Sparrowhawk 0, Garden Birds 8

We have been visited by a Sparrowhawk eight times, and to the best of my knowledge he's never managed a kill. He made a ridiculously bad attempt today, flying here, there and everywhere. It was so bad, it was as if it happened in slow motion. I know he'll catch something eventually ... and it'll probably be the only way I'll get a photograph!

Hopefully he'll take the ginger cat which keeps crapping on our lawn ;o)

Male Siskin

It has been a slowish start to the week with a big reduction in the number of Greenfinch and Chaffinch visiting but an increase in the number of Goldfinch: ten today, usual is 3 or 4 and our record is 12.

Today, a single Coal Tit made regular visits to the mixed seed feeder (I haven't managed to tempt him to feed near the window yet) and we've had a record five Siskins. Talking of which ...

Male Siskin

Female Siskin:

Woodpigeon

We had a Woodpigeon in the garden today with an abnormal looking growth on its neck. I have no idea what it was, but the bird seemed otherwise totally normal; he was feeding quite happily until he was chased off by our resident bossy Woodpigeon!

A heavily cropped photo to show growth:

BTO/CJ Garden Birdwatch Survey 19-25 March

Here's the list for this week. I'm missing three days obs because we've been to Chester for the weekend but it's looking pretty normal - with the exception of Greenfinch numbers.

1. Blackbird (1)
2. Chaffinch (c.65)
3. Woodpigeon (3)
4. Siskin (4)
5. Coal Tit (1)
6. Blue Tit (2)
7. Goldfinch (10)
8. Greenfinch (13)
9. Pheasant (1)
10. House Sparrow (1)
11. Collared Dove (1)
12. Starling (20)
13. Great Tit (1)
14. Wren (1)
15. Robin (2)
16. Carrion Crow (3)
17. Yellowhammer (1)
18. Song Thrush (1)
19. Brambling (1)

Great Tit

A Great Tit came to feed near the kitchen window today - I can't remember seeing one feed here before. He or she (I couldn't see the chest stripe to distinguish the sexes) fed mainly on the gelatin ring but also had a go at the new peanut feeder.

Male & Female Siskins

We've had the highest number of Siskins recorded in the garden so far - a small family of four visited throughout the day. They appeared to be in two breeding pairs.

Three of the four:

Female in morning sunshine! (disappointing quality but nice record shots)

And a male, keeping his back to the camera, as usual!

Collared Dove Returns!

Following a twenty-two week absence, a Collared Dove finally returned today. I have no idea why, after visiting regularly for five months, but a pair of doves stopped coming to the garden in October 2005. They have always been around since then, but for some reason just stopped landing in the garden. Hopefully they will both show up soon, and keep coming back. Pretty birds!

Little Jenny Wren

It has taken almost ten months, but we now have a Wren visiting our garden regularly. He or she spends a lot of time exploring the log pile, and bobbing in and out of the fence panels, presumably looking for insects.

Today, our Wren stopped for a while on top of the fence:

Sang a little song:

And then skedaddled:

More from the Blue Tits

A Blue Tit came to the new feeder near the kitchen window this afternoon.

Blue Tit Feeding on Gelatin Ring

A Blue Tit found the homemade gelatin seed ring today and had a good feed. Glad he or she found it as this is who I really made it for!

The chap below has spent the entire winter attached to the lounge window. I have no idea what he is going to turn in to but hopefully I'll find out. It's not particularly clear in the photo, but you can see the silky trail he produced as he made his way up the glass last year. This is a clear sign that I don't clean the windows as often as I should!

[photo missing]

Catkins are starting to appear on the Kilmarnock Willow in front garden:

[photo missing]

And the catkins are more advanced on the Corkscrew Hazel in the back garden:
Finally, a trip to the garden centre usually results in me buying a new bird feeder. And here it is!Originally, I placed it at the bottom of the back garden to give the birds chance to get used to it, but I've already seen a Siskin, Goldfinch, Blue Tit and a Coal Tit feeding on it so I've brought it up to the hanger in front of the kitchen window. Hopefully I'll get a few shots this week! I have very few shots of the Coal Tits so It'd be nice if they paid it a visit!

BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch Survey 12-18 March

Complete Garden list for the week
(Sunday-Saturday):

1. Chaffinch (50)
2. Greenfinch (25)
3. Goldfinch (4)
4. Starling (7)
5. Robin (1)
6. Great Tit (1)
7. Blue Tit (3)
8. Pheasant (1)
9. Woodpigeon (3)
10. Pied Wagtail (1)
11. House Sparrow (1)
12. Siskin (2)
13. Brambling (1)
14. Carrion Crow (1)
15. Blackbird (2)
16. Sparrowhawk (1)
17. Yellowhammer (2)
18. Coal Tit (1)
19. Wren (1)

Bits 'n' Bobs

Well, the bad weather continues ... Another week of dull days, snow and rain.

