Wildlife in our gardens

tanith

Davesnave wrote: »

Mmm, haven't seen a dyed maggot for some time now, so I assumed they'd been banned. I know they won't be breeding maggots on rump steak, but I have tended to think that, in this country at least the, Health & Safety brigade would keep a fairly good eye on bait farms, bearing in mind their potential for causing/spreading diseases if not regulated. And presumably the welfare of fish comes into this too!

You will not of been in a fishing tackle shop lately then... they sell every colour of maggot under the sun... they dye with harmless dyes and I know they used to even do 'disco maggots' multicoloured ones..:rotfl:

Davesnave

You will not of been in a fishing tackle shop lately then... they sell every colour of maggot under the sun... they dye with harmless dyes and I know they used to even do 'disco maggots' multicoloured ones..:rotfl:

Well, I remember they did coloured maggots back in the 1960s, but I think my bait shop here stopped selling them, oh, way back. Not caring what colour they were, I probably made the assumption about a ban.

~Chameleon~

I saw a pair of swifts fly over this morning, so won't be long now until my house martins come home :j :j

chatta

Update on my robins, they are still here and as best as I can I have watched my cat everytime she goes out. Thank goodness she is old and maybe they realise that. It seems to me that one or other is in the nest incubating eggs, fingers crossed it will have a happy outcome. I think hard work for me defending the babies is yet to come

Miró

Earlier this year we were given, by a well-meaning relative, one of those rather naff, (sorry to anyone who likes them:o ), thatched/half timbered bird houses on a pole. We dutifully placed it in a far corner of the garden and forgot about it. A few weeks later we started to notice that the 'thatch' was looking rather bedraggled. Sitting quietly outside with a cuppa, on one of those early warm days, I noticed a couple of robins helping themselves to the straw and flying off with it! Later we found a couple of nests, made with the birdhouse straw, in one of our old outbuildings. Bit like going to Ikea...seeing what you want and taking it home in flatpack form and re-assembling it I guess!!! Now got several baby robins :j .........(but not in the bird house:rotfl: ).

pink.1970

We have a variety of different birds ( blackbirds, robins, thrushes, little jenny wren, various tits) in our garden and some grey squirrels. Haven't seen any bats around but i'm sure there must be some.
We do have a cat but he is a very infrequent visitor to the outdoors and then he only goes out *supervised*.
I'm trying to make the garden more wildlife friendly, i have left a clump of nettles growing in a corner along side some fallen branches. And shall be planting some more flowers over the next few weeks, its an ongoing project.

~Chameleon~

chatta - how are your robins getting on?

miro - love the story of your robins :rotfl:

For the last few days I have been extremely busy supplying mealworms to Mr Robin and Mr & Mrs Blackbird ... as well as a tribe of hooligan starlings that have suddenly realised there's a plentiful supply of food in my garden :mad:

I feel quite privileged that these birds have grown to trust me sufficiently to feed very close by and Mr Robin will even hop onto the table I sit at to snaffle mealworms from my container!

They are incredible to watch and so different in their behaviour! Mr Blackbird will try to cram as many mealworms in his mouth as possible, whilst still trying to defend "his patch" from marauding starlings, although he is more amenable to Mr Robin allowing him to take his 2 worms back to the nest. Mrs Robin is usually perched somewhere nearby keeping a look out and singing for her supper :rotfl:

I spotted the housemartins swooping over the garden yesterday too, inspecting the nest site before flying off to feed, so they should start re-building the nest shortly to take up residence :j

Can also see/hear flocks of screaming swifts overhead too so I think summer is well and truly here at last!


Oh, almost forgot to mention the hedgehogs and both re-appeared too! Spotted them snuffling in the undergrowth last night quite close to one of the bird feeders so must remember to start putting out some food for them too

~Chameleon~

Managed to snap a few pics of my "pet" birds this afternoon!

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/chameleon.photos/Birds

margaretclare

About mealworms, our local pet food shop sells them. £2 buys a quantity of them in a plastic box. You put a few out each day and keep the rest in the fridge. As the box has a firm lid they can't get out, and they become less active when kept cold - once they're in the warm they start wriggling about.

I used an old spoon to transfer some of them to a 'robin feeder' down the garden.

JuneBow

I am interested in photography and am trying to entice birds into my garden so I can get some close ups.
I am having no sucess and I don't know whether it is because I have two cats. Could that be the answere? Even though my cats could not catch a rubber duck.
I have put breadcrumbs out and nuts. Have not thought of worms, but would they not just crawl away.
I live right in the city, but there are huge trees outside the house, and I can hear the birds chirping but they seem to avoid my garden.
Any tips appreciated.