Birds in your garden

Garden birds around feeders


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we dont get many birds in the garden put feeders out for 2 years and nothing so got cats and Chickens instead !!
But we do hera an Owl and often get buzzards overhead .
 
I have a little family of Willy Wagtails nesting in a tree in my front yard, they're so comical and have absolutely no fear!


Since the move to Cairns by StephyB86, on Flickr
 
Sorry, double post :(
 
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This year started of very quite, but I'm pleased to say things have improved. Here are a few shots of my feeders.







 
this may seem a silly question but i was wondering if i should / could get feeders to hang in my garden is quite large and there is a medium sized woodland behind before the next lot of houses i know some birds nest in there as my dog found a baby in the bottom of the garden (still alive he was just standing whining at it lol), the problem i have with feeders is i do have cats (although they do not seem bothered by my budgies when caged) there locked out on flight time the second problem is i know there are a load of squirrels although they are great in there own way i feel they would clean feeders out to quick.

if i did the next question would be were to hang or place them other than the fence the only thing is an apple tree.
 
this may seem a silly question but i was wondering if i should / could get feeders to hang in my garden is quite large and there is a medium sized woodland behind before the next lot of houses i know some birds nest in there as my dog found a baby in the bottom of the garden (still alive he was just standing whining at it lol), the problem i have with feeders is i do have cats (although they do not seem bothered by my budgies when caged) there locked out on flight time the second problem is i know there are a load of squirrels although they are great in there own way i feel they would clean feeders out to quick.

if i did the next question would be were to hang or place them other than the fence the only thing is an apple tree.

Dogs (I have 3) are no problem other than chasing birds off but the birds will get used to that.

Squirrels are a pain in that they take certain types of bird food but you can find feeder designs that help on that front.

Cats are a whole different box of frogs.

It's always difficult to see birds you attract get killed but it comes down to:

a) You feed the birds and they benefit from it
b) You feed the birds and the cats catch, kill and eat them

The reality is:

c) You feed the birds, the whole population benefit from it but you accept that the cats catch, kill and eat some.

The key (for cat owners) is knowing whether you're being kind or cruel to the birds.

For the record when I had 4 young cats I decided not to attract the birds as the kill rate was shocking.

When I was down to 1 old cat and 1 young cat I decided (despite the odd kill) to experiment.

I also live next to woodland and we have a couple of neighbours who also feed the birds. When I stopped feeding the birds my cats would simply catch birds at my neighbours unprotected feeding stations.

I set up my own extra tasty stations but set them up to be more 'cat proof'. As a result the birds came into my garden and the killing stopped.

Chicken wire skirt under the feeders to stop the cat jumping up. Feeders placed away from natural cover that the cats use for stalking. Feeders above open ground rather than bushes so ground feeding birds can't be ambushed.

Birds feed and cats hunt at certain times of day so the time of day you feed your cats can make a massive influence on hunting.

The general view (certainly during a harsh winter) is that the overall bird population benefit more from being fed than being left to go hungry for fear of cat predation.
 
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my garden is completely flat and the only cover would be the apple tree or hanging trees from the back if i had it right at the bottom, surprisingly my birds have not killed any birds since i have lived here (mice etc different story) that could be partly due to always having them in the house. ofc that could change if they were in the garden often though i will test and find out. just got to look around to see what to get
 
my garden is completely flat and the only cover would be the apple tree or hanging trees from the back if i had it right at the bottom, surprisingly my birds have not killed any birds since i have lived here (mice etc different story) that could be partly due to always having them in the house. ofc that could change if they were in the garden often though i will test and find out. just got to look around to see what to get

Cannibalistic birds... well that makes me happy to live over here!! :)
 
I was amazed a little while back, I live on a housing estate,
I was looking out the bedroom window, low and behold a kingfisher was perched on the shed,
it then hopped on to the washing line,
then pestered by the sparrows and flew off,
now a kingfisher in the middle of a housing estate is un herd of,
I wish my camera was glued to my hip.
 
It has also been a lot quieter the last few months in SW France than I have never known it - OK's it's been wet and windy but not particularly cold.

Just the usual, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Robins, Blackbirds, Marsh Tits, Nuthatches, the usual Buzzards, Chaffinch, Song Thrushes ………. a pack of Lapwings this week ….. and the Cranes have started flying North over the house.