We had a Blue Tit in the garden today with a couple of damaged primary feathers which has left him (or her?) unable to fly. I watched him for a while as he fed on the lawn ... He managed to scale the three foot mesh fence which we haven't bothered removing since we moved in ten months ago! ... Then he hot footed it into next doors garden. I didn't see him again after that.

All the species recorded in the garden so far this week had made an appearance by Monday, with the exception of a Coal Tit and Wren, both of which finally appeared this afternoon.

A pair of Siskins (male and female) have been in the garden most of the week, and our single Brambling is still here but it shouldn't be too long before it returns to Scandinavia (or thereabouts!)

Random images:

Robin:
[photo missing]

First time I've seen a Siskin feed on anything other than peanuts: (female)

Male Greenfinch:

First time I've seen a Blackbird feeding on the fat-filled coconut:Another Goldfinch:

An Experiment

Whilst perusing one of my many garden bird feeding catalogues I came across something called a Feast Wheel. Interesting, I thought, and so read the blurb that came with it:

Feast Wheel - A tasty blend of black sunflower seeds, peanuts, safflower seeds and red millet, bound together with gelatin and shaped into a BIG ring complete with it's own strong cord hanger. At 9" in diameter, over 2" thick and weighing over 900g, 'feast' is arguably an understatement!

And the price? £13.95 plus £2.50 p&p. Total £16.45.

And here it is:
Nice!

I decided it was something which must be reasonably easy to make. I looked in the cupboard and found a 9" silicone baking ring a bit like this one:

No idea why we have one, or what the hell it's used for, but it looked ideal and being silicone it is completely non-stick and totally flexible. Next, I knew I had plenty of seed to fill it, but I didn't have any gelatin in the house. That was easily fixed with a quick trip to the Co-Op. £1.19 for 70g (6 sachets). I found some string to put in the middle so I could hang it up. There! I had everything ready:

Mould
Seed
Gelatin
String.

I filled the silicone ring with mixed seed, chopped peanuts and sunflower hearts. Total weight: 964g. Next, I melted three of the six sachets of gelatin with around 1/2 pint water, tipped the seed mixture into a pan and poured the gelatin onto it and gave it a good mix. I've never used gelatin before (as a vegetarian I don't have much need for it!) but this seemed to work! It was turning into glue! I poured half of the gluggy (is that a word?) mixture into the ring, placed the string around the middle, poured over the rest of the mixture and then popped it into the fridge to set.

And here is the result:

Da da daaa! 9" in diameter and just over 2" thick!

Note the pretty pattern!

Total cost: 60p
(well, 59.5p really)
Total saving: £15.85!

It's the same size and weight as the shop equivalent.



Next up, would the birds actually like it?

Siskin did:

Starling did:

Goldfinch did:

Robin did:

Greenfinch and Chaffinch bothe fed on it, too.

You can see the string I used for hanging purposes ... I abandoned that idea after the ring span constantly in the wind and so I just hooked it over the hangers instead.

I am yet to see any Tits on it - but I'm sure they'll find it eventually.

It looks like it's going to last considerably longer than a fat cake usually does (around thirty minutes if the Starlings are about!). The ring has been out for two days and it's still intact - and that's with plenty of visitors feeding away on it.

Conclusion: RESULT!

Male Yellowhammer and his Missus

Are they going to become regulars?

The male and female Yellowhammers reappeared today (the fifth time a Yellowhammer has been seen in the garden) - and once again it was a very brief visit and quite late on in the day (3:30PM). They seem quite nervous of the other birds in the garden and I am yet to see them feed.

I did manage a record shot of them together, but they were right at the bottom of the garden. Nice to get them together, though. Hopefully they'll keep visiting so I get more chances to get a half decent shot.

Trapped Greenfinch

This afternoon we returned home and were greeted by the sight of an adult male Greenfinch caught in one of our three Gardman hangers.

Gardman hanger:

The poor bird was trapped by his leg in the gap between the fixed & removable hooks - he had clearly been there for some considerable time as his leg was damaged through the bird struggling to free himself (there was significant blood visible) and the bird was visibly distressed.

Luckily for this Greenfinch we returned in time to free his trapped leg. I'm not sure if his leg was broken but it's certainly a possibility. Anyway, we freed him and he flew off with no apparent problem. I hope he survives - I don't fancy his chances if his leg is broken or if he develops an infection. Current weather conditions are not favourable.

I have emailed Gardman to see if anyone else has reported this happening.

BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch Survey 5-11 March

We had a mild spell midweek before the weather turned wintery again at the weekend. Overall, a very dull and wet week. Roll on spring.

Garden highlights of the week were on Wednesday with the reappearance of a male Yellowhammer, Thursday when he returned again bringing a female with him, and a Song Thrush on Monday.

On Saturday evening drove past a Barn Owl sat on top of a hedge.

21 species recorded again this week.

