Garden Birds chat 2011

Ditch

Bodhisopha wrote: »

It had a really long beak and was about the size of a blackbird. What was it?

Given that one assumes ye in Eire? The most likely candidate would be a Snipe. However, if ye live near to the coast, then that could up the, still reasonably slim, chances of it being any other sort of 'wader'.

Check out Snipe, (Gallinago gallinago) on Google Images. See what ye think.

Ditch

Flo with a view wrote: »

Sorry, meant Tree Sparrows ..... a flock of them turned up over the last couple of days.

:eek::eek::eek: OMFG! I Hate people who get Tree Sparrows! That's about on a par with winning the bloody lottery!

I get a resident bunch of House Sparrows hanging around my feeders each day. And every day, like a forlorn and love lost wreck, there I am. Squinting at their heads. Praying for a Tree

Ye know; They take to nest boxes quite readily? (Hint! Hint! )

Flo with a view

As a matter of fact, the house sparrows were checking out a nesting box close to where our feeders are last week.

I sent the following bit to Michael Viney, and I gather they plan to use it in the "Eye on Nature" column in next Saturday's Irish Times:

"Even though it is only mid-January and the weather is still very cold, I have seen a pair of sparrows checking out the bird-house fixed to the wall of one of our sheds. It was one of these recent lovely sunny mornings, and you could almost imagine how they were sizing it up:

* Gets the morning sun
* Convenient for the local restaurant
* Nice sea view
* Better get on the property ladder before interest rates go up.....?

I don't know if they'll go for it, too close proximity to the hoards of birds coming to the feeders may be a negative feature. But it was fun to see them hopping in and out, speculating on its advantages. A pleasant distraction from the political shenanigans going on at the moment!"

sables2

Ditch: Roughly, how many feeders have you in your garden? Would you or any of you recommend 'bunched' feeders - IE: on a single pole with protruding hanging basket like holders to hang the feeders...:o. Currently i have a few...3 hanging on hedges and bushes around the garden. I'm simply not getting enough variety of birds. My list of birds are: a pair of Blackcaps, Good few greenfinches, Dunnocks gallore, my regular robins...(love 'em) and wood pigeons. As i've said in a previous thread...(not sure i should be saying it here)...I have a FULL nyger feeder and can't for the life of me understand why there's NO birds at my 'crock of gold'

Ditch

Bravo, Flo'! Be fantastic if they move in, won't it?

Ye know; This whole 'new' thing about " House Sparrows like / have an inbuilt, pathological need to nest like sardines. " is something that gets on my tits.

However, maybe that should be left to the nest boxes thread, else all hell could break out here

Ditch

Sable; I have two peanut baskets. That's their lot. My regular as clockwork guests would be:

House sparrow, Blue, Great, Coal tits, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Dunnock, Pied Wag, Blackbird, Robin. I also get the Siskins in the summer (Interestingly, considering how everyone else here only seems to see them in winter. Mine breed here, see? Then, I s'pose, they sod off to eat you lots seed in the winter! )

Summer, I have hoards of Swallows ~ nothing to do with the nuts, obviously. I also see things like Lesser Redpoll, Linnet and Bullfinch. Spotted Flycatcher nests here. Tree Creeper's usually up to something out there.

Anyway, I'm digressing from the core subject there. Plenty more birds here. But, those above are my regulars on the nuts.

Why just nuts? Why not seeds? One word: Rats. I've finally figured out that peanuts ~ a very good quality, high energy and - as ye can discern from above - perfectly acceptable feed ~ leave very little 'mess'. Dunnock, Robin and Waggy pick up the crumbs from the floor.

Seed feeders? Bloody birds sort through it, chucking about 2/3 of the stuff on the floor as they search through for their particular favourite seed! That's how we get rats.

Now, I'm a Rat Catcher. So, to me, it's economics. I can easily deal with rats, obviously. My bloody job! But, why in hell should I want to be paying out for ~ let's face it; 'Not Cheap' seeds, only to have most of it fed to bloody rats, which I must then pay out to buy poison, to feed the same rats?! Sod that!

