Hobbies and Crafts

Great idea Vera.

I too have similar containers....Square rounds I believe they were called.... so I will see how the birds like my homemade version of blocks.

I saw a pair of ducks checking out a garden in a nearby road.
They were mostly standard mallard colouring, but I noticed the female had quite a large patch of white feathers on each of her sides.
Several years ago, we had a female white duck fly into our garden each spring and lay her eggs. This happened for about 4 years.
I wonder if the recent duck is one of 'our' duck's descendants.?

Gwyn, the feeder has hung outside for weeks and I have seen one bluetit and one sparrow look at it and fly away again.

We had some of those square suet blocks that the birds wouldn't eat. They were a freebie from Homebase and they were a rather strange pink colour. I threw them away in the end. I usually make my own now and the birds love them. I melt some fat - usually suet - and then use it to bind together all the other bits I throw in. I usually put some seed, some chopped peanuts and raw oats in, then anything else I have to hand; a few sultanas from the end of a packet or a bit of other fruit chopped up small, a left over bit of cheese grated up, a few cake crumbs etc. I have a number of Tupperware type containers around 6" square so I line them with a bit of cling film for easy removal and put an inch or two of the mixture in them to set. They come out just the right size for those square wire feeders. I do half a dozen or so at a time, put one out and the rest in the freezer.

Here endeth the cookery lesson ;-)

I suppose they are like us and like some things and not others. I just wish they could communicate their likes and dislikes. We have had the same with those fat blocks Gwyn. At the momant I have taken in the fat balls which were not being eaten, goodness knows why, and refilled the feeder with fat nuggets which are new. and the starlings like those. :-D :-D

Vera,You would think that at least some of the birds would try the new feeder and then others would copy, but I know what you mean about being fussy.

I have a feeder that holds square suet based blocks and the birds have fed regularly from it for a long time.
Daughter was in the shop where I usually buy refills and noticed a box packed with blocks and thought this would be convenient, as I wouldn't have to go in so often on the bus.
I don't know what's different, but there's a block out there at the moment that's been in place for about 2 weeks. I saw 2 robins on it yesterday, but it's virtually untouched.Usually when I replace a suet block, the birds are on to it before I can get indoors and wash my hands.
When they are feeding youngsters, a block lasts about half a day.

Maybe I will crumble the newer blocks and see if different birds eat them.

There is a wonderful dawn chorus going on at the moment, so hopefully a few birds will visit today.

We were in a large Home and Garden shop today so I had a look for yet another feeder for seeds. Also looked in a couple of other places and they all seemed to be like the one our birds won't go near. I just want something fairly basic as a spare so that I can have a couple out while one is drying out thoroughly after being washed.

I think I'll see if my brother can use the one I bought. Perhaps his birds are less fussy than ours.

Ohh Vera!. I am sorry to see that you had the awful migraine just when arriving home.
I suppose on the positive side it didn't happen on your hols.
How strange that your new feeder is just being ignored.I wonder why that is.Will you keep it or get rid ?
I did manage to get a pic of the 2 LongTailed Tits on my window feeder.I am sure there are more than the 2 now :-D

We prefer to go from Stansted if we can as it is a much easier drive for us but for the last couple of years all our flights seem to have been from Gatwick.

I've had migraine in some form or another most of my life but was formally diagnosed at 23. A particularly bad bout some 15 years ago put me in hospital for 5 days. I apparently lost my memory and had physical effects like a stroke. I say"apparently" because my memory of the worst couple of days has never come back so I only know what I have been told. Since then I have been on permanent medication to try to prevent it happening again and to control it if it does. Over the last 10 years I have been much better but when I get a bad bout there is nothing I can do but wait till it gets better.

I'm not complaining, there are people a great deal worse off than me. However ill I feel I know that in a few days I will be better.

It's stopped raining so I am now going out to fill the feeders before it gets dark.

What a shame to end your holiday with a migraine Vera, presumably that meant you didn't get any sleep in the hotel. Do you get nauseous with it?