Here's the full list:

1. Robin (2 seen in the garden at the same time)
2. Blue Tit (1)
3. Chaffinch (50)
4. Greenfinch (26)
5. Blackbird (1)
6. Pied Wagtail (1)
7. Goldfinch (7)
8. Wren (1)
9. Starling (2)
10. Woodpigeon (2)
11. Song Thrush (1)
12. Brambling (1)
13. House Sparrow (1)
14. Pheasant (1)
15. Sparrowhawk (1)
16. Siskin (2)
17. Dunnock (1)
18. Yellowhammer (2)
19. Great Tit (1)
20. Coal Tit (1)
21. Carrion Crow (1)

He Came Back!

The Yellowhammer returned again today ... and this time he brought the wife! Unfortunately, it was just starting to get dark when I saw them and it was completely overcast and raining. Taking a photo was not an option! Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Yellowhammer Returns

This is only the third time I have recorded a Yellowhammer in the garden - the other two occasions were both in January this year. This time, however, I did manage to take some record shots which I had failed to do in January.

I only spotted him as I happened to look out of kitchen window whilst putting something in the kitchen sink. As a result, I saw him for only around ten seconds; in that time I had to pick up the camera, wait for it to wake from sleep mode and then just click away! The results are very poor, but I'm sure he'll be back sometime and, hopefully, he'll stay a while longer - so I might get another chance!

I didn't see him feed but he did appear to be glancing up at the small bowl of sunflower hearts placed on the top of the kitchen steps.

Shooting through a window obviously isn't ideal as it drains a lot of colour from the photo - this chap was very yellow.

More Robins

Once again, the Robins were showing really well down the lane today; a majority were in full song. This chap was particularly bold. At least I can rely on the Robins for a few photos!

The scrub, south west of the back garden, recently received a rather harsh haircut. Today, there were two men planting trees. Lots of trees! It looks as though the scrub will, in years to come, be a wood. I will pop down there in a few days, take some photos and try and identify the trees. Not sure how the local Tawny Owls will feel about their open hunting ground being turned into a wood.

And Finally ... Cold Feet

.... a few of today's images just to end the week on.

Black-headed Gulls taking grated cheese from the lawn. The different stages of moult are clearly visible:

"Here come the men in black!"
Carrion Crows also taking the grated cheese:

The grated cheese is actually provided for our Pied Wagtails (male):

Goldfinch:

Male Siskin :

(no more Siskins or Goldfinches next week, I promise!)

BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch Survey 26 Feb - 4 March 06

We have had a mixed bag of weather this week: Bitterly cold with a mixture of rain, wind, hail, sleet and sun and we're ending the week with a covering of snow.

Wednesday saw approximately eighty Chaffinch in the garden (a new record) at the same time as twenty Greenfinch and seven Goldfinch. There may have been a few Blue Tits too but I turned cross-eyed trying to count everything!



The local Tawny Owls which hunt over the scrub to the south west of the back garden call and hoot most nights - it's quite unusual not to hear them. They have been so close on a couple of occasions that they appear to be on our roof - but we have never seen them!

We have lived in this house since May 2005, and today, for only the second time, we were visited by a Song Thrush. I hope we get a regular visiting at some point.

So, here's the complete garden list for this week:

1. Greenfinch (30)
2. Chaffinch (c80)
3. Blue Tit (2)
4. Goldfinch (7)
5. Wren (1)
6. Robin (2)
7. Blackbird (2)
8. Woodpigeon (2)
9. Coal Tit (1)
10. Great Tit (2)
11. House Sparrow (4)
12. Pheasant (1)
13. Starling (45)
14. Siskin (2)
15. Dunnock (1)
16. Brambling (1)
17. Jackdaw (1)
18. Pied Wagtail (2)
19. Black-headed Gull (13)
20. Carrion Crow (4)
21. Song Thrush (1)
    

Chaffinches: Aiming for World Domination?

I didn't ever really expect to see many more Chaffinches in the garden than the flock of 65 we had last week. However, today I counted approximately 80! It's no easy task counting that many active little birds, so I could be a few out either way. The weather was bitterly cold with a slight wind and a mixture of sun (yes! really! sun!) and regular snow flurries throughout the day.

Yesterday and today I noticed a female Chaffinch suffering from Fringilla papillomavirus or, if you prefer, crusty leg warts! It is quite common in Chaffinches and Bramblings but there is no treatment for it. The warts can eventually take over the whole leg resulting in a lame bird ... and sometimes the leg drops off. Let's hope that doesn't happen!

Received delivery of another 50lb sack of sunflower hearts for our hungry (or greedy?) garden birds. We order them from W.E. Howden's Pet Shop in Coldstream - the oldest pet food shop in Britain. The original owner of the shop invented sheep dip in 1830, no less! Click on the link to see the shop. (Just for the record, the last 50lb sack we bought lasted five weeks!).

Here are a few random images from today:

Female Siskin (again, sorry!)

Sometimes there just isn't enough room!

Not my exactly my favourite garden visitor but Starlings do appear quite striking in summer plumage and sunshine!

You can just make out the green & purple sheen of the feathers

It's not hard to understand why the collective noun is a 'charm of Goldfinches'