So, I worked it out and now just offer peanuts. And another thing: I hang my feeders off a length of fence wire strung between two trees. Rats can't get at them.

I tried a pole. T Bar made of 1" copper pipe? Bloody rats went up it like monkeys! :eek: I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't stood and watched one do it ~ just before I blew him away with my centre fire!


Nyjer? Not all it's cracked up to be. Bird feed equivalent of cavia. Goes to show look, see? I get Goldfinches on my pathetic peanuts. You shell out for Black Gold and get no Goldies!

Work it out

bogtreader

. My list of birds are: a pair of Blackcaps, Good few greenfinches, Dunnocks gallore, my regular robins...(love 'em) and wood pigeons. As i've said in a previous thread...(not sure i should be saying it here)...I have a FULL nyger feeder and can't for the life of me understand why there's NO birds at my 'crock of gold' [/QUOTE]
I have 4 feeders peanuts,sunflower seed,fat balls and mixed seed.
As of this morning house sparrows,blue tits, starlings,coal tits,blackbirds male and female,blackcap[female].
We have a robin who sings his heart in the mornings but he doesnt bother
with seed,i usually put some worms on the compost for him.
On the subject of nyger seed i had a feeder with nyger seed
no go at all no one would touch it i have had no goldfinches at all this year.
I gave them to a friend of mine who has loads of them she texted me to tell me to say she eleven at the one feeding station.
I had a few last year so fingers crossed for this year

lamanda

This was my first winter ever being interested in birds. What a hobby it is becoming! I never knew, for example, how different, and Gorgeous, the starling is in winter. We had a fine fat specimen hanging out in our garden as well as a portentous looking fieldfare during the terrible cold snap.

Ditch

Lamanda; Welcome to The Passion! Now get and have a look at the Nest Boxes thread. We'll have to get ye sorted out in that department next too

Fieldfare, eh? Aren't they bloody gorgeous?! I get plenty of Redwings here. I have / had a semi resident pair of Mistle Thrushes. But, Fieldfares? Always that extra special treat. Love 'em!

lamanda

Yes, we had maybe ten redwings, also beautiful to see. The fieldfare was quite the loner, and a tad aggressive! But what a vision.

Flo with a view

I have my feeders hanging from the branches of two apple trees about 5 metres from my kitchen windows. There are 6 seed feeders, 3 nut feeders, 1 Nyger seed feeder and 2 of those square baskets that I keep filled with my home-made bird cake.

The recipe for this is simple: melt a packet of lard over a low heat, add a cupful of mixed birdseed and peanuts, and add enough oatmeal so that it binds together, but not so dry that it would be crumbly and break when tou handle it.
iline a couple of suitably sized square plastic tubs with clingfilm, and fill them to about 30mm deep ( just meke sure they won't be too fat to fit in the cages).

I hang them from fairly light twigs on the apple trees, and they are very very popular with a load of different species. Even the blackbirds try to pretend they're hummingbirds while they try to peck at the birdcake.

I have a video clip I managed to tale last January that shows some of theire antics. I'll post it up later on when my son is here to show me how.

Bodhisopha

Ditch wrote: »

Given that one assumes ye in Eire? The most likely candidate would be a Snipe. However, if ye live near to the coast, then that could up the, still reasonably slim, chances of it being any other sort of 'wader'.

Check out Snipe, (Gallinago gallinago) on Google Images. See what ye think.

That's the very one!

Are they rare? I have never in my 27 years seen one of them before.

Ditch

Snipe are far from rare. However, getting one in ones back garden is a bit more of an occurrence.

All depends on where ye are and what ye have, of course. Terraced house in central Dublin? That would be about on a par with The Second Coming!

More suburban or rural location? Likely to have a bigger garden and so they'd feel less cagey about dropping in.

I know a girl who had a Curlew in her garden. I nearly had a stroke; Till she pointed out that her 'garden' was a hundred yards long! :eek:

Flo with a view

Here's the video of my blackbirds pretending they are hummingbirds :pac:

ender ender

Cool video, Flo. Never seen that before. Last week was the first time I saw one use a peanut feeder too, I always thought they only fed on the ground...

whyulittle

A rare one from the front garden.