We haven't flown from Gatwick for quite a while, as he has got older OH has decided he doesn't like driving there, it is a bit longer than going to Heathrow (I hate Heathrow), but now he has decided he would rather drive to Manchester. To me that is a s far as Gatwick but I suppose it is straight up the M5/M6. Gatwick is a bit round the houses for us. We used to stay at the Ifield for many years, we could leave the car and they ferried us to and from the airport, it was very pleasant and not too expensive, a little way out from the hotel. Then it chnaged hands and they didn't have the mini bus (or they started to charge for it I can't remember, it was not so nice anyway. We tried another couple of B&Bs and theyw ere okish. Then we stayed at a hotel right near the North terminal and had meet and greet for parking and that worked well. Then we changed airports.

French traffic controllers are a pain.

Hope you soon feel completely better. do you get many migraines?

Hi, I'm back. It was a good flight back though a bit longer than it should have been because French air traffic controllers were on strike - again. We couldn't fly through French air space so had to take a longer route. By the time we got to Gatwick I had the beginnings of a full blown migraine which got worse and worse during the night. We got back early afternoon yesterday and I fell in to bed. A bit better this morning so I have unpacked and got the washing going.

Ann we usually stay at the Premier Inn at the North Terminal at Gatwick. It's nothing special but ideal if you just want a bed for the night before or after a flight as it is right on the airport. Depending on the costs we sometimes use a "bed and parking" deal, though this time it was cheaper to book the long stay airport car park separately.

Before we went I filled both seed feeders, plus all the other bits with fat balls, peanuts etc. Most of it has been completely emptied but the new feeder I bought hasn't been touched :-(. The birds don't seem to like it at all and would rather go hungry.

I'll go and refill everything if it stops raining.

Great tit or coal tit Jane Lol!!

Ann they are feeding like crazy from the feeder at the moment. Chaffinch,LTTs ,Blue Tits,Sparrow, Blackbird,the Tit with the black head(that doesn't sound good LOL )
Woodpigeons sitting in the tree with big twigs in beaks.It is all go :-D :-D

Bet Vera is catching up with unpacking ,washing etc. :-D

Hope you got home ok Vera with no hold ups. Where did you stay in Gatwick?

I think the birds are stocking up for their breeding season Jane, building their strength up! :-D :-D

I expect Vera will be on her way home now. At least the weather is good for a nice smooth landing tonight :-D

I have heard Pheasants today but haven't seen them.I think they must have been next door. The food is going at a fair rate in the window feeder. I will need to go and buy more tomorrow.

I always look out for the red kites when we travel along that "corridor" and always get a bit of a thrill if I see them.

Thanks for your good wishes for the flight. We'll have to make the most of tonight. I don't need to pack till the morning as we are not being picked up from the hotel till mid afternoon.

Today we came back to yet more fruit in our room. I'm thinking of setting up a market stall with it :-D

Not exciting for you Jane but I saw two Red Kites on the way back from Hampshire today, near Newbery.

Safe journey home Vera, hope flight takes off on time and it is not windy! :-D

Vera ,you have been lucky with your freebies :-D A bit of cake and Madeira sounds just the ticket :-D.
I hope you have a good flight home tomorrow.Wrap up warm,you will need to :-)

I have just seen (I think a Jay) flying off from the window feeder. :-D

Lovely to have ducks Gwyn. Where I used to work we once had a mother duck sitting on eggs laid on the soil of a large patio pot. We all used to tiptoe round her and the plant in the pot died as no-one could look after it for fear of disturbing her. Sadly I don't think the eggs hatched and mother duck just disappeared one day.

It's been a much warmer, sunnier day here today and we have seen lots of butterflies. None of them would settle long enough for us to photograph them but I am fairly sure there were some Monarch butterflies among them.

And guess what .............. when we returned to the hotel, more freebies :-D. This time it was a Bolo De Mel (Madeiran speciality cake) and a half bottle of Madeira. I had a think about this Ann as you didn't get gifts and realised that we didn't get them the first time we came. I wonder if they are just given to "returners"? We certainly don't spend any money with them. This week we have had one dinner in the restaurant, not even bought a drink at the bar.

Nice to have ducks Gwyn makes a change from pigeons and starlings

Lots of pairing up of birds observed locally....mostly seagulls and wood pigeons.

Mallard ducks are also on the prowl, to see whose garden best suits their needs for nesting.

Before we lived here,I'd never before seen them perched on rooftops, but it's quite a common sight around here in spring, when they are surveying.