Wildlife in our gardens

~Chameleon~

I know this board is primarily about growing things in our gardens, but part and parcel of spending so much time outside means we often come into contact with, and can easily observe, the wildlife that inhabits our gardens, so I thought it might be nice to have a thread where we can share our experiences, anecdotes and advice about the many different species that live alongside us

What actually prompted me to post this was having spent the last hour or so sat in the garden watching the antics of a particular pair of resident blackbirds and robins, which was absolutely hilarious!!! :rotfl:

Mr Blackbird was a particular cheeky fledgling last summer, whom I could identify due to one fluffy grey feather that stuck out from under his wing, and I spent a lot of time observing him, so when he emerged as a sleek handsome chap this spring I had no problem identifying him as he proceeded to chase off every other male blackbird in the area so he could bag his lady lol :rolleyes:

He is a very confident little fella that will happily feed just a few feet away from me and thinks he is King of the bird world in my garden

Aside from the various feeders I supply for all the birds, I also put out live mealworms specifically for the blackbirds and robins, and this is where the fun begins!

Mr Blackbird thinks the mealworms are all for him :rotfl:

He acts like a guard dog defending his patch in an attempt to stop any other bird having any, including his own lady friend!!! :eek:

Because of his antics I started putting them out in two different places at opposite ends of the garden, yet he still tries to defend both spots and will chase off any other bird who dares to steal a mealworm, often flying back and forth across the garden to do it :rotfl:

In complete contrast, I watched the resident pair of robins come in for a sneaky feed this evening (Mr Blackbird was AWOL at the time ) and Mr Robin came to the feeding dish and ate one mealworm before taking one down to his wife waiting on the ground below, repeating the process several times before Mr Blackbird re-appeared and chased them off again :rolleyes:

The difference in behaviour among the species completely intrigued me and I wondered whether anyone else has experienced anything similar

s1clark

We have a male blackbird that comes looking in the kitchen window when he sees you in the kitchen. This is for the raisins i put out for them.

M0neysav3r

Chameleon - Mr Blackbird does sound very cheeky! :rotfl:

We have a blackbird nest at the bottom of our garden, and the female has been busy claiming her tree and chasing the other birds out of it - A joy to watch though - Better than any soap on tv

~Chameleon~

He certainly is! and he never fails to amuse me with his antics on a daily basis lol

I gain a great deal of pleasure from my garden, but especially from the regular birds that either reside here or visit daily. I like to think of them as "my pets" but ones which have complete freedom to come and go as they please. I can spend hours just observing them and getting to know some of them individually

MoJo

I am lucky to have an abundance of birds in the garden. Mr & Mrs Blackbird come up to the house each morning, but she is the most vocal demanding her currants. I have a Mrs Thrush who has her own tree down the garden, where she has the best pickings of snails. Also have robins and Jenny Wren. Jenny gets quite vocal too. And pidgeons. A !!!! pheasant visits and is sometimes followed by his wife. There's an abundance of starlings who last year I worried had chased out all the spoggies.

Yestrday I watched a pair of doves build a very precarious and not-very-well hidden nest quite close to the house. They must know they will get a lot of 'traffic' past them but seem unpeturbed by that fact.

The we have hawks that swoop down now and then.

[Ooops! That will be a male pheasant ]

~Chameleon~

I've just witnessed a very strange (to me anyway) encounter with a magpie!

It's very rare, if ever, we get any magpies over the gardens here but I've just seen one foraging around in a large conifer that houses several blackbirds. The blackbirds were going crazy!!!

There was also a large rook following it around but I couldn't make out whether the rook was a "partner in crime" or was attempting to scare the magpie away

Is it known for magpies to steal other birds eggs? It's not something I've ever come across before.

alanobrien

Funny enough i spent an hour yesterday watching a male and female blackbird darting around the pond and a large bamboo next to it. It was a while before i realised they had a nest in the bamboo and were feeding their young. All in sight of myself and the cat who fortunately for the birds seems to prefer bunny lunches from the woods next door these days :eek:

ixwood

Magpies do eat eggs and chicks.

chatta

I am busy watching 2 robins that have decided to nest in my garden, right
outside my kitchen window in a flowerpot on the wall. They are rushing
around collecting leaves etc and in and out of the pot. They have a little
break and drink out of our little pond thing. Sadly I dont think they have worked
out there is a cat here. I know it will all end in tears yet I cant bring
myself to go out and shoo them away. Even if they survive the nest building
and hatch babies my cat will be able to get to those. How sad is that I
really want the robins there but I know I should go and pull the nest out to
stop them. They are so pretty and I have had a really nice morning watching
them. They are 3 foot away from my window and they keep looking at me as
they go in and out. It would be so perfect if we didnt have a cat. I feel
very chosen ha ha.

Little_Chicken

The blackbirds in my tree like to 'attack' the neighbourhood cats. It's very amusing - first you hear them going bonkers outside, then you see the cat on the wall with one particularly brave lady blackbird dive-bombing at the cat. He never seems too bothered. LOL

chatta

I wouldnt have been worried if it was blackbirds but robins are so tiny and polite