Wildlife in our gardens

Malski

We tend to get alot of Goldfinches, we put out nyger seed for them they love it. Along with them we get Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Blackbirds, Song thrushes, Wrens, Robins, Dunnocks, House/Tree Sparrows, Starlings, Collard Doves and big fat Wood Pigeons.

We've also had a Grey Heron on the fence eying up the neighbours pondlife.

We've also had visits from a Sparrowhawk, and bloody cats.

~Chameleon~

I'm feeling incredibly privileged this morning as both the blackbird and robin families brought their off-spring for a visit! :j

There are two baby blackbirds, a male and a female, but when I say baby they are almost as big as mum and dad now, just fluffier versions!!! :eek: ... must be all those mealworms they've been scoffing! :rotfl:

They were still demanding to be fed too, so poor dad was busy taking care of them whilst mum tucked in for a good feast herself, he he

The baby robin is ever so cute but also very shy, understandably. He's still a fair bit smaller than mum and dad but has a lovely bright red chest so I think it's a male. He flew across to the hedge with mum whilst Mr Robin came to collect mealworms to feed them both. I so wish I had a video camera to record them

My last highlight of the day, or rather yesterday, was watching a male sparrow sparring with himself in my car wing mirror :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: ... he really thought there was a rival bird and continued fighting his reflection for about 20 minutes!!!!

Oh, almost forgot, had a pair of jackdaws visit the garden yesterday too. They usually sit around on the rooftops of nearby houses but this is the first time they've actually come into my garden to feast on some bread scraps that I'd thrown out earlier. Was almost like a scene from Hitchcock's Birds at one point with all the starlings and sparrows flocking in to grab a piece too :eek:

Lotus-eater

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

My last highlight of the day, or rather yesterday, was watching a male sparrow sparring with himself in my car wing mirror :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: ... he really thought there was a rival bird and continued fighting his reflection for about 20 minutes!!!!

I had the same thing a couple of weeks ago Damn funny to watch, bit of a waste of energy for the poor sparrow though. :rolleyes:

Canucklehead

Godd morning: Our house sparrows have developed a taste for soaked sultanas...they've manage to sneak in amongst the blackbirds, song thrushes and starlings for a feed several times a day...haven't seen any baby sparrows yet but have 1 song thrush, 4 Blackbirds, 1 robin and 2 dunnocks enjoying the garden.

Canucklehead

~Chameleon~

I keep meaning to put some dried fruit out so will go put some into soak now whilst I remember, thanks!

I think I saw some baby chaffinches the other day, scuttling under the hedgerow, but I'm not very good at correctly identifying all the little birds that live in the bottom half of the garden as they never sit still long enough or let me get close enough to observe them properly. Keep saying I'll get some binoculars so will have a look around for those too.


Oh, got some rather sad news to tell too just discovered a hedgehog dead on the road outside and think it's the large male that's been visiting the gardens over the last few years

Canucklehead

Good evening: It is a slippery slope..we started out with a handful a day but are now going through 3 to 4 kilos a week plus apples and seed:eek: My OH thinks I'm a bit OTT but it doesn't stop him feeding the friends first thing in the morning and scrubbing down the feeding area;) We had chaffinches all winter but they 'left town' at the end of March.

We had two hedgehogs in our garden last year but no sign of them yet (it was my first exposure to hedgehogs as they aren't native to Canada...we get skunks, porcupines and raccoons instead)...I always get a bit weepy when one of the friends meets an untimely demise.

Canucklehead

JWF

At the weekend I had a cheeky blackbird round my feet every 15 to 20 minutes, waiting for me to dig over a bit more ground so he could collect worms. Bold as you like really. If I wasn't digging he'd stand there looking at me until I picked up the fork and he got what he wanted. He must think he had found a right soft touch!

mary43

Springwatch is on tv tonight at 8pm BBC 2 for anyone interested

kiwichick

Lovely thread to read. My garden has many bird visitors and I am currently planning to plant to benfit them more.

We have robins, blackbirds, finches, great tits, magpies, jackdaws, collared doves, wood pigeons, a green woodpecker, carrion crows, starlings and even get the very occasional visit from a merlin.

I leave out anything from seed, jacket potato scraps, cheese, grapes, pears, even fudge!!

mardatha

oh my god a merlin! magic ! send him up here !