didn't last long before Thomas decided to adopt us.So now once again it is booking holidays well in advance and making sure there is a place in the cattery!.
I don't think the Rabbits are out and about much today as a lot of cat food has been eaten.
The window feeder has been filled twice today.We seem to have a of of Robins feeding from it at the moment ...until the Bully Blackbirds come and chase them off. There are plenty of scraps going on between the different birds. They must be as fed up as we are with all this snow and freezing weather.

Jane, I think some cats are naturally hunters. We had two sisters that we had from the age of 8 weeks; both well fed and treated the same. One was a calm little cat that hardly ever went beyond our garden, the other was always over the fields and regularly brought back rabbits. It used to drive me mad but you couldn’t help loving Molly - she was such a character. I reckon Molly and Thomas were two of a kind.

I wouldn’t have a cat flap so we would try to get the cats in before we went out. If they wouldn’t come in they had access to the garage where they had bedding and food and water.

I still miss having a cat or dog around but OH doesn’t want to have another animal now so we have to make do with occasional visits from daughter’s or son’s dogs.

Thomas was a stray and decided he would make his home here nearly 3 years ago.We had seen him around for about a year but he would just run if he saw us. Then one day we were sitting having lunch on the patio and I think the smell of the cold meats was just too much and he suddenly appeared ,ran up the garden and jumped straight on to the table to try and grab the meat !!!! That was it then. I let him have a little and within a week he was in the house and living in the lap of luxury LOL . But with having to hunt for so long to survive unfortunately means that he will continue to do this :-S :-S.
We wont have a cat flap in the house !!!! But have one in the summerhouse so he can get in there in bad weather or if we are out for a day. There is a comfy settee and always a dish of dry food and water. I think he is a bit pampered :-D
He has gone off mice for now as Rabbits seem a better bet :-D :-D

Oh Jane.
Thomas sounds a real character, even if his 'presents' are not well received.
It is just the way with some cats, I think.

My sister had 3 cats, but only one really hunted everything. It would be fairly common to hear a lot of scuffling noises in the kitchen as he tried to haul a captured pigeon through the cat flap.

Seagull was still around here Monday, so I made another phone call and R.S.P.C.A came with a big net, to take it to their wildlife centre near Rye. It was perky and could strut about, but was obviously injured in some way.

At last I have seen some long TTs today :-D. Only a couple but it is nice to see them back again :-D

Oh Vera, I am sorry you have both been so ill. I thought that this nasty Flu Virus was on its way out now as I haven't heard of anyone for the last few weeks that have had it.
It just totally knocks the stuffing out of you doesnt it. The birds will find food somewhere else and will soon be back once you are able to refill the feeders.

I was hearing about these diseases that small birds get from feeders /tables etc and how imprtant it is to clean everything weekly. I have to admit I am guilty of not doing the window feeder as often as I should. But I will now make sure I do this.

Thomas is in full hunting mode now :-S. I hate it. Everyday now he is bringing back rabbits.I spotted him this afternoon making his way up the garden with one dangling from his mouth and went out to try and stop him bringing it up to the patio. But I think he must have thought I was calling him as he came running with it ..looking so pleased !!!!. He dropped it (on the patio beside me) :-S I picked Thomas up and yelled for OH to come and get rid of the rabbit. Brought Thomas in for a bit and he drank his cat milk and then went out again sniffing around the patio looking very miffed as to where his present had gone LOL
He has gone off for another one now :-S :-S

I hope you and OH feel a little stronger tomorrow Vera <3

Sorry to hear that you have both been unwell Vera, hope you are now starting to improve. <3

OH and I have been knocked sideways by flu for the last couple of weeks and are still absolutely exhausted. I haven’t even been able to get out to fill the feeders which I feel very guilty about. The best I have managed is to open the conservatory door and throw out bread and bits of fruit etc. I did put out a couple of saucers of grapes which the blackbirds loved. There are still peanuts and Niger seeds in the feeders but hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to find the energy to put out fresh seeds and fat balls.