Greenfinch in the back?

Connacht

My winter so far in the garden :
Still not a single Siskin (had loads last year) , way fewer Greenfinch than last year, fewer Chaffinch, no Collared Doves, fewer Dunnock, fewer Blue Tits. I'd say 80% of the birds I see this year are Goldfinch. No. 2 spot is Starlings. Then Jackdaw, Coal & Great Tit, Robin.

bogtreader

We had three collared doves in the garden feeding on the discarded
seed from the feeders yesterday

ppink

anyone know who this guy is? he is not in my book

Ditch

bogtreader wrote: »

We had three collared doves in the garden

Shoot the bastards! Now; Before it's too late! * Cough! * Sorry .....

They like wheat. In fact, they're So into wheat, they'll eat sacks of the stuff.

This is good. Because any but the very best ~ or home mixed, from separate ingredient ~ 'wild bird mixes' contains a load of wheat. Most birds spit it out. Collared Doves love it.

So do rats ..... Give it time. You too will see the similarity. " Infestation " is the word we'll be looking for here.

I know of what I speak. Pushing fifty years ago now, two blokes in ~ I believe it was Norfolk ~ heard the distinctive sound of a completely despondent football supporter. They looked up and saw this amazing " Mega ". A 'First for Britain'.

Some neolithic sort of 'naturalist' must have been equally thrilled to have identified the first Rattus norvegicus too.

" Oh, look! How unusual! How charming! " :rolleyes:

You'll see. Or ye kids will come to. I did.

ppink

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ppink

ok is he a dunnock?
he was not in my book but i am on bird wathc ireland site and think its him....mind you the pics they have on there are not too good;)

bogtreader

Ditch wrote: »

Shoot the bastards! Now; Before it's too late! * Cough! * Sorry .....

They like wheat. In fact, they're So into wheat, they'll eat sacks of the stuff.

This is good. Because any but the very best ~ or home mixed, from separate ingredient ~ 'wild bird mixes' contains a load of wheat. Most birds spit it out. Collared Doves love it.

So do rats ..... Give it time. You too will see the similarity. " Infestation " is the word we'll be looking for here.

We have a plague of cats around here so lucky in that respect.
We have had up to seven cats sittjng in the garden.
I will take your advice this is the last mixed bird seed i will get.
There is a lot wasted going by what your saying they bulk out
the feed wit:mad wheat :mad:

Ditch

:eek: Don't know what's happened over night. But, they're showing now

Yes, mate. That's a Dunnock

littlebug

Posts referring to the great mystery of ppinks invisible pictures have now been "tidied" up out of the way

trebor28

why is it that when you take your camera with you, you'd be lucky to catch a glimpse of some bird but yet it you leave it behind every bird/animal will stop and do handstands in front of you!
:mad:

Rainbowsend

Dont know if this is already been in a post, but Aldi are doing nest boxes this Thursday 3rd Feb, some with cameras in for €44.99, seeds fatballs etc, these usually go pretty fast so if anyone is interested get there at opening time!

ppink

trebor28 wrote: »

why is it that when you take your camera with you, you'd be lucky to catch a glimpse of some bird but yet it you leave it behind every bird/animal will stop and do handstands in front of you!
:mad:

My feeders are about 6 ft from my window and usually very busy. One day all of them scattered and I had no camera or anything ready:rolleyes: when our local Kestral(Iam sure thats him) landed right on our feeder post. I was rooted to the spot unable to grab my camera as he would fly off:(. I was about 10 feet max ffrom him and he was at my height.

Today I was filling the feeders and tied up my dog to the post with her lead while I was sorting everything.....turned around and the bluetits/robin were happily eating away right around her, some sight and again no bloomin camera!
'tis like the kitkat ad sometimes:D

ppink

sables2

REALLY beautiful photo ppink ;) LOVE these gragarious tits...always a joy to watch.