Birds in your garden

Garden birds around feeders

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tonybassplayer said:
Cracking day in the garden today with the Goldfinch at last returning in good numbers and several times too. Was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to see them again but all the wasted Nyger has been well worth it.

Saw my very first Chaffinch in the garden too. We have some about half a mile away but first spot in the garden was pleasing plus the starlings seem to have returned too which is also very pleasing. Had loads of them over the last year or so but a but thin on the ground recently.

QUESTION PLEASE

Is there a "non seeding" bird seed ? I.e. One that when dropped on the floor does not grow in to grass. My wife is going crackers as despite my best efforts with drop trays and pots under the feeders the seed keeps sprouting.

Many thanks

Tony
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We also had a quiet spell with the Goldfinches over winter, with them only just recently returning for the nigella seed which we thought we'd try in one of the feeders.

Afraid I'm not sure of an alternative seed other than nuts. We have large wood pigeons, blackbirds, robins and dunnocks which clean up any dropped seeds under the bird feeders.
 
Just spotted this on a fence in our back garden - photo taken quickly through glass. Don't know a lot about birdies but I can't see a ring on either of its legs which suggests a wild bird to me .... unusual in a suburban garden?

Edit: Is this a Peregrine Falcon?
Edit2: Now believe that it is a male sparrowhawk

AQ2I7150.jpg


Alan
 
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Alzibiff said:
Just spotted this on a fence in our back garden - photo taken quickly through glass. Don't know a lot about birdies but I can't see a ring on either of its legs which suggests a wild bird to me .... unusual in a suburban garden?

Edit: Is this a Peregrine Falcon?
Edit2: Now believe that it is a male sparrowhawk

AQ2I7150.jpg


Alan
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Yup, Sparrowhawk, very lucky to have a visit :)
 
Nice picture.

That looks quite different to the ones I get.

They tend to be like a petrol blue tint to them.

Really colourful birds up close.
 
photobucket has changed to a paying service to allow photos to 3rd parties
 
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My garden had a visit from a juvenile sparrowhawk one misty morning last week; I heard a commotion and it had taken a young blackbird that was feeding on berries on a laurel shrub. Sorry for the slightly poor image quality, the shots were taken using an old Mk 1 75-300 Canon EF IS zoom, through a somewhat dirty window on a misty morning! Luckily a bit of work in Photoshop Elements seems to have rescued a bit of detail... I must remember to clean those windows more regularly in future! :banghead:

Sparrowhawk 1 by J White, on Flickr
These young blackbirds are very filling.

Sparrowhawk 2 by J White, on Flickr
I think I'll just have one last drumstick, it'd be rude not to.

Sparrowhawk 3 by J White, on Flickr
Oops, I think I'm too fat to fly!
 
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most interesting ones ive had in the last 12months - also caught a tawny owl on the night cam but cant find the pic, only started feeding the birds in the last year and we are busy with goldfinch, siskin, blue/great/coal tits, greenfinch, woody comes along pretty regularly and the sprawk once every couple months - only seen the male once.gswp.jpg sparrowhawk (1).jpg sparrowhawk (2).jpg
 
From a couple of years back , young sparrowhawk flew through the garden cabin , (must have seen the bird feeders through the side windows) and hit a metal stand .





 
I've moved my old feeder, set it up again with fat balls and seeds as the robins are back. They are loving the seeds, but the fat balls are attracting the titsIMG_7819.jpg

Shot through the window of the cabin in the garden where I work
 
Sitting here this morning, I've Male and female blackbirds, pigeons, sparrows, robins, blue tits on the fat balls, and forgive my lack of bird ident, but what looks like a tit but is black and white markings?
I'll have to try to get a photo
 
Byker28i said:
Sitting here this morning, I've Male and female blackbirds, pigeons, sparrows, robins, blue tits on the fat balls, and forgive my lack of bird ident, but what looks like a tit but is black and white markings?
I'll have to try to get a photo
Click to expand...
Possibly a coal tit.
 
So the word is out there's a new restaurant open and everyones been to check it out. I've had a dove, a pidgeon, the robins, blue tits, possibly coal tits, blackbirds, sparrows. I think they're getting used to me and camera now, as I'm sitting about 8 feet away from them.


IMG_7836.jpg
IMG_7841.jpg IMG_7859.jpg
 
This was a grab shot, not sure what it is. First I thought "Robin" because of the shape, but it doesn't look like a juvenile (no spots), so I'm a bit lost...

DSCF0398 by Steve Jelly, on Flickr

It was sitting in the bush next to my feeders, waiting for the Goldies to move off.
 
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