Maybe that is where Jane’s blackbirds are, building nests?

Spring is definitely here as I seem to have two of everything at the moment ;-)

Two turtle doves, two magpies nest building, two dunnocks ,two robins whilst there has only been one dunnock and one robin all winter :-S

Lots of blue tits and goldfinches as well :-D

Oh poor thing sounds either ill or injured :-( obviously not able to fly :-S If it is till around on Monday and not looking any better I wonder if it could be taken in to a local Vet. I did that once with a wild Rabbit suffering from Myxo that I found in my garden and it was put to sleep. I hate to think of any bird/animal suffering and not being able to do anything . I do understand though that these wonderful people who work for Animal and Bird Charities just can't come out to every creature in distress(as much as I know they would want to)

All fairly peaceful today on the window feeder . The little birds are making the most of it as the Blackbirds seem to be off somewhere else at the moment. The Spotted Woodpecker made another appearance on the feeder yesterday :-D

Oh poor thing, hope they do come out it is not safe if it can’t fly

The seagull was not around this morning, but when I came back from town at lunchtime, it was crouched in the garden a few doors along. It made no attempt to fly, when I went closer to look, so I phoned again, as I'd been requested to.
They logged the call, but said it was difficult with wild birds, which are not monitored, as they could have moved away by the time staff come out to investigate.
I will put a bowl of water out in case the bird comes back and shelters near my house again.It ate some crumbled biscuit, so I've left some more near the step.

Birds are very quiet again today. The Robin has made a visit and the blackbird has been for his mealy worms but that is about it.

Gwyn I would have thought the brush would have frightened the seagull, glad it disappeared anyway, it probably just needed a rest.

I came home lunch time and saw an adult seagull crouched by the front door. There was no obvious sign of injury, but something was clearly wrong, as it stayed there while I gingerly unlocked the front door and went indoors..
Seagulls are a nuisance around this area, but I don't like to think of any bird or animal in distress, so phoned a wildlife rescue helpline. The lady asked me to touch the bird gently with a soft long-handled broom, which I did and it allowed me to smooth it lightly on it's back. She suggested it might be stunned and just needed time to recover. Then it got up and ambled to the front garden.It could walk very well. It's wing didn't look quite right. It didn't fold neatly over the back and it looked a bit ruffled towards the tip.The bird made no attempt to fly.
There was no sign of it later, so I hope it's recovered........ Probably will come back and terrorise the neighbourhood in a few weeks, when they start to nest on the rooftops. !

It's the same in our garden Ann, just half a dozen blackbirds rooting around.

Last week the hanging feeder had to be refilled every day, yesterday I topped it up and this morning the level has gone down by less than a centimetre. However, I can still rely on the starlings appearing from nowhere and emptying the bird table when I put stuff out.

Field fares usually go in flocks but we had either one or two at a time, identified by their yellow/orange pointed beaks.

Not so many birds feeding now in the garden.

I think I spotted a lot of Fieldfare in the big tree in the neighbours garden today.
The window feeder is still half full from topping up this morning. That is unusual.The little birds can't be desperate any more now the snow has gone :-D

I hope Kandj is feeling better today <3

Something you could have done without Kandj, especially coping without moral support. I wonder where you caught that? A week is a long time to have a tummy bug but I expect you were run down before you caught it. Hopefully if you can get out into the fresh air a bit you will soon start to feel better. Hope the snow has gone from where you are and, like here, outside it looks more like spring. :-) :-) <3 <3

Thanks to Jane for keeping you updated. As Jane posted earlier I have managed to pick up a horrible sicky stomach bug. I could well do without it, just feel drained and no energy. It began last Tuesday and I'm hoping that I may be getting a little better soon.
Hubby wouldn't have been able to do anything but I miss the kind words and cuddle he would have given to me. Thank you for all your ongoing support. Much appreciated.

Fed the hungry birds this morning, must go into the village and restock before long