Birds in your garden

Garden birds around feeders


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A couple of Siskins have been showing up over the last few days but it is a bit slow for this time of year. I have noticed birds feeding on natural food in my local wood but more snow forcast today so they may just come back too the feeders.
 
The variety of birds depends on the type of food you put out for them. I noticed a neighbour always had finches (of all varieties) and when i asked how come she gets them and not us she replied because she puts sunflower hearts out. There are a couple of books on bird tables and feeders. Well worth a look.
 
Numbers might be slightly down on past years but I'm pretty sure variety is up. We have a cat who is a too proficient huntress given the chance but 3 bells on her collar seem to keep her predation under control. Another thing that might be helping the birds is that we rattle the door catch to scare them off before we let her out.
 
I have had an increase in both volume and variety I usually get blue tit and great tits and Long tailed tits along with dunnock chaffinch black cap and yellowhammer. but this year I also had reed bunting greenfinch and Siskin and the occasional striking of a sparrowhawk, which this year I witnessed it getting a chaffinch. Mike
 
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You chaps are jolly fortunate to get such variety.

My home is bordered on two sides by roads and we have a business on the third side, so bird life here is very thin on the ground...
 


In the same day it went from this beautiful sunshine...



to raining and nice beading on the back





this one was a chunky monkey

 
up until a couple hours ago i had birds in my garden all day long.earlier on i went out to get the washing in when i seen a bird soar past at eye level it looked like a sparrow hawk this was three hours ago since then there hasnt been any birds out there i guess the hawk as spooked them will they come back.


bleddyn
 
I only got the bird feeder for my garden a few weeks ago but I seem to have about 100 birds in my garden, especially this week when all of the chicks seem to have come out to play. Never really taken an interest before but ive been sitting in the conservatory with my nikon camera enjoying taking shots. Bought myself a book so I could try and identify them. So far ive seen black birds, wood pigeons, collared doves, starlings, jackdaws, magpies, dunnocks, wrens, robins, blue tits, coal tits, house sparrows, song thrushes and chiffchaffs. I seem to see new types of birds every day. Needless to say they are costing me a fortune haha
 
Just set up a couple of feeders this morning. Not one bird all day. Might be because we have a couple of cats, and there's a lot of cats between all the neighbours that roam the yards. I put the feeders on the evergreens back of the garden, facing the kitchen window [where I will be shooting from] - Maybe I need some stands, out from the trees? Maybe the birds can't actually see the feeders? Maybe the birds are just having a chill out sunday? :D

Any tips would be much appreciated, cheers.

I'm using a cheap plastic dispenser and a bag of mixed seed I bought in a local store. I also have a coconut feeder [basically, half a coconut shell scooped out and filled with a bird mix. Both are hanging on the outers of the evergreens. About 6ft high.
 
I find my garden goes a bit dead at this time of year so the feeders get a really good clean, lots of natural food about for the birds so they won't go hungry :)
 
Just set up a couple of feeders this morning. Not one bird all day. Might be because we have a couple of cats, and there's a lot of cats between all the neighbours that roam the yards. I put the feeders on the evergreens back of the garden, facing the kitchen window [where I will be shooting from] - Maybe I need some stands, out from the trees? Maybe the birds can't actually see the feeders? Maybe the birds are just having a chill out sunday? :D

Any tips would be much appreciated, cheers.

I'm using a cheap plastic dispenser and a bag of mixed seed I bought in a local store. I also have a coconut feeder [basically, half a coconut shell scooped out and filled with a bird mix. Both are hanging on the outers of the evergreens. About 6ft high.

it took a few days for them to come to my feeders, still got cats around which have got a few birds
 
Our eldest cat has killed a fair few starlings and blackbirds over the past few months. Without me feeding or attracting any birds to the garden. I really hate having to bury them, and it's not like you can scold the cat for it either. That's why I'm hanging the feeders high-ish, hoping the cats won't take much notice. Though they do climb those evergreens.
 
Species are up this year but numbers are definitely down, instead of small flocks of Siskins,Goldfinches, etc. I get only single birds or couples.House Sparrows, which I don't normally see up here are very much up in numbers with about 20 youngsters at the feeders, and a few Willow Warblers hopping about in my hedge and trees.
 
They have finally started to get braver. Seems to be all couples, that takeit in turns to come in to feed.


House sparrow by Cagey75, on Flickr



DSC_5341 by Cagey75, on Flickr



Blackbird, male by Cagey75, on Flickr



Sparrow, female by Cagey75, on Flickr




Mr & Mrs Dove by Cagey75, on Flickr

Not great variety, but a start, and I like that it seems to be mostly couples - and since putting the feeders out instead of loose bread, the crows have stopped coming.

Male/female blackbirds, sparrows and doves - the doves only eat the seed that spills onto the grass.
 
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We have plenty of birds in our garden this year, predominantly starlings which are in vast numbers. Nothing really that interesting species wise though I did get a picture of a Mistle Thrush in April of this year. Three years ago we had a pheasant visit our garden and I managed to get a shot of it, unfortunately I only had a compact camera at the time.

MistleThrush_zps3a57fc99.jpg


P1020041_zpsf04c87ba.jpg


Pheasant2_zps45a66eb2.jpg
 
A few more like that Rob and you'll be able to start charging people (y)
 
This bird turned up out of the blue about a month ago. Very tame, will not let you feed it from the hand but will let you come very close. Turns up every day for food and roosts on my daughters window ledge. Must be a cross of some sort as it has feathers on its feet :)



Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
I have to say this has been one of the best years for a long time for birds in my garden. It's been so good that a sparrow hawk has "visited" on several occasions, and even this hasn't kept those lower down the food chain away.
 
So far this year less feeder activity. However to date it has been very mild and it has also been a Mast Year. All this may change next week if the weather forecasts are to be believed. 2/3 winters ago I counted roughly 60 Goldfinches on the feeders and on he ground picking up the scraps.
 
I'm hardly seeing any birds at all in my garden these days, I used to be able to sit and shoot the regular stream of visitors. Perhaps they are dieting and avoiding the fatballs, peanuts, niger seeds, sunflower hearts...
 
I'm hardly seeing any birds at all in my garden these days, I used to be able to sit and shoot the regular stream of visitors. Perhaps they are dieting and avoiding the fatballs, peanuts, niger seeds, sunflower hearts...

Must still be a lot of natural food about because my feeders are very quite, very mild still for the time of year but not much about and looks like the winter migration hasn't happened due to wind direction.
 
View attachment 4680
Photo take with Sony A77 & Sony 70-300mm G SSM lens almost year ago!
To me it looks like Alpha & Omega Pigeon! It had a definite presence about him!
 
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well i spent two hours in my shed yesterday and i seen no birds at all.i have emptied all the feeders washed them and left them in the shed it just seems pointless filling them up for them to sprout again.
 
well i spent two hours in my shed yesterday and i seen no birds at all.i have emptied all the feeders washed them and left them in the shed it just seems pointless filling them up for them to sprout again.
 
Hi, I'm not having any luck attracting birds into the garden, wood pigeons and blackbirds once or twice a day, the odd rare sparrow, blue tit's every now and again. Got seed & nuts out in feeders. Not much happening though.
 
We have native Dunnock, Blue tit, Sparrow. But we've seen the Bullfinch, Peregrine, Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Sparrowhawk.
 
Rubbish weather so far this year,reduction in quantity and species so far,hopefully better things to come!!
 
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