Topic: Birds in the garden

[Garden Manager]

My garden is fast becoming a mecca for local avian wildlife, both regular and occasional.

My predominantly organic gardening policy means that there has always been birds in residence in or near the garden, but recently we have set up a couple of feeders which are refilled regularly, which seems to have attracted even more to the garden.

Regular visitors include a pair of blackbirds, robins, house sparrows, starlings, wood pigeons and (less welcome) magpies. The last two species have set up home in nearby pine trees.

Since putting the feeders up the numbers of sparrows and starlings in particular have increased.  We have recently had a wren start visiting the garden regularly.

Sightings of less common species have also been made of late.  I have beenn told (but not seen personaly) of a visit by Bluet*ts back in the summer, also birds believed to Yellowhammers (or perhaps Greenfinches) also made a fleeting visit to one of the feeders.  

Rarest of all was a visit by a bird i could not identify, and had never seen before, which spent some time on our lawn before disapearing never to be sighted again. Not sure but either a Lark, a Bunting a Warbler  or Fieldfare - couldnt match it  exactly ot ant of these - could be somethingcompletely different for all i know!

Only this morning i was looking out if the window to see a couple of (what turned out to be) Great t*ts feeding of insects sheltering inside a fence (or so it appeared).

Wonderfull!! :D :D

PS. Sorry if my Bird ident. is a bit vague at times. :-/ :-/

[Muddy_Boots]

Heron here today!  Other strange one I saw was an egret wading in stream when I was holidaying in Devon one Christmas.  Green woodpeckers here too!  Large village near Canterbury so, like foxes, birds get more urban every day!

[Ragged Robin]

Here in suburbia (SE London), regular visitors include; Jays, Magpies, blackbirds, great and blue t*ts, wood pigoens, crows, robins and wren; recent newcomers inlude spotted woodpecker (not sure whether great or lesser), thrush and green woodpecker; sparrows are not particular frequent visitors; but we do get twice daily visitss from 40-50 starlings, a heron drops by occasionally and we had a visit from a pair of paraquets a couple of weeks ago; ...........not bad for a townie, eh!!!


We also have a dog fox who visits daily and a strong squirrel contingent who binge on and dig up garden plants (little darlings). Several frogs inhabit the (very small) pond and garden.

P.S. Muddy, i too have seen egrets wading in Devon, rather beautiful aren't they?

Most frightening bird experience was being mobbed by Great Skuas after walking into their breeding ground on Orkney - scarier than Hitchcock!

[Tenuse]

We're having a fantastic time watching the birds visit our garden this winter. Our house is a Victorian terrace in the middle of Sheffield and the back garden is a teeny-tiny 5m x 6m (this is why I got an allotment!!). However we have put out feeders and we have a baby pond, and this year have really seen the benefits, the visitors we've logged so far include:
a robin
3 bluetits
2 greattits
2 blackbirds (Mr & Mrs)
2 dunnocks
a wood pigeon, who looks as big as the garden when he visits
a magpie
one or possibly two coal tits.

Nothing terribly uncommon but it's fabulous to watch them. Especially Mr Robin trying to be a bluetit and feed at the hanging feeder when we forgot to put out his dinner one day!

Ten x

[Mrs Ava]

I love the birds that flock to our patch.  We have t*ts of all varieties, robins, wrens, thrushes, blackbirds, sparrows, rooks, magpies, pigeons and a wonderful visit by a woodpecker, altho no idea what type.  The most suprising flying guest was by a Kestrel.  We were gardening and it whipped into our garden, took a thrush, and whipped over into next doors garden where it had lunch!  We also have foxes that wander by and frogs by the bucket load!  A squirrel which annoys our neighbour, he has carpet rod on his trellis to stop it, but the squirrel doesn't care!  We have had occassional rats - yuck, and mice and of course hodgehegs.  Ain't muvva nature grand like!

[Beer_Belly]

It's been snowing here in Holland and my garden is full of birds, we have
starlings - lots of
bluet!ts
greatt!ts
chaffinches
brambling - only identifed this yesterday
greenfinches
parakeets - once had 7 at one time !
sparrows - just a couple
robin - one lone one
jackdaws
magpies
blackbirds
jay - only once
once had a greater spotted woodpecker
pigeons - nice for in a pie ? - it's a very fat one
collard doves - an inseperable pair
a heron - invesigating next doors pond from our garage roof
and we had a sparrowhawk kill a starling the other week.

and my garden is only about 6m * 6m but I've filled the plum tree with fedders, peanutbags and fatballs :-)

[Garden Manager]

Not sure about the kestrel EJ. Think it would make ME nervous with one of those about, let alone what it would be like for the smaller birds. The magpies are bad enough, I swear the resident male blackbird is going grey(white) from all the harrasement he's had from them!

