Garden birds

[malumbu]

Watching a great spotted woodpecker this morning on a feeder. There seemed to have been a world shortage of suet pellets a few weeks ago and ended up getting some deep pink ones that are water soluble and judging by the woodpecker the birds don't like these.

The smaller birds are quite keen on fat balls.

On a downer for a second year nothing has nested in my boxes. Last year I blamed noisy building works in a nearby extension.

Good to hear what's going on in your back yard and tips and advice.

The green squawkers rarely come into the garden but with respect to the larger species we have crows, jays, magpies and wood pigeons. Not seen any thrushes this year.

[Jules-and-Boo]

we have a family of blackbirds and squirrels in the tree and a robin comes down when I'm doing the garden.

A pair of wood pigeons come and visit sometimes.

Also have a fox run through the garden (it's his normal pathway) and a couple of cats - pretty quiet and peaceful.

[Jenny1]

malumbu Wrote:

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>

>Not seen

> any thrushes this year.

Me neither. But then I rarely do. The seem rare now.

I stuck a hazel twig into the border by the back fence six years ago and it's now a massive tree. A blackbird nested in it this year. There was a period when I couldn't venture into the garden for fear of upsetting the parents as they nervously chaperoned the fledgling on its first outings.

[beansprout]

Sadly, as I was walking pooch along Barry a Road, clearly baby fell out, as in birds..

Not good with "feathers"..

Gave suet balls last winter, nothing..

Going to either buy new feeder as in squirrel proof or start all over again..

Disinfect all

Got bird food..,,

So disappointed..

Any tips?

[civilservant]

magpie couple frm two or three gardens over were showing their newest youngster around our garden this morning e.g. where to find suet etc

the robins have stopped collecting suet and flying away with it, so expect that their children have fledged and flown the nest

i'd love to have some thrushes move in and lend a hand (wing?, beak?) with the snails

[mancity68]

Broken cashew nuts in our feeder - goldfinches and long tail/coal/blue tits love them. As does the odd woodpecker.

[Asset]

goldfinches love black niger seeds, have lots visiting my feeder.

Have had blue tits nesting in the bird box every year for last 4 or 5 years, I might have to take the box down for a couple of years as I now have 2 young cats that I suspect got hold of a good proportion of the fledglings this year,it's very difficult being a bird lover and a cat lover...

I have a very loud wren resident, and a few robins.

Very occasionally I have long-tailed tits pass through, they are so pretty I wish they were more frequent visitors.

I've seen dunnocks in my garden a few times. I have seen gold crests in the garden too, so tiny!

Parakeets, wood pigeons and magpies usually in evidence.

My neighbour keeps threatening to catch a parakeet and keep it. I think he's winding me up tho.

[Jenny1]

civilservant Wrote:

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>

> i'd love to have some thrushes move in and lend a

> hand (wing?, beak?) with the snails

Me too. I'd be interested to know how to attract the few that remain to my garden. I guess putting old apples out on a bird table or planting a fruit tree might help - believe they like fruit.

[Asset]

We have a few crows resident too, I was watching a pair picking up the stale bread and soaking it in my neighbour's bird bath to soften it. I have a soft spot for the crows despite the racket at 5am

[Jenny1]

Asset Wrote:

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> We have a few crows resident too, I was watching a

> pair picking up the stale bread and soaking it in

> my neighbour's bird bath to soften it. I have a

> soft spot for the crows despite the racket at 5am

I remember reading an article explaining how crows are one of the 'tool using' creatures. It's not so long ago that it was thought that only humans did that.

[Sue]

Crows are very intelligent

[diable rouge]

Unlike humans who don't use the popular 'ED Nature Watc'h thread...:)

[malumbu]

I bet you have lots of friends diable rouge! (exclamation mark used to show that mine is a light hearted post)

Do explain if yours was a pompous post, passive aggressive, full on aggressive or just misplaced humour trying to be helpful. You'll have to explain the emoji.

Here's an example of how to do it nicely.

"Great debate, you may find the ED nature watch thread interesting"

Personally I was just asking about garden birds and some thoughts and experiences. Thanks others, very helpful.

Lots of fledglings out. We will get a niger seed feeder. Saw thrushes last year cracking open snail shells, but not this year.

[diable rouge]

Thanks for pointing out the nuances of the interweb malumbu. An exclamation mark means light hearted humour, smiley face means misplaced humour at best. Got it.

Have to admit though that it's all a bit irrelevant, as I tend to read your posts with a dreary Brummie accent in my head...

[malumbu]

Hmm, you probably know more about chat room etiquette than I. Is this what they call trolling? Is making additional irrelevant comments about what accent I may or may not have hate crime? Can you pronounce your contanantz (consonants).

Have you any views on garden birds or do you get off by slagging people off?

(Mild sarcasm, provocation, not humour or big or clever(apart from the dig at the lazy SE accent). Maybe others can help me with an appropriate emoji.

[diable rouge]

malumbu Wrote:

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> Have you any views on garden birds...

Had a few sightings recently of the Lesser Spotted Malumbu (drearius lazius stereotypus).

Despite it's exotic name, a rather dull sounding bird, with it's feathers easily ruffled.

Not native to these parts, it has a monotonous song but a very distinct mating call of ''Yous...Yous....Yous''. Quite a chirpy little number...

[Sue]

diable rouge Wrote:

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> Unlike humans who don't use the popular 'ED Nature

> Watc'h thread...:)

This is a thread specifically about garden birds, not "nature".

And why are you having a go at Malumbu?

[civilservant]

diable rouge Wrote:

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> Despite it's exotic name, a rather dull sounding bird, with it's feathers easily ruffled.

oh dear, diable rouge, you seem to have come down with a bad case of Greengrocer's Apostrophe-itis

it's deadly unless you've been vaccinated against it in childhood

anyway, the magpies were taking their child for a walk again this evening

there's also a plain dark brown bird which looks like a bit like a female blackbird - it has a soft churring call and comes looking for suet pellets.

it's too shy to be photographed, unlike the robin who just sits there bold as anything looking back at me.

what do you think it could be?

[FightingFit]

My daughter saw a Taylor Swift the other day.

[ianr]

Can anyone identify this?

[Robert Poste's Child]

Sounds familiar. Female blackbird alarm call?

Found this; hope link works.

[rendelharris]

Sounds very like a chiffchaff to me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYyOHbLlSu0

[ianr]

> Sounds familiar. Female blackbird alarm call?

> Found this; hope link works.

That's reassuring, thanks. I had been wondering if it was some kind of abandoned fledgling crying out in distress, but it's definitely a female blackbird, even unto the length of time she goes on for.

I've not actually seen her while she was calling, though I guess she's probably the one that occasionally perches on a back garden tree branch. But yesterday I saw a crow, in the rough location of the calls, also going in for hefty alarm bahaviour, with lots of hostile squawking and threatening gestures from a flat roof, directed at a cat twenty feet below behnd a wall in a neighbouring garden.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Is it the time that fledglings start flying lessons? This week the cycle path between Greendale and Sainsbury's is slower going than usual with adult birds throwing themselves heroically in front of your wheels.

[ianr]

Are they carrying any flags?