Nothing unusual this winter
 
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I was amazed a little while back, I live on a housing estate,
I was looking out the bedroom window, low and behold a kingfisher was perched on the shed,
it then hopped on to the washing line,
then pestered by the sparrows and flew off,
now a kingfisher in the middle of a housing estate is un herd of,
I wish my camera was glued to my hip.

I've only been 'into' bird photography for a while but that's what I love about it.

When I was 'Landscapes' only - my kit lived in the bag upstairs waiting for when I had the time to plan a trip out.

Now my camera and longer lens sits there like a fire engine ready for the off :)
 
Not as many birds as in previous years, but then again it has been nowhere near as cold. In previous years we have had up to 60 Goldfinches, max this year has been about 20.

 
Not as many birds as in previous years, but then again it has been nowhere near as cold. In previous years we have had up to 60 Goldfinches, max this year has been about 20.

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now that is one good photo.


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Not many birds in gardens this winter due to mild weather and still feed to be found in hedgers etc
 
First year we've had LTT's in the garden and I even managed to get a shot of them

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Three common ones from a South African Garden
Cape Robin- Chat, Fiscal flycatcher and Forked Tailed Drongo

taken in the garden of the guest house we were staying in a couple of weeks ago ....... just after the rain, good even light, not too bright

Cape_Robin_C.jpg


fiscal.jpg


FT_Drongo.jpg
 
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I get Greater spotted woodpecker, Blue tits, great tits, coal tits, siskin, pheasant, starlings, tree sparrows, house sparrows, chaffinches, goldfinches and the occasional wood pigeon looking for scraps. It's great fun watching them. My house is south facing so the light is pants.
 
been mild all winter no snow seen the usual dunnock wood pigeon etc just stocked the feeders up in a new location
now to see what that attracts.
 
I have listed in various places on this forum the range of birds we get in our north london garden, but adding this post as a matter of interest. Until about 4 years ago, my feeders were always mobbed by starlings. Then suddenly, they vanished, not a starling to be seen for several years, very much in keeping with reports of their numbers declining dramatically. However, last week, whilst sitting in the hide, a familiar noise in the tree above had me doing that really stupid looking thing of sticking my head out of one of the side panels to look up and confirm my suspicions - about 10 starlings up there. Not seen them on the feeders yet, but have seen a few in that same tree since, so it would seem they are back - better buy another sack of sunflower hearts, they do tend to decimate supplies. ;)
 




Must confess that the button pressing for this was carried out by my 4 year old son, BUT I had set the camera up on a tripod outside the house with a USB cable connecting it to a laptop inside.

Covered the whole thing with a black blanket and I don't think the birds even noticed it.

Used Eos Utility and live view to control the camera.

This is quite a big crop, and as the feeder was swinging back and forth there were quite a few out of focus ones.

David
 
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I couldn't resist a hasty shot of this cheeky blackbird taking a bath in the waterlogged border of our garden yesterday :)

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I was amazed a little while back, I live on a housing estate,
I was looking out the bedroom window, low and behold a kingfisher was perched on the shed,
it then hopped on to the washing line,
then pestered by the sparrows and flew off,
now a kingfisher in the middle of a housing estate is un herd of,
I wish my camera was glued to my hip.
Good spot and I know exactly what you mean about having your camera glued on! I'd just posted my blackbird shot when I saw a reflection in my monitor. Looked out of the window and there was a heron being chased around in circles by a crow! Now that's something you don't see every day either :eek:
 
I've left the pampas grass near my study window as the sparrows are stripping them for bedding. Me sitting 2 foot from them doesn't faze them until I get a camera out so these are shot through the window from a little further back.





Apologies - don't usually shoot birds, but they've been at this all bank holiday
 
Pure luck I lined up on this pair as one decided to attack the other. (Getting Frisky I'm told...)

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I don't shoot birds, but needed a shot with the 100-400 and 1.4 extender on, so out the bedroom window and this greedy little chap.


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It is the first year in our house, but so far we have had:

- Blue Tits nesting in a birdbox
- Robin Nesting in the holly at the back
- Parrots nesting just over on the railway embankment

We have also got regular visitors of Great Tits, Sparrows, Swifts (I think) or House Martins, and the usual array of black birds, magpies and wood pigeons.

And greedy squirrels.
 
More birds in our garden than ever but we've put lots of efforts into changing the garden around to accommodate more wildlife :)

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