The local pigeons too are a nuisance to the toher birds, not through aggression, just pure greed. They scoff all the food going leaving little for the rest. Ones getting so fat he can barely take off!  Good for him we're bird lovers or he'd be pigeon pie by now! LOL

To me the little birds from blackbirds downwards are the nicest.  Characters all of them in their own way, from the cheeky little sparrows, to the 'houseproud' female blackbird and the boldness of the robin hunting for worms.  Brilliant! :)

[Doris_Pinks]

I have just this minute seen a KINGFISHER in my Mum's garden, which when you consider we live in a town was rather bizarre! :o (She does have a pond full of fish tho!) I too have seen a kestrel, flew past with a screaming something in it's mouth, quite upset me!!  :'(

[budgiebreeder]

I also had a Sparrow Hawk take down one of my friends pidgeons in my garden last year .Not a pretty sight but that is nature.I have all the usual finches,t*ts ,sparrows starlings ,ringnecked doves,thrush,blackbirds,greaterspotted woodpeckers,wrensandtree-creepers..I have a family of partial albino blackbirds in the wood who pay me a visit but my favourites have to be the mistle thrush,
Anyone wanting a good bird book I like Birds of the British Isles by Jim Flegg.

[Hyacinth]

The precision of a sparrowhawk (or kestrel) is really awesome, isn't it? ..and, of course, last year I was visited by my UFO(B) - who was identified on here & was way off course from wherever he should have been.

Strange, tho...every year I get 'imprisoned' in an upstairs room by wrens who nest under the eaves - from March onwards I daren't open the windows up there cos I don't want to be responsible for little deaths if they fly in...well just a couple of days ago, 6.30pm-ish I see them whizzing by and think "oh! the wrens are back"....

but this usually happens in March ???  

[Muddy_Boots]

I have just this minute seen a KINGFISHER in my Mum's garden, which when you consider we live in a town was rather bizarre! :o (She does have a pond full of fish tho!) I too have seen a kestrel, flew past with a screaming something in it's mouth, quite upset me!!  :'(

When I lived in East London and used to walk alongside the canal down to Wapping, remember seeing Kingfisher which was nesting in shrubbery which had grown beside disused factory, beautiful birds!

[Muddy_Boots]

Some years ago, one of the nicest things about holidaying in the Auvergne was watching the buzzard display every day!  Absolutely spectacular!

[gavin]

had a few Long-tailed tits in the hedge yesterday.

All best - Gavin

[Palustris]

Dont need to go abroad to see buzzards, they fly over us almost every day. Saw one swoop down out of a tree this morning after a rabbit. Never ever seen that before, always thought they were carrion eaters.

[Suze_O]

Eric, I regularly watch the buzzards swooping down on the rabbits.

I have blackbirds (successfully reared 6 chicks this year  :D0, thrushes, wrens, bullfinches, greenfinches, wrens, crows, ravens, magpies (bo! hiss!), spotty woodpecker, jay (hurrah!) all sorts of t*ts, sparrows (of course)

Ain't Mother Nature wonderful, and don't we have a lot to learn from her

[Gardengirl]

We have loads of different kinds of birds visiting our feeders:

Greenfinches
Bluetits
Greattits
Robins
Collard Doves
The occasional pigeon
Hedge sparrows
House sparrows
Starlings
Blackbirds
Wrens

On Christmas Day I was delighted to see Goldfinches.  Three turned up at once - had not seen them before and have not seen them since. I wondered whether they were just stopping off for a feed on their way to a warmer part of the country.

It is also great to see them using the stream in our pond to have a bath in.  Also when the tadpoles are around in the springtime the Magpies sit on the side of the pond picking the poor little things out of the water.

Have posted a few of my bird pictures on the BBC Bird Gallery and even had picture of the week once with my female blackbird.

I do feel sorry for people who haven't got the opportunity to be up close and personal with our feathered friends.

[Palustris]

Suze. You are not far off Red Kite country are you. See them ocasionally on the way back from Swansea. We go through Rhayader passing one of the feeding stations. Now they are a sight to see.

[Suze_O]

Well Eric

I am certainly in Peregrine Falcon country  ;)  Don't think locally Red Kites here.

What is wonderful is watching the bats circling the old oak tree, and no jokes about belfreys please !!

[Beer_Belly]

ooh ooh ooh - Just had our first visit from a big fat thrush yesterday.

I have noticed that sparrows are conspicuous by their absence. Chaffinches and Starlings are our commonest visitors.
-BB-

[SueT]

Here in my little Gloucestershire garden I get robins, sparrows, starlings, loads of greenfinches, blue tits, great tits, one thrush, blackbirds, the occasional flock of long tailed tits, and sometimes blackcaps.  As we are on the outskirts of a small market town I consider myself very fortunate.  Once I even had a grouse!  Some years ago I used to have a visiting sparrowhawk, it was beautiful!  Most recently I have had a pair of bullfinches.